The art of debugging & how to think like a computer scientist

Michigan Virtual

Meet Dr. Aman Yadav, a professor of educational psychology and educational technology at Michigan State University, who shares his insights on the rich applications of both "plugged" and "unplugged" computational thinking for the K-12 classroom and sheds light on the biased algorithms that govern our everyday lives.

Competency-based education in mathematics

Nikolas McGehee

Michigan Virtual’s Strategic Plan: Employee spotlight

Sarah Hill

There’s no clear-cut definition of the term “strategic plan.” Sure, there’s a Wikipedia page, but my years in high school debate scared me from using that as a source.

So what is a strategic plan? What’s Michigan Virtual’s and why should you care?

OK, that’s a lot of questions I just asked. Let’s start with the first one.

The conflicted history & achievable future of social emotional learning

Michigan Virtual

Meet Lauren Kazee, one of Michigan’s leading experts on social emotional learning or “SEL,” who shares her personal definition of SEL, dives into the history of this concept, and offers advice for educators looking to prioritize their own social and emotional wellness and model this behavior for their students.

Teacher recruitment and retention: A snapshot of an ongoing crisis

Ed Timke

There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in Michigan and across the country. Why is there a crisis? What can be done? This first post in a blog series on teacher recruitment and retention provides a snapshot of the crisis and some initial recommendations on how to fight it.

The beautifully unclear future of educational technology

Michigan Virtual

Meet Sarah Wood, an educational technology consultant for Kent Intermediate School District, who shares her reflections on the recent history, current state, and beautifully unclear future of technology in the classroom.

How can we go beyond requirements & take pressure out of learning?

Michigan Virtual

Meet Erin Carlson, an English teacher at Sandusky Jr./Sr. High School who shares her journey in creating requirement-free learning opportunities for her students.

Bringing big ideas to life with design thinking

Michigan Virtual

Meet David Byron, director of innovation strategy at Sundberg-Ferar, a product innovation studio in Walled Lake, who explains how the tried & true process of design thinking can help students and adults alike in solving complicated problems, such as the many and multifaceted issues facing the field of education today.

Why are schools making learning student-centered?

Christa Green

While the more traditional teacher-centered model of education does work for some students, it does not work for all.

How might artificial intelligence change the way we teach?

Michigan Virtual

Meet Lou Aronson, the CEO and founder of a company called Discourse Analytics. He shares his perspective on how artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the way we teach and learn.

Case Study: Students Thriving Online

Michigan Virtual

Students gain important life skills in addition to academic content

4 differences between traditional teaching methods and competency-based education

Nikolas McGehee

What is human-centered design?

David Byron

My child is taking a competency-based course. What should I expect?

Nikolas McGehee

Research on Blended Learning, Teaching, & Professional Development

Kristen DeBruler, PhD

What's the Secret to Keeping Students Motivated in Online Learning?

Michigan Virtual

Meet Dr. Chris Harrington, the director of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, who shares his reflections on “pandemic teaching,” common misconceptions about online learning, and the findings of his team's landmark research study on keeping students engaged in virtual learning environments.

Becoming a Voice for the Voiceless

Michigan Virtual

Meet Kyron Harvell, the director of the school culture and climate grant for Lansing School District, who shares his mission of serving as a voice for the voiceless in his school community. In this episode of BRIGHT, we explore how Kyron and his team are cultivating a culture of inclusivity in Lansing centered around equitable access to learning opportunities, culturally responsive practices, social emotional learning, and restorative justice.

Research on Michigan’s K-12 Online Learning Demographics, Effectiveness, Evaluation, Quality, & Policy

Kristen DeBruler, PhD

The Delightful Power of Music to Make Learning More Engaging

Michigan Virtual

Meet Ben Ashby, a Spanish teacher at Zeeland Public Schools and an online Spanish instructor for Michigan Virtual. In this episode of BRIGHT, we talk about the role music plays in learning, how online teaching has influenced the way he runs his face-to-face classroom and vice versa, and his hopes for education as we look to the future.

How to Reignite Love for Learning with a Project-Based Curriculum

Michigan Virtual

For all students — but especially for those who struggle in the traditional classroom — project-based learning can offer an opportunity to rediscover the joy of learning. In this episode of BRIGHT, we talk to Dr. Sarah Pazur, the director of school leadership at FlexTech High School, who shares the why and how behind this vision for learning along with examples of some really cool projects that allowed students to explore their interests, meet core competencies, and have real-world impacts.