Key points:

• Gamification can encourage students to take ownership of their learning
• Game-based learning promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive digital environment
• See related article: Digital tools are sticking around–here’s the right way to leverage technology
• For more news on gamification, visit eSN’s Digital Learning page

Students don’t have to be video game fanatics to appreciate a gamified classroom lesson. When teachers turn a lesson or tough-to-teach concept into a motivational gamed or use a fun competition to teach new concepts, students become immersed in their learning and are often more engaged–meaning they’re more likely to retain information.

Still, there’s an art to gamifying a lesson and ensuring that students are actually learning instead of just playing a game for points.

Here’s how educators across the country are using tools–from Minecraft: Education Edition to Roblox and easy-to-access online resources–to gamify their lessons and help students engage with learning.

1. Carrie Rosenberg, a fourth grade teacher at Community Christian School, notes that gamification is one of the biggest education trends right now. According to ISTE, “gamification is about transforming the classroom environment and regular activities into a game.” Many students want more than just good grades from school–they want something physical or immediate. Rosenberg uses Gimkit, Kahoot!, and Prodigy to gamify her instruction and motivate students. Learn more about her instructional strategies.

2. Games are part of many people’s lives–so why not use them to benefit students when teaching? Abigail Beran, a fifth grade teacher enrolled in a masters program in education technology, knows that her students are more likely to engage in an educational activity when it is gamified–and that they’re even more likely to do so when the activity is gamified with technology. There are a variety of reading and math apps and websites that cater to gamification, and even provide the opportunity for differentiation. Beran uses tools including Raz Kids, Dreamscapes, Prodigy English, and IXL language arts for English/language arts gamification, and uses Prodigy Math, Math Playground, Pet Bingo, Sushi Monster, and IXL math for gamifying math. Discover how she integrates these gamified tools into her classroom.

3. As an educator for more 27 years and a digital learning specialist (social studies) for the past 7 years in Atlanta Public Schools, Felisa Ford has supported educators across the district and beyond as they purposefully integrate technology in the classroom to promote engagement and 21^st century skill development. While there are many tools and resources available to educators to support their efforts to create dynamic digital learning environments, one of the most engaging is Minecraft Education Edition (M:EE). Popular among students (and teachers!), M:EE is a game-based learning platform that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive digital environment. Read about five ways Ford has helped the district’s teachers use M:EE into classroom instruction.

Key points:

• Technology has become indispensable in the modern classroom
• Smart boards offer increased collaboration and engagement for students and educators
• See related article: Here’s the right way to leverage technology
• For more news on digital learning tools, visit eSN’s Digital Learning page

In today’s dynamic educational landscape, technology has become an integral part of teaching and learning, but it presents a paradox. While diverse edtech products promise innovation, they simultaneously pose challenges. Educators, learners, instructional technology coaches, and IT/edtech staff are grappling with the complexities of managing an ever-expanding arsenal of disconnected digital tools. It’s important to understand the challenges more closely and how an integrated, interoperable, and effective educational technology ecosystem can meet the evolving landscape of learning for more efficient, impactful, and secure learning experiences.

There are several prominent shifts that are driving the future of learning, therefore making a comprehensive and interoperable ecosystem essential. First is the permanence of a remote and/or hybrid learning structure. Solutions like interactive displays, cloud whiteboarding, screen sharing, and video conferencing tools have helped schools embrace and succeed in this new learning format. Second is the need to create a 21^st century learning environment that is accessible for all students, encourages engagement and collaboration, and can be more easily tailored for different learning levels and needs. For example, smart board tools such as text to speech, translation, or word prediction can help students overcome language barriers and unique challenges. For increased engagement and collaboration, teachers are relying on new teaching methods such as microlearning and gamification. Finally, there’s also a drive toward more community and outreach.

All these initiatives have meant an increase in digital tools and apps that must be properly monitored and managed. What’s more, they need to be interoperable and accessible not only on laptops and mobile devices but also on smart boards. According to Lightspeed’s Edtech App Report, which examined the use of edtech in more than 100 school districts during the 2021-2022 school year, there is an astounding number of apps in use. It found that districts surveyed use more than 2,000 apps and that 300 of those account for 99 percent of use. It also found that much of learning time is digital, with 56 percent of students actively engaged in digital learning for more than two hours per day. This highlights that while beneficial, the digital toolbox has become more complex and essential. It emphasizes the importance for a unified and interoperable ecosystem that can blend these diverse elements into a seamless and effective educational experience.

Another challenge is security. With more and more devices being introduced into classrooms, IT administrators will have to consider how to safeguard them in order to prevent possible security risks and data leaks. Outdated firmware and apps may create security loopholes that are vulnerable to attacks and data leaks. Keeping your system up-to-date is one of the best ways to ensure optimal device performance and data security.

In the realm of modern classrooms, one of the most notable advancements is the integration of smart board technology. Over the years, smart boards have evolved significantly from the early days of interactive whiteboards. However, it’s only recently that we’ve witnessed all-in-one solutions that effectively address contemporary trends in education as well as the challenges associated with managing these tools. Their use has become so significant that they actually lie at the heart of the ecosystem topic.

The key to this evolution lies in the operating systems that power smart boards, equipped with pre-installed software such as whiteboarding apps and web browsers. Some providers even offer the flexibility to download additional educational software from app stores, catering to the diverse needs of teachers. Smart boards have proven to be invaluable tools for educators seeking to foster active participation and enhance learning retention among students, especially with those that are compatible with their favorite interactive apps.

By combining a digital whiteboard with a wide array of educational apps, educators now have the capability to conduct entire lessons using just a smart board. This integrated approach allows teachers to seamlessly access digital content from their cloud storage or local drives, or download materials directly from the internet. Even when faced with non-digitized content, teachers have the option to wirelessly share their laptop screens or connect document cameras to the board. This technology represents a significant shift in modern education, offering educators a versatile and adaptable solution to meet the evolving needs of the classroom.

Smart boards play a vital role in meeting the app management and technology security needs of schools. As educational institutions introduce a growing number of devices into their classrooms, safeguarding these assets and protecting student and teacher data becomes a paramount concern. Smart boards rise to this challenge by implementing a range of robust security measures, ensuring a safe and secure educational environment. These measures include compliance with international data privacy standards such as the GDPR and CCPA, offering regular over-the-air (OTA) updates with the latest security patches, and leveraging secure cloud services hosted on trusted servers like Amazon and Google Firebase.

