The Story of Two Best Friends: Student Engagement and School Belonging

“Student engagement” is a commonly used term and a goal shared across all education levels. With so many variables involved, it can be challenging to prioritize the most important factors of what cultivates students to be engaged as often as possible in our classrooms. In an attempt to prioritize, we might wonder what factors need to be held as “best friends” to student engagement versus other factors that might be viewed as an “acquaintance” that you only think about occasionally in its relevance to this goal. The Ignite Engagement program lives in constant reflection around this question of friendship.  

How to Connect Verbal and Visual Worlds to Benefits Student Academic Success

Are you looking for a way to help your students retain information better and increase their comprehension of different content areas? Sketchnoting is the answer! It’s a powerful visual tool that helps students connect verbal and visual information, leading to improved comprehension and retention. Sketchnoting is an effective way to help students gain a deeper understanding of the topics they are learning by combining words, images, and symbols.

Create a Safe and Supportive Environment to Improve Mental Health

When mental health is ultimately recognized as essential to physical health, not an extraneous element of it, then we will have access to true, complete, modern medicine.” – John Campo, 2017

Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in the U.S. since 1949. It is a significant opportunity to raise awareness about mental health issues, fight stigma, provide support, and advocate for policy changes that can help those living with mental illness.

Did you know? That 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 youth in the U.S. experience mental illness each year.

This month serves as an important reminder that mental health is just as important as physical health and that we must ensure everyone has access to the resources they need to maintain good mental health. It’s also a time for us to unite and support those struggling with mental health. Together, we can create a more compassionate and inclusive society where everyone feels safe and supported in their journey towards better mental well-being.

MDE’s Promising Practice: Improving Early Literacy Achievement with Ignite Engagement

Our educational world is in a state of restoration and renewal, where the potential for renovation exists. What we decide to do with this opportunity will tremendously impact the lives of our students.

Students Need Authentic Engagement

In an article by Andy Hargreaves, titled “The Future of Learning Lies in Engagement,” he encourages educators to focus on engagement as the right path to rectify learning losses and prioritize well-being. Hargreaves notes, “The best paths forward will be those that increase students’ engagement with their learning, with each other, and with their lives.” (Hargreaves, 2021)

The Rise of Esports: Why it Matters for STEM Education

College students participating in esports received $16 million in scholarship money from 2018-2019. Esports are multiplayer video games played competitively in front of the spectators. In 2023, the amount of scholarship money has risen to $21 million. The growth of esports continues to keep pace with the increasing popularity and cultural significance.

The idea of using video games as a platform for official competition with students isn’t new, but the ease of implementation has allowed it to flourish in schools. Just watch a few minutes of the 1990 Nintendo World Championship. Yes, it is an old video from a time long gone, but it took the full resources of Nintendo and Blockbuster (rest in peace) to plan and arrange this.

With the tools available now, just about every school can provide a Nintendo World Championship experience for their students and community. Esports can easily exist, and it can also provide a scholastic experience for students. 

Women Rising: A Continuous Celebration of All Types of Bold Women Breaking Barriers

“Sisterhood could never have been possible across the boundaries of race and class if individual women had not been willing to divest of their power to dominate and exploit subordinated groups of women.”

(Hooks, p.15)

Women Rising.

How would you define the soul of a woman? For me, two words come to mind: quiet strength. We rise up by standing on the shoulders of the bold, brilliant, and brave women who came before us. For some, it may be a relative, namely a grandmother, mother, sister, aunt, cousin, or daughter. For others, it may be a teacher, mentor, or leader. It may also be an overcomer, trailblazer, activist, pioneer, change agent, or barrier breaker whom you’ve never met. Could it be women who have amplified their own voices to offer advice to those following in their footsteps? Indeed. 

I am thankful for the powerful voices of women sharing their stories of challenge and triumph. I am indebted to all of the women rising, from my own mother, my late grandmothers, my ancestors, and others who have demonstrated courage, love, and heroism to touch the lives of so many. Words are not enough to express my gratitude to the women and girls who paved the way for those daring to be themselves. Women of all types, I recognize, celebrate, and honor YOU day-to-day! 

The Truth About ChatGPT: Is it a Teachers Friend or Foe?

Everyone is talking about ChatGPT! ChatGPT describes itself as a virtual assistant or chatbot that uses a field of machine learning known as natural language processing (NLP). It’s an example of generative artificial intelligence (AI), because it can create something completely new that has never existed before. It may help teachers plan lessons, create curriculum, and grade papers. But some worry that it can also help students cheat and introduce numerous other challenges, leading many districts across the country to ban the technology altogether.

How to Build a Suicide Prevention and Risk Management Program in Your School

It’s that time in Michigan. I’ve heard it lovingly referred to as fake spring. You know, the spring that comes before the third winter, only after which we finally arrive in actual Spring. The glorious time of year when the days get a bit longer and the weather a bit milder. Students (and many educators) can see the finish line and dial it in for that one last push toward the sweet, sweet relief of summer vacation.

Springtime Pressures in Education

Spring time also brings many added pressures for educators and students.

Everything You Need to Celebrate Black History Month Beyond February

“The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations.” — James Baldwin (1965)

Black history is American history

Every year, I connect with my Black cultural heritage, not only to honor the contributions African Americans have made to civilization, but to recognize our sacrifices. While February marks the start of Black History month, oftentimes, the achievements of African Americans, within our fight for justice and equity, are overlooked throughout the remainder of the year. Foster a sense of belonging about this world that we all live in and allow history to fertilize our imaginations all year round.

How Adaptive Schools Can Improve Your Professional Learning Community

Creating effective teams is critical for any organization, especially in the education sector. Professional learning communities (PLCs) are an essential part of this process. Through PLCs, educational leaders can foster collaboration among their staff and develop group members’ skills and abilities. PLCs provide a platform for educators to share their experiences, knowledge, and best practices. This helps to create a culture of continuous learning and growth within the school or district. Additionally, PLCs are an important tool for developing educational leadership skills among team members as they work together to achieve common goals.  

Adaptive Schools seminars provide a practical set of ideas and tools to develop collaborative groups.  These research-based strategies will support elements of PLCs.