A Personal Vision of a Good School
Roland S. Barth argues that educators need to develop and understand their visions for schools as a step toward improvement. He shares his own visions for the future of education.
Journey Toward Deeper Learning: An Evaluation of the Roadtrip Nation Experience in San Jose PLUS Academies
This report describes the background, methods, and findings of a “deep dive” evaluation of Roadtrip Nation’s (RTN) high school program, the Roadtrip Nation Experience. The primary focus of the evaluation was RTN pilot implementation in three San Jose Unified School District PLUS Academies during the 2011–2012 academic year, supported by analysis of program curriculum and instructional materials.
Purpose: The Foundation for High-Quality Teaching
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey suggest educators create purpose statements for each lesson to make the purpose very clear. They argue that the purpose statement should reflect the understandings that students will gain through the lesson rather than simply the tasks that must be completed.
Are You A Manager or a Leader?
The author argues that there are important differences between managers and leaders and offers these ways to build leadership…
Reaching the Goal: The Applicability and Importance of the Common Core State Standards to College and Career Readiness
The CCSS gave states an opportunity to voluntarily adopt common expectations in English language arts and literacy, and mathematics. With common standards in place, states could more easily and efficiently share best practices in curriculum and assessments, while still retaining flexibility on how best to teach these subjects locally (Phillips & Wong, 2010). Major questions remain to be answered about these standards, chief among them the degree to which they reflect what is necessary to be ready for college and careers.
Five Questions That Will Improve Your Teaching
Teacher Larry Ferlazzo shares his list of questions he uses to self-examine and improve his teaching.
Lazy–Or Not?
Psychologist Peg Dawson suggests that children who struggle in school despite strong cognitive skills may be deficit in executive skills, not lazy. She suggests a number of strategies to help students develop executive skills.
Purpose: The Foundation for High-Quality Teaching
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey suggest educators create purpose statements for each lesson to make the purpose very clear.
Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning
John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller advocate student-driven projects. To facilitate such projects, the authors propose that every teacher make sure he or she includes the seven essential elements of project-based learning in every long-term assignment.
Making Group Work Productive
Authors Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher assert that teachers pay attention to these indicators of productive group work and suggest ways to ensure them…