I don’t know a single teacher who would intentionally set out to do the thinking for their students. Yet, that is exactly what happens when teachers begin lessons or units by sharing conceptual understandings before they have begun to explore factual content. Students are cheated
I had the opportunity to attend the TLC Conference in Dallas, TX, on November 3rd & 4th. Leading up to the conference I was excited to hear from some of our nation’s leaders when it comes to instructional coaching and job-embedded professional development. Straight away I
This blog has been a bridge of learning between my previous work with the Quaglia Institute and my present work as a classroom teacher. Now four months into reflecting each week on moving from theory to practice, I remain grateful for the opportunity to articulate
When I consider my 30 plus years in education, there is no single professional development program or strategy that addresses my professional training needs. For example, Jim Knight’s text on Mentoring, Coaching, and Collaboration edited by Corwin Press provides ample examples on how mentors and
I’ll never forget the time I was working with a cohort of five teachers in a humanities program. We were getting ready to break for the summer and I suggested we read something academic to improve our craft as teachers. I envisioned coming back in
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA; also called the Every Student Succeeds Act—ESSA) was reauthorized approximately a year ago with full implementation on July 1, 2017. The Act guides virtually all facets of public education in our country, and it is notable in that
Coaching is the ultimate form of personalized professional learning. There is no better way to help teachers refine their craft then to work with a coach. And better yet, what if coaching helps the students grow too? That’s what student-centered coaching is about, increasing student
In our upcoming book Releasing Leadership Brilliance: Breaking Sound Barriers in Education, my co-author tells about his cousin, Maia Stephens, who is a second grade teacher in a school in Northwest Detroit. It is a Title I school in a high poverty area and 95%
Most educators really don’t care about what we call PD. They care about their students and want practical solutions to the challenges they encounter in their classrooms. They care about relationships and coherent PD that actually makes change manageable (Gustafson, 2016). Renaming PD will not
