The expanding role of technology in education: 5 key insights from ISTE 2016
The expanding role of technology in education: 5 key insights from ISTE 2016
July 7, 2016
Categories:
Professional Development
This past week, I was one of the 20,000 people who attended the 2016 International Society for Technology in Education Conference and Expo (ISTE) in Denver, CO. While I was there, I spoke to passionate educators about [...]
Evaluating educational programs: 5 tough questions to ask
Evaluating educational programs: 5 tough questions to ask
June 17, 2016
Categories:
Reading
Here’s something you probably know all too well—educators are inundated with all sorts of claims when it comes to the myriad of educational programs and software solutions that are available. Walking through a vendor exhibit hall at ISTE, ILA, or [...]
An Act of Congress (in three parts): A history of ESSA
An Act of Congress (in three parts): A history of ESSA
June 9, 2016
Categories:
Assessment
Part 1: Inaction The spring of 1930 in the United States was the first post-winter bloom spent in the throes of the Great Depression. Already, public ire for Congress grew with each day of perceived legislative lethargy in addressing the [...]
Title I funds: three considerations for school year’s end
Title I funds: three considerations for school year’s end
May 26, 2016
Categories:
Assessment,
Math,
Reading
When I think of a role model who’s had a major impact on my life, I immediately think of my mother. Not only is my mom the best mom in the world (of course!), but she was also a Title [...]
Giving meaning to test scores
Giving meaning to test scores
May 12, 2016
Categories:
Assessment
Test scores are of much interest to parents and educators. We all want our children to achieve their best—so, we frequently use tests to measure what a student has learned and can do as a result of instruction. Sometimes we [...]
NCTM 2016: Insights from the year’s premier math event
NCTM 2016: Insights from the year’s premier math event
April 28, 2016
Categories:
Math
Earlier this month, I attended the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conference in San Francisco with nearly 9,000 math educators. At a math conference, you would expect the emphasis to be on numbers, but in many ways, [...]
Designing an ecosystem for academic excellence: 7 elements to consider
Designing an ecosystem for academic excellence: 7 elements to consider
April 14, 2016
Categories:
Math,
Reading
As a teacher, you want your students to achieve great things. Our responsibility as educators is to create an academic ecosystem—a community of “just-right” conditions—where students are able to thrive. If we could create the perfect ecosystem for learning, what [...]
Where is our reform focus?
Where is our reform focus?
March 31, 2016
Categories:
Math,
Professional Development,
Reading
A subtle transition has occurred around our profession’s discussions of reform, so subtle that many of us may not have consciously picked up on it. That transition is from conversations about “school effectiveness” to ones of “educator effectiveness.” In the [...]
The difference practice makes
The difference practice makes
March 17, 2016
Categories:
Math,
Reading
A few years ago, one of my colleagues suggested we take advantage of the gym in the basement of our office building and bring in a trainer. While I’d always been active, I found group training intimidating. Somehow I always [...]
Four strategies for teaching talkativeness
Four strategies for teaching talkativeness
March 3, 2016
Categories:
Assessment,
Math,
Reading
In an earlier post on the interdependent relationship between talkativeness and cognitive development, I shared Vygotsky’s theory on vocabulary acquisition as the defining moment in cognitive development, as well as the classic 1965 Hart & Risley study that validated [...]
