30 Of The Most Popular Trends In Education

30 Of The Most Popular Trends In Education

What Are The Most Popular Trends In Education?

Note: The items below have been changed but the graphic itself still needs updating : )

What about the most popular trends in education heading into 2024 specifically? Well, that’s a tricky question.

Deciding what’s ‘trending’ is an important part of digital publishing and social media interaction. Facebook articles, Google News, Apple News, trending hashtags on twitter, and even our own TeachThought website all depend heavily on statistics.

It’s easy to have a problem with this concept philosophically–namely, the most popular isn’t always the most effective or the ‘best.’ So this post isn’t about the most innovative trends, most exciting trends, or most effective trends, but rather the most popular trends in innovative education insofar as we can see from our necessarily limited data and individual perspective.

The requirements?

1. It must be ‘popular.’

2. And it must involve some kind of ‘innovation’ or growth in education.

How We Measured

So how did we measure the ‘most popular trends’ in education?

We basically took four quantifiable data points and combined them with fallible but hopefully useful good old-fashioned human awareness and recognition. The result is four objective measures and on subjective ‘sense of things.’ We then combined them to create a ‘score,’ quantified on a scale of 1 through 10 where 10 is the highest.

5 Data Points To Identify The Most Popular Trends In Education

1. Popular search engine data (e.g., Google, Bing, etc.) [objective]

2. TeachThought search data [objective]

3. Traffic and search trends within and across popular education websites [objective]

4. Social media metrics [objective]

5. TeachThought editorial impression [subjective]

Based on our search database trends, analytics data on content, and a decidedly unscientific but daily skimming of industry chatter, press releases, peer content, internal dialogue, and social media usage, here are–in light of the above–most popular 12 trends in innovative education for 2024.

For each, we’ve also shared one of our top bits of content to get you started reading. Also, feel free to use search to find and share additional resources as well.

This clearly has plenty of inherent bias built-in, is decidedly non-scientific, and is nowhere close to exhaustive. Take it with a grain of salt as one sampling of modern trends in ‘western’ K-12 public education.

1. Sustainable Teaching

Score: 9.2

Top Resources

Is Great Teaching Sustainable

Things To Try Before You Quit Teaching

What Every Teacher Needs To Survive

Why Teachers Need One Another

Will You Still Be Teaching Next Year

2. Social-Emotional Learning

Score: 8.8

Trending: Up

Top Resources

Why Emotion Is More Important Than Understanding

5 Strategies For Incorporating Social-Emotional Learning Into Your Classroom

25 Resources For Social-Emotional Learning

3. Blended Learning

Score: 8.5

Trending: Up

Top Resources

Find The Model That Works For You: 12 Types Of Blended Learning

The Benefits Of Blended Learning

10 Popular Blended Learning Resources Teachers Actually Use

Related Topics: Flipped Classroom, Online Learning, Mobile Learning, Modular Education

4. Project-Based Learning

Score: 9

Trending: Up

Top Resources

Using Project-Based Learning To Flip Bloom’s Taxonomy For Deeper Learning

5. Bloom’s Taxonomy

Score: 8.6

Trending: Neutral

Top Resources

126 Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs For Digital Learning

A 3-Dimensional Model Of Bloom’s Taxonomy

14 Brilliant Bloom’s Taxonomy Posters For Teachers

Related Topics: Critical Thinking, Curriculum Mapping, Self-Directed Learning, Inquiry-Based Learning

6. Digital Citizenship/Literacy

Score: 8.4

Trending: Down

Top Resources

The Definition Of Digital Citizenship

Moving Students From Digital Citizenship To Digital Leadership

Why Every Classroom Should Teach Digital Citizenship

Related Topics: Big data, Data Privacy, Digital Footprint, Mobile Learning

7. Personalized Learning

Score: 8.4

Trending: Neutral

Top Resources

A Beginner’s Guide To Personalized Learning

The Definition Of Personalized Learning

Related Topics: Adaptive Learning Algorithms, Gamification, Mobile Learning, BYOD, Blended Learning

8. Growth Mindset

Score: 8

Trending: Down

Top Resources

25 Simple Ways To Develop A Growth Mindset

Establishing A Growth Mindset As A Teacher: 9 Statements Of Affirmation

25 Alternatives To “I Don’t Know” And “I Can’t”

Related Topics: Maker Education, Student-Centered Learning, Habits of Mind, Emotion in Learning, Empathy

9. Maker Learning

Score: 7.8

Trending: Down

Top Resources

Cool! A Card Game To Personalize Via Maker Learning!

