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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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You'll find practical classroom strategies and tips from real educators, as well as lesson ideas, personal stories, and innovative approaches to improving your teaching practice. If you have any thoughts or comments about these blogs, please don't hesitate to let us know.

The Digital Lives of Teens: The Internet Never Takes a Rest

Matt LevinsonApril 15, 2013

Tags Mental Health, Parental Involvement, , Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

In the introduction to her new book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy, author Emily Bazelon shares the story of when her friends "fired" her in middle school. She was devastated and went home from school disconsolate and in despair. But, she explains, at least she could go home to find solace and separation from the incident at school. It was a different time and place. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat or texting could not trail her home and make the pain inescapable.

Game-Based Learning

How Fourth Graders Are Achieving World Peace

Homa TavangarApril 15, 2013

Tags Current Events, Game-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning, Student Engagement, Upper Elementary (3-5)

In 1978, John Hunter introduced a complex, immersive, interactive, collaborative, geopolitical game to his elementary school students. In 2011, he gained a global following when he delivered a TED talk about his 30-year experience of "Teaching with the World Peace Game." The talk was shared far and wide as millions were moved by his example of hands-on teaching. And millions began thinking about how to bring out the best in every child through an aspiration for something greater than even the most powerful on earth have yet to achieve -- peace.

Student Engagement

Your Lesson's First Five Minutes: Make Them Grand

Dr. Richard CurwinApril 15, 2013

Tags Best Practices, Classroom Management, Student Engagement, Teacher Development, All Grades

If you have ever lived with another person and come home to find them in a bad mood, how long did it take you to figure it out? Hours? Minutes? Seconds? Most people say "seconds," and some can tell before they even enter the same room. That's how children feel when they enter your classroom. They can tell within a minute or so whether they will like it or not. Research says within the first five minutes, but I think it’s faster.

Five-Minute Film Festival

Five-Minute Film Festival: Auto-Tune the Schools!

Amy Erin Borovoy (aka VideoAmy)April 12, 2013

Tags Media Literacy, Technology Integration, All Grades

I'm a big fan of remix and mashup culture. I love the idea of taking one thing and adding new meaning by combining it with another; or of using tech tools in unexpected ways to build a new hybrid creation -- practices like this have a role to play in digital literacy. I think remixes and mashups can be particularly engaging tools for teaching and learning, so I was delighted when I discovered the work of John D. Boswell, a.k.a melodysheep, the creator of Symphony of Science, a project that remixes science lectures and content into music videos, made using the often over-used and much-blighted audio tool Auto-Tune.

Education Trends

Penn-Finn Learnings 2013: A Wealth of Resources for Connected Educators

Dr. Joe MazzaApril 12, 2013

Tags Education Reform, Global Education, Professional Learning Network (PLN), Teacher Development, All Grades

Last week, the annual Silfen Forum was held at the University of Pennsylvania. The theme, Open Learning and the Future of Higher Education, brought together educators from around the country, including the panelists Amy Gutmann, Martha Kanter, Thomas Friedman, Daphne Koller and William Kirwan. A common thread during the one-hour conversation was on how the world has gone from connected to hyper-connected over the last seven years. The rise of MOOCs (Massive Online Open Classrooms) has forced us to re-evaluate what traditional college and university teaching and learning look like. A full sharing of tweets from and about the forum can be found on Storify.

Education Trends

Tomorrow's Leaders Can't Wait to Take Action

Suzie BossApril 11, 2013

Tags Business Partnerships, Education Reform, Leadership, Mentoring, High (9-12)

For more than 1,300 youth gathered at Washington University in St. Louis last weekend for the Clinton Global Initiative University (#CGIU), the focus was squarely on the future. Delegates from around the globe arrived with commitments to tackle projects with world-changing potential, from ending human trafficking to increasing the number of girls pursuing engineering. (Read more about the event at www.cgiu.org.)

To Improve School Climate, Examine Recess

Jill VialetApril 11, 2013

Tags Mental Health, Primary (K-2), , Upper Elementary (3-5), Physical Education

As we look at ways to create environments that allow teaching and learning to thrive, it's time to take a long, hard look at the critical role of recess in our schools. Recess has the potential to transform schools, and groups are finally speaking out about the powerful role it has in the school day, including the American Academy of Pediatrics which, earlier this year, released a policy statement to this effect.

Student Engagement

Clarity Through Brevity: Integrating Six-Word Memoirs

Jonathan OlsenApril 10, 2013

Tags Lesson Plans, Literacy, All Grades, English Language Arts, History

At its core, the six-word memoir teaches us to be concise but also introspective. Try describing yourself in six words. Not easy, right? So, for English teachers, the six-word memoir is a great way to get students to focus on getting a point across in as few words as possible. Students have to choose words precisely since they can't waste any. The six-word memoir teaches all of us writers a critical skill: words are valuable and have meaning -- don't waste them.

Technology Integration

Introducing Mobile Technology Into Your Classroom: Structures and Routines

Monica BurnsApril 10, 2013

Tags 1:1 Implementation, Best Practices, Classroom Management, Mobile Learning, Technology Integration

It can be intimidating to try something new in your classroom. This is especially true with technology. I believe that technology should make the work of teachers easier while creating an environment that excites and engages students. Even though I'm coming from an iPad classroom, these structures and routines are great for introducing all one-to-one devices.

Project-Based Learning

Project-Based Learning as a Context for Arts Integration

Andrew MillerApril 9, 2013

Tags Arts Education, Project-Based Learning, Drama, Music, Visual Arts

Project-based learning can provide an intentional and effective opportunity to integrate the arts across disciplines and curriculum. While valuable as a stand-alone discipline, arts education can be given further power and value when used in a PBL project as part of the core curriculum.