WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation

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We share evidence-based K-12 learning strategies that empower you to improve education.

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School Transformation Through Arts Integration at Bates Middle School

Teacher leading a class in dance with arms outstretched

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Constance Steinkuehler on Interest-Driven Learning (Big Thinkers Series)

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How to Thank a Teacher

Blogs on Drama

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Social and Emotional Curriculum: Obstacles to Happiness

Randy TaranJanuary 10, 2012

Tags Mental Health, , Student Engagement, Middle (6-8), Drama, High (9-12), History, Visual Arts

This is part two of seven-part series from the Project Happiness curriculum. It explores the many facets of happiness and provides practical techniques to generate greater happiness and a more meaningful life -- from the inside. Each door can be done alone, or the Seven Doors journey can be done in sequence.

Game-Based Learning Units for the Everyday Teacher

Andrew MillerSeptember 26, 2011

Tags Biology, Brain Research, Game-Based Learning, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, Chemistry, Drama, All Grades, English Language Arts, Geography, History, Math, Music, Physical Education, Science, Visual Arts, World Language Learning

Game-based learning (GBL) is getting a lot press. It is an innovative practice that is working to engage kids in learning important 21st century skills and content. Dr. Judy Willis in a previous post wrote about the neurological benefits and rationale around using games for learning. She also gives tips about using the game model in the classroom. James Paul Gee has long been a champion for game-based learning in speeches, blogs, and books. Quest to Learn, located in New York City, infuses technology with game-based learning, where entire units utilize missions, boss levels, and the like for learning important standards. Here is the next step: taking these great rationales and examples and making it work for the everyday teacher.

Humanities in the Twenty-First Century

Bill SmootJuly 20, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Biology, Literacy, Teacher Development, Chemistry, Middle (6-8), Drama, High (9-12), All Grades, English Language Arts, History, Math, Music, Science, Visual Arts, World Language Learning

Bill Smoot teaches English at the Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. He is the author of Conversations with Great Teachers.

Two roads have diverged in our national debate about education. Should we educate students for the 21st-century job market (with an emphasis on STEM -- science, technology, engineering, and math), or does a broad liberal arts education, preparing students for all of life -- work included -- still make sense?

New Models for Education: Maker Faire and the Young Makers Program

Michelle HlubinkaMay 17, 2011

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Michelle Hlubinka, the Education Director for Maker Faire and Make magazine.

Maker Faire is a combination DIY festival and project showcase, sponsored by Make magazine, where "makers" of all ages convene to show off a spectacular array of projects that combine science, art, performance, creative reuse, and technology in varying degrees. Not surprisingly, an increasing number of educators are getting involved in these events which are currently held in the Bay Area, Detroit and New York. There are also many independently organized Mini-Maker Faires around the country. Maker Faire Bay Area is this weekend, May 21 - 22nd.

Happy Scott Walker Day!

Holden ClemensApril 1, 2011

Tags Accountability, Standardized Testing, Drama, All Grades

Editor's Note: Today's guest blog is by Holden Clemens. Mr. Clemens is an educator. This makes him slightly more qualified than most politicians to comment on education.

Hello!

I would like to take this moment to in honor of today -- Scott Walker Day -- to share my thoughts on the current state of the educational system in our beloved country.

What Makes for a Master Teacher?

Ben JohnsonMarch 31, 2011

Tags Teacher Development, Drama, All Grades

I looked up the reference of one of my students who quoted some things from Robyn Jackson's seven principles for a master teacher, explained explicitly in her book, Never Work Harder than Your Students. While reading it, I was surprised by the list provided as the seven characteristics of master teachers:

Five Ideas for Using Pop Culture to Inspire Elementary Students

Gaetan PappalardoJanuary 13, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Integrated Studies, Lesson Plans, Primary (K-2), Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Drama, English Language Arts, Math, Music, Visual Arts

I had a student ask me for a month straight, almost every day, if it was okay to write a story about Transformers. At the beginning of each writing workshop, he would stroll up to me and ask the same question.

"Yes, you can write a story with Transformers in it." I thought I sounded sincere.

"Are you sure?" he would ask.

Using Music in the Classroom to Inspire Creative Expression

Gaetan PappalardoNovember 15, 2010

Tags Arts Education, Integrated Studies, Primary (K-2), Student Engagement, Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Drama, English Language Arts, Music

Inside the Classroom and Mind of an Extraordinary Teacher

Kathy BaronNovember 5, 2010

Tags Arts Education, Curriculum, Dropout Prevention, Project-Based Learning, , Student Engagement, Student Work Examples, Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), Drama, All Grades, English Language Arts, Geography, Physical Education, Science, Visual Arts

I'm beginning to agree with traditionalists who argue that education should go back to the old days -- if we could be assured of landing at Midland, an elementary school in Rye, New York, between 1956 and 1966. More specifically, alighting in the classroom of teacher Albert Cullum. He had an intuitive sense of what worked in education, regularly incorporating teaching methods from project learning to social emotional learning, long before they had academic labels.

Snapshots of Innovation: Travels With Chen (After Steinbeck's Travels with Charley)

Milton ChenNovember 3, 2010

One of my favorite books in high school was John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley, his account of his road trip around the U. S., late in his career, accompanied only by his French poodle Charley. Not having traveled much as a boy beyond my home state of Illinois, into Wisconsin and Indiana, I was mesmerized by his stories of the vastness and diversity of our country.