In today’s dynamic educational landscape, technology presents both promises and challenges. Educators, students, and IT professionals grapple with managing an ever-expanding array of disconnected digital tools, underscoring the need for an integrated, interoperable educational technology ecosystem. This ecosystem is vital to meet the evolving landscape of learning efficiently and effectively. Interactive classroom solutions, similar to smart boards, have the potential to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of education technology by seamlessly combining digital whiteboards with a wide array of educational apps. Educators can conduct entire lessons through such solutions, accessing digital content, sharing screens, and connecting document cameras effortlessly. Furthermore, data privacy and security are paramount, with a focus on compliance with international data privacy standards, timely security updates, and flexible network security options, including multi-factor authentication, password protection, compartmentalized user accounts, and secure user modes.

In the modern classroom, where technology has become indispensable, these solutions empower educators and institutions to navigate the complexities of the digital age with confidence, creating engaging, secure, and effective learning experiences for students.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

On a recent Friday at Gary Comer Middle School in Chicago, you had to squint to see signs of the pandemic that upended American education just a few years ago.

Only a handful of students wore face masks, and even then, some put them on to cover up pimples, staff said. The hand sanitizer stations outside every classroom mostly went unused, and some were empty. Students stopped to hug in the hallway and ate lunch side by side in the cafeteria. 

“I don’t think it’s a big deal as much as it was before,” said 12-year-old Evelyn Harris, an eighth grader at Comer, whose lasting memory of pandemic schooling is that online classes were easier, so she got better grades. “The pandemic didn’t really affect me in a big way.”

But inside Nikhil Bhatia’s classroom, the evidence was on the whiteboard, where the math teacher was shading in slices of a pie to illustrate how to find a common denominator. That day, his seventh graders were working to add and subtract fractions — a skill students usually learn in fourth grade.

Maybe you learned this before, Bhatia began. “Or, during the pandemic, you might have been on Zoom,” — a few students laughed as he dragged out the words — “put your screen on black, went to go play a couple video games. Snap if that sounds familiar?”

Clicking fingers filled the room. “That’s OK!” Bhatia responded. “That’s why we’re going to do the review.”

As the new school year begins at Comer and elsewhere, many students and educators say school is feeling more normal than it has in over three years. COVID health precautions have all but vanished. There’s less social awkwardness. Students say they’re over the novelty of seeing their classmates in person.

But beneath the surface, profound pandemic-era consequences persist. More students are missing school, and educators are scrambling to keep kids engaged in class. Many students remain behind academically, leaving teachers like Bhatia to fill in gaps even while trying to move students forward. Rebuilding students’ shaken confidence in their abilities is especially important right now.

“It’s OK that you don’t know this,” Bhatia tells his students. “It’s normal right now.”

Nationally, many students remain far behind in math and reading where they would have been if not for the pandemic. There have been especially steep learning drops at schools that taught virtually for most of the 2020-21 school year, as schools did across Chicago and within the Noble charter network, which includes Comer. It’s an issue that’s even more pressing for older students, who have less time to fill in those holes.

At Comer, 28% of eighth graders met or exceeded Illinois math standards the year before the pandemic, not far off from the state’s average of 33%. But by spring 2022, that had fallen to just 2%, compared with 23% for the state. 

In reading, meanwhile, 9% of Comer eighth graders met or exceeded state standards pre-pandemic, and that dipped to 4% in spring 2022, when the state’s average was 30%. 

The school made gains they’re proud of last school year, with 10% of eighth graders hitting the state’s bar for math and 22% hitting it for reading, though school leaders say they know there is still work to be done.

“If you don’t have some foundational skills and basic skills, it will be almost impossible to keep up with the curriculum as the kids get older,” said Mary Avalos, a research professor of teaching and learning at the University of Miami, who has studied how COVID affected middle school teachers. “That’s a big issue that needs to be addressed.”

How teachers are addressing pandemic learning gaps

Most of Bhatia’s students missed key skills in fourth and fifth grades — the years that school was remote, then interrupted by waves of COVID — but they mastered more advanced concepts in sixth grade last year.

That’s left Bhatia, like many teachers across the country, with the tricky task of coming up with mini lessons to fill in those elementary gaps, without spending so much time on prior concepts that students fall behind in middle school.

On a day like Friday, that meant to get students ready to add negative fractions, a seventh grade skill, Bhatia first had to teach a short lesson on adding fractions, a fourth grade skill. At first, some students mistakenly thought they should use the technique for dividing fractions they learned last year.

“They’ll say: ‘Oh is this keep, change, flip’?” Bhatia said. “The gap isn’t exactly what you would expect it to be.” 

This kind of teaching happened “once in a while” pre-pandemic, Bhatia said, but “now it’s like day by day I have to be really critical in thinking about: ‘OK what might be the gap that surfaces today?’”

Aubria Myers, who teaches sixth grade English at Comer, sees ways the familiar rhythms of school are just now returning, four months after federal health officials declared an official end to the COVID-19 emergency.

“This year, for me, feels the most normal,” Myers said. Students are saying: “Oh wait, what’s the homework again, can I get another copy?” she said. Last year when she mentioned homework, “they were like: ‘What is that?’”

On that recent Friday, Myers led an activity in her multicultural literature class that would have been impossible two years ago when students had to stay seated in pods of color-coded desks. 

Her sixth graders huddled close to one another as they tried to hop across the classroom, an exercise designed to give her fidgety students a chance to move around, while exemplifying the communication and teamwork skills that would be at the center of Seedfolks, the novel they were about to read in class.

Still, Myers had chosen the book, with its short chapters and lines full of metaphors and irony, to meet the needs of this crop of sixth graders, who spent all of third grade learning online. Many, Myers knows, never logged on. They have shorter attention spans and doubts about their reading skills but love class discussions, she said.

“They remember that time in their life when they were stuck talking to only people in their house,” Myers said. “They’re in class wanting to engage with each other.”

Myers has tried to prevent her students from getting discouraged by their learning gaps. At the start of this school year, for example, she’s pointing out spelling and punctuation errors, but not docking points yet. She wants to make sure her students first have time to learn some of the key skills they missed in earlier grades.

“We have kids who don’t understand how to put a period somewhere in your sentence, or how to put spaces between their words,” Myers said. “I see these very beautifully strung together ideas, these really well thought-out explanations, but they’re missing some of those key mechanics.”

Student mental health and engagement still top of mind

Comer has responded to students’ post-pandemic needs in other ways, too. The school expanded its team of social workers and other staff who work with students to resolve conflicts and address mental health needs, a trend that’s been observed nationwide.

The school has long felt the effects of neighborhood gun violence and student trauma, but staff say having more adults focused on those issues has helped students open up and seek help. Now, more students are requesting verbal mediations to head off physical fights, staff say.

“If you follow us through the building, you’ll see,” said Stephanie Williams, a former reading teacher who now directs Comer’s social and emotional learning team. “Kids will seek you out, or find you, and let you know: ‘Hey, I need this.’”

And this is the second year the school has scheduled all core classes earlier in the week, so that students can spend part of Friday practicing math and reading skills on the computer, and the rest of the day taking two special electives. It’s a strategy meant to keep students engaged — and showing up to school.

