Skip to content

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: Scott Thompson

You got this
News 

Advisory for educators?

October 1, 2020October 1, 2020 Scott Thompson 1 Comment

Physical, social, and emotional health are the top priorities in our learning communities. Period. End of story. Educators have been

Read more
Remote Learning 

The power of PIPs in a pandemic

June 18, 2020 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Charlotte Central School

Middle school is not a Zoom room. When the quick switch to a remote environment was required, Charlotte Central School

Read more
Marco Polo app
Flexible Classroom Spaces Tools We Like 

Virtual video walkie-talkies? Meet the Marco Polo app

May 21, 2020May 26, 2020 Jeanie Phillips Scott Thompson 0 Comments asynchronous messaging, broadband, equity, video notes

Why the Marco Polo app? With social distancing and remote learning on educators’ minds, there’s never been a more urgent

Read more
Going Remote with Formative Assessment
Remote Learning 

Where are we with formative assessment for remote learning?

May 18, 2020May 15, 2020 Susan Hennessey Scott Thompson 0 Comments

Who could have predicted were we are today? Many aspects of education have been challenging the past few month. Most

Read more
Cat in Zoom Mgt
Remote Learning 

Balancing your new work and home situations

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 Scott Thompson 2 Comments

What happens when your work and home ecospheres become one and the same? For many of us this is part

Read more
Remote Learning 

Creating your school plan for distance learning with limited internet access

March 15, 2020March 15, 2020 Scott Thompson 1 Comment School Plans

There is not one right response or plan for school closures. Each school community faces different needs, contexts, and situations.

Read more
how do you stay balanced
News 

How do you stay balanced?

March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 Scott Thompson 0 Comments

Balancing my professional and personal lives is something I am flat out terrible at. I know it’s hard for me and

Read more
Learning Wall
News 

A moment of collective efficacy

February 5, 2020February 6, 2020 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Charlotte Central School, Collective Efficacy, School Plans

What would it look like if your school plan was alive and represented in much of your day to day

Read more
Learning Lab VT 

Takin’ a ride with Alpha 5

November 25, 2019November 26, 2019 Scott Thompson 0 Comments bright spots and belly flops, bright spots and flops, Charlotte Central School, podcasting

As an instructional coach, I want to push myself on the fact that I rarely take the time to celebrate

Read more
what are you afraid of
News 

Educators, what are you afraid of?

October 29, 2019February 25, 2020 Scott Thompson 2 Comments fearless and flawless

This past weekend started like many others. An early morning trip to the local hardware store with coffee and daughter

Read more
Flexible Classroom Spaces 

This middle school is not a building

October 25, 2019September 22, 2020 Scott Thompson 1 Comment Bethel, place-based learning

Welcome to White River Valley’s outdoor classroom Students and faculty at Bethel Elementary and White River Valley Middle Schools firmly

Read more
Joel Vodell, Unsplash
Assessment Proficiency-Based Learning 

How to use data to inform progress

October 14, 2019October 15, 2019 Susan Hennessey Scott Thompson 0 Comments Common Sense Media, Google Forms, padlet, UDL, Universal Design for Learning

Involve learners with actionable data Wondering how to use data to inform progress for users in proficiency-based education? Assessment provides

Read more
Wildcats are: kind, respectful, hardworking, helpful, friendly, listeners... etc etc
Action Research 

Creating community through advisory

September 25, 2019September 26, 2019 Scott Thompson 1 Comment advisory, Bethel

Using mergers as community opportunities Vermont Act 46 mergers challenged communities to restructure systems. Under a mandated merger, two schools

Read more
News 

3 ways to ensure equity is at the heart of your work

September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Act 77, equity, equity audits, Equity Literacy Framework, Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, Paul Gorski, Teaching Tolerance, Vermont Agency of Education

  VTDigger reports that Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French said “From our standpoint, we portray districts being on a

Read more
family communication bingo
Teaming 

17 ways to communicate with students’ families

October 10, 2018October 12, 2018 Scott Thompson 0 Comments family communication, family engagement

BINGO. Communication with student’s families outside of student led conferences (SLC) is vital. Giving parents the information they need in

Read more
Service Learning 

Welcome to your in-school internship

June 8, 2018June 8, 2018 Scott Thompson 0 Comments internships, St Albans City School

