We know more now about how people learn than ever before. With these new insights comes a great responsibility to improve the educational experience for students as well as teachers—and thanks to a whole slew of trends, we have many options to do just that.

Here are four of our favorites:

Maker Education

Tinkering is one of the best ways to learn about something. In maker-based curriculum, students can experiment, create and collaborate while exploring through the challenge of making things. School “makerspaces” are a breeding ground for innovation, helping students solve problems through creative and technical exploration.

Blended Learning

Blended learning combines the best of in-classroom instruction with online technology and adaptive learning technologies. By harnessing learning in a digital space - and the data it provides -, teachers are empowered to better differentiate instruction for individual learners.

Social-Emotional Learning

A student’s home and community life has a huge impact on their ability to learn. Through integrating family and social support into the learning experience, educators and administrators are able to help students gain lifelong skills like self-awareness, responsibility and decision making, and building healthy relationships.

Data-Driven Schools

One of the most powerful ways we can improve education is by looking at what is working, then building from there. The increase in a school's or district’s ability to gather meaningful data points creates a new universe of information that educators and administrators can use to build a better educational experience.