One of the obstacles I hear from teachers is that students aren’t self-directed enough to manage their own learning. This makes sense to me because for years we have been training them to be passive and compliant. So, this is a real obstacle. It can seem overwhelming. But what if we addressed this issue using […]
Transforming Procedural Math This week, I headed out to Seattle with two of my colleagues to think about how we might be able to re-culture math for higher achievement. The message and the research is loud and clear that the number one thing that increases math achievement is one’s belief that they can do it. […]
What Does Trust Look Like? Is student motivation as simple as trust? Recently, a history teacher reflected on the success of a very self-directed, project-based learning exhibition saying, “I just trusted them…” and several days later on a podcast about how to get started with #geniushour, I heard this again as a first step in seeing […]
This year we lost an English teacher because our student numbers are down. Part of the reason that this is happening is that students have the opportunity to take English classes during the summer and online. They are taking advantage of early college and dual enrollment in order to get college credits during high school. […]
Many people are discussing the changes that are happening in education toward a more relevant, personal learning system. Some believe that this push to make learning more interesting and engaging for students will stunt their ability to persist when they have to do more rote boring tasks that are inevitable in the realities of the […]
What is the connection between personal learning and transferable skills like collaboration and groupwork? Since I just taught a class on groupwork and Vermont is working towards more personal learning, I have been getting this question from many educators. There seems to be a misconception that personal learning is somehow individual learning. There are many […]
If you still think social media is just a frivolous way to waste hours of time, think again. There are many meaningful ways that social media is being used in education. I still waste a lot of time of Facebook, but here are three ways I’m not wasting time on social media. Connect A couple […]
The “Selfie” Mindset If you have ever seen yourself on video, you know how uncomfortable it can be. This discomfort is a very efficient way to make change. All the behaviors, gestures, tones, words that were never noticeable to you all of a sudden become clearer than a freshly washed window. In his book Focus […]
Last year, I read Chip and Dan Heath’s book Switch and in chapter 2 they discuss the idea of using “bright spots” to make sustainable change occur. This also reminded me of a strengths based approach to change where the focus is to build on strengths in order to effect change. As I visited schools this year, […]
My early experiences in math were uneventful. I played with manipulatives and talked about math but I didn’t know I was doing math or developing mathematical thoughts. If anything, I was ambiguous about the subject of math because it just seemed a part of the world and I didn’t connect it to the title of […]
