Joey Hunziker, senior associate at the Innovation Lab Network at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), writes about states’ opportunity and “responsibility” under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to ensure that communities and stakeholders are involved in decisions that support personalized learning approaches and effective practices on the ground. Hunziker stresses the need for a clear pathway between schools and districts, and stakeholders and states, to communicate and share what’s working in schools. “Letting experiences in the classroom inform the way state education agencies support schools and districts” would help support innovation in teaching and learning at a local level, Hunziker writes. He shares the example of Colorado, where the state education agency has been learning about the competency-based, deeper learning practices in local schools. Read more: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning_deeply/2016/07/how_better_engagement_can_support_innovation_and_deeper_learning.html.

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A child born into a family in the lowest income quintile has a 45 percent chance of remaining there if that child drops out of high school, while as a college graduate that child has only a 16 percent chance, according to the Brookings Institution. Clearly, students who are college and career ready are more likely to experience economic mobility. This was the theme at the recent Voices for Opportunity and Economic Mobility Summit hosted by Jobs for the Future (JFF), where presenters emphasized the economic imperative to prepare all students for college, a career, and life.

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What is the gold standard for project-based learning? Tom Vander Ark explores the different variations of project-based learning (PBL), to help provide a framework for educators who are seeking to select a strategy that fits with their intended outcomes. Vander Ark shares the various elements and principles to consider when designing projects, as provided by the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) as part of their Gold Standard PBL. These parameters include several strategies that have deeper learning outcomes at the center, including ensuring that the project is focused on “student learning goals, including standards-based content and skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration and self-management.” Vander Ark also gives examples of schools using a PBL teaching method that follow these strategies. Learn more: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/on_innovation/2016/06/is_it_a_project_or_an_activity_project-based_learning_and_its_cousins.html.

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The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can strengthen the teaching workforce. How? The Coalition for Teaching Quality (CTQ) brought together practitioners from across the country recently for two briefings on Capitol Hill to share current effective teacher recruitment, development, and support strategies, and look ahead to how ESSA can support these practices.

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