Annual assessments of a child’s development as a reader are necessary for quality teaching and learning. They are not the end goal. Instead, focus on well high school graduates demonstrate critical thinking through mindful reading. Continue reading
Teacher Tool Box: Some Teachers Have Sharper Tools
The sharpness of a teacher’s teaching tools differentiates those who can cause all children to learn from those who spend time with children in school. Continue reading
Lesson study: Sharpening Your Teaching Tools
Lesson plans are the small incremental steps to creating larger educational outcomes. A way to improve the quality of larger outcomes is to improve the quality of the small steps – lesson plans. Lesson studies are a proven strategy for improving lesson designs. Continue reading
A School Year Is Not a Year of Instruction
A school year is the number of days school is open for student attendance. It is a finite quantity. An instructional year is the time necessary for teaching to cause all children to learn their annual grade level and course curricula. For almost all children, the school year ends before the instructional can be completed. The status quo of this inequality significantly contributes to deficiencies in student learning. Continue reading
Teach. Try not. Yoda Redux.
Educationese obfuscates. Education requires resolute language of who will do what to cause what learning for children. Inherent in the resolute language is the use of action verbs Continue reading