The school offers classes that pique students’ interests, such as the history of hip hop, hair braiding, and creative writing. Brandon Hall, a seventh grader at Comer, blended his first smoothie in a “foodies” class and bonded with his basketball coach through chess. He came to see similarities between making plays on the court and moving pawns across the board.

“I learned a lot from him,” he said.

On “Freedom Fridays,” attendance is higher and student conflicts are rarer, school officials say. That’s been important as the school, like many others, has seen higher chronic absenteeism rates over the last two years. At Comer, 1 in 3 sixth graders missed 18 or more days of school last year. Before the pandemic, that number sat closer to 1 in 5.

The approach runs counter to the calls some education experts have made for schools to double down on academics and add more instructional time — not take it away. 

A recent report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education, for example, spells out the numerous ways students are still struggling, and calls for “a greater urgency to address learning gaps before students graduate.” Harvard education researcher Thomas Kane noted that few districts have lengthened the school day or year and warned that, “The academic recovery effort following the pandemic has been undersized from the beginning.”

But JuDonne Hemingway, the principal of Comer, said devoting time to enrichment activities during the school day is worth it to ensure all students have access to them. These classes, she added, are helping students develop interests they may pursue in college or as part of a career.

“They’re not just random experiences for kids,” Hemingway said. “We think they are just as important as any traditional academic class.”

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education.

For more news on COVID in schools, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership page.

Key points:

• Immersive opportunities make high frequency words stick and keep students engaged
• Mastering high frequency words helps students grow into proficient readers
• See related article: How efficacy studies improve literacy instruction
• For more news on literacy, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching page

If you were to poll an audience of educators–classroom teachers, literacy specialists, reading researchers, and university professors–about whether high frequency words should be taught in early elementary, the resounding answer would be YES. These words, after all, are important to students’ ultimate reading success.

The nuances of teaching high frequency words in early elementary would only arise around how these words should be taught.

Luckily, there is a plethora of best practice research and engaging, tech-enabled activities on teaching high frequency words to help teachers make it both a fun and interesting learning experience for young students.

Understanding high frequency words

Before teaching about high frequency words, it is important to understand how they differ from sight words. While these categories of words are often used interchangeably and can cross pollinate, high frequency words are words that appear most frequently in spoken and written language. Sight words, on the other hand, are those words that students recognize by sight–without the need to stop and decode the word–when reading.

For example, “the” is a high frequency word as well as a sight word for many people. “Email” is not a high frequency word, but is often a sight word. Classmates’ names often become sight words for students. Kindergarten students who are still emergent readers during the first semester will quickly learn their name by sight, as well as their classmates’ names (…and, they often get a great sense of satisfaction when recognizing and reading each other’s names!)

When it comes to choosing the actual words that are considered high frequency words, the educational community has embraced three different lists of words: the Dolch, Zeno, and Fry high frequency word lists. These lists have many shared words, and there is no research that says one list supersedes the other. Any of the lists or teaching a combination of the lists should still help produce successful readers.

Strategies for teaching emerging readers high frequency words

There are hundreds of ways to teach high frequency words and the majority of those ways fall into two instructional categories: memorization and phonics integration.

Both of these instructional strategies lead to students learning and quickly recalling many, many words–both high frequency words and sight words–with automaticity. This is called orthographic mapping, which is essentially a progression of warehousing words permanently in a student’s memory for immediate retrieval.

With memorization, teachers can create fun–and effective–learning opportunities for students as long as a few rules are applied. First, it is important to eliminate distractions so that the focus is on the high frequency word. Distractions can include other words printed around the target word, and having accompanying pictures with a word. For example, a picture of a girl in a swing holding her cat can be distracting when the target word is “with.”

It is also important for teachers to say the high frequency word clearly multiple times and to put the word in a sentence for contextual understanding. Providing students with the opportunity to write the word, so they are making the physical connection to the spoken word, is also important.  

There are a number of digital flashcard apps teachers can use to help students memorize high frequency words. The flashcards can also be shown to the whole class using projectors or interactive displays as part of a whole group activity.

Creating “sounds walls” in the classroom–whether on a bulletin board or digital display–highlighting four to five high frequency words is another great way to help students visualize, practice, and memorize target words. Each week, the words can be swapped out with new ones for them to learn.

Another strategy for teaching high frequency words is through integrating the words into phonics lessons. It will help if teachers pick high frequency words that integrate with the phonics skills they are covering. For example, when teaching the phonic element /s/, it can be valuable to include the high frequency word “said,” even if the vowel irregularity of /ai/ hasn’t been taught yet. If students are learning /s/ and maybe even /d/, they will be excited and motivated to apply this knowledge to learning and remembering a new word.

With either memorization or phonics integration, teachers can play a quiz game with students in which teams compete to come up with answers to questions about high frequency words. Or, they can have students participate in racetrack-style board games where two or more players move markers along the spaces of a path from start to finish. At each stop, the player must read a word and use it correctly in a sentence in order to stay on that space. Technology, whether through the use of apps or student devices, can easily be incorporated into both of these game-based activities to make the experiences even more engaging.

Regardless of which instructional strategy is used to teach high frequency words, it is important that students are immersed and active participants in the learning experience. This means that students should be hearing, saying, reading and writing high frequency words consistently within foundational lessons. These immersive opportunities are what make the words stick and what keep students engaged. And, it’s the ultimate mastery of high frequency words that will enable young students to grow into proficient readers. 

Key points:

• States are using inadequate elementary reading licensure tests
• States should transition to stronger tests and test providers should clearly identify weaknesses in tests
• See related article: Teacher Q&A: Strengthening PD with AI
• For more news on teacher prep, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership page

Most states (29 states and the District of Columbia) use a weak elementary teacher reading licensure test, meaning that they do not effectively measure teachers’ knowledge of scientifically based reading instruction prior to entering the classroom, according to a new analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ).

In fact, one state, Iowa, requires no reading licensure test at all. This shortcoming means that, every year, nearly 100,000 elementary teachers across the country enter classrooms with false assurances that they are ready to teach reading.

The data brief, False Assurances: Many states’ licensure tests don’t signal whether elementary teachers understand reading instruction, provides the most up-to-date analysis on the quality of elementary reading teacher licensure exams being used by each state.

More than 50 years of research has illuminated the most effective way to teach children to read. It requires systematic, explicit instruction in the five core components of the science of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Preparing teachers to teach these five components–known as scientifically-based reading instruction–can ensure more than 1 million additional students enter 4th grade able to read each year.

Unfortunately, far too often, states allow teachers into the classroom inadequately prepared to teach reading. Licensure exams, if rigorous and aligned to the science of reading, can serve as an important guardrail for making sure teachers have this critical knowledge. However, many licensure tests are weak in that they do not adequately assess teachers’ preparedness to teach reading. Far too many states are using these weak tests.

