What Do All High-Performing Schools Have in Common?

Every school dreams of having numbers to be proud of: high scores on standardized tests, high percentages of college acceptances, and even high percentages of students that graduate. To achieve any goal, a strategy is necessary. Some administrators might not even know where to begin with making changes to their school's structure, and others are already doing well but think there's always room for improvement.

The best way to do well has always been the same: look at what the greats are doing, and take a page out of their book. Recent observations on high-performing schools show that they have a few traits in common – traits which any school can easily adopt.

A Standards-Based Curriculum

If a school wants to be, at least, at the same speed as other schools, it's important to use the national standards to construct the curriculum. No one gets ahead by spoon-feeding students and allowing them to coast from one grade to the next without a challenge. Standards for curriculum have been developed after rigorously observing what students can handle at each age level – they work for a reason. It's a strategy based on research.  

Data-Driven Changes

You can't figure out what's wrong if you're not looking at the numbers. Are your students doing well in English but not in Math? Are they doing well on quizzes but poorly on standardized tests? Use data to localize where the issue is, and then go deeper. It's being found that students respond well to action learning systems, in which students learn through doing rather than through listening to a lecture, which could be one flaw in a school's structure. It could also be that your school has insufficient after-school tutoring. At the end of the day, if you're not using data to figure out where you could improve, then your numbers are going to stay where they are.

Targeted Professional Development

It's not just the curriculum that needs adjustment, in many cases – it's the staff's methodologies, too. Students can, purposely or subconsciously, do poorly when they resent an instructor, whether it's because of their professionalism, their availability, or even their choice in materials. Use anonymous feedback forms and in-class observations to see what could be improved on, and then hold workshops to help teachers improve. Learning how to talk to students of certain age levels, learning new ways to teach old lessons, and learning how to be approachable are all skills that can always be improved upon.

Goals

It's one thing to say, "We want to improve." It's another to say, "We want to improve our test scores by 10%." Schools that set goals are more likely to have their eyes on the prize. Make your school more achievement-oriented by setting quantifiable checkpoints, no matter how small.

Community Engagement

Are the parents at your school as involved with the students' learning as they could be? Are you available to them? Do they have access to their students' grades and assignments? What about school activities – are there enough events that the community can attend? Engagement is massively important for motivating the students to want to do better, and for getting all hands on deck when it comes to improving. You never know who in the community would be willing to help out, and schools that focus on engagement tend to be very high-performing.

These are the types of things that create a strong learning atmosphere in which teachers want to teach, students want to learn, and everyone wants to do well – it's proven by research. Where does your school need to improve?

Three Ways Higher-Ed Learning Isn't what it Used to Be

Higher education these days is still synonymous with expensive textbooks, lectures, and slideshow presentations. Now, though, more and more schools are "teaching with technology:" incorporating new technological tools that benefit students inside and outside the classroom. If you graduated college ten or more years ago, you'd probably think the current curriculums bear little semblance to what you remember. Here are a few examples of ways that college classrooms are getting futuristic.

Video Lectures and Conferencing

Not only can you take entire courses online, but you can make use of video recording technology, too. For online courses, some professors will upload videos of themselves giving a lecture, which is somewhat more engaging than reading the content on your own time. For other courses, many schools offer platforms on which students can video chat with one another in order to work on and create material for group projects.

Classroom Management Software

Gone are the days of losing the notes you need for your homework and not having your classmates' contact information if you want to start a study group. Classroom management software not only enables professors to create lesson plans and manage and post students' grades, but it also allows everyone in the class to access a cloud system to which class reference materials can be uploaded. Students can also start discussions on class-wide forums if they want to get together or simply have a question regarding the coursework. Professors can even share computer screens to show students how a problem is solved.

Digital Portfolios

It's becoming more and more commonplace for students to generate digital portfolios of their work, whether they're majoring in painting, creative writing, or graphic design. A digital portfolio is like a student's unique website upon which they can post a bio, discuss their inspiration, keep track of progress, and simply show off their work. It's becoming typical for future employers to ask students for their website address, and some schools even hold classes or workshops to teach students how to create them.

How are you incorporating technology into your higher education classroom? Would you say it's beneficial or distracting?

2014: New Year's Resolutions for Teachers

When the New Year rolls around, some of us resolve to finally shed those extra pounds, to travel somewhere new, or to save more money. For teachers, though, New Year's resolutions take on a whole new meaning. Resolutions for teachers often involve the well-being of their students as much as their own, because good teachers are always trying to better themselves and help their students get the most of the year spent together. That being said, it can be difficult to self-critique and decide just what you need to improve upon. If you're an instructor, here are a few resolutions you consider attempting to keep in 2014.

