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… Read More Mo’ Better Teacher Evaluation
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… Read More The S.O.A.R. Model for Student Porfolios
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… Read More The Mathematics of Gratitude
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… Read More Kids Aren’t Bumpers
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… Read More A 3-Step Filter For Edu Email
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… Read More Mosaic FNG – Of Supernovae and Vision
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… Read More On Homework (Briefly)
