Assessment is a great tool. Assessment, whether summative or formative, is the single best way to measure student understanding. In the world of “state tests” assessment has gotten a pretty bad rap, and this is dangerous, because building formative assessment in to your instruction more often can transform your classroom. By constantly assessing students we can measure their understanding, misconceptions, … Read More
3 Ways to Prepare for Personalized Learning
Personalized Learning is possible. As you continue reading more research and hearing about the amazing things going on in education, I would bet you’re starting to see a lot of stories and info on personalized learning. The basic philosophy is pretty simple; give students what they need, when they need it, and allow them to explore curriculum in ways that … Read More
Let Your Students Fail (Video)
Hi, guys. Today I want to talk about something called failure. It’s something we’ve probably all experienced. More importantly, it’s something our students experience. Some of our students experience this so much that they actually get immune to it. That’s why that student, when you hand out that paper, goes “Psh, I’m not doing that.” The reason that students fight … Read More
The Power of “YET” In Your Classroom
More Than A Word… One of the most powerful transformations I ever made to my classroom was how I dealt with student failure to foster growth and progress. It was more than just changing my instruction, it was also changing the way I talked to, interacted with, and reacted to students when they struggled. This required a large culture shift … Read More
How to Handle Classroom Management Like A Referee
As I was watching my favorite hockey team the other day, I noticed something that struck me during one of the brawls that (for whatever reason) still occur in the almost every game. I was amazed as the guy wearing the black and white striped shirt held two huge athletes at bay and got them to stop fighting without even … Read More