Educators often cite a lack of time as one of their most significant stressors. How can we help teachers find the balance necessary to feel satisfied in their jobs and meet their social and emotional needs? This second post in the Time for Teachers blog series will discuss two possible solutions that can help all educators save time while addressing needs to serve students and communities: agile meetings and short pulse surveys.
Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Instructional Product Development team gleaned the effective practices outlined in this blog in order to improve their course development and better meet the needs of the educators whom they serve.
Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Instructional Product Development team gleaned the effective practices outlined in this blog in order to improve their course development and better meet the needs of the educators whom they serve.
There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in Michigan and across the country. Why is there a crisis? What can be done? This last post in a blog series on teacher recruitment and retention summarizes the potential to address the crisis through Grow Your Own Programs.
Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Professional Learning Services team has modernized their professional learning for educators while modeling effective practices for student-centered learning.
There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in Michigan and across the country. Why is there a crisis? What can be done? This third post in a blog series on teacher recruitment and retention summarizes an important recent study on factors that help teacher retention in Michigan.
The author of Michigan’s K-12 Virtual Learning Effectiveness Report shares a few highlights from the 2020-21 school year to encourage a deeper dive into the full report.
What is STEM, and why should I be teaching it? STEM education has been gaining momentum since the turn of the millennium, largely because of
Educators often cite a lack of time as one of their most significant stressors. How can we help teachers find the balance necessary to feel satisfied in their jobs and meet their social and emotional needs? This first post in the Time for Teachers blog series will distinguish systemic from individual barriers, which is essential to ensure that finding time for themselves is not an undue burden on individual teachers. Some challenges require state-, district-, and school-wide solutions.
There is a teacher shortage in Michigan and across the country. Why is there a crisis? What can be done? This second post in a blog series on teacher recruitment and retention focuses on challenges and potential solutions in Michigan.
What is CBE? Competency-based education (CBE) is a student-centered methodology of instruction that incorporates elements of constructivist philosophy, 21st Century Skills education, and flexible learning
Common themes emerged around the supports that school leaders have put in place as their district makes the shift toward student-centered learning. We hope their insights and advice provide some guidance for other school leaders who may be just getting started.
Shifting to a more student-centered learning model can and will present many challenges, but it’s also an opportunity to design learning differently.
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this final blog post of the series, we discuss how to lead a new digital learning program toward success in the long term.
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss the importance of shifting school operations to support digital learning. Significant implementation challenges arise without staying in touch and coordinating with a variety of stakeholders responsible for school operations.
In a truly student-centered learning environment, it really goes beyond just data. Teachers and administrators should look at the whole child, considering both their academic and non-academic needs.
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss how professional learning programs for teachers can provide job satisfaction, improve digital learning outcomes for students, and serve as a catalyst for change.
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss the importance of thinking deliberately about technology. Some might think that a digital learning initiative should start with technology. However, to leverage technology effectively to reach certain digital learning goals, leaders need to execute a project vision based on a clear understanding of the interplay between curriculum, instruction, and assessment and the needs of all members of a school community.
Creating competencies and designing flexible learning opportunities that allow students to demonstrate mastery of these competencies on their own pathway and at their own pace is one piece of designing a learning environment that is student-centered.
What is CBE? Competency-Based Education (CBE) is a student-centered methodology of instruction that incorporates elements of constructivist philosophy, 21st Century Skills education, and flexible learning
We’re sorry to inform you that we have reached capacity for several of our Semester 1 and Trimester 1 courses. You’ll notice when attempting to enroll students in our Student Learning Portal that some courses are unavailable. While we are no longer accepting new enrollments for these courses at this time, many courses continue to remain open for enrollment.
With many students across the state 100% remote, demand for our online courses is greater than ever before. Because every course we offer is taught by a Michigan-certified teacher, this high volume of enrollments has created capacity issues for our teachers who provide each and every student with individual feedback.
While the Michigan Virtual team anticipated and planned for significant increases in student enrollments this Fall, the increased demand we’ve experienced has been unprecedented. As a result, we are taking steps to hire even more part-and full-time teachers to support larger numbers of student enrollments for Semester 2 as well as for Trimester 2 and 3.
For schools that still need online learning options this year, please fill out the form at the bottom of our virtual pathways page to meet with someone to discuss other solutions. While some of our teacher-led courses are full, we may still have the capacity to help you in upcoming terms or can discuss timing to implement a whole-school or collaborative program in which local teachers from your school/district use our online course content to teach students. We also have free course content and resources available for you to use.
We know this is an incredibly stressful time for all, and we’re sorry if the courses you’re looking for are unavailable. We never want to turn away a student who wants to learn from us. Our top concern, however, is student success, and we have a policy to not take on additional enrollments if we cannot guarantee that all students will have a quality online learning experience.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate the unusually high volume of enrollments we are receiving.
