Tag: personalized learning

For one day, May 10, the schedule was wiped clean and students had a modified schedule that allowed for longer, more personalized learning opportunities

As part of the Futures discussion that I have referred to in recent blog entries, the transition to more personalized education poses the question,...

Ms. Susan Vachon talks about how SMUS's annual Dream Big fund has a direct impact on the education students receive – in this case Learning Resources

What is your passion? Every student at SMUS has a different answer to that question. For some their passion lies somewhere in the realm of arts or...

No need to panic; this blog entry is genuinely about personalization and not fines we're handing out. My title refers to this article: “Should parents...

At SMUS we talk about personalization and experiential education as two distinct themes that will shape education in the next decade or more. While...

The path to personalization is simple in theory. It begins by recognizing several ideas: that all students have excellence inside them to discover and...

This year at Alumni receptions I have introduced a new element in the message from the School: in addition to news about favourite teachers...

Most parents and alumni who read School material, and this blog, will know that the theme of personalization has been a steady, increasingly visible...

A few minutes before sending his Grade 5 class out to play, Mr. Matt Kiel asked them a question: What is the point of play? Students were...

I recently visited a school in Manchester, New Hampshire. The school uses some innovative programming and I went to check out how things work...

I read a quote the other day that read: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” I believe the same is true...

If creativity is a new generation skill, how can we teach it? Quite simply, I don’t think we can. I do believe, however, it...

While many people view karate as a martial art, it's rooted in the greater concept of self-improvement on a physical, mental and spiritual level....

As I scrolled through my Twitter feed a couple of weeks ago, I was horrified to read about the events of the day before....

Whoever first said, "Kids say the darnedest things" must have taught young students. When you're educating kids at that age, what adults consider to be...

Does workspace impact creativity, innovation and productivity? Google, Facebook, Samsung and a number of other major companies believe so. In fact, the Harvard Business Review...

"We did it! We failed a couple of times but that's OK." That reflective comment, written by a pair of Grade 3 students, is tacked...

Imagine being good at everything you ever tried. You enter a basketball court, pick up a ball, take a shot and “swoosh” the ball...

The year is 1986. I take my seat in my Grade 6 class and wait patiently. My teacher rises from his desk and begins to tell us...

Oaks grow slowly, weeds grow fast. Inevitably, many who are so inclined will choose to be the dandelions of personalization, bright and enthusiastic until...

Libraries aren’t what they used to be – just ask Middle School teacher-librarian Ms. Sarah Craig. “Well, in classic libraries there was no talking, no...

In one of the first concerts I attended as Head of SMUS, our accomplished orchestra performed a challenging piece – and one of my...

For the past few weeks I have mused on the theme of personalization, wandering off on a number of tangents. Fortunately, for us at...

Personalization and the excellent teacher student It’s important to put the emphasis where it belongs. More than a little harm has been done by the...

One of the fears of the personalization trend in education is that in the personalized school, with students following their own individual paths, they...

In last week’s blog entry I ruminated on the theme of personalization in education and in our School. I have used the word “garden”...

My colleagues at SMUS had been using the word “personalization” for a couple of years when it also appeared in the new BC Education...

by Nancy Richards, Director of the Junior School During the final two weeks of Term Two each year, Junior School students turn the traditional parent...

As we personalize education – an expectation that is increasing among families and students – how is it consistent to say that we don’t...

Hard-working Grade 8 students had a financial incentive to do their best this week, as they became legitimate human rights advocates in an attempt to...

Robert DiYanni, prolific author and NYU professor, held a series of workshops for faculty, parents and students on Thursday and Friday. His topics included...

by Nancy Richards, Director of Junior School Thursday night was the Junior School Curriculum Night, an opportunity for parents to not only meet their son’s...

In her final parent talk for the school year, Director of Learning Heather Clayton discusses personalized learning and how SMUS teachers use our growing...

Personalized education is not a flavour of the month, we have observed at SMUS. Rather it is the next step in an evolution that...

by Nancy Richards, Director of Junior School Last night was the Junior School Curriculum Night, an opportunity for parents to not only meet their son's...

At this time of year I refer to our School’s Mission frequently. It is a time of numerous parent evenings, when they meet the...

Thinking of our Grade 10 students this week, away on their Outdoor Program trips, both I and they are pleased that they are encountering...

Earlier this week I heard a group of our teachers reflect upon the completion of their stint in our Learning Institute, organized by Director...

by Nikki Kaufmann, teacher Physical Education (PE) online, that’s preposterous! After all, isn’t the opposite of being online what we are trying to achieve? Technically,...

BYOD: Bring Your Own… Device. This week I have some loosely connected thoughts about technology at the School. This year we are piloting a BYOD initiative...

by Erin Anderson, editor For her Social Studies 8 class, Anna Miller instructed her students to draw from what they had learned about the lives...

by Denise Lamarche, Director of Academics As I sit on the plane returning from the Learning Without Frontiers 2012 conference in London, this seems like...

Research suggests that kids who understand their strengths and weaknesses are more able to advocate for their own learning needs. For the past three...

by Nancy Richards, Director of the Junior School Prospective families visiting the Junior School as part of the admissions process often comment on the warm,...

Last Sunday night the School Prefects gathered for a potluck in Wenman Pavilion with the goal of taking time to reflect on the first...

by Nancy Richards, Director of Junior School As the Junior School faculty find creative ways to ‘fulfill the promise’ in each student and class throughout...

by Erin Anderson Last year, SMUS created a new position to examine how well the school's practices matched with new research into how our brains...

There probably isn’t a more fundamental question to ask in a school than “what should be our approach to learning?” At the beginning of this...