24 Unique Maker Education Resources For Teaching & Learning

The Language Of The Maker Movement: 38 Terms For Teachers

Related Topics: Failing Forward, Robotics in the classroom, Coding, Self-Directed Learning

10. Genius Hour

Score: 7.6

Trend: Down

4 Things All Project-Based Learning Teachers Should Do

TeachThought’s Project-Based Learning Resources

Related Topics: Inquiry in the classroom, Scenario-Based Learning, Place-Based Education

11. Team-Building For Learning

Score: 7.4

Top Resources

Making Friends: 10 Team-Building Games For Students

More Teamwork, Less Group Work: 27 Ways To Build A Team

10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

Related Topics: Emotion in Learning, Teaching Empathy, Citizenship, Whole Child Learning, Sociocultural/Socioeconomic Equity

Trending: Down

12. Genius Hour

Score: 7.2

Trending: Neutral

Top Resources

What Is Genius Hour?  

6 Principles Of Genius Hour In The Classroom  

The Genius Hour Design Cycle

Related Topics: Self-Directed Learning, Google in the classroom, Maker Learning

13. Pushing Back on Education Technology

Score: 7

Trending: Neutral

Top Resources

Why Some Teachers Are Against Technology In Education

Don’t Spend A Penny On Education Technology Until This Is Clear

Related Topics: Education Reform, Equity In Education, Education Technology

14. Alternatives To Traditional ‘School’

Score: 6.8

Trending: neutral

Top Resources

50 Crazy Ideas To Change Education

Related Topics: Place-Based Education, Self-Directed Learning, eLearning, Micro-schools/Micro-education, Homeschooling

15. Robotics/Coding

Score: 6.7

Trending: Down

Top Resources

Coding In The Classroom: 10 Tools Students Can Use To Design Apps & Video Games

Infographic: Robotics And The Future Of STEM

Related Topics:

16. Alternatives To Letter Grades

Score: 6.5

Trending: Neutral

Top Resources

12 Alternatives To Letter Grades In Education

Dear Parents: Here’s What You Should Know About Letter Grades

How Gamification Uncovers Nuance In The Learning Process

Related Topics:

17. Brain-Based Learning

Score: 6.4

Trending: Up

Top Resources

The Neuroscience Of Learning: 41 Terms Every Teacher Should Know

6 Targets To Teach The Way The Brain Learns

Related Topics: Neuroscience, Curiosity, Critical Thinking

18. Gamification

Score: 6.3

Trending: Down

Top Resources

63 Things Every Student Should Know In A Digital World

12 Examples Of Gamification In The Classroom

The Difference Between Gamification & Game-Based Learning

Related Topics: Game-Based Learning, Learning Through Play, Alternatives To Letter Grades

19. Adaptive Learning Algorithms 

Score: 6.1

Trending: Up

Top Resources

The Assessment Range: Using Data To Meaningfully Affect Learning

Related Topics:

20. Game-Based Learning

Score: 6

Trending: Up

Top Resources

21 Smart Games For Game-Based Learning

8 Principles Of Gamified Learning

A List Of 50+ Teaching Strategies To Jumpstart Your Teacher Brain

Related Topics: Gamification, Mobile Learning, Learning Through Play

20. Mobile Learning

Score: 5.8

Trending: Down

Top Resources

12 Principles Of Mobile Learning

Making The Shift To Mobile-First Teaching

The Definition Of Mobile Learning

Related Topics: Personalized Learning, Game-Based Learning, Adaptive Learning Algorithms

Other popular trends in education: self-directed learning, alternatives to letter grades, artificial intelligence, micro-education, modular education, sociocultural/socioeconomic equity, flipped classroom (see also blended learning), scenario-based learning, adaptive learning algorithms, BYOD/BYOT, social media in the classroom, digital portfolios