As a former middle school teacher and current full-time professor and best-selling author, I’m a big believer in empowering students (and teachers) through the power of creativity. Whether you sign up for one of my online courses, enroll in one of my cohorts or invite me to spend time with your staff, I promise you’ll walk away with a fresh perspective and new ideas to transform your classroom.
Student engagement is harder than it used to be, but the answer is not more control or better entertainment. It is helping students move from compliance to true ownership, where they have voice, choice, and responsibility for their learning. This post explores what happens when…
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We often hear about the need for students to learn how to program in order to be ready for STEM fields and the Information Economy. It’s what we’ve been hearing for over a decade. However, there’s a fascinating piece from the Washington Post that explores…
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We often focus on student engagement, but student empowerment is a step further. Here, we focus on the seven shifts toward student empowerment. Two years ago, I was a chaperone for my son's fourth-grade field trip to a hands-on pioneer museum. Students learned how to…
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Don't Wait to Innovate! Teachers often begin the school year with team-building activities or a review of the rules and procedures. But what if we began with student-centered projects? The following is an exploration of six student-centered projects you can launch in your first month…
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Last October, A.J. Juliani shared an idea for a book we should write together. After we had talked about student choice, voice, and ownership, he said, “I want to do a follow-up to Launch called Empower. Let’s make it a why book. Let’s make it a book about a…
For years, we have set up a tiered system of differentiation to go beyond the one-size-fits-all model. But what if there's another way? How can we redesign the systems so that student ownership becomes a reality? The Problem with Average The notion of average is…
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The debate about fidget spinners often misses the bigger issue of student ownership. When we focus on student distractions and student engagement, we miss out on student empowerment and student ownership. Listen to the Podcast Just click on the audio below to listen to this…
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