“I have a student who says that he isn’t passionate about anything. I ask him what he’s interested in, and what he does outside of school, but the answer is always the same: nothing. What do I do with a kid like that?”…
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Loading...In an attempt to reframe effort in the classroom I’m trying to sift through the more traditional elements of effort (attentiveness, participation, compliance, focus, organization) and save the learning kernels after the chaff has drifted away. In my SBL and TTOG classroom I’m finding the learning outcomes that help students see the reason we tried to value effort by awarding points.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...Like many educators, I’m trying to develop a more student-centred classroom that focuses on learning, skills, and mindset more than grades. One of the struggles that I see shared among teachers making such changes is how to handle effort. The quick response to questions of effort in outcome or standard focused classrooms is that the outcome is what matters and that effort will show in the outcome.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...Note: This post is one in a series on The Agile Schools Manifesto that I introduced in an earlier post.
Have you ever had one of those moments? The bell rings to end class and every person in the room jumps with surprise because the engagement level was too high for a trivial detail like the time/space continuum to distract anyone.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...I should probably take my own advice more often. Today I’ll try.
Every time I use Google Forms, I wonder why I don’t use them more often. Ten years ago when I first tried reading workshop (inspired by Nancie Atwell‘s In the Middle) I had clipboards and several trees worth of paper charts to keep track of student reading.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...Note: This post is the first in a series on The Agile Schools Manifesto that I introduced in an earlier post.
I do love my gadgets and tools. I rarely leave my local bike shop without another freewheel remover or cone wrench, and I’m always up for a conversation about which apps you are using.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...Of all the adjectives applied to education, “agile” would seem to be a sarcastic choice. Education is typically about as agile as an elephant. However, coming from the business and software development fields, “agile” may be just the adjective and philosophy that education needs.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...I often know the right thing to do, but my execution is regularly lacking. I know the power of writing conferences and their many benefits, including mentorship, relationship building, deeper learning, and occasionally outright joy. Unfortunately, my memory isn’t what it used to be.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...My last post discussed how some of my standards based assessment plans went awry. The next post or two will document the adjustments I’m making in the new semester in order to improve the process. I’ll begin with communication.
The SBA grade book I created worked well for me, but it was difficult to share with students who only were able to see a PowerSchool summary of my much more detailed assessments.…
(No Ratings Yet)Loading...I’m talking about failure. Failure has become quite the educational buzzword these days. Articles, research journals, and blogposts all tout the need for failure as part of the learning process. I’d argue that most people mean “mistake” instead of “failure,” but that is an argument for another day.…
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