You Can’t Tier 2 Your Way Out of Tier 1
March 27, 2022
High Dosage Tutoring Addresses Tier 2, but What about Tier 1 Yes, high dosage tutoring can be a very effective way to bring students up to grade level. But based on the data, grade level is not what it was before the pandemic, even in the top performing schools. And it’s not just academics. Most educators are as worried about students’ social and emotional skills. They express deep concerns that students lack age-appropriate self-management skills. They fear students aren’t ready to learn even before they open the book. And most teachers aren’t quite sure what to do about it. If you’re an 8th grade teacher, do you adapt your class to students’ “6th grade maturity level” or hold them to a standard most won’t meet? In… Read More
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: A Guide to Improving SEL
February 27, 2022
The mental toll of the pandemic, and corresponding ESSER-recommended funding, put SEL (social and emotional learning) top of mind in schools. The benefits of SEL aren’t new. What is new is the broader awareness and heightened sense of urgency to address SEL. And yet there’s little agreement on how. Maybe until now. Maslow’s Hierarchy and SEL After reflecting on the market confusion around SEL definitions, debates over who should “own” SEL in schools, and a recognition of MindPrint’s unique contribution around self-awareness, we realized Maslow’s nearly eight-decade old hierarchy provides a great model. Because it’s near-universally understood and accepted by educators, it’s a perfect starting point for gaining understanding and acceptance. Maslow’s theory explains that all humans are motivated to satisfy five fundamental needs. A person’s basic needs must be met at the… Read More
Prioritizing CASEL Skills: Crucial for back-to-school success
August 12, 2021
This back-to-school year don’t just prioritize SEL but focus on the social and emotional skills that will be most important after a year of non-traditional learning. Here are our top recommendations based on the CASEL Framework, the predominant SEL framework in US K12 schools. 1. Start with Relationship Skills Typically students naturally develop Relationship Skills through daily in-school interactions with peers and adults. The last year disrupted typical adolescent development and replaced it with the unnatural feedback of zoom screens, likes, and trolling on social media. As a result, most students will need to (re-)develop the foundation for strong peer and adult relationships BEFORE they are ready to learn and re-engage in school in traditional ways. Without this foundation, you are likely to see a large increase… Read More
5 Lessons Schools Learned During the Pandemic to Address Learning Loss this Fall
May 23, 2021
The bigger structural changes many hoped would be a silver lining from the pandemic didn’t happen. However, parents and teachers undoubtedly learned some important lessons that can be used to address learning loss and improve in-person school for everyone this Fall. Here are the top things we learned that are (a) also consistent with science and (b) readily implementable by all schools. 1. Social-emotional Learning (SEL) comes first. Regardless of motivation, if a student can’t focus because they are anxious or stressed or inherently struggle with attention, their brain just doesn’t have the space to learn something new. This will be an absolute need in post-COVID classrooms this Fall to efficiently address learning loss and student engagement. Teachers can…give students 5 minutes at… Read More