“Every child deserves great reading instruction, but far too many children aren’t receiving it,” said NCTQ President Heather Peske. “As part of a comprehensive strategy to improve reading instruction, states can help ensure teachers are prepared to teach reading effectively by requiring stronger licensure tests.”

Examining every elementary teacher reading licensure exam currently being used by states, NCTQ looked for evidence that the tests adequately address the five core components of reading. NCTQ also examined whether these tests devote undue attention to methods of reading instruction that have been debunked by research and
can hinder students from becoming strong readers, such as three-cueing.

Additionally, NCTQ checked whether these tests combine reading with other subjects. This is important because if subjects are combined, the teacher’s understanding of reading could be masked. Using these criteria, NCTQ determined whether tests were strong, acceptable, weak, or unacceptable.

Key national findings:

• Of the 25 elementary teacher reading licensure tests in use by states, the majority (15) are weak. Just six exams are rated “strong” and four are rated “acceptable.”
• Across these 15 weak licensure tests: Ten do not adequately address all five components of the science of reading and five combine reading with other subjects, such as social studies or science. (Note, one test fits into both categories listed above.) One includes too much emphasis on content contrary to research-based practices.
• The majority of states (29 states and the District of Columbia) use “weak” tests that do not signal whether teachers have the knowledge they need to teach students to read.

“Teachers who aren’t prepared in the most effective instructional practices for teaching reading unknowingly enter classrooms ill-prepared to help students become successful readers,” said Peske. “This lack of preparation has a profound impact on students’ literacy skills and future prospects, especially among students of color and
those living in poverty.”

Roughly one-third of children in elementary classrooms across the country cannot read at even a basic level by the middle of the fourth grade. The situation is even bleaker for historically marginalized students, for whom inadequate reading instruction is yet another barrier to educational equity, with 56 percent of Black students, 50 percent of Hispanic students, 52 percent of students in poverty, 70 percent of students with disabilities, and 67 percent of English Learners reading below basic reading levels.

Students who are not proficient readers are four times more likely to drop out of high school, face lower lifetime earnings, and have higher rates of unemployment.

Recommendations

To address this pressing issue, the NCTQ recommends the following solutions.

State education leaders should:

• Transition to a stronger reading licensure test: States select and approve the tests that their teachers must pass for licensure. Requiring a stronger test will likely lead to better reading instruction in elementary classrooms across the state as preparation programs will be motivated to align their courses with the components of reading addressed in a stronger test.
• Require a strong reading test for anyone teaching students in the elementary grades. In some cases, states require reading tests for general education elementary teachers but not for special education teachers or for early childhood teachers who are licensed to teach lower elementary grades. These loopholes ultimately hurt the students who most need teachers capable of building a foundation in literacy.

Testing companies should:

• Shore up weaknesses and clearly identify limitations in existing tests: Both major testing companies, ETS and Pearson, have strong and acceptable reading licensure tests on the market, but they also offer tests that omit numerous topics from the core components of reading, and that combine reading with other subjects, diluting the assessment’s ability to verify teachers’ reading knowledge.

This press release originally appeared online.

Key points:

• Students will be immersed in an AI world—they need to learn about it
• One English teacher brainstormed creative ways to get students talking about, and working with, AI
• See related article: 5 positive ways students can use AI
• For more news on AI in education, visit eSN’s Digital Learning page

Last spring, a few weeks after I started using ChatGPT, I challenged my high school English students: “Artificial intelligence can do any of your class assignments,” I told them flatly. “Now prove me wrong.”

I wanted to provoke them, to get them to ask questions, and to start using these tools—not to cheat—but to flip their learning on its head. I knew we needed to learn this together. And since that day, we didn’t just shift the paradigms—we sent them into somersaults.

1. Putting ChatGPT on trial

I first became aware of ChatGPT last February when I began reading mind-blowing comments of several progressive educators. As a teacher who strives to help students uncover their interests and stretch their imaginations, I wanted to ensure they were participating in this new technology. We were about to begin our unit on The Crucible and I began wondering how we could leverage ChatGPT.

Typically, at the end of the unit, I ask my students to put various characters on trial, backing up their ideas with plenty of original evidence. This time around, I wanted them to also put ChatGPT on trial. What are its strengths and opportunities, its weaknesses and threats?

So I created a project-based scenario: The students were attorneys for a law firm, and I was their client, bringing them this challenge: I was thinking about investing in ChatGPT. Based on their understanding and the research they’d conduct during The Crucible unit, should I? What would be the implications? The upsides and the down?

So the students began, first reading The Crucible, relying only on their human intelligence. Then, after a week, they opened up their understanding of the classic play through ChatGPT. And it was astonishing: ChatGPT helped students discover subtle nuances and character traits they’d missed initially, created authentic-sounding trial documents that outlined their arguments, provided historical information about the Salem witch trials, and prompted students to explore the play’s themes and messages. It also generated hypothetical conversations between characters, providing fresh insights into how characters evolved throughout the play.

At the unit’s completion, the students had glimpsed AI’s potential—and its potential problems. Many students were concerned about cheating, about bias, about invented “facts,” and about privacy. But, ultimately, the majority of students advised that I, as their client, should invest in AI, finding that it increased efficiencies, helped with workload, sped up research, improved grammar, relieved deadline stress, and more.

2. Using ChatGPT as a creative partner

When they returned from spring break, students found that I’d taken their advice to heart: I’d invested $20 on a premium version of ChatGPT and had created an AI workspace in our classroom. Now I invited them to use ChatGPT during our final inquiry unit, during which they’d ask questions, come up with a plan, leverage their research, and then go public with their findings. Soon they found they could use ChatGPT as a creative, brainstorming, spit-balling partner—with great results: generating open-ended questions, discovering and exploring their interests, creating a day-by-day calendar to reach goals, ideating original art pieces, and augmenting lyrics for songs and scripts. To say they were wowed by ChatGPT’s ability to take their own thinking and creativity further would be an understatement.

3. Considering what’s next

During that inquiry unit, I wanted to better understand—and for my students to better understand—what might be ahead of us in terms of AI. So I invited our school librarians to visit our class, presenting glimmers of what’s ahead: the good, from conducting medical research to solving complex global problems; the bad, from impersonating someone’s speech to waging war with AI; and the surprising, from saving bees to predicting earthquakes.

Impressively, the librarians also fielded questions, addressing ethical considerations of AI, detailing the importance of vocabulary when it comes to writing powerful prompts, and reminding students that they need to be thinkers themselves and not just settle for what ChatGPT generates.  

