English is a complex, yet strikingly beautiful language. The precision by which we can define an exact moment along a time continuum, describe a scene in front of our eyes with scrupulous detail and relate a seemingly indescribable emotion are all reasons I love the English language. I have taught English Language Learners (ELL) in some capacity for over five years, two of which were spent teaching English in Colombia. During my time as an ELL teacher I have discovered, through a lengthy—and at times painstaking—process of trial and error, activities that my students have loved. These games and activities get them jazzed about English while helping to develop their skills. Creating fun and relevant activities is one of the most important aspects to ensuring that your students are flourishing. Students are much more likely to comprehend the lesson behind the activity and engrave it in their minds if they have fun while learning. Additionally, the more relevant to everyday life that you can make the topic, the more likely the student is to engage in the activity and learn the intended lesson. Students show enthusiasm and excitement for the following list of games and activities, all of which are engaging and make learning fun. 1.) Stop A Great Game for Beginner Level Students. Targeted Skills: Stop is a great game to use when practicing spelling and as a tool for recalling vocabulary. It also adds a little bit of fun competition to the classroom environment. What You Need: One piece of paper and pen per team. A stopwatch or phone. Objective: The objective of the game is to be the team with the most vocabulary words—spelled correctly—that all start with a certain letter or are within a certain category. Instructions: To play Stop you should start by breaking the students up into groups of three or four (depending upon class size). Ask each team to make a team name (in English) and take out one piece of blank paper and a pen or pencil. Write the team names on the board. Each group may only have one writer and the writer must change each round. All students on the team must be the writer before a student can be a writer for the second time. The team must work together to come up with vocabulary words, spell them correctly and write them down. As the teacher, you will pick either a letter—for example ‘C’—or a category—for example ‘Food’—and then say go. The students will then have 30 seconds to write down as many vocabulary words that either start with the letter you chose or fall within the category. As soon as the 30 seconds are up yell Stop and the teams must hold their paper in the air immediately (this is done to prevent cheating as you walk around and check the different teams’ papers). When the time is up you then walk around the room and check each list, make sure that each word is spelled correctly (if it is not it doesn’t count) and fits the topic (letter or category). Then add up how many words they got and the team with the most amount of words gets one point—put it on the board under their team name. The team with the most points by the end of the game wins. Tips: I usually play the game for five or ten minutes and give one or two extra credit points to each member of the winning team. Make sure that the students clear their desks so that they cannot be looking in notebooks and books for more words. After you yell Stop make sure that all of the teams have their papers in the air so that they cannot add more words while you go around and check the papers of the other teams. 2.) Jeopardy An Adaptable Game Great for All levels (This is an Oldie, but a Goodie) Targeted Skills: Anything you want! Jeopardy is great because you can practice multiple skills—grammar, vocabulary and listening—all at once. This is a great game to play for unit/chapter reviews. What You Need: You can either make a Jeopardy board on your chalk/white board or you can make it online and project it. I prefer to make it online using templates such as those found on Jeopardy Labs. CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS AND INSTITUTES Targeted Skills: Anything you want! Jeopardy is great because you can practice multiple skills—grammar, vocabulary and listening—all at once. This is a great game to play for unit/chapter reviews. What You Need: You can either make a Jeopardy board on your chalk/white board or you can make it online and project it. I prefer to make it online using templates such as those found on Jeopardy Labs. Objective: You can adapt this game to any level of difficulty and any topic. The team with the most points at the end wins. Instructions: Follow the classic TV show rules. I do not make my students answer in the question format. If you use an online template, you can even include audio and/or video for listening practice. Tips: I love playing this for unit reviews. I give extra credit points on tests for the winning team. Depending upon the class size and the number of teams you can give different points to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. 3.) Three Letter Paragraph A Difficult, but Fun Game/Homework Assignment for Advanced Classes Targeted Skills: This activity helps students to practice vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. What You Need: Your students will need a piece of paper and a pen per student/team. Objective: CHECK OUT OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES The objective of this activity is for students to write a 20 to 30 word coherent “story” or “paragraph” using only words that start with 3 letters you choose. Instructions: This activity can be an in-class group activity or a solo homework activity. Start by picking three letters that the students must use to start every word of their paragraph—for example S, N and H. The students then make paragraphs that contain 20 to 30 words that start only with the letters you chose. (I let students veer from those letters only when using prepositions, articles or conjunctions, but no more than three times.) Here is an example (30 words): Saturday night, Scott sweetly surprised Sarah. She had spent several hours studying so Scott served her some salty snacks. Surprised, Scott noted how Sarah seemed super hyper, somehow not sleepy. Tips: Be intentional about the letters you choose. I almost always include the letter ‘H’ since it allows for both gender pronouns and multiple conjunctions. 4.) 45 Word Race A Good Game for Intermediate and Advanced Level Students (Typically Better for Advanced Students) Targeted Skills: This game targets grammar, sentence structure and paragraph development. What You Need: This game is played at the white board with two teams, so you will need two dry erase markers. Objective: The point of this game is to be the first team to create a 100% grammatically correct 45-word-paragraph revolving around the theme chosen by the instructor. Instructions: Split the class up into two teams and assign each team one half of the white board. You will then put a vocabulary word on the board, this will be the theme of the paragraph and it must be used within the paragraph—I recommend choosing a vocabulary word from that week’s unit. When you say “go,” the students must work in their teams to create a paragraph that is exactly 45 words long and 100% grammatically correct. Each team member may only write one word at a time, rotating through the entire team before someone may write a second word—by rotating through the entire team it ensures that everyone participates. Twice during the game, before the teams believe they are finished, they may ask you to check their work. If there is an error, everything written after it must be erased. The students may then fix the error and continue on with the activity. When a team thinks they are done they will call you over to check their work. First, count and make sure they have exactly 45 words. If not, they must erase and rewrite the last sentence to fit the word count. After seeing that they have 45 words, read through their paragraph and make sure it is free of grammar and spelling errors and that it contains the theme word. If the team meets the criteria, they win. Tips: I usually play this game at the beginning of class to get students ready and excited for class. I will sometimes give one extra credit point to the winning team. Takeaway I have personally seen these games actively engage students in the learning process and increase the retention and understanding of key topics while having fun. My students would ask me everyday if we could play these games, reinforcing my notion that my students, not just myself, enjoyed these activities. Try these games out and let us know how they go.

People often think of empathy as a purely sentimental skill, predicated solely on one’s ability to sympathize with the feelings of others and provide consoling advice or a touching remark. While that’s a part of it, and certainly a useful aspect of empathy, it’s not what it is in its purest form. Empathy is not about being unquestionably nice, or sacrificing necessary assertiveness when confrontation gets hard -- it is, in its purest form, about being able to relate with and connect with others on a fundamentally human level. And, this ability to relate and connect is absolutely necessary to the culture and climate of any organization that is driven to be successful, including schools, prominent businesses and governments. In other words, empathy is not a product of the “soft” side of human nature, it is in and of itself a product of how we relate with individuals, and ultimately determines how we interact with those individuals in the most efficient and productive ways possible. Empathy is the means by which we weave life together. It is how we leverage the skills and talents of others, how we engage an individual’s abilities to the fullest and how we push ourselves and others to keep growing and never settle for mediocrity. If an organization of any kind is not constantly cultivating and curating empathy in their work environment, then they cannot hope to develop meaningful collegial relationships. Even more importantly, without empathy, organizations cannot hope to build a culture and climate that is focused on reaching the people they intend to serve -- the community of individuals who believe in their mission. In order to understand the needs of your community, you must first understand how said community interacts with your organization. If you are unaware of how you’re trying to relate to that community, and can’t clearly define the purpose you and your colleagues are working for, and with each other to accomplish, then you will not resonate with your community. Cultivating and Curating Empathy What is the Purpose of Your Work? Why do you do what you do? It’s a pretty simple question, but it sometimes involves a lot of complicated answers. In the end though, it really boils down to this: why does your organization exist, and why do you believe in that existence? CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS AND INSTITUTES It’s likely that you have a pretty good idea of the why, and that many of your colleagues do as well, but is it common? Is it other-centered instead of self-centered? Is there a purpose that transcends what you do to accomplish the why and that focuses on the passion for why you do something? Is this passion shared amongst everyone? If not, how can you go about sharing this passion, or cultivating it in your work environment? Consider curating other environments and looking for the common thread that defines the purpose of those environments. Are there some examples where you have seen a purpose driven organization reach their goals because of the passion they associate with the work? What is the emphasis they place on their internal culture? How does it face outward to their community of supporters? How can this be replicated in your environment? Why do you do what you do? How can this be shared commonly? These are the questions that matter when cultivating and curating empathy. Permeate Climate with Purpose Driven Application After Defining Purpose, How Can it be Applied? After you have defined purpose, you will be tasked with ensuring that said purpose becomes a part of the climate in your work environment. This is where the relatability and connectability of empathy in its purest form shines. TAKE 10 MINUTES TO APPLY FOR YOUR SHARE OF $1 MILLION People are driven by the belief that they are impacting change with the work they do. If they are given a reason to believe in something greater than themselves, something that impacts the lives of others, they will excel. The purpose needs to be the driving force of your organization, and a living breathing representation of what it feels like to be in that setting. In other words, is the climate of your organization predicated on the passion that you and your colleagues associate with work on a daily basis? Can the community you’re attempting to serve feel this purpose when they walk into your building, or when they buy a product from you or when you engage them in important conversations? That starts with collegial relationships that buy-in to the same belief that they are impacting great change, and ends with a community of believers that are invested in your mission to realize that change. Leverage Empathy to Build Culture Work for Others by Working for Each Other So, necessarily then, climate is the intangible representation of an organization’s culture, and the culture is made up of the people who believe in said climate. In order to leverage this kind of culture, we must first be keenly aware of how we interact with the people around us and be firmly invested in finding a common ground that exists on a plane where everyone can find something they relate to. CHECK OUT OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES This often means making hard decisions, and making compromises that challenge us to think about the world differently and through someone else’s eyes. A culture that exists to work for others rather than for itself understands how challenging that work can be. It extends beyond the community it is trying to reach, and must reflect inward first. How else could you understand the challenges that your community of believers faces without first understanding the daily challenges your co-workers encounter? How else could you present solutions to those challenges? How else could an organization tackle these solutions without first understanding where and how they originate? Takeaway Empathy is not easy, and it is not meant to be. However, to step inside someone else’s shoes, if only for a moment, is the most rewarding and fulfilling fundamentally human experience in existence. We learn to feel relate to struggle we can only imagine, we learn to understand what we take for granted on a daily basis and most importantly we learn what it means to be fully invested in something that transcends our very existence. There is no greater way to understand the world than to develop empathy both individually, and on an organizational level as well. How are you reaching your community of believers?

