11.19.20 How to help students become their own best advocates Even in the best of times, it takes care and effort to engage kids in their learning process. Students do better when they’re able to make active choices about what and how they’re learning,... Read more
11.17.20 How to use everyday data in new ways Schools and classrooms are overflowing with information about students and their learning, and teachers continually collect and respond to evidence of student learning in a variety of ways... Read more
11.12.20 Wake up and spill the coffee: How I woke up to deficit ideology A few years ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop reading through mounds of research on social justice in education when my coffee mug toppled over, spilling onto an article by a leading... Read more
11.10.20 We all need mathematical ways of thinking: An “out of proportion” example Have you ever thought about what it really means to learn mathematics? Is it about computing things quickly? Making connections between ideas? Scoring high on tests? What about being able to use... Read more
11.5.20 Research points to 2 promising trends for deaf students As director of the National Deaf Center, I often hear the phrase “deaf people read at a fourth-grade level,” a belief that has long dogged the field of deaf education and our expectations of... Read more
11.3.20 How to be an anti-racist teacher: Support equity outside the classroom The classroom is a powerful place to effect positive change in the world. You know that, of course, and that’s why you do the work you do. But is there anything you can be doing outside of... Read more
10.29.20 Timothy Rasinski on fluency and equity in reading instruction NWEA is excited to welcome award-winning reading instruction professor Timothy Rasinski, as well as our esteemed literacy experts Lynne Kulich and Cindy Jiban, for a webinar examining the... Read more
10.27.20 How to be an anti-racist teacher: Focus on humanity What was it that called you to teaching? Was it a dream of being overworked and underpaid? I didn’t think so. You came to this profession because you care about humanity, about the things that... Read more
10.26.20 Effective school leadership in the age of COVID: How to support teachers and help kids grow Douglas Fisher knows how powerful it can be for students when school leaders create the right support infrastructures for teachers. He’s an education professor at San Diego State University... Read more
10.22.20 7 ways to use ZPD and scaffolding to challenge and support students In my last post, we covered the basics on ZPD: what it is, why it matters, and how to identify it for each student. That was ZPD 101. (Bill Amend, of FoxTrot fame, must read this blog regularly... Read more
10.20.20 How to be an anti-racist teacher: Reduce bias in your curriculum In my previous post, I explained how I’m redesigning my curriculum this year to give more equitable access to all my students. This big shift—Shift #1 in my year-long effort to rethink my... Read more
10.19.20 4 teaching bright spots—from a teacher desperate for silver linings Last spring, my son’s kindergarten teacher—who is also my colleague and friend—said, “I always tell my students, when life gives you lemons, you can either make a sour face, or you can... Read more