Khan Academy’s software not only allows teachers to see the problems their students are answering correctly and incorrectly; it also provides a dashboard of data ranging from the amount of time students spent on a particular exercise, to the exact concepts that students rewind

Education Elements as its learning-management system, which allows students and teachers access with a single sign-on to its dashboard.

These three characteristics of online learning are what makes it so powerful: 1) there is immediate feedback; 2) the student owns the learning; and 3) the teacher does not play the central role. Being in control of one’s learning is key to the effectiveness for students.

In a February 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Education, a core set of non-cognitive skills—grit, tenacity, and perseverance—was identified as a critical factor for success in the twenty-first century.

Project-Based Learning: Acton Academy

two character traits that are positively correlated to success in life: grit and self-control. Grit is defined as sustained interest and effort toward long-term goals, and self-control involves the voluntary regulation of behavior, emotion, and attention in the presence of distractions or temptations.

At Garfield Elementary, kindergartners sit in a circle and discuss conflicts with parents at home and how to respond to them. “Mommy, I don’t like when you scream at me,” a five-year-old boy learns to express through role play, with help from his peers.

SuccessMaker, an adaptive digital curriculum that provides a customized learning path and scaffolded feedback based on student performance. Teachers are also trained to use ST Math (ST is short for “Spatial-Temporal”), a software program developed by the MIND Research Institute.

“a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace, and at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home.”