What work looks like at St. Albans City School Students at St Albans City School, in St. Albans VT,  have

Read more
Colchester Middle School
Flexible Pathways 

Turning passion projects into real world change

May 25, 2018September 10, 2018 Scott Thompson 1 Comment Colchester Middle School

Public displays of learning are not always the end. How do you know when meaningful, relevant, personalized and authentic learning

Read more
Reflection 

3 ways to use Flipgrid for reflection

April 18, 2018May 5, 2018 Scott Thompson 3 Comments distance learning, exit tickets, Shelburne Community School

Video reflection + social interaction The role of feedback and reflection are key strategies in best middle level practice for

Read more
Teddy Shelburne Community School
Uncategorized 

Therapy dogs in Vermont schools

April 9, 2018August 7, 2019 Scott Thompson 2 Comments Crossett Brook Middle School, Shelburne Community School, therapy dogs, trauma-informed education

Who let the dogs in? For some students, being ready to learn when they arrive at school is a big

Read more
start faculty meetings with a student presentation
Teaming 

Start faculty meetings with a student presentation

February 16, 2018February 13, 2019 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Colchester Middle School

#gamechanger The growing trend of increasing student voice and choice in schools is opening authentic opportunities for dialogues between students

Read more
Proficiency-Based Learning 

Looking at proficiency-based assessment for students with disabilities

December 13, 2017December 15, 2017 Scott Thompson 3 Comments Champlain Valley Union High School

Making sure Proficiency work includes all students Recently, I was in a middle school team meeting walking folks through some

Read more
Proficiency-Based Learning 

Winooski’s Graduate Proficiencies & Graduate Expectations

October 18, 2017October 22, 2019 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Winooski Middle School

What proficiency-based learning looks like Winooski Middle and High School, in bustling Winooski, VT, has been quietly making the journey

Read more
Uncategorized 

#vted leads the way with #everydaycourage

August 28, 2017June 18, 2018 Scott Thompson 0 Comments #everydaycourage, Burlington High School, Franklin West Supervisory Union, MMMUSD-CESU, VT Agency of Education

School leadership in turbulent times As schools prepare to welcome students through their doors, many educators are researching how to

Read more
Uncategorized 

Do you know where you are?

June 14, 2017December 5, 2017 Scott Thompson 0 Comments

Taking stock on implementing Vermont’s Act 77 “Do you know where you are?” Usually it’s a question medical professionals ask

Read more
Project-Based Learning Real World PBL 

4 Project-Based Learning resources for parents

May 1, 2017June 26, 2017 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Shelburne Community School

Standard 3-part story-driven post: 1) what it is, 2) what it looks like in a school, 3) how to do it in your school

Read more
Uncategorized 

Why faith-based education in the 21st century?

February 16, 2017February 18, 2017 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Christ the King School, Mater Christi, St. Francis Xavier

A flexible pathway for religious choice In a time when combining 21st century skills with personalized learning is in the thoughts of

Read more
Uncategorized 

3 ways to use Google Forms to streamline your workflow

November 22, 2016 Scott Thompson 0 Comments Crossett Brook Middle School, Google Forms, Winooski Middle School

For exit tickets, student support & action research Using Google Forms and Google  Sheets together can streamline your process and

Read more
Uncategorized 

Rethinking school schedules

October 31, 2016October 31, 2016 Scott Thompson 0 Comments

It’s about time I am fascinated with master schedules! This is certainly a massive understatement. I love the challenge of

Read more
Uncategorized 

Get #ready2launch your team this year

September 21, 2016April 19, 2018 Scott Thompson 1 Comment #readytolaunch

New ways to approach teaming Have you every showed up to in-service wondering what the new initiatives for the year

Read more
Uncategorized 

Finding ways to encourage student leadership

August 26, 2016April 19, 2018 Scott Thompson 1 Comment #readytolaunch

Student Leadership: The time is now August is usually a time crammed with planning logistics for the start of the

Read more
News 

Education, funny families and international espionage

June 28, 2016 Scott Thompson 0 Comments reflection

My 2016 Summer Reading List There are many thinks to look forward to as summer approaches. As an educator, I

Read more
Flexible Classroom Spaces 

Creating cooperative learning spaces

May 20, 2016May 20, 2016 Scott Thompson 0 Comments

A visualization exercise for changing classrooms It’s not your imagination. It really is the time of year when everyone gets

Read more
project-based learning and math
Project-Based Learning 

Project-based learning and math

April 21, 2016November 30, 2018 Scott Thompson 10 Comments math

How much do you want to change the world? As project-based learning gives students a way to tackle authentic problems

Read more
Uncategorized 

Destination – Anywhere!

