In his best-selling book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell described how social change can occur dramatically and rapidly as it spreads contagiously ...
Education Policy
On a road to nowhere
The popularity of international student assessments, especially the Programme for International Student ...
Paradoxes of the Finland Phenomenon
Have you noticed there’s a lot of hullabaloo about Finland’s education system ...
Occupy Wall Street: The Education Edition (Part 1)
I am very happy to say that I spent my weekend occupying ...
Educational Reform: A Starting Point (Perhaps)
We’ve heard the studies and statistics. Today’s students will likely change jobs ...
Warring learning theories. Choose yours.
The rich philanthropists, hedge fund managers, state governors, big-city mayors, and syndicated ...
Recent Posts
Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs
In this thoughtful Harvard Business Review article, Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson asks us to see beyond Jobs’s legendary roughness with people and appreciate the leadership qualities that made him one of the most successful innovators of our time. “The essence of Jobs, I think, is that his personality was integral to his way of [...]
You Matter: A Message, A Reminder, A Connector, A Mission
We want to know that we matter. We want to know that we were heard and that what we had to say meant something. —Oprah YOU MATTER. This is more than simple, cheerful proclamation; it is a message that is at the heart and soul of our work as educators and more importantly our lives [...]
The Five Act Lesson Cycle: Act II “Rising Action”
According to the dramatic arc, the Second Act is commonly referred to as the “Rising Action.” At this stage of the theatrical production, tension is generated both on the stage between characters and off the stage between the story and the audience. At this point, crucial information is given to the audience in dialogue, monologue, [...]
What standardized tests should assess
If you fly, thank Myron Tribus for helping make your flight safer. He played a major role in the development of the equipment that keeps airliner wings free of ice. Myron was a captain in the Army Air Force during World War II. Later, he was a gas turbine design engineer for General Electric, dean of [...]
Emerging Trend: Grassroots Growth
Imagine a seed planted in the ground. To merely survive as a plant its needs are fairly basic. Dirt. Moisture. Light. However, in order to truly thrive, its needs become a bit more complex. Rich, aerated soil. Consistent, clean water. Full spectrum light. Climate, weather, competition, air quality, and locality all play a role as [...]
Making Mobile Meaningful — A Starting Point
Hall Davidson, Director of Discovery Education Network, had a session at ASCD’s 2012 Annual Conference this morning on “Making Mobile Meaningful.” You can connect with his slides here. Here are a few of the resources he shared for utilizing mobile devices students in and out of the classrooms: Poll Everywhere: Students can text in answers [...]
Whole Child Arithmetic: More Than the Sum of Its Parts
Bringing about transformative change in our education system necessitates that we take a semi serious and semi ridiculous look at the numerous dynamics influencing schools, schooling, education and learning. If we do our jobs well, at the center of this effort should be the whole child. And when we do, we’ll find that the results [...]
Localizing Learning. The Edcamp Model
Ever get the feeling that the professional development (pd) you get in your in-service days just doesn’t inspire you? Or drive your practice? You’re not along. A few envisioned something a bit different. Edcamp founders and organizers Kristen Swanson, Ann Leaness, and Christine Miles began their ASCD12 session with two things: 1. A backchannel discussion [...]
4 Problems with Parent Trigger Bill
Saying nothing of the fact that business interests, such as the Chamber of Commerce, love this bill (which always gives me pause in education policy) there are some inherent problems with the “Parent Trigger” bill (SB 1718) about to go to vote on the floor of the FL Senate this week. I laid many of [...]
The Five Act Play and Instructional Design
Over the years which I have been a classroom teacher a particular idea, a concept has continually circled my mind fermenting. It would not rest, constantly gnawing, vying for my complete attention. Recently, I finally gave into its plyings and gave it my full attention. Way back when I first went to college, many lifetimes [...]
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching is an interesting act, let alone a profession. As such, trying to codify and standardize the craft of teaching leads to numerous disagreements, constant lists, and more theories than saving plays espoused by Monday morning quarterbacks. However, one thing that is universal and timeless in the realm of teaching. That is a personal philosophy [...]
A New Model: Schools As Ecosystems
The following post is by Mark Anderson and William Johnson, and was originally posted on Gotham Schools. What makes a great teacher? To a lot of people, the answer seems simple enough: a great teacher is one whose students achieve. For the most part these days, student success is measured with test scores. Logically then, a great teacher is [...]
Education Reform: An Order of Magnitude Improvement
Imagine the present corporately promoted education reform effort as a truck, its tires nearly flat from the weight of the many unexamined assumptions it carries. On board: An assumption that punishment and rewards effectively motivate; that machines can measure the quality of human thought; that learning is hard, unpleasant work; that what the young need [...]
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic. The Challenge of Motivation.
One of the most difficult tasks a teacher faces is motivating students to learn. While some students have a natural love of learning, others arrive at a class under protest and act as if they’re being tortured rather than taught. Teachers must find a way to motivate these challenging students. A teacher can tap into [...]
Review of Bill Sterrett’s Book, “Insights into Action”
IF you listen to too much of the rhetoric about school reform these days, you may be led to believe that schooling is about achievement, first and foremost. However, for those on the ground floor, achievement is a byproduct of something more profound and simple — Learning. Life long learning. For most educators it is [...]
Promoting Discussion and Participation in the Classroom
Participation and discussion in the classroom helps students become engaged with the lessons and provides them the opportunity to develop their own ideas on discussed topics. Many educators, masters degree holders, and experts believe that a student who is engaged and developing his own opinions and thoughts on the subject matter is more likely to [...]
How to Maximize the Classroom Learning Environment
How to Achieve the Optimal Learning Environment in the Classroom While many theories exist for how the classroom environment directly attributes to student success, there are common threads that you can use in your classroom practice no matter what level of learner you teach. Whether you are influenced by the historical lab school movement of [...]
When an adult took standardized test forced on kids
A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took versions of his state’s high-stakes standardized math and reading tests for 10th graders, and said he’d make his scores public. By any reasonable measure, my friend is a success. [...]
How Bill Gates can be an education hero
A couple of days ago I watched and read the transcript of Fareed Zakaria’s CNN primetime special, “Restoring the American Dream: Fixing Education.” Zakaria talks to Bill Gates, whose five-billion-plus investment in schools has bought him a seat at the head table of education reformers. If I’d gotten any response from my previous attempts to correspond with [...]
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A Teacher’s Field Guide to Parents
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10 Principles for the Future of Learning
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Reviewing Cathy Vatterott’s “Rethinking Homework”
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Open Letter to the Teacher Who Said “I Hate Technology.”
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The Folly of Rubrics and Grades
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Words that Ignite Learning
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NBC Hosting Education Summit: Can we stop bashing education?
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What Makes a Master Teacher?
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Ed Reformers: Champions of the Wrong Theory of Learning
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Emerging Trend: Collaborative Curve
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Has 1:1 Education Passed Its Tipping Point?
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Four questions about education in Finland
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Disparate Impact Gone Awry: Civil Rights Law & the Demonizaton of the Teachers
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Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs
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You Matter: A Message, A Reminder, A Connector, A Mission
- The Five Act Lesson Cycle: Act II “Rising Action”
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What standardized tests should assess
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Emerging Trend: Grassroots Growth
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Making Mobile Meaningful — A Starting Point
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Whole Child Arithmetic: More Than the Sum of Its Parts
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