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Innovative Education in VT

A blog exploring innovative school change by the UVM Tarrant Institute

  • ABOUT US
    • We stand against systemic racism.
    • Diversity Policy
    • The Tarrant Institute
    • Our staff
      • Penny Bishop
      • John Downes
      • Susan Hennessey
      • Audrey Homan
      • Emily Hoyler
      • Life LeGeros
      • Rachel Mark
      • Robin Merritt
      • Jeanie Phillips
      • Scott Thompson
      • Lucie delaBruere
    • Our schools
    • Our book
      • How to use this Educator’s Guide
      • Ch 1: Defining Personalized Learning
        • 1.1 The Three Pillars of Personalized Learning
        • 1.2 The Definition of a PLP
        • 1.3 New Student & Teacher Roles
      • Ch 2: PLPs Aren’t Just For The Teacher
        • 2.1 Knowing Students Well
        • 2.2 Avoid the Pitfalls!
      • Ch 3: Laying The Groundwork for PLPs
        • 3.1 What Are Your Pedagogical Priorities?
        • 3.2 Structures to Support Personalized Learning
      • Ch 4: Starting with the Learner Profile
      • Ch 5: Flexing Your Pathways
        • 5.1 Engaging Pedagogies for All
      • Ch. 6: Scaffolding for Equitable, Deeper Learning
      • Ch 7: PLPs & Proficiency-Based Assessment
      • Ch 8: Student-led PLP conferences
      • Ch 9: Sustaining Innovation
      • Chapter References
  • VIDEOS
    • Tech Tips
    • PLP videos
    • Proficiency-Based Learning Videos
    • Student-Led Conference Videos
  • PODCASTS
    • The 21st Century Classroom
    • #vted Reads
      • #vted Reads Videos
  • EVENTS & COURSES
  • RESOURCES
    • REMOTE LEARNING
    • PERSONALIZED LEARNING
      • PERSONALIZED LEARNING PLANS (PLPs)
      • FLEXIBLE PATHWAYS
      • PROFICIENCY-BASED EDUCATION
        • Learning Goals
        • Meaningful Instruction
        • Formative Assessment
        • Summative Assessment
    • Action research
    • Digital citizenship
    • Family & Community Involvement
    • Family communication
    • Flexible classrooms
    • Genius Hour
    • Identity
    • Makerspaces
    • Negotiated curriculum
    • Project-based learning (PBL)
    • Reflection
    • Scheduling
    • Service learning
    • Student-led conferences
    • Student voice
  • CONTACT
  • ARCHIVES

Author: Emily Hoyler

return routines: "The Return of the Light", by Emily Hoyler. All photo rights reserved.
News 

The Return of the Light

January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

Editorial Note: This post was scheduled for publication prior to the events in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. As

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PLPs Remote Learning Self-directed learning 

PLPs, Parenting, and a Pandemic

November 6, 2020 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

228 days home with my 3 children. 88 days of remote learning, spanning 2 school years and 5 different grade

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thanksgiving t-shirt
News 

One teacher, one t-shirt

October 12, 2020October 12, 2020 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

Hello friends, The leaves have already peaked up here on the mountain where I live. And the thermometer reads a

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pandemic self-care
Reflection 

Pandemic Teaching: Self-Care Edition

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

For all of us teaching through a pandemic, even the self-care can feel wildly, insurmountably difficult. Let’s do something about

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Project-based learning at home
Project-Based Learning Real World PBL 

Project-based learning at home

May 22, 2020 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

It all started with a pandemic Dear reader, as you are well aware, back in March a global pandemic struck

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Padlet and Flipgrid
Remote Learning 

Scaffolding students with Padlet and Flipgrid

April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 Emily Hoyler Susan Hennessey 0 Comments flipgrid, padlet, Proctor Elementary School, Warren Elementary School

Collaboration is not just fun for students, it’s also a crucial skill they will need to be successful in life.

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GRCSU remote learning
Remote Learning 

How GRCSU is responding to remote learning

March 19, 2020March 20, 2020 Emily Hoyler 1 Comment GRCSU

Just like our colleagues across the state (and world, really), educators in the Greater Rutland County Supervisory Union (GRCSU) have

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preparing for remote learning
Remote Learning 

Preparing for remote learning

March 13, 2020March 15, 2020 Emily Hoyler 2 Comments #COVID19

As we consider widespread school closures and how we might adapt, it’s important that our aim isn’t to recreate a

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being a student
News 

4 things I learned by being a student again

March 9, 2020March 11, 2020 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments empathy

Being a student again is harder than I expected, and it’s also been quite revealing Recently, I decided to go

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Earth and climate change
Community-based learning 

Confronting climate change in the classroom

February 18, 2020February 25, 2020 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments climate change, Global Youth Climate Strike

We’re not talking enough with students about climate change At least, many of us are not. At the Global Youth

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winter greetings
News 

Warm winter greetings, friends

February 6, 2020February 25, 2020 Emily Hoyler 2 Comments Compassionate Systems Framework, winter

Do you have your own yearly cycle of internal seasons? I think I’m realizing I do: spring is a time

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Uncategorized 

The Teacher Leaders Hero’s Journey

January 8, 2020February 25, 2020 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

Teacher Leaders are agents of innovative school change Situated in the heart center of education, teacher leaders are the true

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reboot
News 

Reboot, not resolutions

January 7, 2020February 25, 2020 Emily Hoyler 1 Comment emotional resilience, new year, resolutions