Remember when you were a young kid and the thought of not being able to do something never even occurred to you? Instead of worrying about repercussions, possible consequences or whether or not you’d actually be able to fly, you just jumped off the roof. Of course, you learned a valuable lesson when you hit the ground, or when you rode your Tonka truck down your steep driveway and fell hard at the bottom, but the lesson didn’t stop you from having the flight, or ride, of your life in the moment. We learn valuable lessons from encountering situations that are harmful to us, but these lessons are never meant to hinder our overall ability to overcome obstacles. It’s true, we are all incapable of defying gravity, and if you hit your head hard enough on pavement it can be damaging, but as a kid you might never have learned that lesson without discovering it for yourself. In other words, failure is inevitable, but failure defines us -- without it, we would not know the meaning of success. Now, think back to the first time you were told you couldn’t do something and believed it. Maybe you can’t remember the distinct moment, but you can surely remember one. Reminiscing on that moment, or those moments, doesn’t feel great, does it? Now consider this. How many times, on a daily basis, do you tell yourself that you can’t do something? Let’s be clear, no one is immune to this sort of inner-dialogue, no matter how confident they are. It’s inevitable because we as humans are fallible and lack the antidote to doubt and disbelief. However, we are also privy to the fact that each and every one of us are distinctly unique from one another, and this uniqueness affords us the ability to do extraordinary things. Never forget that. Understanding that we are capable of doing extraordinary things is what allows us to discover new abilities and pursue new avenues of learning. There is a particular joy associated with encountering something for the first time, a joy unlike any other. Unfortunately, when we grow older we can lose sight of this joy, becoming fixed in what we can and cannot do and allowing the comfort of what we know to overpower any thought we have of venturing into the unknown. CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS AND INSTITUTES As Wallace Stevens once said, “It is the unknown that excites the ardor of scholars, who, in the known alone, would shrivel up with boredom.” We are all of us scholars once we recognize that we are constantly learning, and constantly students of life and the moments that string it together. A fixed mindset makes this impossible. You tell yourself that you are incapable of doing something, and thus make it true. You tell yourself that there is no way you could continue to develop a certain skill set, and therefore halt its growth. Or maybe you are constantly driven to be perceived a certain way instead of focusing on the authenticity that encapsulates who you are. Or maybe you avoid challenges because you fear failure. The point is, fixed mindsets permeate our existence and if we don’t take the time to identify this stressful and negative thinking on a daily basis, our focus can be diverted from what really matters: having the diligence to keep pushing toward our discoverable capacity to achieve truly amazing feats. Hopefully it goes without saying that your students experience these same mindsets, and that it’s important to encourage them to identify the times when they are allowing negativity to dictate how they approach a moment. How can you go about identifying these mindsets and eventually overcome them? Let’s get started. 1.) Is It True What You Are Thinking? Identify the Thought and Ask Yourself If It Is Accurate Pretty simple right? In theory it should be, but often times we are so absorbed with the undeniable truth of something that we do not take the time to reflect on the possibility that it could inherently be wrong. CHECK OUT OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES So, instead of believing with the unshakeable fortitude of a mountain that you are without a doubt incapable of building a website, or learning how to code or of teaching your students something new that you haven’t yet tried, consider the fact that you can, and will, bring a unique flair to any task. Life can be the culmination of all the moments where we’ve believed we can’t do something because someone told us we can’t or because we told ourselves we can’t, or it can instead be a bunch of tiny strands, where we’ve tested our limits, all roped together. You get to choose in each and every moment what you tell yourself. 2.) Use the Unknown As a Means To Growth Take a Step Off the Edge “One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end,” Jiddu Krishnamurti profoundly stated, when speaking of the everyday troubles that we encounter as humans. We are comfortable in what we know, plain and simple. When we venture into areas outside of our comfort zone it can be unnerving. Often times the results of these escapades outside our comfort zone confirm some lingering suspicion we have and keep us from continuing the adventure. You can’t test your limits unless you’re willing to flirt with the idea that you could fail, or that the results of your venture into the unknown may be disappointing. Take some time to identify an area outside of your comfort zone, and instead of dipping your toe in and automatically determining that the water is too cold, dive in and see what you find. Again, success could not exist without failure and failure is not permanent. 3.) Setbacks Are a Means to Development Abilities and Talents Can Be Cultivated Challenges are obstacles that are meant to be overcome, and through our abilities and talents we are able to overcome them. When we encounter something that pushes us to our limits we often balk at the challenge, and mark it as something that is out of our reach instead of utilizing the setback as an opportunity to develop some of the weaker aspects of our attributes. Next time you encounter an obstacle that seems too steep to overcome, use your more finely tuned skills to strategize on a plan you can use to develop your weaker skills enough to overcome the challenge. We are all extremely gifted and talented individuals capable of far more than we give ourselves credit for, all it takes is one encounter where we overcome something we previously thought to be impassable to convince us of this fact. Takeaway Remember when you were a kid and you never even considered the thought that you couldn’t do something? Stop reminiscing about that time in life as a fond memory unreachable now because you’re an adult and have developed to your “fullest”. Make it a reality again. Just don’t go jumping off any roofs because you think you can fly, that theory has already been proven.

It’s the season for gratefulness, so we wanted to take the time today to address some simple ways you can focus on gratitude in your professional practice, while exploring some of the benefits it can have. In fact, research has shown that gratitude can increase your well-being in a number of different ways, and that it supports healthy relationships, optimism and can even lead to increased exercising and fewer visits to the doctor. These benefits are greatest when gratitude is genuinely expressed and authentic in nature, which is a clear sign of emotional maturity and an understanding of how our emotional state can impact those around us. With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at four ways you can infuse gratitude into your daily professional practice. 1.) Be Proactive With Gratitude Express Gratitude in the Moment Often times we notice something that someone does, and are immediately struck with some level of emotional appreciation for the act, either because it directly impacts us or because it has a profound impact on someone else. Yet, how often do we take advantage of these moments to express our appreciation? We think, “I’ll let them know later,” or “They must already know what that meant to me, or to the person it impacted.” And then time passes, and with it, the feeling of appreciation diminishes and loses the value of genuinely expressed gratitude in the moment. Too often, we never tell the person at all, or when we do, the expression of gratitude has lost its shine and it feels forced. The next time you witness a student do something that you appreciate, let them know why and consider shooting a quick email or text to their parents so they can know too. When a colleague does something for you or someone else that you appreciate be sure to pass along the gratefulness in the moment or shortly after it takes place. Being proactive with gratitude, and being aware of the things that make us grateful, is the easiest way to make sure we are infusing our lives with gratitude and telling others when they have done something special, even if it’s simple. 2.) Recognize Positive Developments Take Time to Identify Positive Things Happening This time of year can be stressful, as we prepare for the holidays, and it can be hard to remember to look at the developments that are positive in schools and classrooms. We often lose site of the things we are executing well and instead focus on the stress associated with an increased amount of work, or the aspects of our lives that aren’t going well. It’s pretty simple. Take time in your daily life to identify the positives you are experiencing, where the source of that positivity comes from and either affirm gratitude if it is something that can’t be attributed to an individual, or pass along gratitude where it is due. In other words, as an educator, you are in a profession that is pivotal in the creation of tomorrow, and it doesn’t matter how you spin it, that’s special. CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS AND INSTITUTES The more we identify the areas of our life that have a positive impact on our well-being, the more likely we are to be cognizant of these moments and areas of life where we are being positively impacted, thereby cultivating gratitude for the sources where this positivity originates. 3.) Develop A Reflective Practice Make Time to Reflect This strategy goes hand-in-hand with taking time to notice positivity. Whether it’s journaling or making time to take a walk, developing a reflective practice -- one that allows to put our thoughts into disseminable information -- is key to many other parts of life other than the development of gratitude. However, when reflection is used in tandem with gratitude identification, expressing that gratitude becomes second-nature. Reflection is the backbone of modern pedagogy. When we reflect we’re not only looking at the end result, but we’re looking at what’s happening every day also, and ensuring that the end result is an informed process built on day-to-day reflection and the changes that reflection necessitates. This is true for assessment as much as it is true for our personal lives, and the personal lives of our students. How are you taking time every day to reflect on how your decisions impact the individual you are? How are your students developing this level of emotional maturity as well? Where does gratitude fit in, and how are you and your students being proactive about gratitude? 4.) Use Radical Listening Listening Instead of Hearing Radical listening is the practice of listening in a radically new way. Instead of listening and formulating a response while listening, radical listening tasks the listener to truly listen to what someone is saying to them without approaching a response with preconceived notions. Sometimes, when we listen to someone we immediately identify an area of contrast and associate that contrast with the word “but,” which in turn comes out in our response, and immediately rejects the validity of what someone has said. Radical listening asks you to consider contrast with the word “and,” which essentially just means you have more to add to what someone has said to you. In other words, one of the supreme joys of being human is that each and every one of us are innately unique from one another. The value of this uniqueness cannot be understated. Unfortunately, with this uniqueness comes opinion and while opinion is necessary, it often causes conflict because as humans we want the people we love and appreciate to identify with our values. This is where radical listening comes in. CHECK OUT OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES In other words, can you leverage the concept of a hub where every student in your school or classroom is likely to end up for one reason or another at some point during the day/learning? For example, where do you keep the classroom materials that your students use on a daily basis? Are they all in one area where students are likely to bump into one another and spark conversation on why they are using a particular item? When we choose to listen to individuals through this filter -- that filter being the fact that each individual is entitled to their uniqueness, and that said uniqueness can even add value to our lives -- we are choosing to listen to individuals with the word “and” as the main motivator to our responses. How does radical listening breed gratitude? It’s quite simple really. When we genuinely listen to someone and provide a response that isn’t motivated by contrast, we are taking the time to not only hear them, but listen to them, which in turn creates empathy. It also helps us approach our responses with humility, and empathy and humility are some of the defining pillars of gratitude. Ultimately, radical listening not only helps us develop gratitude for those we are listening to, it also helps others recognize that gratitude for their relationship with us as well, and relationships are built on this type of mutual respect and understanding. Takeaway The impact of authentic and genuine gratitude expression is palpable in our lives. When we either receive this type of appreciation from others, or express it ourselves, we feel immediately full and happy. As such, cultivating gratitude both as a personal expression, and as a means to healthy relationship building, is important. Learning the ways we can not only do this in our lives, but encourage it in the lives of our students as well, will lead to happier classrooms and schools, and less stress as we identify positivity along the way.

By now, most educators have heard of brain breaks as a way to ensure that students stay engaged, and don’t lose focus. Getting your students to move while in class, or while learning, is a proven strategy that works for focused and engaged learning. There’s a reason Kahoot! and GoNoodle have been so successful. However, like GoNoodle and Kahoot!, most of these brain break ideas, or the learning strategies that focus on movement during the process of learning, are geared for the primary grades when really they are applicable in any learning environment. Today, we’re going to run through some strategies that can be used -- and that are being used in colleges and even innovative businesses -- beyond the primary grades. Let’s get started, shall we? 1.) Move-It, a Google Chrome Extension Planned Intermittent Movement While Learning Move It is an extension you can install on your Google Chrome browser, and on your student’s devices as well, that prompts you and your students to move around intermittently throughout the day. This tool can be used in any learning environment to encourage movement that is both prompted and quick and easy. Most of the activities can be completed in a matter of seconds, and there is a pretty big variety of activities as well, from quick exercises to silly prompts that ask you to “wiggle your whole body for 10 seconds.” If you’re looking for a quick and simple tool to use for your school or in your classroom, then Move It is a good place to start. 2.) “Speed Dating” for the Classroom Support Collaboration with Rapid Ideation No, this is not the painfully awkward event of speed dating at some chintzy restaurant with red and white patterned table cloths and the red wine they use at cheap Italian restaurants; this “speed dating” for the classroom is a fun and fast-paced way to encourage collaboration amongst your students on a certain concept or topic. Start by picking a concept you want your students to cover and ideate on, and then introduce it to them during one of your classes (this activity can be used school-wide as well to encourage collaboration amongst different grade levels). Then have your students set up in two rows across from one another and start discussing the chosen concept. Once they’ve talked with one partner for 3-5 minutes, have them move on to the next partner. This is a good way to have them keep building on an idea with new viewpoints and different ways of thinking about how a concept can evolve. CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS AND INSTITUTES There are a number of ways you can set guidelines and parameters for the discussion too, whether you’re just giving them some broad questions to consider when discussing the concept, or setting up one row to be the “questioners” and the other row to be the “answerers.” Or, you can let them discuss the topic freely and see what happens with the freeform discussion. Consider trying a few different methods and seeing which one works best for your school or classroom. 3.) Mindful Breathing in Classrooms Start and End Class on the Right Breath This next strategy works to set daily expectations, in your school or classroom, that revolve around being mindful of your energy and the energy of your students. It also helps to ensure that you take time to reflect on how you and your students will, or did, engage with the day’s learning. It’s an activity that many college classrooms are using currently, and it can be used at any level of education above and below college. There are a plethora of ways to use this activity in classrooms, and the way you implement it is entirely up to you, and your creative approach to introducing mindful breathing activities. Consider starting your class with an activity that asks your students to meditate on their breathing. If you set this mindful breathing as an expectation for the start of every class you will start to notice that students look forward to this time as an opportunity to gather their thoughts and focus them toward the learning for the day, or for the class period. You may even consider using a singing bowl, or an app that simulates a singing bowl like this Tibetan Singing Bowls Meditation Timer. You can even look for some guided meditations online, and there are some great resources out there like the Calm Classroom Initiative for schools and classrooms. The point is, meditation has been around for centuries as a useful tool to help us be relaxed, and take calculated steps to focus our energy, try using it in your school or classroom. 4.) Create a Hub for Authentic Collaboration Make Collaboration Organic This last strategy is used in some of the most innovative and successful businesses in the world. For example, the Pixar offices were built to be a place that, according to Steve Jobs, “promoted encounters and unplanned collaborations” because when collaboration happens authentically it tends to have a bit more meat to it. That’s not to say that planned collaboration is useless, or devoid of meaty results, it just means that it can be a bit more difficult to get results with planned collaboration. We obviously can’t afford to create hubs that are as expansive and honestly as expensive as what Pixar did in their offices, but the same type of atmosphere can most certainly be created in schools and classrooms. CHECK OUT OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES In other words, can you leverage the concept of a hub where every student in your school or classroom is likely to end up for one reason or another at some point during the day/learning? For example, where do you keep the classroom materials that your students use on a daily basis? Are they all in one area where students are likely to bump into one another and spark conversation on why they are using a particular item? In your school, is there a place where all students tend to go to find resources for their learning? What items can they interact with while working with one another? Are there any environmental fixtures you can set up to encourage this authentic collaboration on a more regular basis? For example, can you set up booths and other collaborative work spaces to provide places where students can sit and work with one another? These are all questions that, if answered, can lead to more organic ideation through collaboration of different viewpoints and the various areas of interest your students have. Essentially, we want to create environments that are conducive to the cultivation of skills and talents in our students, and focusing on collaboration, especially organic collaboration, is a good place to begin. Takeaway In the end, it really all boils down to intentional movement and optimizing how students engage with your learning objectives. Furthermore, life is a relational endeavor, and continued interaction with others will be a large part of the future careers your students strive to have, so leveraging as much collaboration as possible in your school or classroom is always a good plan. Anyway, we hope these strategies were helpful when considering some ways to bring brain-friendly activities to your school or classroom, especially when moving beyond primary schooling.

