I'm a journalist who writes about the power of teaching and learning to improve lives and transform communities. Author of Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World and co-author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age, I'm inspired by educators who push the boundaries of the traditional classroom. I'm on the National Faculty of the Buck Institute for Education, and have also helped nonprofit organizations design programs that teach both youth and adults how to improve their communities with innovative, sustainable solutions.
Blog Posts
Whether it's with a moment of silence or an outpouring of service, schools across the country are considering how to help their students observe the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. A wide range of resources are available to assist educators as they seek learning opportunities around this...
Read More.Helping today's students become more innovative thinkers is a serious goal endorsed by President Obama, corporate CEOs, and a host of others. But here's an inside secret: Learning how to innovate is downright fun -- for students and teachers alike.
Read More.Project-based learning offers a host of benefits to youth during the academic day, but active learning doesn't have to stop when school's out. A new movement is underway to encourage PBL during summer vacations and after-school hours.
Read More.Sensory overload comes with the territory at an ISTE conference, and this year's ed-tech gala in Philadelphia was no exception There was plenty to see, between the exhibits, presentations, and must-have devices that attendees were...
Read More.Unless your students are living on a desert island, they're getting bombarded daily with headlines from around the globe. As a teacher, should you try to tune out the world -- whether it's abuzz with news about natural disasters, social upheaval, or politicians behaving badly -- and stick to...
Read More.My previous post focused on planning entry events for project-based learning so that projects launch with students' curiosity fully engaged. Today, let's focus on the other important bookend of a project. The culminating event is when students share the product or result of their investigation,...
Read More.In project-based learning, project kickoff is an exciting day -- and for good reason. This is when PBL shifts from planning to active learning -- the moment when students enter the picture. By planning entry events that fire up their curiosity, you'll engage students' sense of inquiry right from...
Read More.At the recent U.S. finals of the Imagine Cup competition, student teams from across the country showed off not only their technical brilliance but also an eagerness to improve the world through gaming and software development. How so? How...
Read More.For students who are curious about science, a medical center offers a world of interesting questions to investigate. Since 2005, hundreds of motivated high school students have spent their summers as paid interns
For students who are curious about science, a medical center offers a world...
Read More.For Earth Day, teachers can find an abundance of good project ideas to get students thinking more critically about the environment. But if your goal is to inspire long-term changes that really add up, maybe it's time to step up to the...
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