Hattie’s Visible Learning research, despite years in the making, is still young in terms of implementation in schools here in North America. So, the question it leads me to consider is whether or not Visible Learning will fall prey to the “silver bullet” paradigm that
Contributed by Tracy Alloway and Ross Alloway ‘Working memory’ is the brain’s post-it note. It allows you to hold information in mind and WORK with it. We make mental scribbles of what we need to remember. By understanding working memory you will be able to better
Contributed by Ken Halla Change seems to be a word that strikes fear in many teachers’ minds. Perhaps it is the solitary nature of being in a room devoid of other adults. But kids are changing and doing so markedly fast. According to Shift Happens, 65% of today’s elementary
Contributed by Kikanza Nuri-Robins This post was originally published on The Huffington Post. In schools, our children are often judged by one descriptor—words that are not of their choosing. Black kid. Troublemaker. Underachiever. Poor kid. These words are one-dimensional substitutes for relationships. These words set up our
The beginning of school year has always been the reason for both excitement and—yes, I’ll admit it—a bit of dread for me. Of course, it holds so much promise. Teachers have new creative ideas up their sleeves. Students walk in the front doors with high
When I received a copy of Worlds of Making: Best Practices for Establishing a Makerspace for Your School by Laura Fleming I was skeptical of this unassuming book, especially when I saw it next to its big-shouldered neighbors in the package. At only sixty-some pages,
Contributed by Tracy Alloway I was surrounded by a sea of small and eager faces, the children all in neatly pressed uniforms. As part of a government-funded project, I was working with kindergarteners to understand what cognitive skills are important for academic success. I met Andrew
This post was originally published on ZacarianConsulting.com. Many educational scholars and practitioners, including me, have written extensively about teaching students from underserved populations. The focus of this work has included students living in poverty, from diverse cultural and racial experiences, and who are English learners. These are
This post is an excerpt from Pearse, Margie and K. M. Walton. Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2011. What is a Bridge to the learning? Let’s begin with the definition of the word bridge: A connecting, transitional, or intermediate
Sixteen years ago, I began my teaching career in the Los Angeles Unified School District, at the second largest middle school in the country, teaching English to ELLs and students who had been ELLs, to a 99.9% Latino population. As a former ELL myself, and