Flow -- the harmony of creative ideation and peak production in pursuit of perfecting one’s craft. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi first described the feeling in his book Flow as a state of mind where we are “so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” Many times, flow is attributed to the state of mind writers, painters, musicians, poets and performers spend a lot of their time searching for. Once they find it, holding onto it becomes paramount -- some may even call it their muse, but that’s a story for another time, in another world. Make no mistake though, fluidity in truly wondrous production is something that people seek in every aspect of career-driven pursuits. Designing and finishing what we could call the quintessence of our best product, plan, motion or whatever it may be, is something that takes time, effort and practice. Throw the flow in there though, and sometimes it can seem easy, or at least a little bit easier than it normally would have been. It’s that state of mind where taking on challenging tasks and completing them feels like the completion happened without trying. It’s also that state of mind that seems fleeting, unattainable and frustratingly distant, like always trying to grab something that’s just barely out of reach, hands grasping empty air fruitlessly over and over again. It can be maddening. There are strategies that work to support us in our pursuit and attainment of this mindset though, and once we’ve attained it leveraging it is as easy as putting the mindset to use. In other words, this flow state can be controlled, if we give ourselves challenges/goals -- tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult -- to reach. Optimal experience, after all, is something that we make happen, and is therefore in our power. No matter how unattainable flow may seem, or how random the moments of flow may appear to be, there are ways to order our consciousness and achieve flow states of mind on a regular basis. Ultimately, we spend a good chunk of our lives working, and trying to find the most optimal way to not only produce work that fulfills the requirements we are tasked with, but that is also enjoyable. As such, learning how to transform our jobs into flow-producing activities is something we all seek. Let’s get flowing. Clearly Define Your Goals and Aspirations Use Self-Controlled Goals and Aspirations to Push Yourself This is where it all begins. As described above, flow is that state of mind you find in the situations where you are being challenged, yet using your talents and skills to overcome those challenges. It’s the harmony between being challenged enough to be stimulated, and being skilled enough at the challenge to not feel overwhelmed with the task. When we get overwhelmed, we tend to get stressed or anxious and lose focus because our minds are inundated with the anxiety associated with the task. Conversely, if a task is not challenging enough, we lose focus and start searching for other stimuli to occupy our minds with. Therefore, clearly defining our goals, aspirations and challenges is imperative to finding flow. Take some time to reflect on the daily challenges you face in your school or classroom and define where you are being challenged enough, where you aren’t being challenged enough and where you’re being overwhelmed with the task at hand. How can you optimize these experiences to better suit your talents and skills? This takes a lot of self-control and focus. Start by first defining what your daily standards are in relation to your goals and challenges. For example, if your challenge is to increase student engagement in your school or classroom, what standards are you using to measure that challenge? Are you reaching those standards too easily? Are they too difficult to reach? Where is the middle ground? Once you’ve determined this, find ways to monitor your success and provide yourself with feedback. If we are trying to constantly improve, then it is our duty to do so by holding ourselves accountable. How are you continually improving the model you’ve determined will be supportive of your goal to reach your challenge? How are the standards you use to measure that success constantly improving to keep up with the talents and skills you refine on a daily basis? The flow state of mind is not accidental, it is a practice in self-controlled accountability that challenges us to continually seek ways of bettering ourselves and our “product,” if you will. Consider the Consequences of Your Environment How Can You Make Your Environment Work for You? When seeking peak productivity, we often revert to routine in order to fulfill the needs of our desired output. Routine certainly works to ensure that we get the task done, but it is not conducive to finding a challenging environment where our skills and talents are best put to use. If you’re looking to challenge yourself more on a daily basis, and have clearly defined those challenges and aspirations (above), then your routine will need to be shaken up a bit. In other words, consider the consequences of your environment, and how your actions can impact you. The more we put ourselves in situations that provide direct feedback to our actions, the more we are likely to rise to the challenge. For you, this could be as simple as speaking up in a staff meeting, if you normally don’t, and providing your opinion as a potential avenue for success in your school or classroom. Or, it could mean taking steps in your learning environment to try something new, instead of using the same routine. Regardless, the key is that we put ourselves in situations that have direct consequences, but that can be managed by our skills and talents. You will rise to the occasion if your skills and talents are built to handle that occasion. Sometimes you just need to push yourself out of your comfort zone to realize that your defining attributes are built for more than just routine. Are You Dedicating a Set Time for Creative Discovery? Deliberately Practice Activities for the Sake of the Activity Itself, Not for the Results Are you making time to deliberately practice your skills and talents in the service of creative discovery? If so, you will learn to leverage what you learn in your flow state, and apply it to your learning environment more consistently. Once you dedicate time to this endeavor, you will be able to discover your flow state of mind on a more regular basis. Once we’ve clearly defined our goals and aspirations, and learned to use our environments to support us in exploring our talents and skills further, application is the next step. Application is not as simple as putting those strategies to the test; it needs to be focused deliberately and practiced for the sake of the activity itself, not for the desired outcomes of the activity. In other words, why do we enjoy planning truly inspiring and engaging lessons for our students? Or, why do we enjoy cultivating a school culture that is both supportive and challenging in the service of innovation? What is it about the activity itself that is so enjoyable? This is when flow state becomes the catalyst to creative discovery because, as Csikszentmihalyi describes in an interview with Wired Magazine, flow is “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement and thought follow inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” CHECK OUT OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES In other words, even though the results are what we seek with flow states of mind, we cannot focus on the results when we are seeking to utilize this state of mind to our advantage. This starts by just setting time aside for yourself to investigate the aspects of education that you are most passionate about, and deliberately focusing on the activity of investigating this passion, not how it will benefit your learning environment -- that will come naturally. Takeaway We all seek this mindset. It is the means by which life becomes an enjoyable experience, an experience that is both challenging and fulfilling to the talents and skills we innately possess as unique individuals. Seeking the flow state of mind with deliberate challenges and practices will result you achieving this state of mind beyond the coincidence of what appears to be mere accident. As said earlier, optimal experience can be controlled, and your skills and talents can move beyond routine, into a world where you are constantly using your attributes to discover new heights.

The following article was written by edWeb.net summarizing MindSpark's edLeader Panel on 2/15/2023. Artificial intelligence has the potential not only to solve existing problems but also to create new opportunities for both learners and teachers. During the forward-looking edLeader Panel “Harnessing the Power of Applied Artificial Intelligence for Educators,” experts discussed the transformative potential of applied AI in education. Their discussion was both a theoretical exploration and a practical dive into how AI can revolutionize educational practices. Dr. Josh Rayburn, Chief Information Officer for Woodford County Public Schools (KY), began the conversation by emphasizing the importance of educators moving beyond passive consumption of AI-generated content to actively using AI to streamline tasks and enhance the learning experience of students. Laura Burke, Principal of Clara Brown Entrepreneurial Academy (CO), highlighted his points by sharing how teachers can leverage generative AI to help students begin complex projects and process information. Of course, she advocated for its use as a support tool rather than a substitute for genuine effort. The panelists provided personal insights into their experiences with AI tools, demonstrating their practical benefits. Burke shared an insightful anecdote about using AI to draft a letter for a school field trip—which clearly revealed the gaps in her instructions. Her first attempt showed that she needed to be more precise in her prompts to the AI tool, underscoring the importance of clear communication and giving plenty of context when leveraging AI effectively. Similarly, Dr. Rayburn discussed using AI to de-escalate an emotionally charged email, showcasing AI’s ability to aid in professional communication by providing objective, well-crafted responses. The panelists recognized that there is a reluctance among some educators to integrate AI tools into their teaching. To help with this, they recommended a hands-on approach, suggesting that demonstrations of AI’s capabilities in solving everyday problems could help alleviate resistance. The importance of dedicating time to experiment with AI was highlighted, with a suggestion to invest a minimum of 10 hours to fully understand its potential, which is what AI expert Dr. Ethan Mollick recommends. To support educators in harnessing the power of AI, Kiki Huckaby, a former teacher and the Current Chief Impact Officer at MindSpark Learning, introduced SparkPrompts, a free tool designed to facilitate effective prompt engineering. This guide breaks down the prompt-writing process into manageable steps, helping educators communicate more effectively with AI tools to achieve desired outcomes. The panelists underscored the importance of selecting the right AI tools, like ChatGPT, Bard, and Copilot, noting their strengths and significant impact on educators’ efficiency and their potential to reduce planning time, thereby allowing more time for direct engagement with students. They also delved into the ethical considerations surrounding AI in education. Huckaby emphasized the importance of focusing on AI’s positive potential while maintaining a human-centric approach, as she shared, “AI can be used for good, can be used for bad, or can be used for really ugly things. So how do we focus on the good and leverage it for positive outputs?” One clear response was to ensure that AI is used to augment rather than replace the skill-building process. Additionally, educators need to build guardrails that ensure that AI’s application is guided by principles aimed at maximizing human well-being and positive outcomes. MindSpark’s public guidelines offer a framework for districts to adopt and adapt as needed, ensuring a responsible integration of AI into educational settings—a great jumping-off point for those who aren’t sure where to begin. A concerning revelation from the discussion was that 70% of educators had not seen their districts take an official stance on AI. Dr. Rayburn warned that blocking AI tools could be counterproductive and stressed the need for school districts to embrace AI technology. He advocated for studying successful implementations, developing policies for AI use, and embracing the technology as an integral part of our future. AI can have transformative power in redefining educational paradigms, from enhancing administrative efficiency to enriching the learning experience for students. Educators should embrace AI not just as a technological tool, but as a partner in the journey of learning and teaching. By focusing on the practical, ethical, and innovative applications of AI, the panelists charted a course toward a future where technology and education converge to create more engaging, efficient, and effective learning environments. Through their insights and experiences, they provided a comprehensive guide for educators to navigate the integration of AI in education, ensuring that its potential is harnessed to enhance, rather than replace, the human touch in learning.

