CONTEXT Administrator Kathy Rackley describes Walnut Creek as a “school with complex needs.” In her perspective, the “level of excitement and optimism” that her team has found in the TrueSchool Program is reinvigorating and reenergizing: “I’ve left both Studios filled with such excitement about the work our school is doing. It is not often […]
Julia Ciciora I first learned about the engineering design process in a class called IPRO (Interprofessional Projects Program) while doing my undergrad at the Illinois Institute of Technology. As a non-engineer major, I didn’t think much of it but did my part as a member of the two required interprofessional projects. The class required students […]
Jim Kline Teachers and school leaders are busy people. I know this firsthand because I am one. And in the crux of the school year, I know how easy it is to go about tackling problems through the lens of students and teachers: two stakeholders that are critical in student learning. In reflecting on some […]
VOTE TODAY! The Tory Burch Foundation launched its inaugural Fellows Competition to select 10 entrepreneurs for a yearlong fellowship. Their mission is to empower women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Over 500 applicants from across the nation applied. TrueSchool Studio is one of thirty finalists selected to compete for mentorship and coaching for one year, funds […]
TNTP’s “The Mirage” sets out to identify bright spots of teacher growth to determine what type, frequency and delivery of teacher professional development yield the most improvement. Researchers identified “improvers,” as 19-30% of teachers in 95% of schools they surveyed and compared their experience to “non-improvers.”* Surprisingly, both groups had very similar levels of engagement […]
Many edtech developers create what they believe is the best and brightest edtech solution only to find that teachers aren’t using it at the rates they expected – one of the reasons this can happen is when developers have not developed understanding of the teacher experience. Falkenthal of UP Global names the top reasons to […]
Tom Vander Ark has compiled 100 schools worth visiting across the US all the way from elementary and K-8 schools through high school. One of the most-prized association skills innovators possess is to see awesome ideas in other settings and fields and steal them to apply to a new context. This list provides lots of opportunities […]
Penn Manor School District in Pennsylvania is exploring what it means to use open source tools rather than closed systems whenever possible.It has seemingly led to more student ownership over devices and their learning. “While we have the ‘must do’ layer, there’s also that little bit of subversion here, giving kids that little bit of creativity […]
Read more on TrueSchool in Edsurge about the Summer Design Program and our approach of training teachers like designers. A few EDesigners share about their experience and new skills they are applying to their school innovations to drive positive outcomes for students!
Greg Toppo says, “Good teaching is not about playing it safe. It’s about getting kids to ask questions, argue a point, confront failure and try again. More teachers might be willing to embrace technology if they saw it as a way to inject more of the dangers of learning into their classrooms.” Read on to […]