WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation

Teacher Development

Students Standing Up to Bullying and Hate

By Suzie Boss
2/10/12
Suzie Boss

Suzie Boss (@suzieboss on Twitter) is a journalist and author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age. She's also a regular blogger on Edutopia.

It takes courage to stand up to a bully or challenge hate speech. On K-12 and college campuses across the country, students and educators are coming together as "upstanders" to change their communities for the better. Their stories of everyday heroism are highlighted in a compelling new documentary and accompanying educational campaign called Not In Our Town: Class Actions.

By Amy Erin Borovoy (aka VideoAmy)
2/1/12
Video
Edutopia Webinar: How the Brain Learns Best
Strategies to Make Learning Stick

Young Writers Become Primary Sources

By Suzie Boss
1/20/12
Suzie Boss

Suzie Boss (@suzieboss on Twitter) is a journalist and author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age. She's also a regular blogger on Edutopia.

Chinyere Ukaegbu used to hate her name. In Nigeria, where her family comes from, Chinyere means "God's gift." But among her classmates in Washington, DC, where she was born, her unusual name brought teasing and taunts. Chinyere eventually made peace with her name -- and began to embrace her culture -- when she traveled to Nigeria as a teenager.

Four Musts in Redesigning K-12 Education

By Bob Lenz
1/19/12

Bob Lenz is chief education officer and co-founder of Envision Schools. Lenz has served public education as a teacher, a student-activities director, a school-reform leader, a consultant, and a principal.

"How do I assess 170 students deeply?" -- Middle School Teacher

"We love project-based learning but when will we get time to plan with our colleagues?" -- Union Leader

"We want to have our students participate in rigorous project learning but our teachers need to learn how to do it -- it's challenging." -- Middle School Principal

Good Instruction Activates Prior Knowledge and Uses Authentic Assessment

By Elena Aguilar
1/18/12

A former teacher and instructional coach, Elena Aguilar is now a transformational leadership coach in the Oakland Unified School District.

"My mom is a hero," Alfredo said, cutting me off one sentence into a picture book about Martin Luther King, Jr. His chubby second-grade body perpetually squirmed on the rug where my 32 students were seated. "She brought us here from El Salvador by herself. Me, my two sisters, and our baby brother. We walked."