Empathy -- the ability to understand and relate to another person’s feelings and emotions, an ability that is imperative in life, and in any career environment. As teachers, we prepare students for their lives beyond education, and take particular note of helping students develop skills that will benefit them in their future careers, and their relationships with others currently, and moving forward as well. Empathy can be a particularly difficult skill to develop, but it is key to enriched living. In truth, there are many great ways to develop empathy, such as advisory groups, social and emotional learning objectives and making emotional awareness a part of your classroom. There are few ways that are as engaging and as instructional as improvisation (improv) though. It’s a great way to have fun in your classroom, while also focusing on developing skills that will lead to a greater understanding of empathy for your students. Improv is essentially made up of a few basic rules -- we’re going to call them “mindsets” though -- and games where those rules apply. These rules can move beyond the space of improv though, and into the lives of your students’ interactions with others -- this is where the rules become mindsets. Reflecting on the improv activities, and how they relate to actual interactions, will be pivotal to the process of increasing student empathy in your classroom. Let’s get started. Mindset # 1.) “Yes, And” Mentality Suggested Game -- Plan an Event The “yes, and” mentality is probably the most well-known rule of improv because it has moved beyond the improv space, and into design thinking methodology, innovative businesses and into education as well. This mentality is built on the premise that saying “no” is easy, yet not supportive of ideation, creation and failing forward. “No” squashes any potential development from happening before it has even begun. CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS AND INSTITUTES Furthermore, it’s not just about avoiding answers that start with “no,” but also avoiding responses that start with “yes, but” because they are essentially the same response. Both “no” and “yes, but” lack active listening, and make it hard for an individual to share their ideas. In both responses, the individual sharing an idea is being promptly rejected, rather than supported in moving forward with the idea. “Yes, and” responses leave open the possibility for an idea to be built upon. They also signify active listening -- with these responses, you’re encouraging your students to truly hear their classmates and others in their lives, and respond by acknowledging what they’ve heard, so that they can collaboratively move forward with that individual. Collaborative ideation, creation and risk-taking become easier, and a fail-forward mentality is easier to adopt. You can reference this improv rule by tasking your students with planning an imaginary event as the game -- one that pertains to an entertaining and humorous subject, thereby making the build up of “yes, and” responses more outlandish as the game progresses. Pair your students with one another and have one be the party planner, while the other responds to the event planner with the progression of “no” responses, to “yes, but” responses and finally to “yes, and” responses. Explore how the dynamics of the game change with each response, and how much more fun and supportive it is to say “yes, and.” Mindset # 2.) Don’t Worry About Mistakes, Think Of Them As Opportunities Suggested Game -- A Day In the Life This mindset can really be used in any improv game because mistakes are inevitable, but not crippling, they are instead opportunities to increase the humor of a scene. It's also extremely powerful in life, and empowers students to move beyond what they would normally deem as mistakes, and look for the opportunity in the mistake instead. For example, Penicilin would have never been created if Sir Alexander Fleming hadn’t looked through his thrown-away Petri dishes in search of answers that would allow him to develop the apparent cure-all drug he was trying to create. In other words, mistakes are a welcome part of life, and you can empower liberated innovators in your classroom by encouraging your students to rethink their opinion of failure with the mindset that it is a necessary and inevitable part of life, and that there is much to be won from that part of life. By thinking of mistakes as inevitable, you’re learning how to empathize with individuals who make mistakes because we all do. Once your students realize this, then they are able to encourage each other and others in their lives through mistakes with the mindset that there is opportunity there, and empathize with those individuals because they know that everyone makes mistakes. A good way to bring this mindset to your classroom is by playing an improv game where the scenes enacted are freeform and fully run by your students’ imaginations. Have your students pick a favorite superhero, sports hero or celebrity, and enact what a day in the life of that individual may be like. They can do different scenes and enactments, and try to capitalize off of situations where perceived mistakes are made. The point is, mistakes will be made because the only direction given to your students is to enact scenes they believe are representative of the character chosen, and they will have to use their imagination to do so. Explore areas where students thought they made mistakes, and how they pushed through those mistakes and made them part of the scene. Mindset # 3.) Make Your Partner(s) Look Good Suggested Game -- Gift Giving Improv is entirely dependent upon collaboration in order for it to be successful. Often times, individuals will step up to do their scene or enactment and have nothing to say. This will probably happen when you try the game mentioned under mindset #2, and you’ll see students be vulnerable with the individuals around them in attempt to be a part of the enactment. This is when it’s imperative that others in the group make their partner(s) look good, and support them when it appears like they have nothing to say. This strategy goes hand-in-hand with capitalizing on perceived mistakes, and utilizing the “yes, and” mindset. Making their partner(s) look good is something that will enable your students to discover the gift in any social interaction they have with someone, and empower the individuals they choose to have relationships with. Being in a vulnerable situation where they feel like they have nothing to offer to their surroundings is something they will experience themselves as well. Recognizing that they are not the only one who goes through these types of experiences will be key in their own confidence, and also their willingness to be understanding of when others are experiencing those vulnerable situations. CHECK OUT OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES What better way to bring this mindset to your classroom than by playing an improv game that focuses on scenes or enactments where one individual gives an imaginary gift to another? The individual receiving the gift offers something else to the situation as well. For example, maybe one partner says “Hey, I got you this box of chocolates,” and the other says “Thanks! Now, I have something to give to my significant other for Valentine’s Day.” The idea is that each partner is (a either excited to give the gift, or receive it, and (b that once a gift is received, it is being built upon without judgement, or preclusions of any sort. Put your students on the spot with this game by having them choose the gift they are going to give based on how they hold the imaginary gift in their hands, so that it isn’t defined by any premeditation. This will ensure a genuine response by both parties involved, and make it more fun. There are many strategies you can use to beef this game up as well, and it’s a pretty popular improv game you can learn more about on the Internet. At the end, explore students’ responses to one another, and how being enthusiastic about what people offer is something that can move beyond the improv space, and into their daily interactions. Don’t Forget to Take Time to Reflect How Do Improv Mindsets Encourage Creativity, Ideation and Empathy? While improv is a fun and engaging way to bring empathy, creativity and ideation activities to your classroom, it’s important that you and your students reflect on the process in order to maximize the effectiveness. Taking steps to explore how the mindsets above -- as well as others -- can move beyond the space of your improv activities, and into the daily lives of your students, will be an important conversation to have. It’s also important to move beyond just verbal reflection though, and get students to write their reflections down -- the power of writing can never be understated, but storytelling is another blog topic. The point is, reflect with both the written and spoken word. What areas of their lives would these mindsets be beneficial? What are some recent examples of where they could have utilized some of those mindsets, both with each other, and away from school as well? How can they see themselves implementing these mindsets into their daily and academic lives? How can they challenge those around them to be more empathetic to them? Where can they be assertive with others when someone is not using the mindsets covered above? There are a wealth of questions you can explore as a class, and continue to explore as you move throughout the year and emphasize empathy. Takeaway Empathy is an ability that is often forgotten or undervalued. While seeking our own goals we often forget to care about the goals of others, and lose sight of the power in relationships. Tasking your students to be cognizant of their relationships with others will not only help them develop deep and meaningful relationships with people throughout their lives, but will also help them navigate the tricky environments involved in future careers. Without empathy for others, humans would be cold, and encased by a hard exterior, as vulnerable relationships built on empathy are some of the most fulfilling experiences we get to feel and see throughout life. Challenge your students to understand the power of empathy for others by using some classic improv mindsets for fodder in your learning environment.

By: Anne Fleming There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish, whether that is in politics or other fields. No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens. - Michelle Obama Growing up, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by inspiring female educators who instilled in me a love for learning and a deep respect for the teaching profession. In honor of Women’s History Month, I reflect on the impact that these educators had on my life and express gratitude for their dedication and passion. Learning from Inspiring Women For as long as I can remember, I have been surrounded by incredible female educators. My mother and grandmother spent time as educators and instilled in me a profound respect for my own educators and a love for learning growing up. Throughout elementary school, I only ever had female educators, and I adored each one of them. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Rock, taught me how to write my name, how to count to 100, and how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. On a day off from school, she once hosted some girls from my class along with our moms at her home for a day of games, crafts, and marshmallow toasting over the fire pit. In first grade, I was in a split classroom with second graders. Our teacher, Mrs. Smith, always managed to handle both groups with ease. I will never forget sitting cross-legged on the floor while she read books aloud, taking on different voices for each character to bring the story to life. Before the start of third grade, my family moved to a new city which meant attending a new elementary school. I was sad about leaving friends behind, and nervous about starting at my new school. When I met my teacher, Mrs. Standish, her warm smile instantly made me feel at home. We started the first day with a game of musical chairs to determine our seating assignments, and my nerves began to melt away as we danced around the classroom. As the school year went on, Mrs. Standish encouraged me to get to know everyone in the class and make new friends. She had a way of completely immersing us in whatever we were learning, from transforming the classroom with colorful decorations for each new subject to leading ancient Egyptian-inspired art projects to singing made-up songs about different animal species. In an especially beloved birthday tradition, she would sit the birthday boy or girl at the front of the class and make them a special birthday crown out of newspaper and ribbon while everyone sang Happy Birthday. I look back fondly on my memories of elementary school with deep gratitude for these brilliant women, who chose to dedicate themselves to the teaching profession with passion and joy. Celebrating the Women Who Shape Education As a young girl, the love and fun my educators brought to the classroom not only taught me about math, English, and history but also about life. They set an example for how to treat others and made me excited to come to school and learn each day. The impact of these experiences helped me develop confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong love for learning. As an adult, my respect for these women is even greater with the understanding that they did all of this for their students while managing their own lives and grappling with the challenges that educators and women face every day. Under the pressure of limited time, energy, and income, there are still countless educators who spend their own money on classroom supplies, give up free time for planning and grading, and go above and beyond in every way for their students. This Women’s History Month, let us celebrate the dedicated female educators who have historically dominated and championed the field of education, and who continue to make a difference in the lives of so many. Their work has a profound influence on our children, and therefore our future - This should not be taken for granted. MindSpark’s Commitment to Promoting Inclusion and Diversity in Education At MindSpark, we believe that inclusion and belonging are the single most important drivers of performance. There is a need for female educators to be celebrated, as they play a huge role in encouraging young girls to pursue careers in fields that have long been male-dominated. MindSpark works with educators and industry partners to cultivate whole-person growth and sustained organizational outcomes through extraordinary professional learning experiences. Inclusion and belonging are huge parts of why we do what we do. Learn more about our programs and how they not only upskill individuals but also promote the recognition and acceptance of all through education.