4. Going from zero to hero

Just days before our fall semester started, I learned that I’d been assigned mythology—a subject I’d not taught before and one without a syllabus. But, like my students during their inquiry unit, I knew I could turn to ChatGPT as my creative partner. To begin, I wrote a thorough prompt, telling it: “You’re a high school English teacher who wants to teach an inquiry-based mythology class with self-directed learning. You have questions and you’re looking for answers. (That’s so the hero’s journey à la Joseph Campbell.) Now create a syllabus, complete with readings.” Less than a minute later, there it was, in all its mind-boggling near perfection. Next, I asked ChatGPT to create a hero’s journey chart with student checkpoints along the way. Once again, in 20 seconds, there it was. In class, I’ve stuck with these materials mostly and, so far, so good.

5. Clubbing—AI style

Most recently, I’ve teamed up with a school librarian to create an extracurricular AI club. We’re not totally clear on our mission or our goals—we’re in the early days. But we do want students to understand what’s happening with AI and to be, if not prepared, at least thinking about AI and how it may impact not only their careers but their lives.

As for that first challenge I presented—the one about AI being able to do any schoolwork—unfortunately, it proved true: AI can do pretty much any class assignment. And that made us all squirm. In fact, that feels scary. But that’s all the more reason to delve into AI. As Bill Gates said last spring, “You definitely want the good guys to have strong AI.” You don’t want only the “bad guys” to be using it, manipulating it to deceive or to swindle or to gain power or to wage war. That’s why we must keep talking about AI with our students. We can’t run away.

Soon AI will be a common tool in myriad fields. That’s why we as educators need to help our students use it, become familiar with it, and think for themselves about its implications. Yes, it’s threatening. It’s also exciting. And it’s going to be their world.

As the hoopla surrounding emerging AI technologies and their impact on education endures, we need to get past whether or not to use ChatGPT—Pandora’s box is officially open—and focus instead on how best to use it. Despite OpenAI recently releasing a guide for ChatGPT in the classroom that demonstrates how teachers can use the large language model software to enhance learning, Zarek Dozda, director of UChicago’s Data Science 4 Everyone, does not think it goes as far as it should to address educators’ concerns about the growth of this emerging tech in classrooms.

In this insightful conversation, Zarek breaks down several particulars he feels need to be addressed, including:

• More research – OpenAI’s guidance focuses on anecdotal evidence of ChatGPT in classrooms but has little to say about best practices when using ChatGPT as an educational tool.
• Focus on mechanics – Instead of highlighting education tactics that utilize ChatGPT, OpenAI should provide a more thorough explanation of large language models and how they work.
• Training for teachers – The specific teachers mentioned in OpenAI’s guidance should be applauded for embracing emerging tech, but there needs to be greater resources for teachers just trying to keep up with AI.

Data Science for Everyone is a coalition advancing data science education so that every K-12 student has the data literacy skills needed to succeed in our modern world. Equitable access to data science education is an opportunity to open doors to higher education, high-paying careers, and an engaged community. Created by the University of Chicago Center for RISC and organized in partnership with The Learning Agency and the Concord Consortium, the group supports a growing community that knows that the data revolution has transformed modern life and we need to prepare our students. 

Other highlights from the conversation include:

Responsibility in AI Usage: Zarek emphasizes the importance of instilling responsible and efficient AI usage in students, preparing them for a future where digital skills are integral to various careers.

Changing Perceptions: The discussion challenges preconceived notions about AI, acknowledging shifts in attitudes among educators and students toward embracing technology as a valuable supplement to traditional teaching methods.

Educator Empowerment: Teachers are encouraged to view AI as an opportunity for professional development, using tools like ChatGPT 4 to create lesson plans and assessments, fostering a collaborative approach to interdisciplinary solutions.

Foundational Skills Remain Crucial: While AI tools advance, Zarek emphasizes the continued significance of foundational skills, asserting that students should still learn mathematics, coding, and critical thinking to understand and address AI-generated errors.

Balanced Implementation: Zarek advocates for a measured approach to AI integration, steering clear of extremes such as outright bans or complete reliance on AI for educational planning. Instead, a gradual introduction with teacher guidance is recommended.

Global Talent Race: The conversation concludes with a call for policymakers to recognize the urgency of upskilling educators, framing education as critical for future economic and international success in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Key points:

• Helping students develop strong research skills will create responsible digital citizens
• Critical evaluation of online resources and information is essential
• See related article: Students need freedom to develop critical skills with edtech
• Get the latest news about digital learning by going to eSN’s Digital Learning page

Right now is the perfect time to start a research project with your students, as it will help them develop skills they will use for the rest of their lives. While your students, who have grown up in the Information Age and think they already know everything, any classroom teacher knows that our students need help more than they think.

As a school librarian for the past 11 years, my primary focus has been on helping students become adept navigators of the sea of information they live in. By the time students reach me in high school, they are already juggling multiple social media accounts and unknowingly driving many business and political decisions through their media consumption.

Our students’ belief that everything they need to know is online can, without the right skillset, leave them prey to misinformation. So how do we teach our students to steer through the online ocean of data to be both effective researchers and responsible digital citizens?

Here are 4 must-have resources for teaching high school students how to research:

Digital encyclopedias like Britannica School or Credo Reference are still important, and vetted, sources of basic information. Each provides students with a credible resource and gives them helpful notation and citation tools. But don’t settle for just one. Take students on a tour of both databases and explore the differences. Britannica School is user-friendly and comprehensive, which makes it an ideal tool for building student confidence in their research skills. Even if your students are literal social media influencers, they may be apprehensive or overwhelmed navigating a database, and we do not want them to give up and turn to Google. They need to develop their research skills before they are ready to evaluate content from across the world wide web. The bold, colorful text features and differentiation of reading levels make Britannica School engaging and easy to use, and it is a trusted source of information.

Although both databases offer similar content, Credo Reference has a unique feature called Visual Exploration that you and your students will love. The database will retrieve your search results in the form of a mind map, which links your search term to related terms that are hyperlinked to vetted content. Articles related to the original search term appear alongside the mind map. Visual Exploration is an effective and interactive tool for teaching students about choosing search terms and narrowing their research topics. Credo Reference also has a series of short research tip videos for students on topics such as “what to do when your topic is too broad.” 

Upper-level courses require students to navigate and analyze more complex sources than a standard encyclopedia entry, which can often be just a list of facts. Whether you are teaching U.S. Government or A.P. Language and Composition, your students are learning to evaluate persuasive writing and identify propaganda, because these are key information literacy skills. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints not only provides students with curated  sources and all the tools of an online encyclopedia but also introduces students to well-researched writing from various perspectives. A huge part of research is thinking critically about the credibility and intent of the source, and this database provides a safe space to analyze and examine issues from multiple angles. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints is both visually appealing and has a unique feature for visual learners. The Topic Finder retrieves results as your choice of a tile or a wheel that displays terms at various sizes depending on the number of results for that term. For example, a Topic Finder search for “Artificial intelligence” displays “mental health” among the largest clusters of the tile or section of the wheel, which lets me know I can find significant content in the database related to A.I. and mental health. There is a curriculum search and an Educator Resources page with helpful tip sheets and worksheets, including one for students to create their own concept map.

