Plugged In | 01.03.2020 – Education Innovation in Virginia, Including Mental Health in Student Success, and More

January 4, 2020

iNACOL Plugged In Newsletter
Aurora Institute -formerly iNACOL
Plugged In
Jan. 3, 2020
INACOL IS NOW AURORA INSTITUTE
Education Innovation Is Flourishing Across the Commonwealth of Virginia
 
Education Innovation Is Flourishing Across the Commonwealth of Virginia

Small steps are leading to big changes across Virginia communities. In a dawn of new business opportunities across Virginia, all students need to acquire the essential knowledge and skills that lead to lifelong learning, workforce success, and active citizenship. To meet the demands of our changing economy and the needs of today’s learners, Virginia educators are sparking local innovations across communities to realize the outcomes of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), local school divisions, and key partner organizations are working together on big changes that will connect the future of learning in the commonwealth with the future of work in a global economy. Virginia is advancing innovative learning environments across the state through effective policy and transformative practice. The goal of this work is to ensure all Virginia learners develop the essential competencies for long-term success in homes, communities, and the workforce.

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The iNACOL CompetencyWorks initiative released Quality Principles for Competency-Based Education.
What Could a Shift Toward a Whole Child Approach Look Like in Schools? An Emphasis on Mental Health

We know from research and from the wisdom and experience of practice that far more than the academic competencies and the high school diploma are necessary for success in young adulthood. But if we only focus on those competencies, that is where our resources will go, and that is where our energies will go. And so we have to change that North Star to really reflect what we want for our kids to be successful in young adulthood.

We’re committed to leveraging personalization in this effort. We believe that personalization is about deeply understanding the unique passions, strengths, needs, and context of every learner and tailoring the learning environment to meet those needs. As we think about the whole-child approach that that requires, I want to ask you a few questions. What comes to mind if you could picture a student who is thriving academically?

What about a student who’s thriving physically?

Now, if I asked you to picture a student who’s thriving in their mental health, what does that look like? Was that a little bit harder?

WATCH
Reminders

Our Social Media Handles Are Changing

As we fully transition to the new Aurora Institute brand, we want to be sure you are engaged in our social media conversations. Our Twitter and Facebook handles have changed. Please update your bookmarks to https://twitter.com/Aurora_Inst and https://www.facebook.com/AuroraInst.

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Voices Hub Podcasts from the 2019 Aurora Institute Symposium
Aurora Institute Symposium Podcasts

Sixteen leading education innovators stopped by the Voices Hub at the 2019 Aurora Institute Symposium to record their thoughts and to share lessons learned with hosts Matt Shea and Courtney Belolan. You can hear their wisdom and insights through a collection of podcasts on the Personalized Learning with Matt & Courtney page.

LISTEN
New from Education Domain Blog
A Call to Action for Higher Education to Modernize Teaching

Last month, the Aurora Institute released an issue brief that calls on institutions of higher education (IHEs) to leverage three opportunities to transform the K-12 educator profession. They can support efforts to diversify the workforce; innovate preparation programs for modern, student-centered learning; and promote continuous professional learning and development.

Transforming Teaching: What University Presidents and Deans of Colleges of Education Need to Know about Modernizing the K-12 Educator Workforce urges a fundamental reimagination of the educator profession alongside the transformational changes happening in K-12 education systems. It also outlines actions that IHE leaders can take regardless of their starting point and varying operational contexts.

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The State of the Field, 2019

Aurora Institute President and CEO Susan Patrick delivered a State of the Field address at the 2019 Symposium in Palm Springs, California. In the address, Susan shares global trends in education, key features of new innovative school models, updates to the definition of competency-based education (CBE), and the growth of CBE policymaking in the United States. Competency-based education fixes fundamental flaws in the traditional model of K-12 schooling, and she offers guideposts for high-quality CBE systems. She closes with a set of 10 focus areas for successful practice. You are encouraged to watch, learn, and share.

WATCH
 
 
A National Landscape Scan of Personalized Learning in K-12 Education in the United States
 
Featured Webinar

A National Landscape Scan of Personalized Learning in K-12 Education in the United States

 


Aurora Institute partnered with the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), NORC at the University of Chicago, and LEAP Innovations to conduct two national surveys to learn directly from teachers and students. View this archived webinar to learn about findings from this report, hear teacher and student survey responses, and insights on how personalized learning is developing nationwide.

 
View
 
BONUS:
A National Landscape Scan of Personalized Learning in K-12 Education in the United States
 
Plugged In Headlines: News about Education Transformation

Teaching in 2020 vs. 2010: A Look Back at the Decade
Education Week

10 Ways the Teaching Profession Has Changed Over the Past 10 Years
Education Week

12 Critical Issues Facing Education in 2020
Education Week

50 States of Ed Policy: Bills that Could Impact Schools in 2020
Education Dive

Our 15 Most Memorable Interviews About Education, Students & Segregation of 2019
The 74

Chicago Considers Ways to Retain African American Teachers
Education Dive

14 New England Communities to Build a “Portrait of a Graduate”
Barr Foundation

Student Growth Measures: What We’ve Been Missing
Phi Delta Kappan


Aurora Institute in the News

Brief Calls for Greater Role of Universities in Transforming Teaching
The brief called on institutions of higher education to take innovate steps toward modernizing teacher preparation by imparting learning experiences that would develop 21st-century teacher competencies and intrapersonal competencies....Read More.

Policy Brief Highlights Need for Higher Education Institutions to Create Systematic Changes Within Teaching
A new report by the Aurora Institute, previously known as iNACOL, details the need for higher education institutions to create systematic changes within the teaching field...Read More.

[Spanish]Competency-Based Education: Toward a More Student-Centered System
In fact, they produce very interesting documents that have a great impact on school transformation and the configuration of educational policies. One of these actions has to do with the definition of competency-based education...Read More.

Aurora Institute Symposium -formerly iNACOL
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Policy
The Center for Policy Advocacy leads the multi-stage evolution of policy necessary for the growth of effective personalized learning models toward the goals of high quality, equity, access and dramatically improving student learning to close the achievement gap and ensure every student has access to high-quality, world-class learning opportunities.
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CompetencyWorks
CompetencyWorks is an online resource dedicated to competency education in K-12 education. CompetencyWorks shares original research, knowledge and a variety of perspectives through an informative blog with practitioner knowledge, policy advancements, papers on emerging issues and a wiki with resources curated from across the field. Bookmark this resource and check often for frequent updates.
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Resources
Working collaboratively with diverse experts in the field, the Aurora Institute produces reports, books, policy briefs, blog posts, webinars and related resources on key topics and tough issues that equip and empower educators and leaders to catalyze and scale personalized, next generation learning models. Use our web-based library to freely access and share materials.
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