Surely you’ve heard about design thinking ideology by now -- the human-centered and critical thinking methodology is sweeping the nation in the corporate world, and it has recently made an entry into the world of education. At its core, design thinking is a mindset based on accepting -- and even celebrating -- failure as a means to creative thought and innovation; this mindset is capable of permeating an entire culture and instilling the individuals that make up that culture with the confidence to take risks in the service of bringing truly innovative ideation to their organization. Make no mistake, schools are organizations dependent upon the same drive for innovation as businesses. But, how do you bring a culture that promotes failing forward, creative ideation and risk-taking -- a culture of innovation -- to your school? With Sharpies. Okay, obviously not, but let’s use Sharpies as a simple metaphor here. Sharpies are also known as permanent markers, yes? We can all agree. In other words, you cannot undo the permanence of what is inked in Sharpie. You can erase pencil, and even pen, but you cannot erase Sharpie. And when an idea is marked in Sharpie, it tends to stick around. This is why a lot of design thinking sessions use Post-it Notes and Sharpies for ideation. The small landscape of the Post-it Note makes the breadth of an idea succinct and high-level while the Sharpie ensures that what is written cannot be undone -- more simply, ideas are easily added to the field rapidly, and no idea is kept from the field unless that individual chooses to keep it to him/herself. The point is, by thinking of every single idea as something permanent enough to have a shot in the world of innovation, you give those ideas a chance to succeed. By ensuring that every single individual within the school is encouraged to be vulnerable with their ideas enough to where they can take the risk of incorporating them permanently as a practice, you are creating a culture that will become innovative. It’s impossible for something to succeed if it is never given the chance to be tested for success. Failure is inevitable of course, but you cannot be afraid to fail. Failure is not permanent. Okay, what are some practices and tangible strategies you can use to bring a culture predicated on risk-taking and growth to your school? Check out a few quick hits below: Everyone Has to Believe-in to Buy-in Culture Starts with School Leaders, Ends with Teachers Bringing an innovative culture to your school is something you can do as an educator at any level; making sure school leaders set the tone first will ensure school-wide believe-in though. Do you want to be part of a culture that mentors everyone, is honest, impact hungry and embraces the unexpected? That’s only possible when everyone buys into said culture and takes the necessary steps toward being supportive, creative and encouraging of critical thinking. If you’re a teacher trying to bring this culture to your school you can start by bringing it to your classroom. Encourage your students to redefine the way they understand failure, and willingly try ideas that may fail but that may also offer a creative solution to problems they face. Once you and your students embrace this mindset, you can use your classroom as a point of reference for an entire school culture. If you’re a school leader in search of something different for your school and the teachers and students who inhabit it, then take the initiative with your staff, and make a plan to bring this direction to your school. That starts by first making your staff aware of the desired direction and how it can be brought into your school, and then encouraging and supporting them in taking risks to make that culture a reality. Teachers and school leaders alike can bring this culture to their school or classroom in a number of ways; the next few headlines will detail some of those ways. Define What Failure Is Dismantle risk-aversion and build a risk-taking culture The traditional mindset defines failure as the inability to achieve results based on certain criteria. A growth mindset defines that failure instead as the stepping stone to improvement, with the very simple adage of: learning from one’s mistakes as a catalyst to that improvement. However, instead of thinking of them as mistakes, you can categorize failures as attempts that didn’t reach their mark, but that will allow for similar marks/aspirations, further down the road, to be reached. This is the first step in cultivating a culture that thrives on creativity, and the permanence of the Sharpie metaphor mentioned above. In other words, the risk of permanence becomes something that you look forward to, thereby dismantling a culture whose growth is stunted by risk-aversion. How is that culture dismantled? With three steps. 1) Define what failure is, and what it is not. 2) Identify why a fear of risk is natural and healthy, and challenge that uncomfortability with healthy risks. 3) Identify the areas where a risk-taking mindset can be implemented. Start by defining how failure can be thought of as a culture, and develop strategies that help staff to redefine how they think about failure. Then, understand that humans are innately wired to avoid risk -- because they fear failure -- but that does not mean risk-aversion should define what we do; there are healthy ways to take risks. Finally, develop strategies for implementing that healthy risk-taking culture into the areas where you’ve identified it is needed most, then implement it. Encourage Rapid-fire Ideation Start an Innovation Movement with Unrestrained Ideas We brought up Post-it Notes and Sharpies earlier for a reason because both can be used in tandem to encourage ideation that is unrestrained by too much in-depth thinking. Support everyone to be vulnerable with their ideas, Sharpie them to a Post-it Note and share them in an environment where there are no wrong answers, and that welcomes creative problem-solving. Vulnerability and discomfort can be used as a gateway to optimal critical thinking. When individuals start putting every idea to paper without considering the viability of each idea, but instead focusing on the possibilities associated with an idea, they are able to exist in a world where ideas flow without barriers. Start with a problem you want to solve, either in your school or classroom, identify the area(s) you need to focus on to solve it and start rapidly proposing ways you can solve the problem. You will begin to notice trends in the way people propose their solutions, trends you can whittle down even further with more rapid-fire ideation that focuses on how solutions can be implemented. Eventually, you and your team will agree on some ideas that have a lot of potential. The next step is taking a risk with some of those ideas. Inevitably, risks will result in failure. School culture is evidenced by how the individuals in that school choose to cope with those failures. Hold Fail Forward Parties Celebrate Failure and Use it to Move Forward Learning how to cope with failure is key. Failure is a bona fide fact of life, but it is not permanent, as we iterated earlier. n fact, moving forward with failed ideas -- revisiting where an idea failed and then redesigning a new strategy that keeps those failures in mind -- is how they continue to evolve and become finely tuned for results. Recognize that failure is a by-product of experimentation, and that the more we experiment, the more we will fail. However, the more we fail, the more we discover insights that would be impossible without the experimentation that led to a certain failure. As such, failures should be celebrated as a necessity for innovative cultures. Holding failure parties is one of the ways to do this. When you try something and it doesn’t work, hold a “party” that celebrates not only the fact that you experimented with some new idea, but also that you discovered amazing insights as a result of that experimentation and can now use those insights as a catalyst to your next experiment. In other words, failures must not only be identified and recognized as a path toward innovation, they must also be analyzed for insights in order to stay on that path toward innovation. Realizing that failure is a part of success is the first step to staying on the cutting edge; celebrating your constant dedication to that path is one way to ensure that you continue to strive for experimentation until an experiment works, and becomes permanent. Takeaway Ultimately, the permanence metaphor comes down to one thing -- a school culture that is innovative year in and year out will be permanent. Permanent to those who work there, and who want to bring truly game-changing ideas to the field of education. Permanent to the students who inhabit those hallways, and who will one day change the world because they were empowered to be creative and entertain ideas capable of impacting humanity on a scale that is largely incomprehensible currently. And finally, permanent to the parents that get to watch their child grow in a school culture that does not shy away from risks, and that encourages the future of this world to seek answers to questions we only dream of answering. Permanence is the mark of something that cannot be undone. Make something permanent in your school by striving for experimentation first.

Personalized learning has become a major focus in schools and classrooms, and there are a ton of strategies you can use as introductory steps for student-centered learning, and to amplify the student-centered learning you’re already focusing on in your classroom. Personalized learning is also more accessible now -- there are apps that empower students to document their learning, and tangible strategies you can use to transform your classroom into an environment that’s versatile and flexible -- which gives students the freedom to create their own learning pathway, each and every day. Transforming your classroom into a personalized learning environment will take time; however, you can start introducing a student-centered learning approach today. Let’s get started, shall we? We’ll start with the most comprehensive point because personalized learning starts with student-centered knowledge discovery -- knowing your learner. 1.) Start With Student Discovery Activities Transition Into Personalized Learning With The Basics Personalized learning begins and ends with the student, and you won’t be able to develop strategies that are centered on your students unless you take the time to know them first. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to bring activities to your classroom that are focused on discovering more about your students. Use a student’s family as a resource Start by taking time to learn from your student’s family, as families can be the best resource for getting to know more about an individual. Home visits at the beginning of the year are a good start, and provide you an opportunity to get to know a student’s parents/guardians while also learning more about the student. Ask parents/guardians about their kid(s) -- how they learn best, what they enjoy learning about and what obstacles and challenges seem to get in their way. Developing this rapport is important, and surveying a child’s talents and skills will help you design learning that is catered to their needs. Reimagine your role as the teacher Your students are at school -- and in your classroom -- to learn, and the ultimate goal of teaching is to educate students for the futures that await them. As the teacher, your role is to facilitate that learning; however, that does not mean that all learning must be channeled through you. You may instead consider discovering learning topics, objectives, tasks and outcomes together as a class. What is interesting about a certain topic for specific students? Facilitate the investigation of that interest by giving individual students the license to research it, learn about it and eventually present their findings. Individuals like to learn, and they like to learn in their own way. If you give students the freedom to discover a particular interest on their own terms, you’re giving them the freedom of personalized learning. Take the “about me” poster to the next level with student interviews We all know the “about me” poster -- it’s been a staple of classrooms for quite some time, and has served its purpose well. The “about me” poster is a great way to break the ice and create a space where students share who they are with their classmates and their teacher. However, it can be used for so much more, particularly if student interviews become a part of the equation. Have students conduct interviews with their classmates, so they can learn about one another, and share the results with the class. Cover topics that challenge students to think critically about how they learn, what they like to learn about and what challenges that learning. For example, you can have them ask each other questions that tackle experiential learning versus visual learning, how distractions dictate their time, what motivates them to learn and what doesn’t, what environments they like to learn in and what their favorite topics are. These posters will of course take other aspects of your students into account, but have a section of the poster dedicated to learning styles. Then, use these posters as points of reference throughout the entire year. If nothing else, they can be living documents that inform your instruction and interactions with your students throughout the year. 2.) Flexible Seating Give Your Students Options For How They Choose To Learn Redesigning your classroom is another way to provide an environment that suits the eclectic needs and learning styles of the individuals that inhabit that classroom. Maybe you have an exceptionally jittery student who finds sitting in a chair extremely difficult. Giving them the option to stand while they work could be liberating for them, and give them the opportunity to focus in a way that wasn't possible for them while sitting. Alternatively, you could have a student who enjoys spending a lot of time on the floor, for whatever particular reason. A bean bag chair may work for them so they can roll to the ground and work easier than if they were in a desk, and also not draw as much attention when they do so. The point is, not all students are able to work by sitting in a chair with a desk in front of it. Adults struggle with this as well, and it’s why a lot of offices are now offering many different seating options for their employees, and also desks that can be used while sitting or standing. Students will benefit from similar options in their learning environment, and will be more apt to learn when they can find a seating arrangement that is suitable to their current state of mind. 3.) Assessment Is Not About The Destination Reframe The Way You And Your Students Think About Assessment By stressing the importance of what you learn along the way, rather than only what you walk away with at the end, you’re teaching students to understand the value of process, and how process impacts the end result. Consider how much we learn over the course of our lives, or just during the time between our first day of high school and our last day of college. The ultimate goal is to move from a high school diploma into a college degree, but -- most times -- the experiences we accumulate along the way are more influential to who we become as individuals. Sure, the degrees and diplomas end up playing big roles in our careers, but the experiences play an even bigger role in how we interact with those around us, and life is a relational pursuit. Taking the time to co-create assessment methods with your students, and particularly what they want to be assessed on, is a great way to emphasize the importance of journeying through learning. Work with your students to design assessment plans that not only take note of the end result, but that also reflect on how they reached that end result. What worked for them while they were searching for a particular answer? What did they enjoy about the process of discovery? What was it that they did not enjoy? How can they make learning a process that they enjoy? How important is the process to ensuring that the final product is up to their standards? The answers to these questions will be valuable in their future learning environments, but, more importantly, in their lives as well. 4.) Let Students Choose Their Own Adventure Empower Students To Discover, Research And Showcase Their Interests First of all, there are clearly subjects that education standards mandate must be covered. That does not mean said subjects can’t be covered in unique and innovative ways. By giving your students autonomy over what aspect of a subject they investigate, you will empower them to find creative and innovative ways to interact with that subject. Our “Ten Free Resources For Teachers” blog is a great place to start with some tools that can help to facilitate this student-centered action in your classroom. Anyway, if there is a certain subject that you need to cover as a classroom, try introducing the subject and tasking your students with researching it and making note of what intrigues them. You can even introduce vocabulary associated with the subject, as possible topic clusters for research, to give your students a framework with which to work. The point is, you’re putting the power in the hands of your students to find what interests them about a certain subject, do research according to that interest and present their findings. Generally, these subjects are broad but the topics your students choose to investigate can deal with certain aspects of the subject. For example, maybe the subject is ecology, but as a class you could choose to investigate sustainability in environments, and one student, or a group of a few students, could choose to delve deeper into symbiotic relationships. It boils down to this: giving your students autonomy over what aspect of a subject they learn about gives them the initiative to learn about that topic cluster in a way that works for them, and to discover interests in the wide sea of school subjects they will encounter. 5.) Student Portfolios Empower Students To Showcase Their Learning, Their Way Students learning how to showcase their work so that it points to their talents, and an ability to disseminate information appropriately, will be key as they move into high school and college, and obviously when they move into a career. Students learning how to showcase their work so that it points to their talents, and an ability to disseminate information appropriately, will be key as they move into high school and college, and obviously when they move into a career. Many don’t ever create portfolios to showcase their work, but they create resumes, websites, landing pages, powerpoints, etc. all in the service of displaying their talents. It’s natural. Asking your students to take time and find a suitable means -- one that speaks to them -- for sharing their findings, is an important part of life. It’s also a sure-fire way to wrap up all the learning you did throughout the year, and put it into one easily understandable “document” of sorts. The best part? You’re giving your students the initiative to be creative with how they present their portfolio. There are great digital resources available to students who want to go that route, and they can also choose to do something tangible, like a classic portfolio. Learning how to showcase one’s work in a productive and engaging way is important. Giving your students autonomy over how they present their work is a creative bonus to the process. Takeaway The bottom line -- by focusing on personalized learning, you’re teaching a student how to become a self-directed learner; instead of being a passive consumer of knowledge, they learn to actively create their own access to knowledge. Personalized learning is the opposite of control, it puts much of the control in the hands of your students, and this kind of transition can be difficult for teachers. We don’t want to have a class full of mutinous kids who spend all day devising intricate and creative spit-wad and paper-airplane assembly lines; at the same time, we also don’t want a class full of monotonous repeaters of information who don’t think for themselves. Where’s the balance? The balance is in challenging your students to seek their passion, not their desire. It’s a fine line of difference, but there is a difference. Don’t ask your students to investigate what they desire to investigate, ask them to discover aspects of a subject that they are passionate to understand. Relinquish control of the learning -- not entirely -- by being the facilitator of passion, of wonder and of discovery for the sake of discovery. Quite simply, let imagination run free, but manage that imagination with personalized learning geared toward leveraging the passion of imagination.

