Michalko writes on his blog at Psychology Today that the most important thing students should be taught is that everyone "is born a creative, spontaneous thinker." If students are told they're creative, they become creative, and start working to acquire the skills needed to express that creative identity. Conversely, students who accept that they're not creative develop mental blocks that keep them "from trying or attempting anything new."  

Michalko says students must also learn that "all creative geniuses work passionately hard and produce incredible numbers of ideas, most of which are bad." For example, Thomas Edison came up with 3,000 ideas for lighting systems that didn't work, and of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, some "were no better than his contemporaries could have written, and some were simply bad."

Perhaps the most important entry on Michalko's list is his last point, that "creativity is paradoxical." Schools are places where students are supposed to acquire knowledge—but to create, a person must "forget the knowledge." If you're not able to leave what you think you know behind, you can't approach problems with a fresh perspective. Students must also be taught to "desire success but embrace failure," and to "listen to experts but know how to disregard them." 

Of course, savvy teachers and schools are already discarding the one-size-fits-all, siloed model of teaching and learning. And, they already know that it's not enough for schools to simply add on a "creativity hour"; it must be infused into all aspects of our education system. Let's hope more schools get on board with this paradigm shift so that an entire generation of students doesn't grow up living their lives according to outdated 20th-century myths about creativity.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user salady

It's the last chance for you to help us find the next Great American Teach-Off winner!

GOOD and University of Phoenix are proud to announce the launch of The Great American Teach-Off for teachers in grades 7 through 12.  (Click here to see which elementary school teacher won last time).

This contest is a nationwide competition to celebrate teachers who are making a positive impact in America's classrooms. Here's how it works: Click here to nominate an outstanding teacher for seventh through twelfth grade—it can be one you've had, your child's, or even yourself—by February 20. We'll select the finalists based on how he or she makes a positive difference for students; how creativity and innovation is fostered in the classroom; and what impact he or she has made on the greater school community.

We'll announce the top 10 finalists on March 5. All finalists will record videos responding to a short list of questions about their teaching experience, and the GOOD community will vote for one teacher to receive a $10,000 classroom grant. The teacher with the most votes wins.

Many of us take for granted all of the amazing teachers in our lives. Maybe it's your hard-working coworker, or a neighbor that stays up late grading papers, or that tenth grade teacher that told you not to give up when it counted. Give them the spotlight they deserve by clicking here to nominate an outstanding educator today!

The number of students taking Advanced Placement exams is up, but according to the latest report from the College Board, a significant numbers of students that should be taking AP tests aren’t. They analyzed the performance of 771,000 PSAT-takers from the class of 2011 and discovered that 478,000 students—over 60 percent—did not take an AP exam even though their test scores indicated they could do well on one. In particular, the College Board found that high scoring students from black, Latino, and Native American backgrounds are "much less likely than their white and Asian peers" to take AP exams.

Eighty percent of black students whose scores indicated that they could have done well in AP classes never enrolled in them, and in the class of 2011 only 9 percent of AP exam-takers were black. By comparison, only 40 percent of Asian students and 60 percent of white students whose scores suggested they should be taking AP classes and exams don’t do so. 

Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of AP and college readiness, says the problem is that too many students don’t have the "opportunity, encouragement, or motivation to participate."

When I was in high school, I took AP English, math, history, and science classes, because they were the most challenging courses my school offered. However, my parents didn't know what AP classes and exams really were and neither did I. We had no idea that you could even earn college credit for doing well on the exams. My teachers never explicitly explained the AP process to everyone, but I recall them encouraging individual students and giving them exam study tips. I was not one of those students. I was also the only black student in my senior class enrolled in any AP courses.

Indeed, when I asked my AP English teacher if I should sign up to take the  AP exam, he told me that it was an unnecessary test, and it was really expensive. It puzzled me that other students were so focused on taking it, but since I didn't need to take it and none of my friends were taking it, I didn't sign up. Now I know how lucky I was to even have access to AP courses. Many students of color don't have AP classes offered at their high schools—they can't take the classes even if they want to, let alone the exams. 

It's been years since I graduated from high school, but this latest data reveals that my experience is probably still the norm for too many students. It's too bad that unequal access endures, because research shows that "minority and low-income students who earn a 3 or higher on an AP exam are more likely than their peers" to get good grades in college and graduate within five years. Given the national priority to boost the number of college graduates—and the diversity of the next generation—it's in our best interests to ensure that more students of color take AP exams. If we don't, we're hurting their future and ours.  

