Deeper learning is a term often thrown around by superintendents and educators as one of their primary goals for students. But how is it most commonly defined, and does it work in practice?
District leaders’ examples of successful teaching of critical thinking skills, a necessary component of deeper learning, boils down to four main categories:
- Teachers posing high-level questions
- Project-based learning
- Real-world problem-solving activities
- Activities that students chose rather than assigned
That’s according to the from RAND Corporation, which surveyed district leaders on how they believe middle and high schoolers’ critical thinking skills are best developed. The examples above have been determined by leaders to be best aligned with research on effective methods for teaching critical thinking.
Project-based learning, for instance, is a popular strategy used in schools, most commonly in the form of science, technology, engineering, math and career and technical education classes. However, some districts reported embedding PBL in every grand and subject.
Additionally, seven in 10 district leaders reported collecting students’ input about teaching and learning, another component of deeper learning. The changes made based on student feedback often resulted in more engaging and hands-on instruction.
Take a look at the to learn more.
Identifying effective facilities grants
Facilities grants are often used for the upkeep and expansion of public schools, primarily offered from outside the state department of education. More likely than not, many of you frequently engage in these sorts of discussions with key stakeholders in your communities and/or states.
In their latest briefing, Burbio, a K12 spending and operations data aggregator, has outlined several facilities grants from across the country that may spark ideas for you in your conversations with other leaders. Here are some examples:
- In Alaska, the state offers s to districts with six-year plans that meet a variety of administrative requirements. Awarded projects cover everything from new school buildings to roof and exterior repairs, HVAC upgrades and more.
- In Washington, the are used to address non-recurring urgent small repair projects at public schools and can cost as much as $500,000.
- In West Virginia, the Building Authority Major Improvement Projects (MIP) Grants allow for major improvements in existing facilities that are non-refundable through the local maintenance budgets, which can range from $50,000 to $1 million
VP debate points on education
In this week’s vice presidential debate, K12 education made an appearance, unlike last month’s spar between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Their discussions focused primarily on gun violence and what steps needed to be taken to prevent school shootings.
Tim Walz, Harris’ vice presidential candidate, spoke of his 17-year-old son’s experience witnessing a shooting at a community center. “Those things don’t leave you,” he said.
He also said we need to be careful of stigmatizing mental health as it relates to gun violence.
“Just because you have a mental health issue doesn’t mean you’re violent,” said Walz. “And I think what we end up doing is we start looking for a scapegoat.”
JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential candidate, said a large number of gun violence is caused by those who obtain them illegally. As for keeping kids safe in schools, he said the “unfortunate” solution is to increase security in America’s schools.
“We have to make the doors stronger. We’ve got to make the windows stronger. And of course, we’ve got to increase school resource officers because the idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it doesn’t fit with recent experience,” said Vance.
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