One of the most gratifying parts of being human is the fact that we are distinctly unique from one another. From choice of favorite color, to morning routines, to what we like to listen to while driving, to how we interact with those around us and what we’re known for by others -- we are inevitably each our own unique person. Make no mistake, that is one of the greatest gifts of being human, right up there with breathing. This type of individuality is innate in each and every one of us; as such, we all inevitably have our own curiosities, quirks and needs, wants and desires. These apply across a wide array of areas in our lives, but one area where uniqueness plays a key role is how we learn, and what environment suits our learning the best. This is true for both adults and kids -- some of us learn best when blocked off from all distraction, whereas others learn better when working with others and some of us learn better visually as opposed to experientially. The point is, as distinctly unique individuals, your students each learn in personalized ways -- a topic we covered in our blog “5 Simple Personalized Learning Strategies For Your Classroom” -- and may need to interact with your learning environment in different ways in order to get the most out of their learning. A good place to start when bringing a more personalized learning approach to your classroom is with classroom redesign. By involving your students in the process of creating a redesigned classroom you’re sure to maximize their engagement and ensure they get the most out of your teaching. So, let’s get started, shall we? 1.) Reimagine Classroom Seating Give Students The Flexibility To Sit, Stand, Work Alone, Work Together, Etc… Flexible seating has become a movement in education -- even though the idea itself has been around for quite some time, it’s starting to gain a lot more traction recently. The reasoning? It works to maximize student engagement, plain and simple. Traditional seating simply does not work for a good amount of students, whereas flexible seating gives every student the opportunity to work in whatever setting works best for them. So, how do you bring flexible seating to your classroom? Start with the flexible part of it -- you need to have the versatility to offer your students many different options. Can they work standing up? Can they work on the floor? Can they work with one another? Can they work by themselves if they want to? These are some of the big questions that drive flexible seating. Consider designating different parts of your classroom for various learning objectives. For example, one area could be used for collaborative work, while another would be closed off for those students who would rather work by themselves. Provide an area for students to work while standing, and an area for them to sprawl out on the floor if they so desire. The point is, give them flexible options. Next, take into account the seating part of it. For standing areas, you obviously wouldn’t need seating, but for the floor, you may consider bean bag chairs -- or pillows -- so that students can roll to the floor if they want to. Collaborative spaces may need a table, and individual spaces need some seclusion. You can use existing furniture to create these spaces as well. For example, you could flip a table on its edge and create a fort where a student can work alone. Bottom line -- sometimes students don’t work best in the spaces where they think they will, so monitoring the seating arrangements will be key. However, it’s also important that each kid gets to try all the options after you implement flexible seating, so they can learn where they are most productive. Involving them in the process to begin with also ensure that students have a voice in how some of the flexible seating is arranged. 2.) Reimagine Classroom Wall Space Use Your Walls As Space For Kids To Ideate, Create And Collaborate What do your kids currently see on the walls of your classroom? Do you keep the same layout on your walls year in and year out? Do you use them for decoration more than you use them to showcase student learning? Can students interact with the walls in your classroom? Classroom walls can be some of the most powerful and impactful learning tools in your space. Using them properly can be difficult though. When the mind wanders or is curious, often times we start looking around us and pondering. Many times we look at the walls that surround us in search of answers. Imagine if you could leverage that curiosity or wandering to your advantage. By reimagining how you use your classroom walls, you can. What if while your students were working on a project they could just take to the wall and put some sticky note ideation on it, hashing out their ponderings and engaging their creativity?What if there were whiteboards, plexiglass and writable surfaces all around them that they could use whenever they saw fit? Empower and encourage your students to use the walls as a springboard for their ideation and a catalyst to their creativity and imagination. When the walls of your classroom become a canvas your students can use in their learning, you’re expanding the boundaries of their learning surface to be limitless, and thus encouraging a limitless imagination -- out-of-the-box thinking is more possible when the boundaries of the box don’t exist. Flexible seating is one step in creating a versatile classroom, leveraging wall space is another. Designate different sections of your classroom walls for various learning objectives and challenge the obsolete bulletin board, letting your kids own the walls and move onto them with their own ideas. 3.) Reimagine The Heart Of Your Classroom Gather And Connect As An Entire Class We’ve all heard it -- challenge your role as the sage on the stage, and at the front of the classroom, and become the guide on the side instead. It’s an awesome concept, and it works when implemented correctly, but how do we implement it? Flexible seating is a good way to start because it allows you to create places to learn everywhere in your classroom, instead of making rows of desks that point to a focal point. With flexible seating, you’re eliminating any particular focal point and thereby designing a classroom where the heart of the classroom is the entirety of the room. However, flexible seating is just one step in the process, we must also be willing to relinquish control over the room, and become a part of the knowledge discovery, instead of leading it. Reimagining the heart of your classroom begins with learning areas that are diverse, and that span different areas of your room. However, you must also become a part of the room, instead of owning the center, or front, of it. That includes your desk as well. Consider moving your desk to a strategic area of the room -- in the back, or even out of the room completely -- in order to leverage this heart of the room strategy even further. Essentially, a podium is not the heart of your classroom. The heart is the collaboration that takes place between you and your students and the collaboration that takes place among them. 4.) Reimagine How You Use Your Classroom Supplies Create A Supply Headquarters That’s Accessible At Any Time Whether it’s smelly markers, crayons, pens, pencils, tablets, laptops, construction paper or Chromebooks, creating a headquarters for all your supplies that’s accessible at any time is another way to maximize student engagement. For one, it organizes the resources students can use to supplement their learning into one area. The accessibility also encourages students to use them when they need them, and for whatever purpose they deem necessary, instead of being directed by you when to use a certain resource for a specific project. Creating this space encourages students to think of how they use resources for projects differently. Instead of being directed to use resources, they are able to think critically about how a certain resource will benefit what they are working on, and become self-sufficient with how they supplement their learning. It leaves the power in your kids’ hands to decide how a certain learning objective should be completed, and teaches them to be eclectic with how they choose to interact with their learning. In other words, you’re challenging your students to own their learning, and decide on their own what resource they need for a project. You’re also allowing students to choose resources that work specifically for their style of learning, and create completed projects that are unique to them. 5.) Involve Your Kiddos In The Process Ideate, Create And Implement Your Redesigned Classroom Together What’s the best way to maximize student engagement with classroom setup ideas? Involve your students in the process of redesigning your classroom. Bring it up with them first and tell them you’re planning on making the classroom a bit different, and that you’d like their thoughts on the process. Obviously this will be a little different depending on what level of education you’re teaching at, but it’s possible at every level. The point is, you don’t want your students to walk in one day and see an entirely different classroom setup without first being aware of your intention to make changes. Ask your students what they enjoy learning about at home, and where at home they usually do that learning. Discuss with them what they think is missing from the walls of your classroom, or what else they’d like to see on the walls. Ask them each what they enjoy as hobbies on the side -- this is a good starting point for considering how certain students will use flexible seating and a supplies headquarters. Mostly, just encourage creativity and outside-of-the-box thinking and most importantly, make them aware that you’re redesigning the classroom for them, and that their input is key to the situation. Takeaway Redesigning your classroom can be difficult and time consuming, but it’s not impossible. The five strategies above are a great place to start, but your own ideation on the subject will be invaluable as well. At its core, classroom redesign is about one thing -- the fact that students are all unique, and need to be stimulated in different ways in order to get the most out of knowledge acquisition. We all seek access to knowledge in different ways, but the seeking mostly stems from the curiosity to discover. A versatile learning environment is the best way to diversify your students’ access to that discovery, while also empowering their curiosity and imagination.

First, I want to thank and acknowledge all the passionate educators and parents alike for providing wonderful STEM activities for students and children at home during these uncertain times. I applaud all those for creating and sharing such wonderful materials! As a former educator, I have the utmost respect for teachers and parents who have provided resources for the many who don’t have the access or opportunity to create these. As much as I would like to leverage the opportunity to use these resources for my own child, the expectation is near impossible. I have a three-year-old son and an expectant wife who works as a nurse on the front lines of this pandemic and can not stay home; therefore, our son’s education and well-being have fallen directly in my lap. And like many of you, having similar situations in which you are working from home, expected to continue the usual forty-hour work weeks while physically and emotionally providing for the family, it seems to have left an unsustainable weight upon our shoulders. Being a former educator, I face many moral and internal dilemmas about my son’s education over the next few weeks or even months. How do we find balance when we're expected to cook healthy meals, clean up, get children down for a nap, and take care of everyone’s bodily and hygienic needs all within the “eight-hour” workday? It’s a stressful time to find any balance or structure. This is a whole new situation for everyone and is not normal, so we can’t expect our workday to be the same. We need to do what we can to stay sane and afloat as we are all in this together. More often than not, I have had virtual meetings where my toddler interrupts and screams demands upon me, wants to say hello, or just needs some cuddle time. I’m happy to say, no one has yet shown any anger or annoyance because I have continued to make parenting a priority during these times. I feel these are the instances where we can really give insight to who we are, how we connect and build even stronger relationships. We are all human, and we are all going through this experience together. The more of ourselves we show, the better we communicate, the more we understand and the less we feel isolated. We need to find strength in ourselves, our community, and maintain our passion for pushing forward. Even if I feel overwhelmed during this time, I still have a duty as a parent and educator for my child. Finding time is always difficult, but the impact of these activities will last much longer than just the length of the experience. So as we dive headfirst into our current global situation, I’ve compiled a short list of manageable and realistic STEM activities for the young hooligans we care for with limited materials in our quarantined spaces. 01. Magic Strips A simple first lesson in the mathematical field called topology, which is all about the shapes of things. Supplies 8”x11” Paper Tape Scissors How to Mark the paper so that the child can cut the paper into three lengthwise strips. Folding into thirds may help. After the child has cut the paper, ask them to create a hoop out of one strip of paper, taping the ends together. For another, twist one end before taping the ends together. For the third, twist the end twice before taping the ends together. Ask the child what he or she thinks will happen when they cut each of the hoops in two down the middle. Now, ask the child to cut to find out. The simple loop is cut into two separate loops. The single twist loop, once cut in half, becomes a single larger loop with a twist in it. The double twist loop What’s Happening The single twist loop is known as the Mobius Strip after a 19th-Century German mathematician. The interesting thing about the Mobius Strip is that it only has one side and one edge (confused? Try running your finger around the edge). You’ll notice you will have to go around the loop twice to get back to where you started. 02. Color from Nowhere Understanding simple solutions and basic chemistry Supplies Water Food coloring Clear glass or plastic jars with lids - one for each different color Cotton swabs How to Fill all the jars with water, then put a few drops of food coloring on the inside of each lid. Be sure to use a different color for each bottle. Smear the drops on the lid with the cotton swab to prevent any dye dripping into the water. Put the lids back on. The bottles should look as if there is only water in them. Once your child shakes the bottle, if by magic, the water becomes colored. What’s Happening See if your child can explain this, or if they can trick another family member into thinking they have magic powers. Try mixing the different colors, (primary and secondary colors) and see what happens Try adding a salt water mixture to the arsenal; see the dye and water separate! Add oil to another glass and witness how density works! 03. Invisible Fire Extinguisher How carbon dioxide gas puts out flames and when you need to use it. Supplies A cup of vinegar Baking soda Two tall glasses A row of tea light candles How to Light the tea light candles Fill one glass with vinegar, about one inch Add a heaping tablespoon of baking soda - it will fizz Tip the glass as if to pour the liquid into the other glass - but don't actually let any of the fizzing liquid pour out. There's something coming out, gas! “Pour” the apparently empty glass over the row of candles. They will extinguish like magic! What’s Happening You’ve heard of fighting fire with water, but did you know that gases also have the power to douse flames? A gas can smother a blaze by creating a barrier between burning fuel and nearby air. Fire needs three things to burn: fuel, energy (heat), and oxygen. Take away any of these, and the combustion reaction can’t go on. Carbon dioxide gas is denser than air, so it sits nicely in a container and falls down like water when poured out. It’s also non-flammable, so it smothers burning fuel. 04. Build a Rollercoaster Learn slope, engineering, angles, velocity, force and motion Supplies Toilet paper and paper towel tubes, or other pieces of cardboard Popsicle sticks Tape Marble or ping-pong ball How to Give all the materials to your child and have them build! Extension: Have them build a loop or a jump. Extension: Have them create a marketing poster for their rollercoaster and pitch their coaster for the family to try out, or even build their own! 05. Paper Plate Marble Maze Learn engineering, gravity, force and motion Supplies Paper plates (The ones with high edges work best) Scissors Construction paper or cereal boxes, or even cotton balls Tape or glue Markers Marbles How to First, issue the challenge. The goal of this project is to get a maze made that fits a marble, contained inside a paper plate, that works completely, and doesn’t break when playing with it. Kids will have to use quite a few skills to get this design to work. Supply your kids with a variety of materials. You might challenge each kid to use a different material for greater creativity. Wait until everyone’s design is dry, then test them out. Which designs worked best? Which designs were not as effective? What were the best parts and worst parts of each design? How could the kids improve on the designs? What's Happening Kids learn elements of the design process, such as the selection of the right materials for the task, making sure the design is precise, trying out multiple designs, and testing to make sure it works properly. In our design, we wanted to be able to race two balls through the maze similar to a pinball machine. The kids soon found out it's tricky to get two designs to work in the same place. Activity Source: The Dad Lab - Sergei Urban https://thedadlab.com/

