What does learning science say about visual learning in the classroom? “I give [students] a lot of resources that they could use just so they don’t have one particular way of learning something. I like to use pictures, videos, whatever will help them to retain the information,” says Ms. LaShaudra Cox, a biology teacher at … Continued
How Districts Can Overcome Opportunity Gaps Once and For All The screen read: “a2 + b2 = c2” Twenty seventh-grade students, seated in rows in this Tulsa classroom, were silently working from an old textbook. Their teacher, illuminated by an overhead projector, looked on. For about thirty minutes, I heard only the soft scratching of … Continued
Unpacking learning science: Metacognition is how we plan, monitor, and assess what we know “I have a few [students] who lack confidence, and a lot of times they do comprehend what they’re doing,” shares Ms. Jessica Anderson of Capitol Elementary School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It’s important for students to feel confident in their learning. … Continued
Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.” When I begin to work with a new group of leading educators, this quote from Chimamanda … Continued
Interleaving is “mixing up” problems to facilitate connections and meaning-making “These kids aren’t quiet, so I usually know that they get it when they yell out, ‘I get it!’”, shares Ms. Shannon Payette, a veteran teacher of 20 years. “The minute that a child can explain to me why this is working, then that means … Continued
Spacing gives students multiple opportunities to retrieve information to stall forgetting Students live increasingly busy lives, and as teachers, it can feel like a constant struggle to get them to remember what they have learned. Sometimes students will ace a test or assignment, and then weeks or months later, they have no recollection of the … Continued
Retrieval practice is “retrieving” what students have learned to make it stick When you know there is so much for students to learn, your gut instinct as an educator can be to find more ways to cram more information into students’ heads. Research shows the opposite might be a better way to build students’ knowledge. … Continued
Lessons Learned From Tulsa Public Schools It is often said that school systems get the results they are designed to produce. Education leaders know that they need to enable key shifts in teaching and learning to make equity the reality for every student, but it can be challenging to know where to start. Our partners … Continued
Talking with Principal Bryan Gibson Bryan Gibson is the principal of Mitchell Elementary School at Tulsa Public Schools. Bryan has wide experience in education, spending time as a mental health counselor and a special education teacher before entering school leadership with the encouragement of his peers. He’s a first-year member of the Empower cohort. We … Continued
“They asked me, ‘Why do you like school so much?’” Nicholas Cains’s journey into education started with a phone call. A native of Houston, TX, he was finishing a degree in theater and journalism at Southern Methodist University, but he knew he didn’t want to be an actor. He didn’t want to be a journalist … Continued
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