When you know what to teach and how to teach, don’t assume all children are ready to learn, Pay attention to setting the hook for learning to avoid bummer lessons. Continue reading
A “Bummer” Is When Children Are Spectators In Class
How Do We Measure a Rounded Education When the School Report Does Not?
We know the School Report Card is a flawed measure of a student education yet we wear it as a hairshirt hating the feel and not being able to anything about it. Continue reading
The Tension of High Expectations
Increasing personal tension to learn is part of motivation theory; there needs to be a degree of tension between expectations and achievement. Effective teachers know how to use tension, anxiety, and personal pressure to spur students to learn. Continue reading
Highly Effective Teachers are Masters at Adjusting Instruction
Master teachers know that some children will not reach secure learning after initial instruction only. They readily check formative data and adjust subsequent instruction to cause all children to be successful learners. Teach, assess, adjust teaching and assess again is a necessary pedagogical sequence. Continue reading
Never Take Good Teaching For Granted
Good teaching causes children to learn. The act of teaching is complex, planned, and explicit. Appreciate good teaching when you see it. Continue reading
Don’t Sweat NAEP Scores. What Did We Expect?
Recently released NAEP scores represent what we expected as achievement indicators resulting from emergency education in 2021 and 21-22. Don’t worry backwards; get to work moving forwards. Continue reading
Feedback: Recalibrating the superlative
General feedback goes so quickly to the superlative that it loses any meaningful commentary. Be exact and actual in comparing what you say to what you expect students to know, do, and be. They want your honesty not falsity. Continue reading
Deja Camaraderie
What signs of school health will you look for this year? Look at the metrics of your camaraderie. In which direction does the needle point? Continue reading
Carpe the First Day
The first day of school is show time. How we treat day one impacts the entire school year that follows. Carpe the first diem. Continue reading
Speak Less and Listen More
Cartoonists make a living depicting a teacher talking to a classroom of dozing children. Keep yourself from appearing in the funny papers – speak less and listen more. Continue reading