In the furthest wastelands of the ocean there is a vortex where sea and sky bleed together in a monochromatic mural of uncertainty. On all accounts, there is no natural escape from this place. Viridescent fog stains every perspective of space, marring all sense of direction. The stench of salt is enough to numb the nostrils and taint the mouth with a sulfuric zest, and there is nothing to be heard but the angry murmur of waves. The vortex is cold, that any creature unlucky enough to be lost in this horrible prism will surely find itself anesthetized to the bone. There is no bounty to be fished in this place, no merit to its peril. It is a labyrinth of another dimension. There is nothing but doubt, the horrors of loneliness, and the weight of some quiet thing, lurking deep beneath the surface. When first discussing the contents of this blog, I was asked a question: What is your favorite mythical creature, and how does that play a role in the mindSpark Learning culture? In all honesty, this caught me off guard. Even for a blog, a relatively informal mode of writing, this was not a prompt that I would typically expect from a professional business entity. It was bizarrely unrestrictive. To me, this is a question that perfectly illustrates the culture, the attitude, and the prolific innovation of mindSpark Learning: it is fun and unconventional; it inspires creativity; it is a personal and empowering source of possibilities. Preparing Students for the Modern Workforce Contrasting Professional Experiences with Education It is some years ago that I was on a northbound icebreaker, plowing through the ice of the arctic seascape in pursuit of a boreal expedition. The ship was small, the crew minimal; winter had set in, and there were few level-headed sailors willing to abandon their warm port homes and embark on such a questionable voyage. Still, my colleagues and I had our sights set to the scientific plunders of the Arctic -- succinctly the Barents Sea -- and we had no patience for the monotonous melt of spring. So, we had managed a ship. We had been on the sea for five days, and spirits were high, despite hard work and frigid surroundings. Skies had been clear, and the ship had cut through the northern glaciers with speed and precision. No doubt our voyage would have been ultimately successful, were it not for the misfortune that would come to plague us. To provide a little information about myself: my name is Bryan McDonald. I am an 18 year old Digital Design major at Colorado University - Denver, and I have been working as an intern at mindSpark Learning (mSL) for a little over 9 months. My duties at mSL are those of a Graphic Designer; I help the marketing team by working with the mSL brand, providing visual solutions to marketing problems, and assisting the incredible, official company designer, Devyn, with a variety of creative projects. I also keep the office hip and fresh. mindSpark Learning has played a powerful role in my professional growth. My professional experiences/education prior to mSL, while beneficial in their own right, mainly provided me with a set of technical skills and personal connections. mindSpark Learning has not only given me the opportunity to hone my professional skills, it has also allowed me to contrast the professional world with my ongoing education. mSL has supplemented my traditional education with a level of personal development, giving me the ability to orient myself in the professional world and determine what it will take to accomplish my goals. My “formal” sources of education have tended to operate in the confines of facts and textbook information, while my internship at mSL has catalyzed the growth of skills such as teamwork, communication, and flexibility. This work in the professional world has conditioned me for real-world difficulties that the education system simply failed to prepare me for; sometimes, projects fall through; sometimes, schedules morph and deadlines shift; sometimes, you have to learn new techniques on the fly and think outside the box in order to get a project done. Over the last 9 months, I have developed an appreciation for the more “visceral” skills of industry work, and I have come to realize how ineffectively my general education prepared me for the real world. Perspectives of a Professional The Importance of Industry Education as a Professional Designer On the sixth morning of our voyage, a darkness descended over the body of our craft. Biting winds tore at our faces and a heavy fog obscured our view until we could scarcely see our hands before us. The storm pounced upon us with a brutality that could never have been anticipated. In all my years, I have never seen a monsoon of such ferocity. The ship was torn apart, tossed across the venomous surf like a toy. I cannot guess how long the tempest persisted. I awoke to find myself in an emerald envelope. A green, ghoulish screen of fog stained the horizon, bleeding into the sea, fusing water and air in a thick alien mirage. I was stretched out upon a patch of wreckage, wood and rope, the only apparent remnants of our ship. If there were any other survivors, they were remote to me in that horrible pool of purgatory. Sulfuric odors invaded my nose, filling my mouth with a ghastly taste. Waves murmured against the frame of my delicate raft, seeping into my skin and chilling me to the soul. I drifted aimlessly through the waters, lingering between shades of green and black, attempting to ignore the tenebrous abyss that brooded beneath me. As a growing professional, and a college student fresh out of high school, I cannot overstate the value of workplace-oriented education. Traditional education is heavily depreciated by its archaic metrics of success. In a traditional education setting, students’ capabilities are judged based on quantitative, rather than qualitative, results. Consequently, students are often unprepared for the workforce or the “real” world. The antidote to this scholarly stagnation is an education system that is dynamic and industry oriented, an education system that prepares students for the future instead of conditioning them for the past. I was first introduced to mindSpark Learning through my association with Warren Tech, a local technical high school that strives to bridge the worlds of education and industry. In hindsight, choosing to attend this school was one of the best developmental decisions that I have made in my professional life thus far (more on that later). In addition to providing me with internship opportunities such as mindSpark Learning, the Warren Tech program provided me with invaluable skills, knowledge, and industry insight that ultimately solidified my decision to pursue professional design. At this point in my life I can confidently say that I would not have chosen to pursue design without the industry-oriented education I received from the educators at Warren Tech. Occasionally during my days in the mSL workspace, I will observe an elementary school student interacting with the mindSpark Learning staff. Their conversations will usually go completely over my head, as they delve into topics of STEM, Computer Science, and software development. Hearing these dialogues always invigorates my appreciation for the type of education that mindSpark Learning facilitates. Many of these topics were not introduced to me until my Junior year of high school, and even then I was given no impactful education in these fields of study. Now, as a college student pursuing creative fields and User-Centered design, I have developed an appreciation for such sciences, and I understand their importance in the modern, up-and-coming workforce. Perspectives of a Student The Importance of Industry Education, as a Student After what felt like an eternity, my raft began to dissipate. Ropes drifted into the gloom, wooden planks disappeared under the befouled ebony. Icy tendrils of water swarmed up around me, pulling me beneath the waves, and I gasped. Exhausted from the wreck and the long-lasted drift, my resistance to this submersion was weak and wild. I thrashed about, determined that I would not be lost to the bowels of the sea. It was no use. The water, the raft, the haze, all came together in an eddy of confusion, sucking me down, down, down into the wet somber chasm until all light had dissolved, and I had lost every sense of hope and direction. My lungs struggled to retain their supply of oxygen and the weight of the sea began to crush me. A throbbing agony resounded throughout my skull, and soon I ceased my floundering, resigned to the inky embrace of the void. I was within the last moments of life when my leg was gripped fast by some great, unseen entity. I gurgled, startled by the touch, and peered through the blackness in search of my assailant. In the darkness I could see a single orb of light, flickering some indeterminable distance from my face. Then, the orangish sphere was joined by another, and then a third. One by one, a galaxy of eyes manifested around me. The ink of the sea receded under the glow of this incognizable observer, and my surroundings began to fade into startling clarity. The ocean floor came into sight and I witnessed a glorious host of creatures and crustaceans, the likes of which have evaded me ever since. The water about us glistened in an iridescent sheen of light. I laid eyes upon the behemoth. My own experience with the education system was adequate, at best. My creative interests were fostered by a limited number of patrons, and by my sophomore year of high school I was relatively directionless, playing along with a system that seemed to have no interest in preparing me for the modern workplace. I was absorbing information that didn’t seem applicable, learning from teachers that seemed out of touch with the modern workplace, and working hard for grades that offered me nothing more than the abstract promise of an adequate college education. This is not to say that I didn’t have goals, or that I wasn’t hard working. When I was 15, I was working a part-time job, getting good grades, and healthily indulging in artistic persuasions. I knew that I wanted to pursue a creative field, I simply did not have the resources or the education to translate my skills and my interests into a real world setting. I was operating under the belief that visual arts were useless to the professional world, and I was planning to abandon my creative interests in pursuit of a more lucrative profession. In my Junior year my direction was clarified. On the advice of my school counselor I joined the Graphic Design program of Warren Tech, the aforementioned technical high school to which I owe so much. In this program I attained the skills and knowledge necessary to steer my life in a solid direction. I was taught by industry professionals, worked with industry tools, and made industry-level connections, many of which I still utilize today. I was treated like a professional, by professionals. After only two years of focused workplace-oriented education I had the tools to pursue my career goals. I had a firm foot in the door of the professional world, and perhaps most importantly, I knew where I wanted to take my life. This is the impact that professional development and career literacy can have on a student’s life, but it all starts with the educators, the facilitators. Without the educators from Warren Tech, or the outreaching staff of mindSpark Learning, I have no doubt that my career path and personal goals would be far less certain than they are today. Moving Forward The Impact of mindSpark Learning and Plans for the Future A tangle of gargantuan tentacles drifted all throughout the water, bathed in an ethereal light. At the stem of these powerful tendrils rose some sort of head, an other-worldly collection of eyes, a fleece of spindly cillia, and a colossal maw. The leviathan peered at me with a tone of curiosity, near benevolence. In hindsight, I expect any sane being would have fallen into despair at the sight of such a titan, but in the moment, I felt no such terror. The beast regarded me for a time, its tentacular appendage encircling my waist in a gentle grip. The hide of the creature was warmer than would be expected. I soon found that I had no yearning for air or light. I was lost in the creature’s embrace, my mind twitching under the intensity of its bulbous gaze. My time at mindSpark Learning has been a personal and professional pleasure. The mSL staff consists of some of the most interesting, hard-working, and exciting individuals I have ever met. One of the things that I most appreciate about the mSL staff is their commitment to one another, and their ability to crush obstacles as a team. They harvest no finger-pointing, no ‘he said, she said’ nonsense; they work hard to complete the tasks that need to get done. This is a mindset that I have strived to adopt, and one that I hope to translate to my future endeavors. Moving forward I hope to maintain my relationship with mindSpark Learning for as long as they will have me, and I’m sure the connections I’ve made here will follow me into the professional world. As I’ve said, I am currently a college freshman pursuing design: both artistic and functional. My work away from mSL consists mainly of freelance design work, illustration commissions, and design consulting. In the next few years I am eager to develop my professional persona and swell my design portfolio so as to better prepare myself for a permanent job in the workforce. While I do intend to maintain myriad artistic hobbies, I ultimately want to use my skills to help develop the image of progressive companies such as mindSpark Learning, and to push social ideals, while positively impacting audiences. My experiences at mSL have reinforced my belief that progress is not simply achieved by the talents/power of one person, but by a group of hard working individuals who are committed to bettering the world. Takeaway The ocean floor was basked in the monster’s biological luminescence and I lay witness to a vast ecosystem of plants and sea-beasts the likes of which I had never before seen. As I observed these wonders, a celestial insight began to creep through my cognition, and I found that my suffocation had ceased. Then, with a sudden jolt of pure power, the thing burst from its home, carrying me with it through a tapestry of abyssal currents. We traveled at speeds of a cosmic oddity, unfettered and undeterred by the labyrinthian walls of the ocean. All the while, I was exposed to the wonders of the marine universe; glimpsing the most alien organisms of the deep, observing a subaquatic landscape of cyclopean worlds, stimulated by a torrent of sensations which bestowed an inhuman knowledge upon me. Reverie ensued. I do not know how long we migrated through that other universe. My envoy never seemed to tire, never slowed. It swam through the deep with a graceful intent. We moved ever faster, until the imagery about us was little more than a whirlpool of swirling hues and shifting transparencies. At long last, I was guided to the surface of the sea. The murk of that uncertain horror in which I had been lost was nowhere to be found, and I saw before me a small fishing village. A collection of cabins sat above the shoreline, flickering with torchlight upon a seaside bluff. The sea here was outlined by a sheen of lunar radiance. My companion raised me from the waves and set me down upon a nearby dock, drenched and dripping. As its arm slipped from my waist, I swiveled to face the beast in parting, but it was already gone, replaced by a crystalline plateau of sea-water. And so I turned and set out for the distant firelights, my head still bellowing with a strange celestial wisdom. While the creature itself had vanished, I feel as though it has never fully abandoned my mind. Over the years the sapience of that night has aided me in my endeavors. Even now, in my later days of science, the beast’s wisdom calls forth the most incredible postulations. In my thoughts, fear is no longer an infant of the unknown. In regards to the symbolism of my favorite mythical creature: For many people, the ocean is quick to distill a sense of discomfort, a seemingly other-dimensional expanse of unpredictability and uncertainty. Of course, uncertainty translates to all aspects of life often producing offspring such as doubt, fear, and so on. Uncertainty lies in a blank whiteboard, a dead-end job, or an abhorrently large tuition number. Through a pessimistic lens life is a never ending ocean of uncertainties, and without the right tools it can be difficult to take control, or find a direction. For me, a Kraken (or any great leviathan) embodies a mastery of the unfamiliar: it is powerful, and capable of consuming any barrier that it encounters; it is witness to a dimension that is almost utterly alien to man; it navigates the unknown with a confident ease, adapting to its conditions with dexterity and intelligence. Such an animal embodies the goals of mindSpark Learning and industry-oriented education: to carry the education system (and consequently the workforce) into a dynamic state of being -- a source of intelligence that fosters the growth of new ideas -- and ultimately break into an adaptive style of educational development.

