Plugged In | 05.21.21 – Transforming Learning through Competency-Based Education

May 21, 2021

 

Aurora Institute - Plugged In
 

Transforming Learning through Competency-Based Education
Transforming Learning through Competency-Based Education
Teaching and learning are changing drastically in the wake of COVID-19, and once-skeptical K-12 system and school leaders are increasingly responding to students’ academic needs with competency-based learning models. State boards of education and other state leaders should examine the rationale and structures that underpin these student-centered solutions and work to transform their systems. Aurora Institute President and CEO Susan Patrick makes the case in the latest issue of The State Education Standard, published by the National Association of State Boards of Education.
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2021 Aurora Institute Symposium

2021 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium 

October 25-27, 2021 | Presented Virtually
The 2021 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium will run October 25-27. We will open registration with early-bird rates in June. In the meantime, we’re updating the Symposium website with details about the annual convening. The preliminary agenda is live. You can find it here. We’re making regular updates, so be sure to watch this page. The annual symposium is the field’s largest gathering of education innovators who are working in schools, districts, and statehouses to transform the future of teaching and learning in K-12 education. This year’s event will feature a host of new session formats and even more student voice as learners from around the country will co-lead multiple sessions. Stay tuned.
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Education Domain Blog

Where Did the Teachers of Color Go? Decolonizing Education Starts with Teacher Diversity
Where Did the Teachers of Color Go? Decolonizing Education Starts with Teacher Diversity
We need teachers who are from the community and share a common culture to present material in a relevant way. At a time when the pandemic has shown us so much inequity among students, we should also be looking at grave teacher inequities. The question then becomes, “Where did all the teachers of color go?” A guest post from Kim Lanoy-Sandoval offers analysis.
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Center for Policy and Advocacy April 2021 Updates
The Aurora Institute Center for Policy and Advocacy has compiled a resource on the latest developments in federal and state education policy. Around the nation, the center is watching graduation requirements shift in Alabama and Massachusetts, assessment issues in California and Texas, and pandemic recovery in Illinois and Minnesota. The legislative updates include actions in 13 states on matters related to education innovation.
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Featured Resource

Strategies for Shifting to Student-Centered Learning from the Aurora Institute Annual Survey

Aurora Institute Annual Survey Results

Each year the Aurora Institute conducts a survey of our network of members, event attendees, and stakeholders in our database as an important source of information from the field about our policy and practice work. On our CompetencyWorks blog, Research Director Eliot Levine has begun a series unpacking the results. The first post summarizes results from the first question, “What strategies, resources, or tools (including tech tools or platforms) have been most helpful in shifting to student-centered, anytime, anywhere learning?” The second question was “What is one successful practice you would recommend for schools and districts in the coming school year.” This yielded 101 practice suggestions, which are reported in the second post. Watch the CompetencyWorks blog for more analysis from this year’s survey.
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Plugged In Headlines: News About Education Transformation


Innovative School Models

Perspective | Time for education to meet the student, and not the other way around
Education NC

4 Steps for Humanizing Personalized Learning
EdSurge

Working in Community to Make Community-Centered Education Work in Windsor
Innovative Education in VT

Pandemic pivot: How a CTE high school spread SEL across curriculum
K-12 Dive

OPINION: Why every high school student needs a work-based experience
The Hechinger Report

School Isn’t About Classes, It’s About Learning
Getting Smart

Why durable skills are the next big thing
eSchoolNews

COVID-19

How the Pandemic Prompted Teachers to Give Students More Flexibility, Choice (in Charts)
Education Week

Catching Up When You Started Behind
Institute of Education Sciences

Perspective | Collaboration and innovation in a pandemic offer promise for a new direction
Education NC

Education Through the Pandemic: From California’s Disappearing Kindergarteners to Arkansas’ Push to Test and Evaluate 95% of Students, 9 Ways States Are Confronting COVID Learning Loss
The 74

STUDENT VOICE: Once schools reopen fully, some lessons from distance learning will endure
The Hechinger Report

Education Policy

Why Grading Policies For Equity Matter More Than Ever
KQED MindShift

Analysis: How Do You Measure a Year? How States Should Assess Student Learning in a Pandemic
The 74

A New Bipartisan Education Agenda
FutureEd

Biden’s pre-K plan is a bipartisan opportunity to serve the nation’s children
The Hill

Educator Workforce

What Black Men Need From Schools to Stay in the Teaching Profession
Education Week

Has COVID-19 Led to a Mass Exodus of Superintendents?
Education Week

I Started Teaching During the Pandemic. Here’s What I Learned
Education Week

Why Teachers Leave—or Don’t: A Look at the Numbers
Education Week

Educational Equity

Preparing Students of Color for the Future Workforce
Center for American Progress

On Brown v. Board anniversary, white Americans must still wrestle with legacy of racism
USA Today

Why Two Superintendents of Mostly White Districts Are Actively Fighting Anti-Black Racism
Education Week

Does Your District’s Way of Decisionmaking Reinforce Systemic Racism?
Education Week

Broadband Connectivity

FCC approves $7B broadband connectivity fund
CNet

Aurora Institute in the News


Transforming Learning through Competency-Based Education – via NASBE Standard

Why Competence-Based Education Is Necessary For The Future Of Work – via Forbes

School districts must learn from history, not repeat it– via K-12 Dive

Educators Moving Away from Seat Time for Mastery-Based Education – via Tech & Learning

Join Our Community
Our Center for Policy leads the multi-stage evolution of policy necessary for the growth of effective student-centered learning models toward the goals of high-quality learning and equity. Our policy priorities are designed to ensure the nation’s education system is fit for purpose and help move states forward from their current state of education to future systems.
CompetencyWorks
CompetencyWorks is an online resource dedicated to K-12 competency-based education. Drawing on lessons learned by innovators, we share knowledge through a practice-focused blog, research reports on emerging issues, policy advocacy, and resources curated from across the field.
The Aurora Institute hosts a resource library containing more than 200 materials. 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.
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Aurora Institute

The mission of Aurora Institute is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all.

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