“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” – John Lewis At The Learning Accelerator (TLA), we are working to advance a research-informed vision for equitable teaching and learning. In doing so, we recognize the significant […]
It’s that time of year again! The public voting period for SXSW EDU’s PanelPicker has arrived, and we would appreciate your help in bringing The Learning Accelerator (TLA) back to Austin, TX. As you consider sessions to support this year, please look into TLA’s sessions below and vote for your favorites. If you are not […]
Before COVID-19, remote work was the exception, not the rule. Working in person was the standard, and guidance on developing organizational culture was limited to in-person environments, including work focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). But, as a distributed organization, The Learning Accelerator (TLA) was determined to continue growing our organizational culture and advancing […]
For students with disabilities, accessibility is a critical issue, but technology has played a significant role in improving access and working to ensure all students get what they need. Given assistive technology’s effect on improving accessibility, virtual learning is assumed to be even more accessible than in-person learning. But in The Learning Accelerator’s (TLA) work […]
In working to prove their worth in an ever-changing education landscape, virtual and hybrid schools across the country are looking to hone their craft and make improvements. Over the past year at The Learning Accelerator (TLA), we have supported 20 district-based virtual and hybrid programs to do just that, guiding them to identify actionable ways […]
Teachers have a history of being underappreciated and overworked. Teaching in and beyond the pandemic has been particularly thankless and unsustainable, as schools respond to the unfinished learning needs of their kids while curricula became a political football. Teacher job satisfaction hit an all-time low last year. Unsurprisingly, teachers flocked to virtual schools during the […]
Amanda Pelukas joined Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (P-CCS) in Michigan to transform P-CCS’ Virtual Academy. “COVID remote learning,” as Pelukas described it, needed to improve. Instead of solving the problem on their own, Pelukas and her team joined a network of peers facing similar challenges called Strategy Lab. Months later, Pelukas and the P-CCS virtual team […]
For decades, quantitative, randomized control trials (RCTs) have been considered the gold standard of education research. The What Works Clearinghouse even prioritizes studies that randomly assign participants to conditions and show statistical significance. However, at last month’s American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Annual Meeting in Chicago, we sought out sessions from a growing cadre of […]