Kids around the world share a common complaint about what they study in school: “When am I ever going to use this in real life?” Good question! It’s no surprise that students learn better by doing than by sitting in desks and listening, but our educational system isn’t set up that way. That’s why mindSpark Learning’s mission is to aim for change, and produce work-ready students. We’re doing it by connecting educators with community and industry leaders. Together, they’ll create an environment where they can work together to develop scenarios that will promote accelerated learning and challenge students with real-life problems. What is Problem-based Learning? Supporting Students with Authentic Problems from Industry Traditional educational models involve teaching concepts through lectures, textbooks, etc., and then testing students on their ability to remember what they’ve been taught. In more modern classrooms, teachers assign students projects where they can apply the concepts they’ve learned. According to Cornell University, problem-based learning (PBL) turns that on its head, presenting the problem first and supporting students while they learn by solving it. In addition to bringing the real world into the classroom—answering the question children have been asking for generations—it’s based on collaboration, and the entire community has a role. The Student’s Role Working in groups, students are presented with a real-world problem before they’ve been taught the related concepts. So instead of practicing what they’ve learned through lectures and textbooks, they figure it out as they go. Any resources they may need are provided, but it’s the students’ job to take the initiative and use them. They will start by defining the problem, assessing what they know about it. This includes identifying all the factors that contribute to it, and determining what they don’t know and need to find out. After deciding what would be considered a successful solution, students can construct their own path to achieve one. Problem-solving means organizing their team and assigning roles, accessing tools and resources and testing solutions. Finally, students report their findings, and often present them to a panel of industry experts that will provide feedback on their solutions. In addition to real-world activities that make classroom learning relevant, problem-based learning also helps students develop essential skills that are paramount to career readiness: Adaptability Creativity Ability to work both independently and as part of a team Project management Oral and written communication Critical thinking Explaining concepts and applying them to real-world examples Recognizing when additional research is needed and knowing how to conduct it The Teacher’s Role As with most simulation activities, the facilitator’s role is vital for connecting the exercise to real life. First, they need to decide what they want students to learn. But that’s the easy part. The hard part is constructing a “debrief” that will lead students into drawing those conclusions for themselves. It’s a good idea to have questions ready in case students have a hard time getting started and to wrap up loose ends, but it’s often best to let the students lead the debriefing discussions. They’ll often come up with observations that are surprisingly insightful. Examples and resources The specific design of a problem-based learning activity depends on many things, including both the scope of the material and the age of the students. So, it’s important for the teacher to determine the topic and scope of the exercise. It  should be big enough to present a challenge and encourage accelerated learning, but not so big that students are overwhelmed and come to believe that the goal is unachievable. Note that a single topic -- global climate change, for example -- can be broken down into projects of a variety of scopes, from the development of alternate sources of fuel to developments in agriculture. So a second-grade class, for example, might tackle the problem of food waste in the school cafeteria while a high school class might work on food waste due to inefficiencies in the global supply chain. However, it’s important to remember that when students in higher grade levels can’t solve a problem, often their younger counterparts can because they’re able to approach the problem without any preconceived notions on how it should be solved. Here are links to some examples for all grade levels: Fecal Matters Environmental Efficiency Urban Ecosystems and Aquatic Invasive Species Colorado Fracking Orphan Wells Industry’s role Another crucial step in creating real-world problem-solving scenarios is to secure the involvement of industry professionals who have solved real-world problems. In fact, industry is quite honestly the heart of the model. They are the ones providing the problems to classrooms. In other words, successful problem-based learning models ensure that the problem is provided directly from industry, rather than educators sourcing the problem themselves. These are some of the reasons why that’s so important: When industry provides educators and students with a specific problem they’re currently trying to solve, instead of educators sourcing the problem from industry themselves, total buy-in is ensured. Furthermore, it also means the problem is authentic, and that the solutions are legitimate thus closely mimicking what industry does in the real world. In the working world, real-world problems are open-ended and unconstrained by artificial rules, like making students switch roles and areas of expertise throughout the project. No manager will step in and tell an IT expert that it’s his turn to play the role of product manager, making sure the product meets customer needs. On the other hand, real-world problems are constrained by obstacles like cost, existing technology, laws and regulations, talent, etc. Coming up with an ingenious solution won’t solve a real-world problem if the technology needed to support it isn’t there yet, but it can at least begin the process toward solving that problem. Site visits led by industry experts help students visualize the problem they’re trying to solve. They can, for instance, see first-hand a bottleneck in a production line, ask questions about what’s causing it and find out what’s already been tried. Having an industry expert there to point those things out can be a real eye-opener for students used to projects constrained only by the teacher’s rules. And the more closely the industry expert is involved, the more the students will learn. Industry experts, for example, can provide unique insights into current work environments, in various fields, that students can use as fodder when learning more about the careers they may seek after leaving school. Furthermore, their expertise on panels, where groups of students pitch their ideas and solutions, is always valued as it pushes students to think outside the box, and constantly seek the best solution. Experiences like these provide lasting lessons in the dynamics that comprise work environments, lessons that students will carry with them throughout their education and eventual careers. Problem-based Learning Can Ensure We Have the Work-Ready Employees We Need for Our Bright Future Preparing for an Uncertain Future Workforce Educators continue to be the lever for producing work-ready students, and strategies like problem-based learning will prepare these students for a modern workforce that is likely to be driven by technology, automation and constant change. Industry leaders know this, and education leaders know this as well. What exactly are the problems that will need solving by today’s bright young minds? Take the UN Sustainable Development Goals as an example. Ending poverty, finding reliable sustainable energy sources and reducing inequality within and among countries: these are huge goals, it’s true. But if we begin equipping students to tackle difficult problems now, we might just find some innovative solutions.

Generations of children have grumbled about having to memorize and regurgitate information they have no interest in learning and can’t imagine using. That sentiment has peaked over the last few years, as students question why they have to memorize information when they could Google answers in seconds. These students, and stakeholders in education, have legitimate concerns, but change is underway. From schools in developing nations to classrooms all across America, innovation in education is changing both what, and how, students are taught. The purpose is to ensure students leave school ready to succeed in whatever awaits them once their formal education ends. We’re All Stakeholders in Modernizing Our Educational System The 50% of students who report feeling unengaged in school, the overwhelming majority of parents who seek proof that their child will be prepared for life after school -- more than anything else -- and the educators who get burnt out with all the bureaucratic red tape aren’t the only ones affected by the flaws in our current educational system. The reality is that those flaws affect us all. Teachers Teachers are the lever to ensuring students are prepared for the modern workforce; however,  nearly eight percent of teachers leave the workforce each year. Here are just a few of the biggest problems: Overcrowding Decreased funding Outdated textbooks Socioeconomic factors Low morale and lack of motivation among both teachers and students One of the biggest problems, however, is the number of schools still using teaching methods designed for the industrial era, not the era of technology. Tactics such as having students take turns reading aloud, for example, emphasize order and conformity. That, along with drills, repetition, and rote memorization might have made sense when many students grew up to work in factories or other jobs where everyone did the same type of work. The digital age, in contrast, requires individualized education and out-of-the-box thinking. Students Students are often disengaged, and bide their time until graduation. When they do graduate, they’re either ill-equipped or uninspired to enter the workforce. In many cases, they aren’t aware of all the available career options. At the same time, inequity in the classroom is an ongoing problem. According to one federal study, 70 percent of teachers said they assign homework that has to be completed online. However, a Pew study found that 15 percent of American households with school-aged children lack reliable internet access. That lack of access puts low-income students at an immediate disadvantage when it comes to completing schoolwork. Unfortunately, the effects extend beyond formal education. The lack of access to technology also means that underprivileged students are likely to be less knowledgeable about the many new STEM careers available today. Industry and Communities Leading industries are seeing the effects of our outdated educational system too. Today’s jobs require less repetitive work and more innovation and critical thinking. Companies need to be able to turn on a dime to keep up. Unfortunately, they’re struggling to hire employees who fit the bill. Recent graduates may be knowledgeable in their field of study, in theory, but they often have no idea how to apply it to the real-world work environment. Business leaders also report that they lack emotional intelligence and other essential skills, such as critical thinking and flexibility. Meanwhile, communities continue to struggle with the problems created by income inequality and the other results of inequity in education. A sustainable living wage continues to be a barrier that holds students back from their ultimate success -- and families back from providing their children with opportunity in education -- and the gap between education and the modern work environment is only exacerbating this issue. The Answer Lies in Innovative, Not Iterative, Solutions The answers to the problems in our educational system aren’t in one-off tweaks to existing models. We need innovative education; education and industry working together on learning that produces equitable results for all students. Work-Based Learning is the Future In one study conducted by the University of Chicago, functional MRIs showed that being physically involved in learning activated more areas of the brain than traditional, lecture-based learning. In later tests, student participants whose lessons included physical activities, and work-based learning, performed better than students who were taught using a traditional, lecture-based approach. Similar research has led to an innovative, cooperative design approach commonly called problem-based learning. This kind of development program is driving communities everywhere to take a fresh, holistic view of education by acknowledging some unavoidable truths: Students learn better through work-based learning rather than the traditional “lecture and test” format. Today’s businesses have a pressing need for employees who are ready to hit the ground running. Businesses also recognize the need for “essential skills” like emotional intelligence, organization, personal accountability, etc. There’s a global commitment to using innovative education to promote equity. It can do so by making children aware of the many career opportunities available to them. Plus, it opens doors by helping them make contacts, and find mentors, from universities and employers. The solution to all of those challenges involves redesigning education by taking it out of the classroom and into the workplace or community. Doing so allows students to envision how the skills they’re learning are being used to solve big, real-world problems. Examples Highly-qualified educators can come up with examples of hands-on learning, but it’s at its best when it involves more than one subject area and satisfies a real need. Some examples include: Developing and helping implement a plan for a local non-profit to attract younger volunteers and donors. For schools in coastal areas, working with local government agencies to design a plan that deals with the effects of global climate change. Helping a local grocery store chain develop a way to reduce the amount of food that’s already past its “best by” date when delivered. Helping businesses protect their data by designing gamified vulnerability testing and hosting a challenge for would-be hackers. While these are great challenges under any circumstances, they work best when the businesses themselves are involved. They can contribute by showing examples of the problem (preferably on-site), explaining how it affects them, describing the requirements of a workable solution and telling students what’s already been tried and why it didn’t work. Keys to Success It’s important for educators to remember that the point isn’t necessarily to come up with the right answer. The point is to develop work-ready students by having them use their classroom-based knowledge to identify problems, come up with possible solutions and devise a way to test them. Not all of their solutions will succeed, but even the failures can be extremely valuable from an educational perspective if the teacher debriefs them properly. It’s also a good idea to talk about some of the interpersonal problems they encountered, and how they resolved them. It Takes a Village: Getting the Support You Need While there’s a lot you can do on your own — proper problem-based learning initiatives are readily available online — you’ll get better results with the support of district administration, your local community and surrounding businesses. From providing mentors and project leads to funding for professional development, everyone has a role to play and benefits to gain. Want to get a head start? To learn more about how education can prepare people for the future of work, ask your local school administration about participating in a learning experience provided by MindSpark Learning.