Before you dive into an encyclopedia head first, you may want to go to Discovery Education Experience and gather some tools for teaching research effectively. You do not need to build a lesson from scratch. There’s a wealth of media within the platform to help you activate prior knowledge, develop assignments and create interactive lessons on any topic. The Discover Data channel, which is the result of a partnership between the Nielsen Foundation, Discovery Education, and the National Afterschool Association, has interactive, relevant lessons that you can adapt for your students. One of my favorites is the “Social Media and Misinformation” presentation. You can use it as an introduction to information literacy or assign the presentation as a self-paced lesson for students. In fact, you can use the Build an Activity feature with this or another presentation from Discovery Education to create an assignment and share it directly to Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Schoology or Canvas.

With these essentials in your toolbox, you will be able to equip your students with research skills that will help them unlock success in and out of the classroom.

Related: 4 tools to help students build post-COVID research skills

Key points:

• Student engagement is key to an authentic learning experience
• It also allows students to develop the right attitude to approach learning
• See related article: 4 ways edtech tools drive student engagement and build classroom culture

When you think of education, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For some, it might be a pile of homework or a stack of books that need reading. Others may recall the flashcards they used to memorize specific formulas or expand their vocabulary. All these examples have a place in the learning ecosystem, but true education should be about so much more. Student learning should involve curiosity, discovery, and the opportunity to experiment with a variety of different solutions. To put it more simply: true education requires student engagement.

Every teacher hopes to ignite, empower, and engage the students who walk through their classroom door. Ample research has shown that student engagement is crucial to overall learning and long-term success. However, implementing this is easier said than done. To better ignite student curiosity and interest, teachers should consider trying one of these strategies that help make student engagement second nature:

1. Mystery Box: Start your class by bringing in a mystery box with something hidden inside. Then, have students ask yes or no questions to figure out what is in the box. To ensure this activity stays relevant, it helps to have objects in the box that loosely ties to the content and have students draw the connection. For instance, an old horseshoe could be used in a lesson about the Pony Express, or a piece of amber for a unit on fossils.
2. Taboo Tactics: There’s nothing more tempting than forbidden fruit—so use this strategy to make knowledge a mouthwatering apple. Before you teach new content, close the door. Tell them you don’t want anyone to find out that you’re teaching them this idea. The content should never actually be controversial, but adding an element of secrecy is enough to hold student interest.
3. Make a Mascot: Task students with building a character that represents something you’re learning about. Have them explain the symbolism behind their construction as a means of probing their understanding. Be sure to add constraints as well, so students will need to think critically and creatively. For example, they could construct a mascot that represents how humans impact their environment using only 5 materials provided from a table.
4. Build an Intellectually Safe Culture: Create a culture where students feel free to offer ideas and are encouraged to make mistakes. A simple change in the wording of a question can open up a comfortable space for students to offer solutions. Instead of asking, “What is the answer?” pose the question as “What is an answer?” This allows students to recognize that many solutions are possible.
5. Engage in Project-Based Learning: Project-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects that – in ways both big and small – make the world a better place. Consider exploring Blue Apple projects which cover everything from environmental sustainability to responsible money management!

At its heart, student engagement is about tapping into their innate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills. By giving students the space they need to ask questions and pursue ideas, teachers can equip them with a mindset that allows them to tackle any challenge that comes their way – both in the classroom and beyond.

Key points:

• ChatGPT is here to stay, and it’s wise to now consider it a part of learning
• In fact, every assignment moving forward must be graded with ChatGPT in mind
• See related article: How educators can navigate AI-driven plagiarism

You may have heard of ChatGPT. According to Google, about 350,000 articles have been written on the subject, and a significant percentage are related to education. With so much publicity, it is reasonable to assume that all students from middle school through post-secondary are aware of its power. Whether you like it or not, we have a new partner in the classroom.

Many primers on ChatGPT are available, but I want to focus on teachers’ and students’ concerns about using it in the classroom. Some schools (such as the entire NYC public school district) have attempted to ban it entirely, while others such as Yale have taken the opposite approach. In my opinion, attempting to ban anything in the world of ubiquitous cell phones is a waste of time and effort. Students are ingenious, especially when it comes to getting around the rules. From a search of articles, both scholarly and in mainstream media, the approach I am suggesting has not yet been proposed. I came upon it while thinking about the eternal pedagogical problem: how to grade group projects.

It is well-documented and often repeated in teachers’ professional development that the right type of co-learning can deepen understanding and long-term knowledge gains. The critical question is, “What is the right type of co-learning?” Sometimes group projects work well. Sometimes one partner does all the work and another just coasts along for the ride. How are teachers supposed to grade these efforts? Give everyone the same grade? Let students grade each other’s contributions? Try to guess how much time each student put in? There is no perfect solution.

And that, in a nutshell, is where we find ourselves with ChatGPT. From now on, every assignment must be explicitly graded as a partner project with ChatGPT. Individual essays, science fair partner projects, group programming assignments, digital and physical art pieces–every single assignment from now on has a silent partner.

Of course, this does not mean that every student will use ChatGPT on every assignment. What it does mean is that we must assume that they might. We must transfer the responsibility of evaluating how much of the work is original from the teacher to the student, and we must explicitly teach students how to take on that responsibility. ChatGPT might be the partner that did everything, the partner that didn’t show up, or somewhere in between. Despite many efforts, there will never be a tool that can evaluate how much of an assignment was influenced by AI. I will even double down by saying not only will there not be such a tool, there should not be such a tool.

This leads to the most important question: If no such tool exists, how can educators know how much help the students received? How do we evaluate their knowledge? The answer: we ask them. We need to give that responsibility back to the students. We are their partners in learning, not their masters, and it is our job to help them understand what they are learning and how, not to police and punish them for using tools we don’t fully understand or feel comfortable with.

It is time for educators to treat ChatGPT as an unreliable partner in all assignments and to provide a way for students to let us know how much help they received. I specify an unreliable partner because there is no way to know where ChatGPT got its information for any single response. It uses a mathematical model of likely words, not research. It’s basically auto-complete on steroids. ChatGPT is like a classmate who has read extensively and is really confident about everything they say but can’t remember exactly where they got their information from. It could be an academic publication or it could be a conspiracy website. And that is how we should treat it – a partner who sounds like they know what they are talking about but still needs to be fact-checked.

