Blog
What Does Your Ideal Learning Environment Look Like?
Leaders commonly use strategic plans or vision statements that describe the desire to develop life-long learners, global citizens, critical thinkers, and the like, yet a misalignment often occurs between the vision, policies, and practices. The tension between what we say we want our students to know and be able to do and what we…
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To Engage Students, Focus on Connection Over Content
It’s important to understand how student’s emotions impact their attention, engagement, and what they learn. Scheduling time with each student to connect, learn more about their circumstances, their goals, and ideas, created a different dynamic that built empathy and allowed for more personalization and meaningful connection. Students also recommend, reaching out via text, calling…
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Do Your Assessments Improve Learning?
Grading and reporting of grades is one of the cornerstones of teaching but not always learning.
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Chapter 3: Designing the Culture for Learning and Innovation
In the 2013–2014 school year, I was on Washington Middle School’s campus regularly. I was supervising teacher candidates at a local university, and as the newest member of the team, I ended up being placed at Washington—the most challenging of schools. I vividly remember walking down the halls marked with yellow caution lines to…
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Aligning Around a Common Vision for Learning
If we want to change how students learn, we must change how educators learn. A system that prioritizes learning and continuous growth through personalized, competency-based professional learning is needed for leadership teams and teachers just as it is needed for students.
Blog
Learning Is a Process, Not an Event
If our vision for students is learner-centered, then our teacher development must be learner-centered, too. Katie Martin shares the key tenets of professional learning at Altitude Learning. See how our approach focuses on relevant and meaningful professional development that paves the way for a culture of learning that spans from adults to the youngest…
Blog
Enabling Learner-Centered Education: Teachers, Technology, and the 4 Cs
In this tale of two classrooms, VP of Professional Learning Katie Martin shares examples that highlight the evolving role of the educator, how technology can support powerful learning, and why we must empower students to drive their own learning.