Hello there! Happy New Year! We hope you had a relaxing and restorative break filled with whatever it is that

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students at the Middlebury Youth Climate Strike hold up homemade signs
Community-based learning The 21st Century Classroom 

What I Learned at the Youth Climate Strike

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 Emily Hoyler Audrey Homan 3 Comments
http://www.uvm.edu/tiie/podcasts/What_I_Learned_at_the_Climate_Strike.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

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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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News 

Building discussion skills through Socratic Seminar

June 17, 2019September 16, 2019 Marisa Kiefaber Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

Engaged, on-topic…and talking over each other? Here’s a scenario: student book groups.  Everyone’s read their assigned chapters and prepared for

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Teachers sit around a table covered with papers and computers talking.
Teaming 

Getting started with protocols

February 4, 2019February 19, 2019 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

Be better at team conversations You know that spirited colleague of yours who dominates, practically filibusters, staff meetings with her

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The Art of Coaching Teams
Teaming 

How to make meetings more effective

January 4, 2019January 7, 2019 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments Elena Aguilar, Rutland Town School

Good meetings can be hard to find We’ve all been there: staff meetings that could have been an email or team

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Self-directed learning 

Run the world (Teachers) aka #TeacherDirectedPD

December 10, 2018December 11, 2018 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

We just held the Best. In-service. Ever.  And all it took was a little love & empathy. Some in-service professional

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tools for exploring character
Identity Reflection Transferable Skills 

3 tools for exploring character with middle schoolers

September 19, 2018January 5, 2019 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments Cornwall School, identity

Who am I and who do I want to be in the world? What do I stand for? What is

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education for sustainability
Uncategorized 

Why and how to teach education for sustainability

June 18, 2018September 10, 2018 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments Cornwall School, Global Goals, NGSS, sustainability

Teaching to heal the world “How can we improve the systems we’re a part of?” That’s the question my team

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VT Jr Iron Chef
The 21st Century Classroom 

The Importance of Eating Earnest

June 4, 2018February 26, 2019 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments Cornwall School, VT FEED, VT JR Iron Chef
http://www.uvm.edu/tiie/podcasts/ugly_baby_final.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

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What food education looks like in Cornwall VT Integrating food studies into schools leads to thinking about interconnectedness in other

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who are we as West Rutland
Community-based learning 

“Who are we as West Rutland?”

May 23, 2018February 13, 2019 Emily Hoyler 1 Comment negotiated curriculum, West Rutland School

Community exploration builds connection What happens when you ask your students what they want to learn about and how they

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Project-Based Learning 

4 times to connect students with an authentic audience

March 15, 2018July 10, 2018 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments

How soon is now? Looking for opportunities to make real-world connections or bring an authentic audience to your students? Typically,

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Flexible classrooms Proctor Elementary School
Flexible Classroom Spaces 

What flexible seating looks like in action

January 10, 2018September 10, 2018 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments Proctor Elementary School

Physical aspects of a student-centered classroom Sometimes what seems like a little change can make a big difference. That’s what

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News 

New year? Time for a reset

January 2, 2018January 3, 2018 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments developmental designs

The Developmental Designs remix Ever notice how for some kids Mondays are a lot tougher than Wednesdays? Any time there’s

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Project-Based Learning Real World PBL 

How to tell your PBL story

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments Cornwall School, digital storytelling, Global Goals, social media, sustainability

Cornwall students think global, build local, share both Last year the most amazing thing happened: my students at the Cornwall

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Global Goals in Vermont
Flexible Pathways Project-Based Learning 

4 ways students are tackling the UN’s Global Goals in Vermont

November 8, 2017September 10, 2018 Emily Hoyler 1 Comment Allen Brook School, global citizenship, Global Goals, Peoples Academy High School, Peoples Academy Middle Level, Sustainability Academy

Goal global, act local The United Nations has kicked off a movement for the future. They’ve identified 17 goals for

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Uncategorized 

How to cultivate mindfulness in classrooms

September 21, 2017April 19, 2018 Emily Hoyler 1 Comment #everydaycourage, Cornwall School

The #everydaycourage of doing nothing As we cultivate more self-direction in students, their lives get more complicated. They have a

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Uncategorized 

The #everydaycourage of staying curious in the face of negative feedback

September 15, 2017April 19, 2018 Emily Hoyler 0 Comments #everydaycourage

Feedback often feels like criticism. But what if we used it as an opportunity to grow? In third grade, I

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Uncategorized 

Curiosity Projects: A stepping-stone to Personalized Learning

April 29, 2016June 23, 2017 Emily Hoyler 13 Comments Bingham Memorial School, Curiosity Projects

What is curiosity? Is curiosity important? What does it mean to be a curious learner? What am I curious about?

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UPCOMING EVENTS

 

  • 1/23: 2021 MIDDLE GRADES CONFERENCE #mgcollab
  • 1/28 @ 3pm EST: Innovating in the Classroom with Interactive 3D Tools
  • 2/4 @ 3:30pm EST: Who’s Outside? Building an Anti-Racist Bookshelf
  • 2/9 @ 4pm EST: De-Colonializing Place-Based Education
  • 2/10 @ 7pm EST: Facilitating Hard Conversations
UVM Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education online events

Recent posts

  • What does your rice smell like?
  • Setting goals with students for the new year
  • Why PD in a pandemic?
  • Children of Blood and Bone on #vted Reads
  • Lessons learned from a community conversation on race

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