An item from a K-12 blended learning organization.

New spotlight on deepening student capacity for productive struggle

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NEW! Spotlight on Productive Struggle

We’re back with another entry in our spotlight series, bringing you the What, Why, & How of high-impact instructional practices.

Building productive struggle is a critical component of culturally responsive classrooms. For students with different identities and learning profiles who have received negative messages about their abilities and internalized these messages, over-scaffolding can be crippling (Ferlazzo, 2015). Offering too much support can reinforce “learned helplessness” where students are always at a loss about how to start a task or how to get unstuck when confused.

The challenge for teachers is to find tasks that are rigorous — but not overwhelming — for students, and to find the “sweet spot” between struggle, scaffolding, and support. As students build endurance for struggle, their sweet spot moves, requiring less scaffolding and support as their confidence and strategy toolboxes grow. Part of this progress requires reframing mistakes as important opportunities for learning, and refuting negative self-talk that can lead students to shut down.

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Aurora Institute 2024 Field Survey

Do you have 5 minutes? Help our friends at Aurora Institute take a pulse on the issues the field is facing around education innovations and opportunities for new student-centered learning designs. Each year, the Aurora Institute team takes the information gathered in this survey to inform their Symposium, policy priorities, research and evaluation work, and publications. This year, those who participate in the survey will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win one of five $100 American Express gift card.

Aurora Institute would greatly appreciate your response by February 9, 2024. Thank you for the work you do each day to advance breakthrough, student-centered learning practices and change education policies, ensuring high-quality learning for all.

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Enrollment Closes Today! 

Enrollment for the Understanding Racism module from Unscripted Consult closes today, January 26th. This 8-week series delves into the difference between prejudice and racism, providing historical context and equipping trainers with the skills to address the impact of racism on individuals and organizations. Secure your spot now!

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