Photo via (cc) Flickr user radiantradon

The event kicks off this evening with TED talks from several innovators like Dale Stephens, the 20-year-old founder of UnCollege, a social movement that's empowering students to create their own education, and Abigail Falik, the founder and CEO of Global Citizen Year, an organization working to build a leadership pipeline of individuals with global skills. Each speaker will share their experience and perspective on how we can create a new system that works. I'm also one of the speakers and I'll be sharing some of the game-changing innovations that I've written about that are shaking up education.

Want to be a part of the conversation? Starting tonight at 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET, the event will stream live online, enabling anyone in the world to take advantage of the resources and learning opportunities that are sure to be shared. 

Photo via (cc) Flickr user stevendepolo

With some Harvard students saying they'd rather check Facebook in class than listen to another dry lecture, the university's faculty have been clamoring for better ways to engage students. Unfortunately, professors with serious academic expertise sometimes don't know the best teaching methods. And, given the pressure to publish or perish, many are forced to emphasize their research over instruction.

However, with the launch of the Harvard Initiative on Learning and Teaching (HILT), the nation's oldest university is proving that it's committed to catalyzing some much-needed innovation. The initiative kicked off last week with a symposium attended by over 300 faculty and education experts, individuals who are focused on improving the quality of education across all of Harvard's schools, centers, and departments.

According to Harvard Magazine, one of the speakers at the symposium, Carl Wieman, the associate director of science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, noted that researchers already know what works to promote deeper thinking and learning and it's not sitting in lectures, taking tests, and then moving on to the next topic. Instead, students need the opportunity to make meaning of what they've learned and apply it to real-world challenges.

But how will Harvard determine which approaches actually help faculty improve and produce better results with students? HILT is funded by a $40 million gift from two alumni, Gustave and Rita Hauser, and a good chunk of that money will give grants to faculty-initiated pilot programs. Erin Driver-Linn, the university's director of institutional research, shared that HILT has already received "255 letters of intent to apply for grants." She also explained that the initiative will test the innovations the grantees come up with through a cycle of engagement, experimentation, evaluation, and extension in order to figure out what really works. 

While individual professors and departments at other colleges and universities are also attempting to alter the higher education landscape, what sets HILT apart is that it is a system-wide effort to change things. If Harvard can pull off a wholesale transformation of teaching, it can provide a model for other schools. And, given Harvard's prestige, other schools might feel the pressure to get on board with its innovations in order to stay competitive. If HILT can produce some fresh approaches to higher education, the days of checking Facebook in class could be over.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user Patricia Drury

According to Inside Higher Education, OpenStax plans to compete with pricey $200 hardback texts from for-profit publishers by offering digital books for five common introductory classes for free, starting with sociology and physics texts this spring. OpenStax is beginning with introductory texts because the information in them is relatively basic and less likely to change year to year. Publishers are frequently accused of filling their coffers by updating textbook editions at random and then convincing professors to adopt the new version. If the OpenStax plan works, the multi-billion-dollar textbook industry could be in trouble.

J. Bruce Hildebrand, the executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers, acknowledged that free books would be "difficult" for publishers to compete with. However, says Hildebrand, "the quality of the materials and whether they enable students to learn, pass their course and get their degree," is what really counts.

One of the biggest obstacles the open textbook movement has faced is that its books are perceived to be inferior by academia; there are questions about whether the texts have truly been subjected to the same kind of rigorous academic peer review process that traditional publishers use. OpenStax squashes quality and accuracy concerns by ensuring that each text goes through an 18-month peer review process. The fact that the nonprofit is backed by Rice will also help enhance its scholarly reputation.

Similar to Washington state's Open Course Library, which hopes to make its open textbooks available nationwide, OpenStax isn't limiting the use of its textbooks to students attending Rice. They estimate that if they can manage to provide even 10 percent of college textbooks nationally, students could save $90 million over the next five years. In the week since OpenStax's launch, only a handful of schools have signed up to participate. But if they're able to add more texts and gain a reputation as a legitimate provider, that number is sure to soar. And college students could have some more Top Ramen money.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user katerha

Could ditching the ubiquitous apples, one-room schoolhouses, and other uninspiring iconography associated with the teaching profession help reframe the way we think about educators? That's the goal of Teach, a rebranding effort by New York City-based design firm Hyperakt to create "a new visual vocabulary" that more accurately reflects the sophisticated work 21st century educators do.

