What We’re Thinking About
We love sharing ideas and information that will help build better places to learn and work.
The Invisible Grades: Addressing the Social and Emotional Needs of Middle School Students
by Lynn Ochs
Have we lost sight of our middle school students somewhere between the origins of the Middle School Movement, with its laser focus on small learning communities, mentor relationships and flexible curriculum, and our more recent […]
Improve Your Workplace – Act Like a Baby Boomer!
Recently, I shared the results of a research effort with the VIA Institute, that illuminate the Character Strengths of four different groups in the work place today – Millennials, X Generation members, Baby Boomers and […]
“Discovering” Our (True) History to Shape our Future
by Joe Moorman
Reading a historically accurate and brutally-honest account of Christopher Columbus’ “discovering” of America for the first time as a high school junior was a jarring experience. I had grown up singing “In 1492, Columbus sailed […]
The Dyslexia Pilot Project: Early Literacy Intervention
Ohio’s Special Education Leadership Conference begins this week in Columbus, Ohio. The theme of this year’s Conference is Literacy Instruction – Addressing the Needs of Diverse Learners. Sonia Milrod, M.Ed., Professional Development Specialist for Mayerson Academy will […]
What Does it Take to Engage Four Generations?
Much of our work at the Academy is focused on designing extraordinary learning experiences that maximize performance for individuals and groups of all sizes. We are fortunate to work with a wide range of audiences […]
Character Day? Every Day!
by Lynn Ochs
What is character really? Why a whole day to celebrate? Every day, from the moment we rise to the moment our head hits the pillow at night, we draw on our strengths. Whether it’s self-regulation when […]
Resources For Character Day
by Connie West
September 18, 2015 is Character Day, a day of thousands of events around the globe where people will simultaneously premiere short, powerful and entertaining films, dive into resources from scientists, educators, and media experts, and […]
What Ripple Will We Create?
Work is demanding. In a world that is constantly in motion, “9 to 5” is a relic of the past. In fact, only 8% of full-time employees claim to work less than 40 hours with […]
Want to Be Your Best after a Holiday Weekend? Take a Break. Want to Go Further? Stop First.
It seems with each passing year, summer is shorter and Labor Day arrives earlier. So, unbelievably again this year, summer is already ending and Labor Day has arrived. But like many American holidays, do many […]
Listening to the Quiet
In “Teaching the Quiet Child” Edweek (tiered subscription) guest columnist Sherry Armstrong raised the question of the best way to actually help introverted students in the classroom. Citing an article by James McCroskey (Quiet Children in the […]
The Importance of SEL for Teachers; Our SxSW Edu Workshop Proposal
Social emotional learning requires students to be conscious of their own emotions and social interactions. But teachers also have to be healthy and conscious of SEL if they are to support students in their own […]
A New Parent Conversation
“Make contact before you need to make contact.” These are the words of one of my most admired mentors. As a school principal committed to building a great learning environment, she made sure that each […]
Happify: Emotional Wellbeing in a Mobile App
Happify, a Mayerson Academy partner, was recently profiled on the Getting Smart blog. In “Happify: The Science of Emotional Wellbeing in a Mobile App,” Tom VanderArk states, “the app is designed to build skills for emotional […]
Expanded Education for an Expanded Personal and Common Good
One of my favorite descriptions of education of late, comes from a recent EdWeek blog post by Tom VanderArk in which he says, “Learning occurs as a series of experiences but an education is more […]
Blending the Best… to Be our Best
by Lynn Ochs
Exploring our Strengths thru Blended Learning What happens when you combine the best of professional learning design, with a research-based social and emotional learning (SEL) program… and an award-winning game platform? Why, Thriving Learning Communities […]
Incorporating the Language of Character Strengths in the Classroom
In the run up to our Thriving Learning Communities Professional Learning Programs session in August we are revisiting a short documentary featuring Jay Sharp, a 4th grade teacher at Bella Vista Elementary School in Salt […]
Can Classrooms Benefit from the Same Makeover as Meetings?
Michelle McQuaid, a positive psychology and strengths expert, is a rare breed in thought leadership – absolutely grounded in the research and unusually adept at translating that work into interesting and practical knowledge for implementation. […]
Can learning be personalized based on strengths?
In “Personalized Learning: What or Who?” Jillian Darwish asks if learning can be personalized based on strengths. “Might we need a different type of personalization to create intrinsic and sustained engagement? What if we combined […]
Can 11 Minutes a Day Change Your Experience at Work?
This month more than 800 Northern Kentucky University (NKU) staff members spent the day exploring a strengths-development approach to work led by Michelle McQuaid internationally acclaimed strengths-based teacher and best-selling author. Sponsored by Mayerson Family […]
Blended Learning to Get a Boost in Ohio
More than 100 Ohio principals and administrators will participate in a blended learning course through a grant funded from the Friday Institute at North Carolina State. Through the course (delivered in a blended learning format […]

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