Teachers have crazy schedules, and if you ask any of them one thing they want more of, the answer will undoubtably be TIME. We’re always looking for more time. More time to grade papers. More time to spend with our students. And, if you’re like me, more time to plan for tomorrow. When I was a first-year teacher, this was … Read More
The Power of “Genius” in Your Classroom
If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time, money, and effort trying to figure out how to reach the bottom 10% of our students in your classroom. Honestly, it’s a great place to expend your resources because those are the students who probably need it most. However, when we shift all our focus this way, a lot of students who may be … Read More
Making Mastery Learning Make Sense
One of the most common questions I get from other teachers is why I chose to use mastery learning in my classroom. To be honest, there are a lot of techniques, best practices, and research studies out there, but for me, mastery learning includes and incorporates the most successful and practical pieces of all of them. Mastery learning makes even … Read More
Removing “Escape Hatches” From Your Classroom
A common theme I get asked about during my workshops is student motivation, or student effort. No matter what management techniques or systems you have in your classroom to maintain behavior, instilling a culture of working hard, or “grit” as some like to call it, is probably one of the most difficult things you can accomplish as a teacher. A … Read More
Getting the Next Unit Started in Your Classroom
While speaking at professional development seminars and workshops I often get asked the question… “Ok, I get what good instructional units look like but what do I do between them?” This question is very common and for good reason. It wouldn’t make sense to just go from unit to unit with no transition. In all honesty, your students would probably … Read More