Read and Coach

 At 2.2 billion dollars, the Era's Tour is the highest-grossing tour ever. Why?  Because Taylor Swift is an absolute VIBE.  When she released her first song in 2006, did our Wildest Dreams tell us what we would eventually know All Too Well ? Taylor's energy crosses generational boundaries and has become a worldwide phenomenon. So, let's put on our Cardigan , get Fearless , and think about how we can all bring a little Swiftie energy to our classrooms this year. Robert Marzano, an educational researcher whose work spans decades, identified four areas of student engagement in his 2020 book, Improving Teacher Development and Evaluation . The areas of attention, energy, interest and intrigue, and personal motivation are all vital to moving from compliance to authentic engagement in our classrooms. Often at the secondary level, however, energy takes a backseat. In order to maintain a highly engaged classroom,  it is vital to consider the less sexy aspects of student eng...

 In Greek Mythology, the first woman, Pandora, unleashes a host of ills on the human race. In various versions of the myth, she opens a box or a jar out of curiosity and an array of unintended consequences follow. We are all meant to learn that Pandora's Box should be kept tightly closed. I don't know about you, but I say hand me the box cutter and let's release some chaos. Similar to Schrödinger's Cat (mythology and quantum mechanics exist side by side, of course), when the box is open, we have the full picture. Each year as we anticipate greeting a new group of students, we peek into that box and get both fired up and nervous for the year ahead. We are never entirely certain what might be unleashed in our classrooms, but that's the fun of teaching. The only thing we can control is our own preparation. The most essential part of the groundwork that keeps hope alive in the box, is classroom procedures and routines. A report by Project Innovation Austin  expands on t...

 As an Atari-addicted, latchkey member of Generation X, I played a lot of Frogger as a child. Unfortunately, I lacked video game playing prowess, so my frogs were always hopping toward their death. What I remember most about those days (besides the bloop noise of my frog jumping across the road and the satisfactory musical accompaniment burned into the brain of every 80s child) is how much fun it was to play. Games, whether frog based or not, are vital to student engagement. We need to play to learn. Robert Marzano, The Godfather of educational research, has recently renewed his efforts to organize and categorize what works in schools. Along with John Hattie, they form a research power duo that every teacher should know. Both of them mark the power of games for learning. Marzano believes using academic games can provide friendly, low-stakes controversy as a powerful engagement tool. Hattie's research  also cites play programs with a .50 effect size on student achievement and...

 I hate public restrooms. They're exposed and awkward and generally unpleasant. On a recent trip through the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, however, I noticed that patrons were asked to hit a quick button to provide feedback on the airport restroom. After fairly intense deliberation about the germs on that button, I hit the smiley face to indicate this wasn't the worst public restroom I had experienced, washed my hands again, and departed feeling productive. While there are many connections we can make between public restrooms and education these days, the more productive emphasis is on what it means to go public with our practices so we can receive feedback. It's time to embrace that exposed, awkward, and generally unpleasant process that can create a monumental shift for students and teachers. In the book Principals Who Learn , St. Louis Area administrator Barbara Kohm wrote about the vital importance of making our work in education public. She states, "exposi...

 I always save the best food on my plate for my last bite. I coached speech and debate for many years and always told my students to try to speak last in their final round so the judge remembered them. At a concert, the most popular act always goes last. What seems like just good practice (or that fantastic last bite of mashed potatoes) is a scientific phenomenon called the primacy/recency effect , and we should be using it in our classrooms.  I've already explored the vital importance of the first few minutes of class , where many educators thrive. However, research by James Stronge in the book Qualities of Effective Teachers  illuminates the equal importance of recency. What are we doing in the last few minutes of class that is extending student learning? Stronge's cited research explains that "lesson closures are undervalued and frequently not planned." According to the primacy/recency effect, however, those last five to ten minutes are indispensable to reinforce t...

 In the 1970s, Madeline Hunter set the standard for lesson planning. As we dip our toes into 2023 teaching, not much has changed in the general structure of planning lessons. What Hunter deemed an anticipatory set in 1976, Zaretta Hammond calls igniting learning today. No matter the name, the first five to ten minutes of each lesson set the scene for the learning ahead.  While the first few minutes are vital, it's the practice time later in the lesson that builds learning muscle. In Hunter's version of a lesson, students independently practice only after there are no errors in the new learning. Hammond, however, refers to this final part of learning as chewing and reviewing. In a culturally responsive version of lesson planning, Zarretta Hammond recognizes that students need time together to chew on learning and review what they have learned in communal and appropriate ways.  As students dive into practice each class, teachers definitely need time to take a breath, check...

In the children's book, Archibald's Next Big Thing , written by Hollywood sitcom star Tony Hale, Archibald is always looking for the next BIG THING. From chickenwire roller coasters to ocean wonders to tacos with robots, Archibald struggles to be satisfied with what he has because the next BIG THING is forever on the horizon. While Archibald is, in fact, a chicken, we can all find a little January peace by learning from his story and using our resolution energy to focus on resetting. As we enter the height of resolution season, I am trying to ground myself in reality with some definitions. According to Oxford Languages, within the definition of resolution are words like "firm decision" and "determined." However, the word reset has meanings that include phrases like "adjust" and "fix in a new or different way." As we all contemplate 2023, there is a pull toward the next BIG THING in education. What completely new teaching paradigm will sol...