April 13, 2016May 8, 2016 Scott Thompson 0 Comments

What was once a standard in news broadcasting and video game production has now found a new home in classrooms.

Read more
Uncategorized 

8th grade arts and citizenship

March 15, 2016March 25, 2016 Scott Thompson 5 Comments arts, digital arts, fashion design, QR codes

A case study in Shelburne Arts and citizenship is for 8th graders at Shelburne Community School. This past session, they

Read more
Uncategorized 

Planning Pi Day activities

March 9, 2016January 9, 2021 Scott Thompson 3 Comments math, pi, Pi Day

More than just math? Let’s be honest, there’s not many days dedicated to the celebration of math or its concepts.

Read more
Uncategorized 

Screencasting tools for the Chromebook

February 21, 2016February 27, 2016 Scott Thompson 2 Comments Google Hangout, PixiClip, Screencastify, SnagIt!

As more and more school move to Chromebooks we receive lots of requests for chrome compatible programs and applications. In

Read more
Uncategorized 

Self-analysis and teaming

January 26, 2016January 26, 2016 Scott Thompson 5 Comments teaming

To know your team, start by knowing yourself A few years ago I had the opportunity to participate in the

Read more
Innovative Edtech Classrooms 

Rethinking the traditional school schedule

January 11, 2016January 11, 2016 Scott Thompson 7 Comments Act 77, scheduling

Keep students centered in the conversation When it becomes time to talk about scheduling you can often feel the tension rise

Read more
News The 21st Century Classroom 

Middle schoolers helping locally and globally

November 25, 2015 Scott Thompson 3 Comments Shelburne Community School
http://www.uvm.edu/tiie/podcasts/pencil_project.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Email | RSS

The Great Shelburne Pencil Drive In which we discover a direct link between Shelburne, Vermont and …Ghana? Last week I

Read more
Flipped Classrooms 

How to save, edit and share video clips with your students

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 Scott Thompson 10 Comments flipped classroom, Google Classroom, Google Drive, YouTube

Part 2: sharing videos in Google Classroom, Drive, and YouTube In Part 1, we looked at tools for finding and editing

Read more
Uncategorized 

To lock or not to lock

October 29, 2015 Scott Thompson 5 Comments CIPA, COPPA, digital citizenship, internet filtering, network use agreement, the internet is made of cats, YouTube

School approaches to filtering internet content As social media,Youtube, and gaming become more educationally relevant, how do we leverage their

Read more
Uncategorized 

H is for Hangout

August 31, 2015April 19, 2018 Scott Thompson 6 Comments #ABCsofedtech, Google Hangout, Main Street Middle School, The Cabot School, Warren Elementary School

What can educators do with Google Hangout? Much like being friends on social media, physical proximity has little to do

Read more
Uncategorized 

D is for Digital Workflow

August 24, 2015October 12, 2015 Scott Thompson 3 Comments digital workflow, Google Classroom, Showbie

Digital workflow: What is it good for? In its simplest form, digital workflow exchanges the paper and pencil transfer of information

Read more
Tools We Like 

Chasing Google: A Defining Moment

August 14, 2015August 14, 2015 Scott Thompson 6 Comments Google Certified Educator, Google+

Becoming a Google Certified Educator My fascination with Google started in the early 2000’s simply from a financial interest. Here

Read more
Uncategorized 

Top Ten Summer Reading Recommendations

July 15, 2015 Scott Thompson 3 Comments reading, social reading

Summer in Vermont brings on a different set of activities, a different pace of life, and an opportunity for renewal

Read more

Subscribe via email

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

POST ARCHIVES

Copyright © 2021 Innovative Education in VT. All rights reserved.
Theme: ColorMag by ThemeGrill. Powered by WordPress.