Hyperakt took on the redesign project after WNYC's Studio 360—which regularly asks firms to "rethink various cherished symbols"—received a request from Massachusetts teacher Kate Ahearn. "I have been teaching for 15-plus years and have enough of what I deem 'apple crapple' to last me a lifetime," Ahearn wrote to the program's host, Kurt Andersen.

Founders Julia Vakser Zeltser and Deroy Peraza—full disclosure: they also create infographics for GOOD—say the entire Hyperakt staff was thrilled to be a part of reframing the intellectual and creative work that teachers do. The designers began with the idea that since education is essential to human progress teaching is one of the most important professions out there. They set out to "capture the excitement and magic of activating the potential that is innate in every student." The design's connect-the-dots visual map theme represents the limitless ways teachers "help learners brainstorm ideas, reveal relationships, explain processes," and tell stories.

Zeltser says she receives several inquires a day "from teachers, schools, and education consultancies that saw or heard about the redesign." They want to know if the firm has posters that they can use to, for example decorate classrooms. The collection of logos, posters, and calendars are the most shared project ever on the Hyperakt site, so the company recently launched a separate companion website, InspireTeachers.org. All of the images are free and downloadable from the site.

While getting teachers the respect they deserve is certainly a complex task, the words and visuals we see about educators do have an impact. Although state or federal education agencies have yet to reach out to Hyperakt to adopt their designs for teacher recruitment campaigns, given the authentic, fresh approach they take to the recognizing the art and science of teaching, that might be a smart thing to do.

Images courtesy of Hyperakt.

In 2009 President Obama pledged to give students who excel in science, technology, engineering, and math the same champion’s welcome that winning athletic teams receive from the White House. As host of Tuesday's second-ever White House Science Fair, Obama proved he’s following through on that commitment, applauding the accomplishments of over 100 science students from 45 states.

The student projects that made it to the White House are pretty amazing. Angela Zhang, a 17-year-old from California, used "nanotechnology to eradicate cancer stem cells." An impressive group of students from Detroit's Paul Robeson/Malcolm X Academy—Lucas Cain Beal, Jayla Mae Dogan, and Ashley Cassie Thomas, all 13-year-olds—was recognized for their design for an energy efficient city of the future. 

Then the president turned the spotlight back to the national shortage of STEM teachers. He announced plans to ask Congress to approve an $80 million investment from the Department of Energy "to support effective STEM teacher preparation programs," and applauded an additional $22 million investment from the 100Kin10 movement, a multi-sector effort led by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Opportunity Equation to train 100,000 excellent STEM teachers over the next 10 years.

At a time when a Los Angeles student reports that there's only one science teacher for his entire high school, taking action to recruit more STEM teachers is clearly necessary. After all, without great teachers who can help students excel in math and science, it's going to be tough for the next generation to, as Obama said, "compete for the jobs and industries of the future."

Photo via (cc) Flickr user RDECOM

There’s something I’m really embarrassed about. Few would ever suspect that an organic-eating, sunshine-loving, walk-to-the-grocery-store girl like me wouldn't know how to ride a bike, but there it is. Blame it on my parents, blame it on me, but one way or another I managed to get to 26 without ever gliding down a sidewalk on two wheels. Don’t feel too badly. I have learned a few things in my time. I can pull out Virgil and read the original Latin. I can hula-hoop from all appendages. And, if I may say so, I can bake a mean cake.

Last month, I was asked to bake cupcakes for a friend’s birthday. I picked out a new recipe and fired up the oven. My friend John tagged along to eat the rejects and take a piece of the credit. He peered over my shoulder as I reached into the oven and pressed the center of a cupcake. He was confused, maybe impressed, definitely hungry. How had I touched the cake and known it was ready? John isn’t a baker and was mystified by anything beyond scrambling eggs. He asked me for a mini-cooking lesson, so while the cupcakes cooled, we discussed the basics. Weeks later we were drinking coffee overlooking a particularly congested juncture of Sunset Boulevard. "I wish I could ride a bike," I said. Oops, I let it slip. After a few laughs, John offered me a lesson.

