A Math Conversation About Grades

Walking slowly through the upper hall – light pouring in through the generous glass – dust dancing with invisible currents, a truly bright and serene moment interrupted by a group of thirty or so smiles and stories walking towards me. I’m thinking it’s a class on their way to the library. No problem – I […]

Purpose of Teacher Evaluation?

This post is inspired by a training workshop designed to introduce folks to a new teacher evaluation rubric. In this training we were asked to write words that represent the purpose of teacher evaluation onto sticky notes to discuss and use to create a statement describing the purpose of teacher evaluation. Many notes were created […]

Mo’ Better Teacher Evaluation

Since we can’t seem to get away from formally evaluating teachers – here are some thoughts on improving the process: Teacher evaluation and professional growth is an essential factor in the health and culture of a school and its collective of learners. As such it must be a clear and understandable part of every teacher’s […]

The S.O.A.R. Model for Student Porfolios

I work with a group of teachers and around 90 students in what can be described as a project-based program (though it really is much more than that). Now, as we finish our second year together it seems like the right time to suggest and propose a digital portfolio template for our students – one […]

The Mathematics of Gratitude

I’m fortunate to work closely with two math teachers smart enough to realize that math is Beautiful, Everywhere, and Typically taught in a way that hides its beauty and its universal value. The three of us work with several other teachers in an interdisciplinary learning environment that, by design, forces teachers and students to often […]

Kids Aren’t Bumpers

Kids aren’t bumpers, they’re human beings! My colleague yelled this in a crowded auditorium filled with teachers and administrators. We were all there for a staff meeting. It’s been a few years since this happened… and I think about it from time to time. I usually remember it when I think about the universal nature […]

A 3-Step Filter For Edu Email

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about how we communicate in schools. You know, how we send ideas information, questions, etc. This post is about email. And, how and why do we email in schools? Can our inboxes be more pleasant places to visit? I think so. There are many ways to communicate with each […]

Mosaic FNG – Of Supernovae and Vision

As one of my colleagues put it, You can ask each Mosaic teacher about what Mosaic is and what it isn’t and you’ll get different responses from each of us. No surprise or disagreement from me. Much has been written about Mosaic over the past three years. We’ve each contributed in our own way to […]

On Homework (Briefly)

In response to Brian Aspinall’s succinct post about homework: If homework is defined as independent work assigned to students to be done on their own and then checked at school or submitted for “points or checks” then homework – at all levels – can seem a bit silly – especially while in elementary school. There […]

Teachers be Teaching and Assessors be Assessing

…Teachers crowded into a few rooms “learning” to assess their assessments, that is, slow-motion what is used to assess students, whether as formative, interim, or summative, and effectively grade the assessment using a rubric of sorts. The end result being a score of 1-20 where anything above 14 is considered a “gold-standard” assessment. (Note: the ACT […]