Tag: Student Learning
Are Chemistry and Biology Relevant?
They’ve dominated the sciences taught in schools from grades 1-12 for at least the last century. But are they still relevant? Here are the facts. So tell me, why do we teach Biology and Chemistry as the two mandatory sciences in 2023? Wouldn’t it make more sense to teach programming and robotics in grades 1-10?…
Sometimes Learning is Painful, A Quote from da Vinci
“Learning never exhausts the mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci It’s true. Just like an hour of play, learning doesn’t wear us down. It invigorates, it energizes, and it enthralls us. Except for when it doesn’t. Remember that time when you went too fast on your bike and learned a lesson about inertia? That wasn’t energizing. Remember…
Pitfalls of Asynchronous Learning
Just so we’re on the same page, virtual learning environments and micro schools are the future of learning. That said, we currently face several pitfalls of asynchronous learning: We feel less accountable There is less accountability (this is a distinct from “feeling” accountable) In mandated courses, engagement will waiver and is difficult to assess Teachers…
Learning and the Arrogance of Academics
We say that learning can happen anywhere at any time. But we educators build systems that require certification. That is, you haven’t officially learned until someone certifies you. You haven’t officially been schooled until an association accredits you. You haven’t officially been educated until a certified and accredited organization degrees you. We say that learning…
Goal-Setting with Students
We know goal-setting is linked to higher achievement in students. Yet many schools I talk to have no structures in place to facilitate systemic goal-setting among students. What’s more, when I speak with teachers, they often feel that the district-mandated goal-setting structures are ineffective, cumbersome, or simply a “waste of time”. I’m left with a…
How Do Great Schools Capitalize This Time of Year
Great schools know that their “good” counterparts fail to capitalize on the end of the school year. Good schools push toward the end of the year. They finish the year strong. Great schools push toward the start of next year. They stretch learning beyond the current grade levels. Great schools push pacing and teach to…
Why RTI Fails for Reading
Let’s start with a clarification on this title. Response to intervention (RTI) doesn’t always fail, actually, it usually succeeds. But when it fails, this is why: We use it as a tool, or a set of tools instead of a system. We use it as a roadway to process student evaluation instead of a system…
Why Systems Matter for Reading
In last week’s post, Reading in 2035, we explored the idea that the future of reading instruction is certainly uncertain. That’s the thing about instructional strategies, they always change in terms of their effectiveness, but this is exactly where systems are different from strategies. Systems play the long game. They provide the structures within which…
High Expectations and Excuses
Everywhere we read, books have chapters devoted to the importance of high expectations for student learning, but what if we’ve overused or misconstrued this important concept in ways that actually hurt our impact on learning? What if this great push for high student expectations is now synonymous with students achieving high scores? Maybe that’s not…
Start Split Testing Now!
Your data will never be the same. No more guessing. No more misjudgments. No more competitive culture that undermines the collaborative culture you’re trying to build. Split testing is: Isolating classroom variables that impact student learning. Comparing a teacher to herself. Cyclical. A continuous process of reflection and growth. Also known as A/B testing. Based…
RTF Better than RTI
Response to Failure is more important than Response to Intervention. That’s what grit is about. That’s what builds successful businesses. That’s what creates innovation. That’s what holds families together. That’s what learning is made of. That’s the stuff of life. It might just also be the stuff that makes an impact on learning. Response to…
Impact, Not Just Performance
Passing rates will not and can not tell you your impact on learning. There’s simply more to it than that, and impact may just be the most impact factor educators can measure. What is Impact on Learning? Your impact is the combined effects and correlations of your efforts and work. Your impact are the combined…
What Motivates Your Students?
Picture a cartoon character standing under a cloud, hands raised, yelling, “All mine! It’s all mine!” as gold coins fall from the low hanging cloud. Picture an employee whose annual appraisal is due and has learned to fear the meeting because of the score. That dreaded score is a valuation of the employee. It’s not…