Swapping lessons is an amazing way to pick up a new skill and share one you’ve got. Not only will you save the money you would have paid an instructor, but you'll get closer to your friends and try new things you may never have attempted on your own. Teaching someone is also a great way to renew your appreciation for the skills you have. You may even be inspired to build on them. Teach someone whatever you can, ask what they can teach you, and you may be pleasantly surprised with what you get! 

the OBJECTIVE
Give a lesson, get a lesson! For this project, create a step-by-step illustration for your friends here at GOOD, and we may share it on the site. You'll be able to check back in and learn from the other lessons we've received.

the ASSIGNMENT
Draw us a step-by-step illustration of one of your best skills so we can learn it, too.

the REQUIREMENTS
Upload a .jpg file of your illustration (at least 300dpi) here. We’ll accept submissions through Wednesday, February 29. Several illustrations will be shared on GOOD.is, and one winner will receive a GOOD t-shirt and year's subscription to the magazine.

In my first year teaching I gave my students so much candy as reward for behaving that my class had a cavity epidemic. I was afraid that if I didn't bribe my students with candy they wouldn't participate. And I wasn't alone. Lots of teachers hand out small rewards, from candy to stickers, as a way of encouraging good work.

But according to research from Allen Gottfried, a professor of psychology at Cal State Fullerton, receiving all those external rewards might actually stunt the development of a student's leadership abilities.

In order to figure out what factors—parent support, IQ, personality, or social skills—help a child develop into an adult leader, Gottfried began studying 106 Orange County, California children in 1979 when they were just 1 year old. He regularly interviewed the children and their parents until they turned 29, and he found that sparking a child's intrinsic motivation is key to developing leadership skills.

Gottfried told the Harvard Education Letter that his research team found that ensuring students have constant opportunities to acquire new skills and knowledge helps them develop that intrinsic motivation. However, that "doesn’t mean you say yes to everything the kid wants," says Gottfried. Instead, letting students follow their passions is what drives them to persevere until they achieve their goals—which is what leaders do.

"That quality is very relevant because when you are a leader you have to delve into a world that is uncharted," says Adele Gottfried, a professor of educational psychology at Cal State Northridge who co-authored the academic papers on the research with her husband. The "everyday leaders" identified in the research "enjoyed tackling problems and finding solutions and did not view it as a chore," she says.

As for my own classroom, I eventually came around and stopped handing out candy. It took me some time to learn how to shift to the model, and while the transition wasn't smooth, it was a relief to finally see students begin to take risks and answer questions simply because they wanted to learn more about something.

Unfortunately, modern schools are hip deep in the external-reward cycle—passing out stickers and certificates, or offering lunch with the teacher or the principal. However, as Gottfried's research shows, allowing students to learn by doing is what's needed, not more prizes.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user Enokson

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Renowned as one of the most prestigious medical schools in the world, the UCSF School of Medicine employs technology to help students and faculty learn more effectively. At the school's Kanbar Simulation Center, students record practice consultations and review the videos to improve each step of their patient interactions. Students also use iPads in labs, which makes training videos and resource material easily accessible at the point of practice.

For Catherine Lucey, Vice Dean of Education at the School of Medicine, integrating technology aids the faculty in teaching students to become compassionate, skillful physicians. Click on the video to learn more about UCSF's approach to learning.

This video is part eight in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first video on Khan Academy here and learn about other forward-thinking innovators like Sugata Mitra, Sifteo, Digita Tabula, Innovations for Learning, Connexions, and Collaborize Classroom.

Less than half of black males graduate from high school, and they represent only 4 percent of college students—dire statistics that are nothing new to those familiar with America's black male achievement crisis. But what enables some black males to overcome significant obstacles and go on to attend—and graduate from—college?

The inaugural National Black Male College Achievement Study, the largest ever qualitative research study of its kind, seeks to shed some light on what's working for those black men who become high achievers in order to replicate their success with their peers. Produced by Shaun Harper, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of the school's Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, the study is based on interviews with 219 students at 42 colleges across the United States. 

The study focus on how the students, 56.7 percent of whom came from low-income or working class families, acquired the resources to succeed. It also looks at how students "negotiated popularity alongside achievement in peer groups and thrived in environments that were sometimes racist and often culturally unresponsive."

One of the key findings is that even when the men came from families where neither parent had gone to college, from "boyhood through high school, parents and other family members" presented higher education as a "non-negotiable" expectation. Nearly all participants also had "at least one influential teacher who helped solidify their interest in going to college" and "went beyond typical teaching duties" to ensure that they had the resources and support they needed to succeed.

Indeed, the students identified "serendipity not aptitude" as the biggest factor that set them apart from their peers who did not go to college. Most of the respondents said other black males have the same potential but were not lucky enough to encounter "people or culturally relevant experiences that motivated them."

To boost the number of black male college students, the study recommends that black parents be educated about the college process and set the higher education expectation for their boys early on. It also recommends that teacher preparation programs must adjust their training to prepare educators "to do more of what is required to reduce racial inequities in education.

