One breath at a time is an acceptable plan
This is not a new year’s post. And everything seems to have gone terribly wrong that can But one breath
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Author: Audrey Homan
How to have difficult conversations about the election
It’s not you; difficult conversations are a lot right now. While it’s fair to say that the history of the
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“Because internet”: learning to communicate in different online spaces
When is a “lol” not a “lol”? Would a “ftw” hit as hard by any other name? Two things: Shakespeare’s
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5 keys to a successful virtual parent night: 2020 edition
How do you blend a time-honored tradition and an unprecedented moment of social, civil and personal upheaval? Carefully. Very carefully.
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De-Colonizing Your Thanksgiving Curriculum
De-Colonizing Your Thanksgiving Curriculum is the title of an interactive online workshop for educators offered in late October and early
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4 tales of outdoor education in Vermont
What does outdoor education and place-based learning look like right now? One of the recommendations from leading health officials
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4 ways to re-take taking attendance
Because being “present” is very different from simply being here. Everyone reading this blog has very clearly moved on from
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#vted Reads with Jo Knowles
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Yeah. Me too. Everything is a lot. Everything… keeps getting to be even more of a lot, and somehow we
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Best practices for videoconferencing with students
In some way, shape or form, we are all going to be using videoconferencing with students in the near future,
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What can we learn from summer unschooling?
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to think and talk about innovative school change. It’s difficult to see the start of this
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#vted Reads with Aimee Arandia Østensen
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This show is a little different. Listeners, I want you to think of this show… as a pre-show. Let me
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What do public exhibitions of learning look like during a pandemic?
The days of hosting public exhibitions and showcases in the school gymnasium appear to be over. For now. Some schools
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#vted Reads with Kate Messner
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I’m Jeanie Phillips and we’re back for a third season of vted Reads! Books by, for and with Vermont educators.
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Graduations in the time of COVID-19
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A couple of weeks ago, we had the chance to take part in a collaboration between the Vermont Agency of
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#vted Reads: Hemingway, with Elijah Hawkes
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Listeners: our hearts are breaking. Our hearts are breaking for all of Vermont’s Black students, Black educators, and Black families.
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The other pandemic.
“What is the implication for how we understand ourselves and each other in reference to our racial identities? And if
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Hunter education in Vermont
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In this episode of The 21st Century Classroom: I don’t think a lot of people think that I’m a hunter.
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#vted Reads: Stamped, by Jason Reynolds
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I’m Jeanie Phillips, and this is Vermont Ed Reads: books by, for and with Vermont educators. Today we’re joined by
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Introducing: The Joy Project
JOY + CARE + RESILIENCE Lots of educators, students and families are telling us that we can’t simply replicate in-classroom
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How to get physical copies of books to students
Getting books in the hands of students is crucial to supporting their sense of well-being and reducing anxiety during the
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#vted Reads: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
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I’m Jeanie Phillips and welcome to #vted Reads, we are here to talk books for educators, by educators and with
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Talking with Mount Holly students
On this episode of The 21st Century Classroom: M.: I learned to, well, use a computer. That’s a big one.
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How to make a pop-up video
Ahem. Or a pop-up edu-video. Here’s one we made earlier! And yes, we were inspired by the late great VH-1
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#vted Reads at Teen Lit Mob 2019!
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I’m Jeanie Phillips: welcome to #vted Reads, the podcast by for and with Vermont educators. And today, with Vermont students
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Who should be assessing student-led conferences?
Feedback is a key component of a successful, celebratory and growth-oriented student-centered conference. And your colleagues, your students and their
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What I Learned at the Youth Climate Strike
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On this episode of the 21st Century Classroom: Veronica: My name is Veronica, I’m 13, and I’m in eighth grade.
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Knitting, algebra, & the promise of proficiencies
What could it look like to get credit for real world math proficiency? Here’s something you should know about me:
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The student-led conference as celebration
What does it take for us to see parent-teacher conferences as celebrations? What does it take for families to see
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Tarrant Institute writes the book on Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades
The Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education’s recent book, Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades, published by Harvard Education Press, places
Read moreWhat does integrated studies look like at Flood Brook?
At Flood Brook School, middle level teachers believe in an integrated approach to curriculum delivery. Four years into implementing an
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Connecting Vermont students with dairy farms
There’s more math, biology, and chemistry than you’d think. It’s a wintry morning in one of the coldest Februarys in
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How to do a library diversity audit
7 tips for educators Create a place where all students lives are seen and valued. Expand the idea of what
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What do curiosity projects look like?
