Digital Portfolios
Katie Wright
- 2014
How do I create a rich adult community of Inclusion Specialists that has the capacity to guide change across our schools?
This action research is focused on the development of a professional adult learning community of Special Educators across twelve public charter schools. I first reviewed effective practices in distributed leadership, adult learning, professional development, and inclusion to guide the design of four professional development meetings that took place over the course of a school year. I then collected data through surveys, exit cards, focus groups, and individual interviews to discern how individuals of the learning community experienced our shared work. I identified four major findings: a strong professional learning community needs leadership capacity, improvement questions and site visits require structure and authenticity, significant community building happens informally, and engaging PD is driven by teachers. I conclude by reflecting about the process of organizational change, suggesting that to build a strong culture of inclusion and equity across schools, it is important to also include the voices of school leaders in the work.
Kelly Wilson
- 2016
What practices and school structures create a sense of efficacy in secondary mathematics teachers in order to develop mathematical fluency in students?
In these days of better, faster, more, it is all about the numbers. Where are we ranked as a nation in mathematics prowess in regards to other economically developed countries? How many students are preparing to study science and other technical fields? What measures are being taken to focus teachers on these goals? The setting of this research was in progressive secondary mathematics classrooms focused on project-based learning with an emphasis on open-ended problems.
Kristen Bechtel
- 2011
How can I use peer-critique to help students create beautiful work?
I introduced my students to the power of peer critique by showing them a series of butterfly and animal drawings that elementary students had taken through several drafts with feedback from their peers. I wanted my students to see what these youngsters had accomplished with the help of their peers, and not a single adult’s advice. Perhaps this would led them to realize that there were 33 other people in the room that could give them varying insights, perspectives and ideas on their evolving work.
Kristen MacConnell
- 2017
Getting Better Together
Education provides a venue for exploring our world. There is so much wonder and excitement that surrounds us! As educators we have the opportunity to take our students on adventures sparked by their own inquiry and curiosity. It is our responsibility to teach students to be lifelong learners by providing them with opportunities to uncover their passions, collaborate with others, engage in meaningful work, have real world experiences, solve important problems, and share their learning with an authentic audience.
Kyle Kirby
- 2018
How can we impact the mathematical agency of our students?
Five secondary High Tech High math teachers collaborated over two years with the purpose of increasing mathematical agency for our students. We collected data and had conversations about our change ideas weekly; we dug into belongingness, mindsets, and relevance; and we discovered some surprisingly simple changes that all teachers can make.
Kyle Linnik
- 2017
The Maker Lounge
The Maker Lounge has been developed as a community resource for the ongoing exploration of the impact Making can have in an educational setting. This communal resource has been developed as a space to support the faculty and students of High Tech High’s Chula Vista campus.
Kyle Wagner
- 2011
What happens when democratic strategies are introduced into the classroom?
The following shows the evolution of my fierce wonderings into what they are today. Initially, my focus was on creating active citizens within the community. Soon my focus shifted to creating citizenship and democracy within the classroom.
Lacy Szuwalski
- 2016
How does a school create a culture of environmental stewardship?
How does a school create a culture of environmental stewardship?
Laura Zimmer
- 2014
How can I work with students and families to build a classroom culture that encourages a growth mindset?
In an educational climate where intelligence and good grades are the markers of success, are we leaving room for growth and failure? My study examined how can teachers implement lessons and strategies to build a classroom culture that encourages a growth mindset. In a growth mindset, people believe that they can develop their intelligence and abilities through hard work and persistence. The opposing mindset is a fixed mindset, in which people believe that intelligence and talents are innate and cannot be learned.
Leily Abbassi
- 2010
What happens when I bring student voice into assessment?
The purpose and use of assessment is a controversial topic in education today. High stakes assessment has increasingly become the format to measure student learning, with mixed results. In this study my aim was to re-examine the use of assessment by incorporating student voice into my assessment efforts in a 7th grade Humanities class at High Tech Middle. I tried several strategies to check students’ understanding and solicit feedback, ranging from exit cards, student-led conferences, student-led comments, critiques, goal-setting, and questioning strategies.