I would like to propose the following sample rubric based on how partners might rate each other in real life:

Category	Student-Driven	Moderate ChatGPT Help	ChatGPT-Driven
Topic Selection and Thesis Formulation	Student independently selected the essay topic and formulated the thesis. ChatGPT input (if any) was limited to guidance, suggestions, and corrections.	ChatGPT assisted in refining the essay topic or thesis statement, but the initial idea was student-generated.	The essay topic and thesis statement were primarily or entirely suggested or formulated by ChatGPT.
Research and Data Collection	Student conducted all research and collected supporting evidence independently or with minimal ChatGPT consultation.	ChatGPT assisted in finding sources or evidence but did not do the research for the student.	ChatGPT conducted the majority or all of the research and data collection.
Analysis and Argumentation	Student independently analyzed data and evidence to build arguments supporting the thesis. ChatGPT may have provided guidance on analytical methods.	ChatGPT assisted in the analysis and argumentation but did not build the argument for the student.	ChatGPT primarily or completely analyzed the data and constructed the argument.
Writing and Structure	The essay’s structure, including the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, was formulated by the student. ChatGPT involvement was limited to feedback and suggestions.	ChatGPT assisted in structuring the essay or improving its readability, but the content and organization were student-generated.	The essay was primarily or entirely structured and written by ChatGPT.
Final Draft and Editing	Student independently revised and edited the essay. ChatGPT may have provided minor suggestions for improvement.	Student utilized ChatGPT for more significant revisions and editing but maintained original thought and structure.	ChatGPT conducted the majority or all of the revisions and editing.

This rubric could easily be modified for any assignment, from a programming challenge to a play. It requires no technical knowledge about ChatGPT. In fact, we could substitute the word “ChatGPT” with “Parents,” “Wikipedia,” “Google Search,” “Tutor,” or “TA.” It takes no more than a few seconds to fill out and read. And it still allows the teacher to specify how much ChatGPT is permitted for any given assignment. Even if the rule is “none at all,” the rubric is still valid. The student must still write down that they did not use the tool. It takes it from “I’m just tricking the teacher to save some time” to “I am explicitly lying about what I did.”

The value of this rubric is that it places the responsibility for learning back on the student’s shoulders. This proposal is not about making less work for the teacher or taking away their authority. It is about helping students develop their own moral compass. As CS Lewis so famously said, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking,” which is especially critical in the world of online learning. This rubric gives students the opportunity to show us what they did when we weren’t looking. It allows them a chance to have their integrity reinforced through practice. And if we treat this opportunity with understanding instead of punishment, it has the possibility of helping the students who need it the most.

You will notice that this rubric has no points attached. What if, instead of using it simply as another entry in the grade book, we took it as an opportunity for discussion with the student? If they are not afraid of getting a 0 for admitting that they used ChatGPT, it opens up a whole world of possible discussions, depending on their answers:

“I didn’t really understand the question, but once I did, I was fine.”

“I work every day after school and then look after my siblings…. I just didn’t have time.”

“I thought my essay was really good and didn’t know what changes to make.”

If we allow students to self-evaluate without grade-based consequences, we can learn what supports they need as well as how we can improve our curricula. We can even use it as a perfect opportunity to teach students how to support themselves using tools like ChatGPT properly without resorting to plagiarism. We could boost the equity in our classrooms immensely if students can individualize the help they are getting at the time, place, and pace they need.

It is no use burying our heads in the sand and banning AI-based tools. These tools are becoming more and more powerful and are being used in new ways every day. We have a real chance to help students understand their own responsibility, take charge of their own learning, and use this amazing technology to improve their self-efficacy, their knowledge, their outcomes, and ultimately their lives.

BILLUND, Denmark — To celebrate the second annual World Play Day, LEGO® Education is inspiring teachers to experience purposeful play firsthand by giving students and teachers Permission to Play. 

Play is not just for the playground. It is a powerful tool for teaching that naturally engages students in the learning and builds the skills they’ll need in and outside the classroom like creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration.  

A new survey of K-8 teachers and students from LEGO Education found that nearly all (98%) of students say purposeful play helps them learn and the majority (96%) of teachers believe it’s more effective than traditional methods like lectures or textbooks. On top of that, almost 80% of students want more playful learning experiences in the classroom. 

Despite these benefits, 40% of teachers are incorporating play only once a week or less, and nearly half (47%) think they spend too much time on it.  

“Many teachers feel they can’t easily incorporate play into the classroom, so LEGO Education created the Permission to Play kit as that first step. Once you see students engaged and learning through play, it clicks and the question goes from how to how do we add more?” said Dr. Jenny Nash, Head of Education Impact, U.S. for LEGO Education. 

Whether you are a teacher, administrator, or parent, get Permission to Play by visiting  Rebuild The World, where you can: 

• Take the Pledge: Commit to adding purposeful play to your own classroom or encourage teachers you know to add more play. 
• Download free activities: Bring purposeful play into your classroom with activities for you and your students to join in on the fun (can be used with or without LEGO Education products). 
• Track your play: Get your student(s) involved to see how much progress you’re making with a Color-By-Number template and “Learning in Progress” poster. 

“For nearly three decades, I used purposeful play in my classroom and have seen firsthand the impact it has on both students and teachers,” said Alicia Miller, a retired elementary school teacher from Evans, GA. “There are a lot of trends and products that have their place, but the biggest gamechanger for education is hands-on, playful learning. I encourage every teacher, principal, and parent to try a play-based learning activity with their students and see what joyful and meaningful learning should look like. Our students and teachers deserve to love learning again.” 

Take the pledge and download the Permission to Play Kit at  LEGOeducation.com/RebuildTheWorld.  

*The LEGO Education Survey was conducted by  Wakefield Research among 1,000 US K-8 students and 1,000 US K-8 teachers, split between those who teach/are enrolled in grade K-5 (500) and those who teach/are enrolled in grades 6-8 (500), between Sept. 13th and Sept. 19th, 2023, using an email invitation and an online survey. Data has been weighted. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points. 

About

LEGO® Education offers a range of playful, hands-on STEAM learning experiences based on its comprehensive learning system for students in early learning, primary and secondary education, as well as through after-school programs and competitions. From the Early Learning portfolio to the LEGO® Learning System, these solutions create an active and collaborative environment where learners of all levels and abilities build their confidence, future-proof their skills and spark a lifelong love of learning.  

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure and the SPIKE logo are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2023 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.  

Key points:

• Increasing use of digital learning tools means classrooms are modernizing
• Digital tools that boost engagement can improve academic outcomes
• See related story: Technology is key to educating the next generation

Some of my most vivid school memories involve teachers struggling to use overhead projectors: placing a printed sheet on the glass and fumbling to align it properly to project an image onto the wall. Students would laugh as the teachers mumbled about the annoyances of technology. Now think about how far the classroom has come since then–schools stocked with iPads and tablets, interactive touchscreens, and even virtual reality headsets.

