You want at-home learning to feel purposeful and engaging for students, but you don’t want to further overwhelm yourself with work. What if there was a way to both boost student engagement and reduce the daily assigning, correcting, and keeping
Games can boost engagement and learning for students while also reducing teacher workload--a win-win!
What if there was a learning strategy that boosted student engagement, had many (many!) academic benefits for students, and reduced teacher planning and correcting/grading time? Great news! There is–and it’s a tried and true strategy you have probably been using
It might be the understatement of the summer that teachers, students, parents, and administrators are anxious about the upcoming school year.
In addition to the priorities of health, safety, and equity of access to education in this COVID-19 period, distance
What might schools look like in the fall?
We can learn from schools that have already welcomed children back to school.
In the United States, many of us (teachers, parents, and students) are filled with anxiety about what the
I was delighted to join a group of deep thinkers for an in-depth panel discussion about leaner-centered education. Hosted by Julie Mountcastle of the Slate School, this conversation is rich and engaging. You’ll hear about the importance of cherishing children’s
This has been a spring that few of us anticipated. As we now look to the end of the year, many of us are aching for our favorite end-of-the-year moments—that final awesome read-aloud, the class gathering with families, the spring
A high school math teacher is recording short lessons on his phone in his basement, using a dry erase board and marker as he explains new math concepts. He posts the videos and then offers one-on-one and small group coaching
You’ve spent the whole year building a community of learners. You’ve established rules and routines to help learners manage themselves and work well with each other. Now, with schoolwork potentially moving offsite, you still want to support your students as
A school-based content coach wrote to me because her K-5 school is considering moving toward content specialization. This means that at each grade level, teachers would focus on specific content areas and kids would change classes throughout the day. She
The Dilemma
You want to offer students choices about what they learn or how the learn it. Engagement would be higher and you could offer differentiated options to meet the needs of various learners. However, you’re saddled with a scripted
A teacher recently wrote me an email asking for some advice about student motivation. She graciously agreed to let my answer morph into a blog post.
I just finished listening to your ASCD webinar about language. I found your presentation thoughtful,
If you teach reading and/or writing, there’s a good chance that when introducing a new concept or skill, you begin your lesson by saying some variation of, “Good readers….”
“Good readers pay attention to context clues.”
“Good writers add
As the school year winds down, it can be hard for students (and teachers) to keep their positive energy high. With the end in sight, it can be hard to stay motivated to do work. With worries about the end
On August 27, 2018, I had the honor of delivering the opening day keynote address to 2200+ educators in Nashua, NH. The main message is fairly simple. If we want today’s children to be prepared for the new world
The way we introduce learning options to students can make or break a choice experience for students. In this blog post, you’ll learn some practical strategies and ideas from Maggie West, a fifth-grade teacher in Conway, Massachusetts. To get
It seems to be more and more common for teachers to give presentations to adult audiences. Whether it’s sharing with parents at an open house night, making a persuasive speech at a school board meeting, facilitating part of a faculty
“If I give my students choice, I’m worried they’re going to make bad choices,” I often hear teachers say. “They’re just going to choose the easiest option. Or, they’re going to choose what their friends choose.”
There’s no doubt that
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a hot topic in schools right now—as it should be. It’s increasingly clear that social and emotional skills are the keys to the kingdom—it’s the skill set that employers are seeking—the skill set that’s less likely to
We all know the importance of the first six weeks of school. We build positive relationships with students and a strong sense of community membership within our classes. We establish consistent and predictable routines to help students feel safe and allow them
Here’s another great post by guest-blogger and teacher, Gillian Andrews. Enjoy!
You may have read my previous blog post, Need More Teachers in the Classroom? Clone Yourself!, and thought this looks like a great idea in theory, but who has
Today’s cool idea comes to us from friend and colleague, Gillian Andrews. Make sure to check out her bio at the end of this post!
How many times on any given day do you catch yourself saying, “I wish there
Rick Gifford knew that a worksheet where students define words and then use them in a sentence wasn’t the most engaging way for them to learn and practice math vocabulary. He wanted to spruce things up and give his students
What if the best recipe for creating successful schools was developing relaxed, safe, and joyful ones? What if the key to raising achievement (even as measured by standardized tests) was to have students engage in authentic, student-driven, choice-based, and fun
In survey after survey, business leaders are clear about what they’re looking for in employees. They want creative, dynamic, and independent thinkers. They want people who work well with a variety of people. And, importantly, they don’t want to hire