Find Ways to Help Students Enjoy Learning

If a student doesn't enjoy the subject matter you're teaching, it's easy for you to become the "bad guy" in their eyes. It's important to find ways of teaching a subject that will make them excited to come to class – though, admittedly, in the midst of a busy school year, switching up a lesson plan based on student feedback isn't at the top of everyone's to-do list. Whether it's picking a fun-to-read book that shows your students that learning is fun or applying algebra to everyday circumstances, it's all about responding to student feedback and getting creative.

Use New Technology

There are fresh and exciting ways to introduce technology into the classroom that are becoming available every day. Take some time out of your day to educate yourself about what's available and see if it could be used in your classroom. Make it a big project, like starting a petition to get performance learning systems for your district, or do something small, like letting students make a movie on a smartphone app as a project. Today's students and technology go hand-in-hand, and introducing new technology will lower them into their element, making learning enjoyable and easy to absorb.

Start Fresh

When students come back from their winter break, make it a point to have cleaned up the classroom and redecorated the billboards. Start a new journal for yourself so you remain organized and maybe incorporate a new rewards system for the students. The second half of the year always goes by quickly – why not make it fun, too?

Make Time for Yourself

Homework for students is homework for teachers. Are you making too much take-home work for yourself by grading papers and drawing up lesson plans? Make the most of your time in the school building, whether it's during class time or prep periods, to plan for the next day. Not getting enough "you" time will wear on you, causing you to get upset with your students more easily. Having enough time for yourself will help you to enjoy time spent with your students and let you look forward to the end of the day!

Teachers' Greatest Resource Found Outside the Classroom

Teachers might say that their best resource for teaching their students is YouTube, or a science app on their cell phone, or a site that hosts study guides. In the technological age, everything we need to get a point across is right at our fingertips, and educators are really getting creative with ways to use these resources. That being said, a teacher's best friend is still one that can't be reached on the computer.

It's the parents of the students.

If you truly care for the success of your students, getting the parents involved is paramount. That being said, it's not always the easiest task. Visiting students' homes is time-consuming and, not to mention, doesn't always go over well. Sometimes parents are difficult to contact. At the end of the day, those aren't reasons for not keeping parents in the loop – you just have to find new ways to do it.

Begin a Weekly Newsletter

It's pretty simple: get a list of parents' e-mails and create a newsletter that outlines the important goings-on of your class. Detail where students should be in the research/writing process for their term papers, and offer a few helpful hints for the parents. Give shout-outs to students who made noteworthy accomplishments or summarize important conversations had in class. It's a simple but effective way to encourage parents to come to you with questions and to hold their students accountable.

Enlist Parent Helpers

If you're an educator, you know quite well that parents will be vocal about what they'd like to see in the classroom. By enlisting parent helpers to choose what to post on bulletin boards, organize field trips, or suggest films or texts, you're allowing the parents to feel as though they have some sort of control over their child's education which will facilitate a strong parent-teacher relationship.

Use Parent-Friendly Software

Classroom management software is an innovation that's quickly taking over, largely due to the fact that it benefits everyone. Educators can post due dates and status updates in order to remind students about assignments, so students can't "forget" about projects. Parents can check students' grades and see that their child has submitted work, making discipline and communication easier. And, as the teacher, organizing lesson plans, keeping attendance, and uploading resources makes a huge difference.

Dealing with Disengaged Parents

It may sound like all of the above is idealizing all parents – in truth, not all parents are involved. The aforementioned software helps to pinpoint which students are struggling and in what areas so that you can easily take them aside and talk to them about it. Additionally, if parents don't seem to have the time to sit down with their students, you could dedicate a few hours to tutoring or point parents and students in the direction of the school's tutoring center to help improve work ethic. It's important that someone gives struggling students personal attention, so when a parent is disengaged, it's all about finding another way to do that.

Assignments for Improving Student Engagement

If you're an educator, you know what it's like to stand at the front of the classroom and see nothing but blank stares looking back at you. Maybe it's Friday syndrome, or maybe they're confused – either way, how can you gauge how students feel about a lesson if they won't engage?

And it's not just about engaging with you – it's about engaging with the material, too. How do you conduct a lesson if everyone shows up to class having not read the material? How do you encourage them to ask the right questions so they can better understand the lesson?

It's important to set up your assignments in such a way that students have no choice but to engage with the educator and the material. It's easier for you when it comes to leading a discussion, and it's easier for them when the big test comes around.

Short, Open-Ended Responses

We hesitate to use the term "essay question," because that's intimidating for both the people who have to write them and the people who have to grade them. But if you replace long essays with intermittent, short essays, it's easy to see that the students are absorbing the material and it's easy to grade. If you give them two big essays per semester, you're only getting two good checkpoints. However, asking students to respond to essay questions – ones that focus on an important aspect of the material, but one that requires thought -- in one paragraph, you're getting several "checkpoints" throughout the semester to ensure that they're engaged and you're saving yourself some grading hours.

