Read and Coach

 If you spend enough time in education, you become a master at filling out a survey. We are always asking for feedback from the adults in the building about the adult tasks educational institutions require. Whether we choose to participate or not, surveys for adults are abundant. The terrifying reality for those providing curriculum resources or professional development services to adults is that these surveys are not always glowing commendations of our work. As a matter of fact, they can sometimes make you cry. Or so I've heard... As I look through my veil of tears at feedback on a survey, however, I always learn something that helps me improve.  Yes, that session did need to be more hands on and practical.  Absolutely, we should have planned less and provided more time for processing and application.  Unquestionably, we should practice what we preach and differentiate for teachers at various levels. No...we can't provide better chocolate than the Milky Way Minis. I...

 I'm not a true sports fan, but every year around March I become the most loyal bracket curator around. I used to stick March Madness brackets around my classroom and watch the highlights and red lines fill the space for three glorious and competitive weeks. Casual discussions about the latest upset and fun goading about bracket points carried students into class before the bell. I loved the fun and connection that came with the bracket even through my yearly losing record. How can we carry the madness of March from the court to the classroom? The simplest way to bring that energy into the curriculum is with ideas like Brave New Teaching's Poetry March Madness Brackets.  The beauty of a bracket is its flexibility. Do you want a bracket about the most valuable element on the periodic table? Do it. Maybe a bracket around a praiseworthy historical figure of the time period you are currently studying? Create it. The learning will be in the criteria for determining what makes somet...

Research suggests that we have anywhere from seven to twenty-seven seconds to make a first impression. So, if you thought starting this post with research was a chump move, I've probably already lost you. If you are a sucker for statistics and you are thinking about the first few minutes of your classes, then let's press on together. In his expansive text on creating thinking students in every classroom, Peter Liljedahl asserts that you must get students thinking within the first five minutes of class in order to increase thinking for the remainder of class. Just as vital as the timeframe is the task, according to Liljedahl. We often begin class with a soft question or activity that does not require deep thought or creativity. He argues for inquiry tasks and problem solving to start class in a highly engaging way. In her insightful work on creating more culturally responsive teachers, Zaretta Hammond adds further depth to the need to ignite learning at the beginning of every ...

Educators have a love-hate relationship with goals. A class goal, a SMART goal, a student growth goal... they all imply both the hopeful optimism of starting anew and the bleak desperation of evaluation data. As we stare down the end of January wondering how to get through unscathed, we often look to a new year's resolution as the pinnacle of being goal oriented and starting fresh. A brief google search confirmed my assumptions that I could find a plethora of shiny educational resolutions to commit to in the new year. Except that eighty percent of resolutions fail.  Without a good plan in place, the failure of our hopeful January resolutions leads to a frosty February. It seems to me that we need a dose of reality in the new year instead of another statistically deficient resolution. In education, however, well meaning but vague resolutions often overtake practical realities, and we are left grading and producing paperwork for another glittery goal that fell short. So, as this Janu...

It would be easy to look in our rearview mirror, roll our eyes, and wave a hasty goodbye to 2021. For all her faults, however, there are some definite educational celebrations to come out of 2021, and it is imperative that we look back and consider what we have learned. To that end, I offer 21 educational celebrations: 21. Cult of Pedagogy's HyperRubric Episode - It's hard to believe Jennifer Gonzalez could get any cooler, but several of her podcast episodes this year have made my list of celebrations. This particular episode furthers the idea that rubrics are a learning tool. It is stocked with fantastic ideas and templates that any teacher can use immediately. 20.    Youth Led Participatory Action Research - YPAR is something I found out about just as the semester was drawing to a close. For fans of Project Based Learning, the YPAR Hub is an excellent resource brimming with student voice and examples of on the ground research and projects in real communities. Check it out ...

I'm an Enneagram Type One.  For some, that means nothing. For others, it's an indisputable life guide. According to Compass Points , I'm also a North personality. If the 16 Personalities test is more your jam, I'm an ESTJ, otherwise known as The Executive. In summary, and as my children and husband would confirm, I'm action oriented and always right. Does any of this vital personality information impact my teaching? Of course it does. The research around personality traits coalesced in the 1990s into some common findings about the big five personality traits. However, there is very little conclusive research currently to determine exactly how a teacher's personality impacts effectiveness. Given the difficulty in creating a clear cause and effect relationship between a teacher's charm and a student's success, why even bring it up? Because there is one trait that becomes common and undeniable among all types of personalities in the classroom. Teachers t...

Like flies buzzing around our heads, we are constantly swatting at the latest, greatest buzzword in education. By the time the word zooms past our heads, it has already morphed into another irritating version. So, instead of paying attention to what the constant buzzing is telling us, we swat and swat and swat it away until we are frustrated, give up, and head inside. As our grandmothers always taught us, however, you catch more flies with honey. Perhaps, instead of swatting, it is time to try some sweetening.  The first record of the word rigor was around 1350 and meant “to be stiff.” Rigor mortis, or the stiffening of a body after death, is not the vision we want in our heads as we think about rigor in education. However, it is sometimes accurate. Rigor has a rocky history in education circles, and the word has bounced in and out of fashion for decades.The tightening of standards and the stiff views of what it means to have a rigorous class often sour our perceptions. It is not ...