In the few short years since tablets were introduced, they have become a popular addition to classrooms across all grade levels and content areas. By putting this device in the hands of students and teachers, we can grab hold of their interest, interact with content on a more personalized level, and monitor real-time learning. But how we use tablets in the classroom needs thoughtful planning to ensure that the technology actually improves the te ...
Even in an education system driven by the Common Core State Standards and high-stakes testing, teachers must adapt their methods to the styles of the modern learner. This means creating a student-centered classroom, driven by brief, interactive instruction from highly skilled teachers who know when the time is right to get out of the way. The five-minute teacher is one who delivers quick, thought-provoking lessons that send students clamoring to ...
For too long, educators have focused only on getting students ready for the next test, for the next grade, for graduation, or maybe for college. Students must be prepared to succeed in school, and they must know how to read, write, and calculate. But that’s only the beginning. Our job—whether we teach kindergarten, 5th grade, or high school or we lead a school or district—is to prepare students for success in the real world. To do so, we must al ...
In this inspiring and thought-provoking follow-up to his 2009 best-seller Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, Baruti Kafele makes the case that the achievement gap between white and minority students can be closed only if educators first transform students’ negative attitudes toward learning. According to Kafele, educators can achieve remarkable results by focusing on five key areas: * The teacher’s attitude toward s ...
Educators, politicians, parents, and even students are consumed with speaking the language of academic achievement. Yet something is missing in the current focus on accountability, standardized testing, and adequate yearly progress. If schools continue to focus the conversation on rigor and accountability and ignore more human elements of education, many students may miss out on opportunities to discover the richness of individual exploration th ...
How do you know if your school is improving? Do you know what really works in reading programs…in writing…in math…in science? How do we measure what works? What about teaching to the test–or to the vast array of standards being mandated? How do we effectively use cooperative learning–and direct instruction–and alternative assessment? How do we sustain school reform? How do we get results–and measure them in terms of student achievement? In this ...
What does it feel like to walk into your school? Is it a welcoming place, where everyone feels valued? Most school improvement efforts focus on academic goals, instructional models, curriculum, and assessments. But sometimes what can make or break your learning community are the intangibles–the relationships, identity, and connections that make up its culture. Authors Fisher, Frey, and Pumpian believe that no school improvement effort will be ef ...
