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 […]

Words and Things (and Assumptions)

An excerpt from the book “And What Do YOU Mean by Learning?” by Seymour Sarason: Two people may say they are patriotic [or any other concept] only to find that when they pursue what they mean – what the concept includes or excludes, what actions it supports or indicts – they come to a parting of ways. […]

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 […]

Toil and Trouble

A snapshot of Mosaic as we continue to develop and grow – both as a program and as a rag-tag collective of ambitious teachers and students: We all work hard in Mosaic … and for that I and others are extremely grateful and appreciative. Though some of us can be abrasive and harsh at times, […]

The Day The Bells Stopped

September 28, 2015: One year, one month, twenty one days, three hours, and twenty minutes after the launch of our Mosaic program. It was a Monday. And it was the day and date of one of the most profound moments of my career as an educator. For on this day, at approximately 11:00am MST, the bells […]

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 […]

The Freedoms to Learn and to Question

I was asked to respond to a question, which I will, but first a bit of a good old-fashioned soapbox style rant: When I think of popular movies like Good Will Hunting, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Stand and Deliver, Dead Poet’s Society, School of Rock, and a few others, I think of how these movies celebrate […]

The Buddy Bench: Nurturing and Encouraging Ideas

My family went on a walk this morning and eventually found ourselves at the playground of a local elementary school. While there my son pointed out the Buddy Bench that had been installed. The bench was inscribed with the following message: When you feel a little sad And don’t know what to do… Just have a […]

City, Death, Impact, and Time

Today was super fun … so I’ll share! Beginning with one of the following seed words: city, death, impact, or time, our students asked deep questions to investigate and answer. That’s what the Seeds portion of Mosaic is all about. Student spend most mornings working on their Seed questions and research, which they eventually share and present. […]

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 […]