“I think every school should do it!” Soup to nuts, curiosity projects — Genius Hour, 20% time or passion projects
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Jon Brown’s Learning Lab Lessons Learned
Bright Spots: They say imitation is the highest form of flattery… I guess I’m flattered. It never ceases to amaze
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Ottauquechee’s Diversity Detectives in:
The Case of The Library Diversity Audit Whose stories are being told in your library? Whose stories are being left
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How to make real, sustainable change in the Northeast Kingdom
Think Global Goals, make local change The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious goals that countries, organizations, and
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Equity and the in-school business
Mettawee creates school “bank” to crowdfund field trip spending money Mettawee Community School, in West Pawlet VT, loves tradition. They’re
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Sam Nelson’s Bright Spots & Belly Flops
What’s the plan? Here’s a quick reminder of my focus question for this year’s Learning Lab: How can social justice
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The role of students in the Learning Lab
Students are an integral part of Learning Lab VT. They have to be. When educators sign up to host Learning
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Tom Drake’s Bright Spots & Belly Flops
Without question a big #highfive goes out to the opening of classroom and school doors through visiting other schools and
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Increasing student engagement in PLPs at Williston Central
It’s about providing choice in reflection tools Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs) across the state have taken many different forms and
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The Year of Yes
The Year of Yes Or, Why My Kids Have Their Phones Out… I am a stickler for a plan. Type
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Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades
How do educators personalize learning to engage, inspire & motivate students? We’re pleased to share that our new book,
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Courtney Elliott’s Bright Spots and Belly Flops
Students in Courtney Elliott’s class work on a Mystery Skype with a class in Wisconsin to demonstrate communication skills
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Who are the keepers of your town’s history?
Reviving Manchester’s past through oral histories & 3D printing With support from the local historical society, 7th graders in Manchester
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How do you measure success with project-based learning?
“A Tale of Three Projects” Two Vermont educators share how they measure success with project-based learning units… in space! Allan
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How does your district hear from — and listen to — students?
Burke students share their learning with district leaders How many school board meetings have you sat through where the only
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Get started podcasting with students
New to podcasts? Listen to a few! Before you jump into creating a podcast, get familiar with the format. Here
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Tools for broadening reflection
There is very little learning without reflection. John Dewey himself noted: “We do not learn from experience… we learn from
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Fractions, Llamas, Self-Directed Learning
Tasha Grey’s Learning Lab Reflection: As much as I love division with fractions, and think it makes perfect sense,
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Student-led conferences come to Leland & Gray
Change is hard! And changing a school procedure that has been the same forever is even harder! Leland and Gray
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Getting started with cooking videos
A recipe for video-making proficiency The ubiquity of the digital camera, whether mounted in smartphone, tablet or Chromebook, is getting
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16 tips for writing a great blog post
#10 will shock and appall you… Here are 16 best practices we try to follow as writers on this blog.
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This Is Really Scary (And I’ve Never Been More Excited)
When asked “what is your working definition of personalized learning?” Charlie Herzog, an educator at Flood Brook replied: “Relevancy is
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How to build teacher advisory
Peoples Academy Middle Level shares their action research “It’s getting personal”. Peoples Academy Middle Level teachers discuss how they’ve created
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The athlete, the artist & the PLP
How Passion Projects can fire up a student-led conference Julia is a student at Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, in
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Randolph students turn digital audio producers with PBL
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Flexible pathways in digital music We had a chance to hear from student digital audio producers at Randolph Union High
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4 ways twitter bots can help save the world
The Good, the Bad, and the Bot What does it look like when twitter bots work towards improving our world?
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What does service learning look like in Vermont?
Leland & Gray students take on a school community makeover At Leland & Gray Union Middle High School, students decided
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3 ways to use virtual bulletin boards
Padlet, Google Keep and Corkulous — oh my! 1.Padlet Padlet’s been a go-to for a number of our educators for
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Building a chicken coop at The Dorset School
How do you get fresh eggs on a school menu? Students at The Dorset School, in Dorset VT, did
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How to get students to communicate with families
Welcome to the Best Part of My Week And yours, likely. Peoples Academy Middle Level educator Joe Speers shares how
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5 resources for building community
Starting how you mean to go on New year, new students. New school, sometimes, and a whole new opportunity to
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What will your #1st5days be like this year?
Welcome back! You’re doing amazing. Oh those heady #1st5days of school. So much shrieking, so much laughter — and students
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