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
"What is smart?"
That question provoked intriguing responses from a panel of big thinkers during the opening session of EduCon 2.2, a conference that recently wrapped up at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.
Read More.When U.S. News & World Report released its latest edition of "America's Best High Schools," Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Alexandria, Virginia, topped the list for...
Read More.At Eagle Rock School, in Estes Park, Colorado, the alpine air is so thin, it literally takes your breath away. For most of the 96 teens living and learning here, the Rocky Mountain setting couldn't be more different from the city streets...
Read More.On a crisp fall morning, I watched students at Lewis Elementary School, in Portland, Oregon, roll up their pant legs and wade barefoot into piles of sand, clay, straw, and water.
Read More.Innovation seems to be on everyone's lips lately: President Obama has called for what he calls "a new generation of innovation." Secretary of Education Arne Duncan aims to turn his department into what is in his words an "engine of innovation," with his plan to dole out...
Read More.When I talk with groups of teachers about project learning, audiences typically divide along predictable lines.
Read More.In his frequent speeches and interviews about 21st-century learning, Steven Paine often mentions an idea that sounds more folksy than futuristic. In West Virginia, where he has been state superintendent of schools since 2005, Paine is building what he calls "a back porch for teachers."
Read More.When New York City's 1.1 million public school students return from summer vacation, they can look forward to rolling up their sleeves and getting busy improving the world, or at least their corner of it.
Read More.Quick: Name ten excellent Web sites related to the grade level or subject area you teach.
Read More.Christopher Swain describes himself as an ordinary guy. Maybe. But how many of us ordinary folks would consider swimming 1,000 miles along the Atlantic coast to raise awareness about the planet's fragile health?
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