In our classrooms at LEADPrep it’s important for all students to feel like they are part of a community, and that they have choices about how they learn. Being part of a community and part of a collaboration makes learning more meaningful is at the heart of a concept called benefit mindset. Having a benefit… Read More »
Category: Innovation
Meaningful Learning Happens Outside of the Classroom
School is boring. Do you think that is true? What about “meaningful learning happens outside of the classroom?” Kevin Bushweller is the Executive Editor of EdWeek Market Brief and he took on that issue as part of a Special Report for Education Week. He does not mean to imply that great learning is NOT happening… Read More »
The Student-Centered Classroom
We use a lot of educational buzz words when we talk about how kids learn at LEADPrep. You hear terms like STEM, project-based learning, design thinking, place-based, flipped learning, and many others. The most important thing you need to know about LEADPrep is, that at the center of all the jargon, our model is focused… Read More »
What is a Micro-School?
LEADPrep is a progressive “micro-school.” What exactly is a “micro-school” and what does that mean for our students? Arianna Prothero, a staff writer for Education Week has thought about that question a lot. It’s a relatively new phenomenon, but there seems to be a consensus forming around a few core traits: Micro-schools have no more… Read More »
Formative and summative assessments
It’s hard to think about going to school without thinking about taking tests. Ugg! But there are different kinds of tests, and we specialize in one specific type of testing at LEADPrep. Summative Summative assessments are often given in classroom situations. The goal of a summative assessment is to evaluate what a student has learned… Read More »
Away for the Day
The image of people staring into the screen of a mobile device has become ubiquitous for our times. But how do mobile phones affect our children? You won’t be surprised to hear that researchers have started to delve into that question. And it probably won’t surprise you that a movement, Away for the Day, has resulted… Read More »
STEM to STEAM
Everyone at LEADPrep knows about STEM. Science Technology Engineering Math Interweaving these subjects is central to many projects at our school, and prepares our students for life beyond our walls. But STEM isn’t always enough. There is a small but mighty group of people add a little something to the STEM philosophy. It is called… Read More »
The Calm Cave
Everyone needs a space to be calm, to relax, to just breathe. At LEADPrep our students identified a need for a space to practice being calm. They put their heads together and identified a space that would work. “Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.” Dalai Lama Then a… Read More »
Holding Space at LEADPrep
What does “holding space” mean for us at LEADPrep? It means that as teachers or parents, or even as fellow students, we are willing to walk alongside someone. We don’t judge, or try to fix them. We open our hearts, offer support, and care about the outcomes. Holding space is about being present to… Read More »
Flipping Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy creates a hierarchy to classify different types of learning. In many classrooms teachers provide space for remembering and understanding and send the students home to apply and analyze on their own. Traditionally a teacher’s responsibility was simply to ensure that students were introduced to, understood, and remembered information. Flipped learning fundamentally changes the… Read More »