Forum Discussions

Whether you're using performance learning systems for mobile devices or using social media, you'd be amazed at how much online forum discussions get students talking. Your shy students who are afraid to raise their hands during class are suddenly the most talkative when they're behind a keyboard, and those who tend to zone out during class can visit the discussion at their leisure. If you assign contributions to the forum as homework, you can get an idea of what to discuss, what they already seem to understand, and what they haven't thought of. It's great for feedback on material, improving engagement, and sparking discussion.

Peer-Editing

Before turning a large assignment into the instructor, set aside a class period strictly for peer-editing. Not only does it help students to polish their work before it makes it into your hands, but it gives them another point of view to consider – the point of view of one of their peers. Leave a week between the peer-editing session and the due date so that students can mull over the critiques they got from their peers as well as what they've read in the content created by their peers. They might even be more willing to engage with the ideas of a classmate than they would with those of an instructor.

Maintaining a Sense of Community in an E-Learning Environment

With the rapid popularization of mobile devices comes a lot of criticism. In personal life, on social media, and in schools, many people are concerned that interactions between people are becoming increasingly impersonal. The fact of the matter is that whether or not that holds true is up to the mobile device user. For teachers who want to incorporate e-learning and mobile devices into their classroom environments, they can actually stimulate the sense of community in the classroom rather than disturbing it. It's all about taking an approach that encourages engagement.

Use Tools for Collaborative Brainstorming

If you utilize your tools to ask for ideas as often as you ask for answers, you'll have a positive experience. It encourages the students who are too intimidated to present their ideas to get involved. The trick is to use an interactive e-learning tool that allows students to enter text or resources onto a community board. This way, everyone is provided the opportunity to be seen, the content will remain on-topic, and students are encouraged to think outside the box when brainstorming. Encourage students to start discussions based off of individual posts.

Encourage Feedback

It's not just about getting the students to interact with one another, but getting them to interact with you as well. Whatever e-learning system you use will probably come with a poll or multiple-choice question app. Use this to administer quizzes as well as surveys about the classroom experience. This gives students the opportunity to anonymously express their feelings without being overcome with shyness.

However, feedback doesn't have to just be for you. If you encourage your students to post their work on the e-learning platform, other students can provide feedback on that, as well. You could use this for peer-editing projects or for general sharing of resources.

Create a Push-and-Pull

Yes, e-learning systems are great for quickly and efficiently uploading resources and information, distributing it to the entire class. But you should also be encouraging students to do their own research, find their own resources, and learn at their own pace. When they're struggling with a topic, have them post about it in the discussions and attempt to draw out information from those who know better. When they do poorly on a quiz, ensure that they know where they can get the resources to do better next time. Have the students use their devices to their maximum potential to contact you, contact one another, and reference their educational resources for a sense of community.

Four Reasons BYOD Benefits Students

It's no secret that middle schoolers and, even more so, high schoolers are mobile device users. As a matter of fact, a study shows that 65% of middle schoolers have smartphones – same goes for 80% of high schoolers. Perhaps even more surprisingly is the fact that 52% of middle schoolers have a tablet, a statistic that had doubled over the course of just one year.

To say that mobile devices is becoming more widespread is an understatement, and some teachers admonish the idea of students having them in school. More practical teachers (and parents), however, see the benefits: namely, the bring-your-own-device, or BYOD, lesson structure.

Allowing students to bring their devices to class means that forward-thinking teachers can implement technology such as lesson delivery and performance learning systems. The benefits thus far, at least on the students' end, have shown to be significant.

1.    Students care more for their own property than they do for property that belongs to a school.

Some schools choose to provide their students with laptops or tablets, and that works well, too. But truth be told, BYOD is beneficial because students – and younger-aged students in particular – respect their own property and take on more responsibility for it. In addition, they already know how to use these devices, as opposed to acquiring devices that are new to them. It saves time and, likely, a lot of money.

2.    Students can take advantage of novel and custom learning experiences.

Trying to administer a personalized learning experience in a classroom with 30 students and a traditional lesson plan is extremely time-consuming. In a standard 60-minute class, this means that if the entire class were to be spent giving students personal attention, then each student would only get 2 minutes of attention. It's inefficient. Online education software, on the other hand, can customize the experience as per the student's needs, alerting the instructor if a student seems to be falling behind.

3.    Students are entering the workforce in the 21^st century – might as well start now.

It's a fact that by the time students reach college or their careers, they will have to learn to use mobile devices. It's simply the way technology is heading. Teaching them to use devices, and do so wisely, at a young age will only make them to feel more comfortable in a new environment. It provides a constant that they will be familiar with, and may even generate an interest in technology on a deeper level.

4.    Students are encouraged to engage.

For some students, participating in class is anxiety-inducing. Thus, they avoid speaking up, whether they've got a bright idea or need help. With an interactive learning system, they can engage through their devices, which may help to bring them out of their shells. It also helps the instructor to recognize their strengths and weaknesses more accurately, which benefits everyone in the long run.