Undoubtedly, the pandemic accelerated the shift to technology adoption in schools. However, this push to digitize doesn’t just involve remote learning technologies, but also tools for in-person learning. As a result, the classroom is modernizing, and pixels are replacing pencils. But the tech is also much easier to implement and operate than that of days of yore. No more fumbling with transparent sheets and overhead projectors.

Let’s break down how these new technologies are working in practice and the ways they can support better educational outcomes.

Engagement and experimentation

Technology demonstrably helps keep students engaged in their lessons and facilitate better learning in a digital world. While some argue technology is a distraction in the classroom – which can certainly be true if it’s not implemented properly – it also helps students to be focused and engaged in lessons.

Some prominent tools include interactive touchscreens in classrooms that promote and support active learning, a strategy for engaging students in classroom activities with more hands-on activities. These touchscreens help bring learning alive, off the page and into the actual world. These touch screens can facilitate engagement across subjects, even in unlikely places. 

One noteworthy example is science education, specifically anatomy. In traditional lab classes, dissecting frogs and other animals can be challenging due to animal-welfare concerns and resource limitations. Interactive touchscreens, however, offer an alternative. Students can virtually dissect organisms, providing them with a deep understanding of anatomy without the need for physical specimens. This approach not only enhances engagement but also aligns with ethical considerations in education.

Why is engagement important? One study found that active learning significantly increases student performance in the classroom: Students were 1.5 times more likely to fail a class that was primarily lecture-based as opposed to interactive. When students can touch things and interact, as opposed to watching a teacher write notes on a chalkboard and copying it into their notebooks, test scores improve.

Information retention

What’s more, technology can help students retain information for the long term. Touchscreen and tablet technology enables students to actively explore and manipulate digital content, transforming abstract concepts into tangible and comprehensible experiences. The tactile nature of touchscreens allows learners to engage with subjects in a way that textbooks or traditional teaching methods cannot replicate, and that engagement also boosts retention.

Consider this: Research shows that an average learner forgets 70 percent of what they learned after 24 hours and 90 percent of what they learned after a week. But research demonstrates that students who engage with interactive content retain information more effectively via enhanced information processing, contributing to improved performance and better test scores.

Interactive learning can also elicit emotional responses, which in turn impacts retention. When students are emotionally engaged in a lesson or activity, it has been shown to enhance memory consolidation. Interactive technologies have the capacity to create emotionally resonant experiences, whether through gamification, simulations, or immersive storytelling. These emotionally charged experiences are then more likely to be remembered.

So, whether it’s complex mathematical concepts, historical events, or scientific principles, digital technologies offer a dynamic platform for enhancing memory retention and ensuring that learning extends beyond the classroom.

Adaptive learning

Adaptive learning technologies are another transformative aspect of accessibility in education and have the power to revolutionize the traditional classroom experience. This approach leverages artificial intelligence and data analysis to customize educational content for students, recognizing their unique strengths and weaknesses.

Adaptive learning technology provides insights into data to help teachers understand students’ learning processes and patterns. Adaptive learning systems can track data from a variety of sources, providing insights into student progress, engagement, and performance. Educators can then leverage those insights to create tailored, personalized learning experiences.

There are various new adaptive learning platforms, including Smart Sparrow and ScootPad. Teachers merely sign up and input data, or provide access to it, in order for the technology to do the more difficult analytical work. In other words, these platforms don’t necessarily require more time or effort from already overburdened teachers. Educators can also integrate adaptive learning with a centralized device management platform to collect and process all that data from multiple technologies. Teachers can then monitor how students are actually using their devices and how well they are performing.

Of course, it’s important to strike a balance between technology and traditional teaching methods, ensuring that technology supports educational goals rather than replacing human interaction and critical thinking. Technology is a powerful tool in education, but it is not a replacement for human teachers.

ITASCA, Ill. – Riverside Insights®, a leading developer of research-based assessments and analytics, today introduced www.CogAT.com, a new microsite to support Riverside’s CogAT® in the Classroom initiative. This online portal provides resources to transform Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) assessment data into tailored classroom instruction that enables all students to thrive. Designed for teachers, administrators and parents, CogAT.com’s tools support a positive learning environment by encouraging differentiated learning through a strengths-based lens.

“Data collected as part of the CogAT is extremely powerful, yet most school districts are not optimizing its use to better understand how all students learn, then applying that in the classroom,” said Dr. Joni Lakin, professor at the University of Alabama and co-author of the CogAT.  “Riverside’s CogAT in the Classroom initiative is making it easier than ever to use CogAT data effectively in the classroom to maximize student growth. On CogAT.com, we provide the tools that teachers, administrators and parents need to better understand the abilities of each student coupled with actionable strategies that will benefit every learner in the classroom.”

Using CogAT ability data and CogAT in the Classroom resources, educators can evaluate student potential using both abilities and achievement data and differentiate instruction based on students’ cognitive reasoning strengths. Infusing ability data into the classroom environment helps teachers build a holistic understanding of each student’s potential and create tailored classroom instruction to provide more opportunities for all students to excel.

CogAT.com includes resources for:

• Teachers – The Ability Profile Finder offers instructional recommendations and strategies for each unique Ability Profile. Sample lesson plans show how to infuse CogAT data into differentiated instruction. Teachers also can access resources that outline proven strategies for easily grouping students of like abilities, while providing best practices, case studies and on-demand mini-modules that show CogAT in the Classroom in action.
• Administrators – A Gifted Coordinator Toolkit highlights best practices for using ability data in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), supporting emerging bilinguals in gifted education, and clustering and grouping students to maximize their learning. A Local Norms Tool enables administrators to calculate local norms in their district or school, giving more students the opportunity to receive advanced placement services. And an Ability and Achievement Tool combines multiple measures to identify gaps in student potential and performance.
• Parents – Articles on how to understand ability data, as well as what parents can do to support learners at home and foster student strengths.

“CogAT traditionally has been used to identify gifted students, but by assessing all students, we can understand their verbal, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning abilities to better target strengths and opportunities in a more equitable way,” said Monica Simonds, M.Ed., Director of Advanced Learning Programs and Services for the Richardson (Texas) Independent School District. “CogAT in the Classroom is helping us flip the script and move from deficit-based to strengths-based instruction, creating a more positive and effective learning environment for students and teachers.”

To learn more about the CogAT in the Classroom initiative, Riverside Insights has developed a series of on-demand webinars. CogAT.com will be home to a growing resource library designed to support teachers and leaders with actionable insights, make teachers’ lives easier and help educators understand the power of using CogAT data in the classroom for all learners. Visit www.cogat.com for more details.

About Riverside Insights

Riverside Insights, one of the nation’s leading and most long-standing developers of research-based assessments, is led by a powerful mission: to provide insights that help elevate potential and enrich the lives of students, clinical patients, employees, and organizations globally. For more information, visit www.RiversideInsights.com.