Those kinds of suggestions have been offered by reports before, but perhaps this particular study will spur a new level of action. Otherwise, most black boys will be stuck waiting for a lucky break.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user John Steven Fernandez

GOOD and University of Phoenix are proud to announce the launch of The Great American Teach-Off for teachers in grades 7 through 12.  Last time, we found amazing teachers who taught in grades kindergarten through sixth grade, so now it's the chance for middle school and high school teachers to get involved! (Click here to see which elementary school teacher won).

We pose a question to our Twitter and Facebook faithfuls once a day, so if you’re not yet a @GOOD follower or fan, make sure to sign up and participate in the conversation.

Here's a sampling of responses from our Twitter:

And here is what our Facebook buddies had to say:

Want us to ask the GOOD community something?­ Tweet or Facebook your question to us.
 
 

Education cuts have become routine over the past few years, and the billions slashed from school district budgets are making it more difficult for students to learn. Indeed, the results of a survey of 1,850 Los Angeles County high school students by the independent teen-produced newspaper L.A. Youth reveal just how much the cuts are affecting them.

Thanks to teacher layoffs, class sizes at some high schools have skyrocketed to 50 students—even in math and English classes. Some 37 percent of students report that they sometimes don't have a desk to sit at. Sixty-seven percent say overcrowded classrooms make them feel like the teachers don't have enough time to teach, and 30 percent say they've been unable to participate in a program or class—like AP courses—because it's no longer offered at their school.   

At a time when tech literacy is an essential skill, 52 percent of students say there aren’t enough computers. Or they're often broken, and there's no one to fix them. Despite a court ruling that all Los Angeles Unified School District students must have the books they need, 51 percent say they've had to share textbooks with a classmate because there weren’t enough copies to go around. Fifty-seven percent also say they've had to copy information projected by an overhead because their school didn’t have enough paper to make copies.

"We have only one science teacher for the entire high school," writes Felix Ruano, a 16-year-old student at the Ambassador School of Global Leadership, in L.A. Youth. He goes on to describe how that teacher, who is only credentialed to teach chemistry, is teaching physics—or, at least, is attempting to do so. "He shows physics videos and we teach ourselves from our textbook," says Ruano. And, as has been seen elsewhere, "all but one of the restrooms" at Ruano's school "have been closed because we don’t have enough custodians to clean them." 

Ruano notes that despite the challenges caused by funding cuts, there is a bright spot in the data: 97 percent of his peers say they plan to go to college. But without "properly trained teachers and the best resources," says Ruano, it's not likely that every student will achieve that goal. "Unless schools fix these problems," he says, "students could lose hope."  

 Photo via (cc) Flickr user RDECOM

In high school, the back wall of my French classroom was painted with a Paris scene prominently featuring the Eiffel Tower. Instead of a blank wall, I saw a place I wanted to visit. The visual sent me the message that if I kept studying hard, one day I would be able to walk those streets and speak the language.

As a City Year corps member, I spend much of my day helping students with their academics, whether through in-class support, literacy interventions, or after-school homework help. We also try to help create a positive school climate and participate in service days—events that allow large groups of people from the community to come together and leave a lasting impression on a school.

This year, on MLK Day, we brought together more than 750 volunteers and corps members to paint inspiring quotes above doorways and spruce up school walls with colorful painted murals. There is something cool about how a little paint can really change your mood when you enter a space. At P.S. 50, our library has a jungle theme—with a tree in the center and branches extending outward—that helps create a cozy, fun atmosphere.

In the lunchroom, there's a mural of City Year corps members playing with notable characters from famous books—telling students that the characters are interesting and books are enjoyable. My favorite scenes are in the basement, where children’s book covers are painted throughout the hallways. These paintings are inspiring, but they also remind students that school is a place to develop the entire person. If a school environment is exciting and positive, it can motivate students to come to school and stay engaged and focused throughout the day.

In college, I finally got to see the Eiffel Tower, and it definitely met my expectations. The instruction in my visually inspiring French class would have been the same in a classroom with boring beige walls, but I have clear memories of this class, partially because the room was lively, colorful, and full of hope. I hope that the words and images painted upon the walls of P.S. 50 and the other schools served by City Year make our students smile, encourage them to use their imaginations, and inspire their goals for the future—just as they did for me.

