If we truly want to help ALL students meet or master the standards, we must provide effective differentiation for our students. However, over the years, several practices have crept into the way we differentiate lessons that actually make student success LESS likely. The following are four practices that actually interfere with effective differentiated instruction. Creating [...]
Seven Myths About Rigor
January 13, 2011
Unfortunately, over the years the term rigorous has accumulated a lot of baggage. The following are seven myths about Rigor. Myth One: If you have rigorous standards, you have a rigorous course. Rigor isn’t as much about the standards as it is about how you ask students to reach the standards. There are times when [...]
If your reforms will destroy kids, schools, and teachers, please help the bear.
October 5, 2010
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about educational reform. Schools are broken, the narrative goes, so we have to do something to fix them. The “something” currently in vogue is a combination of market-based reforms such as merit pay and value-added scores, mixed with a fawning adoration of charters and alternative routes to certification. [...]
The difference between bad teachers and bad people
October 2, 2010
When I built my company Mindsteps on the idea that any teacher can become a master teacher with the right kind of support and practice, I got a lot of push back. Immediately, people bristled at the idea. They pointed to teachers who threw chairs at students, or teachers who were mentally cruel to students, or teachers who [...]
Teacher Tips: Student Engagement
September 30, 2010
Most of us agree that students need to be engaged in order to learn at optimal levels; but, it is often difficult to tell whether an activity will engage them rather than just entertain them.
Teacher Tips: Video Games
September 20, 2010
Ever wonder how you could make your lessons as addictive as a video game? Here are some ideas for how you can do just that.
7 Principles Tip Sheet: Ten Small Risks to Take this Year
July 30, 2010
This tip sheet identifies a number of risks to take that demonstrate examples of most principles
