TL;DR: Our world is changing and we need to stay relevant. Curriculum leaders help us narrow our focus. School leaders should be able to curate resources to help with various situations. Allow student choice. Make sure to have common formative assessments. Our Changing World The world is changing and the rapid pace of change is impacting teaching and learning. A … Read More
5 Myths of Continuous Improvement
TL;DR: Find the right priorities and develop goals around those priorities. What do we want students to be able to do? What are the learning targets? How do we determine progress? Don’t wait for all staff to be on board. Allow all staff to have a voice. Success of Students The work of school teams determines the success of the … Read More
Remote Learning: Does Learning Space Impact Student Growth?
TL;DR: The pandemic has caused a gap between students from access to resources, support, and learning environments. Students’ circumstances impacted their ability to learn creating interrupted and unfinished learning experiences. There was a vast difference in what students’ learning spaces were like outside of the classroom. Reflecting on what students have gone through and how this translates into our classrooms … Read More
How Mindfulness Can Make You A Better School Administrator
TL;DR: Being an administrator is hard. Mindfulness takes time but provides significant benefits. A school leader’s day may begin with a 5:30 am alarm. Bus duty and car rider duty are usually in full swing by 7:30 am, earlier in some schools. Before the first bell rings, a principal may have an email from the central office, a phone call … Read More
Productive Struggle
TL;DR: What does a healthy or productive struggle look like in a classroom? Design classroom instruction with the end in mind and support students through a struggle. The opportunity to struggle through something offers so many benefits to kids! Student understanding requires productive struggle. Do students enter a risk-free classroom or do they engage in productive struggle on a regular … Read More