Photo courtesy of City Year New York

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for the nation’s community colleges to educate the workforce of the future. But with only 22 percent of community college students earning a degree within three years, Obama’s goal seems a long way off. A new three-year project by the Center of Community College Student Engagement proposes some solutions that will help schools boost their graduation rates.

The center surveyed students, professors, and college administrative staff at 336 campuses and came up with 13 strategies for schools. The strategies are all pretty common-sense. For example, not all community colleges require students to attend an orientation or meet with an advisor to plan out a course of study. Making those meetings mandatory can get students on the right track from the start of their educational experience. And, given that 59 percent of community college students are attending part-time, the report recommends that schools also ensure there is support for students to stay on track.

Sixty-six percent of community college students also require some form of remedial coursework. It’s common for students to have to take—and pay for—several classes before they even get to the ones that count for their degree. The report suggests that schools fast track this remediation process so that students don’t get discouraged and quit.

Of course, there’s no silver bullet for community colleges that are increasingly underfunded and serve a student population that is predominantly low income. But if schools are able to tweak what they're doing to implement some of the suggestions, they might see graduation rates soar.  

Photo via (cc) Flickr user Parker Michael Knight

In an effort to streamline standards, colleges in seven states—Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and Utah—have joined in "Tuning USA," an initiative started by the Lumina Foundation, funded by both the Lumina and William and Flora Hewlett foundations, and led by the and implemented by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change. Tuning is a collaborative, faculty-led effort to establish clarity and consistency about what is taught on American college campuses. It sets standards for what students should know, understand, and accomplish as they progress toward their degrees. That means transparency about what students will learn in each course and how the credits add up to a degree that holds value in the job market, and it makes student transfers more seamless.

Through tuning, communication between faculty and students improves dramatically. Students know what it takes to stay on track toward graduation and how to make choices that will make them more employable—an increasingly important concern given the rising cost of college. Students and their families have a better sense of what can be done with a degree, and employers understand what they can expect from new graduates they hire.

As part of a strategic plan to close achievement gaps in higher education and boost the number of students earning degrees in STEM and other high-demand fields, Texas' higher education system recently finished tuning four engineering disciplines and is in the process of tuning two additional engineering fields and two science majors. Texas plans to tune mathematics, business, and computer and information science later this year.

Because two-thirds of high school graduates in Texas who pursue higher education start at one of the state's community colleges, Texas also convened representatives from more than 50 institutions to improve the transfer process. Community-college students who want to pursue a baccalaureate degree in civil engineering receive detailed guidance on choosing courses and applying to transfer. Students are informed about the knowledge and skills they will acquire in each course and are provided information about career opportunities ranging from construction and aerospace to manufacturing and public works projects.

Similarly, in Kentucky, two- and four-year public and private colleges are working together to tune high-demand programs in biology, business, elementary education, nursing, and social work. In the state's nursing programs, courses are being tuned to help pave the way for students to transfer from one program or college to another. Tuning will also ensure students clearly understand the skills and knowledge they will acquire throughout their academic career.

As tuning higher education grows in popularity, it will require continuous improvement, adjustment, and measureable results to ensure a lasting impact on student success. The stakes are high: By 2018, nearly two-thirds of jobs in America will require some kind of postsecondary degree or credential, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. With slightly more than half of students at four-year colleges graduating within six years and less than 30 percent of students at community colleges earning associate’s degrees within three years, the nation will fall far short of meeting that need if current trends hold.

Tuning can lead to fewer dropouts, seamless transitions from community college to four-year universities, and greater student success. When you know where the path leads, you’re much more likely to reach your destination.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Last month, teachers in Chester, Pennsylvania were hailed as heroes when they pledged to work for free after their school district ran out of the funds to make payroll. The leader of the teacher movement, Sara Ferguson, sat in Michelle Obama's box at the State of the Union address, and appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday to discuss the experience.

"Many times we speak about our beliefs and our values and our convictions, but here in Chester Upland, we were put to the test," Ferguson, a third-generation teacher in the district, told DeGeneres.

The segment, which you can see above, included footage of the district's impoverished students and evidence of how budget cuts have gutted the schools. DeGeneres was visibly moved by the scenes from the school. And thanks to her new partnership with JCPenney, she presented Ferguson with some surprises, including a $100,000 check for her school.

Of course, neither that donation, nor the $3.2 million a federal judge ordered the state to pay the district so it can keep its doors open through the end of February, are long term solutions. As long as Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett continues to refuse to help Chester Upland, even Ferguson's dedication may not provide an answer to the district's uncertain future.