As adolescents transition from elementary school to middle school, they deserve an orientation to this critical period of development that is personalized, relevant, socially embedded, and open walled. What better way than a co-designed middle school dance?
Read MoreAs we enter our sixth year supporting learners to courageously inquire, engage, and discover a sense of self, we’re reflecting on the journey that has paved the way.
Read MoreJune 3, 2024 will forever be a significant day for me, and for my family.
I sat in the crowd at a local theater, watching in awe as the graduating eighth-grade class of our micro-middle school, including my child, took to the stage to reflect on their time at Embark. That very same day marked the official start of my role as Executive Director of our organization.
Read MoreBy Jamie Magyar. Jamie is a Content Manager on the Embark Education Team.
“Bring yourself back to your middle school you.” This was the opening invitation to a room of educators gathered at our Embedded Learning Experience, a two-day dive into our embedded, integrated, learner-centered, micro-middle school.
Read MoreEmbark learners set out on the second leg of our AI journey. The experience of learners and educators exploring this new tech together is a perfect example of Embark’s mindset of radical trust. Rather than requiring learners to wait until adults thoroughly vet the technology without learner input or penalizing learners for using it alone, we did the work together. I guided their explorations to ensure that they were safe and reasonably productive. Meanwhile, learners provided the curiosity, perspective, and time needed to explore AI in new and unique ways.
Read MoreEquipped with permission, trust, and time to explore the capabilities of ChatGPT, Embark learners uncovered a wealth of limitations to the technology. This experience also opened lines of communication about AI. Rather than viewing the technology as cheating and using it in secret, learners developed an understanding of how to use the technology appropriately.
Read MoreEmbark Education Head of School Brian Hyosaka reflects on learnings from our past that are informing our future as we head into our fifth year of supporting learners to courageously inquire, engage, and discover a sense of self.
Read MoreEmbark was one of many schools to participate in Transcend's Leaps Student Voice Survey. It is with deep honor that we share that Embark learners reported significantly more positive experiences on the Leaps survey than Transcend's nationwide benchmarks – in fact, they were among the most positive responses from hundreds of schools across the country! In celebration of this milestone, we are chronicling a series of stories about the Embark student experience.
Read MoreAt Embark Education, we have collected a lot of stories. We are excited to begin sharing the stories behind our work creating learner-centered experiences. Follow along and share in our celebrations, our challenges, and our learnings.
Read MoreThis piece was inspired by a recent learning experience where learners researched, wrote, and edited blog posts on topics of their choosing related to Framework Cycles. Etta chose to take an investigative look into bias, and how it so often informs the way we move through the world around us, particularly through the lens of commerce.
Read MoreWith a limited understanding of the behind-the-scenes work, one might think all learners do is foam milk and shop online. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, Embark combines authentic tasks, which allow learners to see the results of their learning in action, with competency-based instruction, which ensures that learners develop the skills necessary to complete each task to a professional standard.
Read MoreBy crafting their schedules, learners develop the skills necessary to take active control of all aspects of their learning. They choose how to use their time. They learn when, how, where, and with whom they work most successfully. Because they drive their schedules, learners also feel comfortable advocating for their learning needs and asking for educator and peer support when needed. They even feel comfortable contacting local community partners and businesses when it will support their learning.
Read MoreAt Embark, students examine who we are while exploring our role in the surrounding community. We are constantly striving to further our work in the realm of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This winter, we took this work into our own hands, learning about our own identities, systemic oppression, and how we show up in the community through a DEI lens. We think this means having respect for, supporting, and welcoming all people no matter their race, gender, background, or social identities.
Read MoreI believe the most crucial dimension of learner-centered education is not content but human connection. At Embark, we hold human relationships at the center of our work. I teach content, but that is not where my interactions with learners begin or end. Instead, I cultivate a holistic learning environment that fosters human connection. The following are some of the ways this mindset manifests itself at Embark.
Read MoreOver the past year, I have had my eyes opened to the incredible complexity and joy of working with our learners at such an impactful stage in their development. By no means do I or Embark espouse to have the answer, but we are certainly working to redesign that “perfect” system to ensure that learners leave middle school engaged and with a sense of agency in their learning and lives.
Read MoreEvents of the past year have made three things abundantly clear to me. One, more people than ever are eager to unlearn our inherent biases in order to move toward a more just society. Two, in order to reach this goal, most of us need support, education, and more exposure to the lived experiences of others. And three, during a pandemic it’s incredibly hard to interact with humans in authentic and safe ways.
Read MoreHow can students give back to the community using the skills they are learning in our professionally run bike shop? Embark 7th and 8th graders came up with an idea to put their new skills to use. They reached out to local elementary schools and shared their idea for a bike repair day. Email letters, explaining the Embark student’s idea to give back, were drafted, edited, and sent to each of the contacts. The idea involved Embark students going to a local elementary school on a given day. Students of the school would bring their broken-down bikes to the school. Embark students would bring our tools, bike stands, and extra parts to the school and service the bikes that were brought in for repair. This service would be free of charge.
Read MoreWhen you think back to your middle school experience, how often did you sit one on one with your teachers? I struggle to recall a single one-on-one interaction with a teacher lasting longer than a minute or two...except when I got kicked out of class! At Embark Education, sixth graders will spend nearly six hours one-on-one with their educator over the course of the year, at minimum.
Read MoreAt Embark Education, students set their own schedules each week, which allows them to exert agency. Students learn to plan, manage, and prioritize their workload. They uncover their preferred work patterns. Through trial and error, they discover how best to budget their time for different types of tasks. And they learn how and when to ask for support from their peers or educators. Best of all, they see what they are truly capable of when adults trust them to manage their own time and learning.
Read MoreWhen we say embedded at Embark we mean that learning happens in the context of our two professionally managed shops, Framework Cycles and Pinwheel Coffee. We approach this in several different ways--students do weekly shifts where they’re learning the skills to be a barista or bike mechanic, academic projects use the shops as an authentic context for learning a variety of standards. In addition to these, we want students to have real ownership in the work of the shops. And, figuring out how to do that is complicated.
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