2017 has been Corwin Connect’s best year to date! Over 13,000 people have joined our community this year—a number that is overwhelmingly generous. THANK YOU!
Before the start of a new year, we wanted to pause and highlight the top 10 posts that published this year. If you’re a recent newcomer to Corwin Connect, check these out and see what posts inspired the most learning amongst your peers this year!
Best wishes for a very happy holiday season.
Ariel Bartlett Curry
Acquisitions Editor, Teaching Essentials
Editor, Corwin Connect
- “A Close-Up Look at Three Approaches to Coaching” by Jim Knight
In this post, well known coaching expert Jim Knight shares the three types of coaching most common in education: Facilitative, Dialogic, and Directive. He explains that the best coaches partner with teachers to think about student outcomes together.
- “Choice Reading and the Class Novel: The Cure for Fake Reading” by Berit Gordon
Have you ever wondered how to both instill a love of reading in your students… and get them to engage with difficult texts? Inspired by her popular book No More Fake Reading, Berit Gordon proposes a novel solution so that teachers can retain the valuable focus on important texts while inspiring their students to dive deeper into reading.
- “Do Leaders Really Understand the Research They Promote?” by Peter DeWitt
Educators (and publishers!) toss around the word “research based” like it’s a hot potato; but does anyone really know what it means? Peter DeWitt has spent his career studying some of the biggest works of education research—such as John Hattie’s Visible Learning—and applying it in schools. In this provocative post, he points out the ways that research is often misunderstood or misused in schools.
- “New Direction in the Development of Rubrics” by Thomas R. Guskey
Assessment expert Tom Guskey knows rubrics. In this post, he calls educators back to Benjamin Bloom’s original vision of mastery learning, by starting with a very simple shift in the way teachers design rubrics: work your way down.
- “Four Responses to ‘I Don’t Know’” by Connie Hamilton
“I don’t know,” can be a big roadblock to teachers on a roll in their classroom. But it doesn’t have to be! Consultant Connie Hamilton shares four different strategies to turn “I don’t know” into a powerful learning opportunity.
- “Teaching Black Boys: 3 Principles for White Educators” by Ali Michael, Eddie Moore, and Marguerite Penick-Parks
In this post, the authors share that 85% of the teaching population is white, and black boys in particular face unique challenges in our school system. When so much of black boys’ success is dependent on their experience in school, what can we do to change the narrative? These authors have three simple suggestions for all educators.
- “Help Students Reflect and Set Powerful Goals for Learning” by Patty McGee
Patty McGee shows how learning can be transformed with just one brilliant equation: Reflection + Goal Setting. With these two pieces in place, Patty shares how teachers can plan for success.
- “Free Lesson Plan: How to Teach Your Students About Fake News” by the Challenging Learning Team
“Fake news” has been one of the hottest buzz words of the year—and it’s brought to light many issues of digital citizenship, digital literacy, and being critical consumers of media. It’s also a topic that can come with deeply felt, personal emotions. How can teachers approach this important topic in a way that helps students reflect critically about the information they see online? Use this Learning Challenge Lesson to start a powerful conversation in your classroom.
- “Four Rungs on the Ladder of Teacher Clarity” by Douglas B. Fisher and Nancy Frey
“Clarity” is one of the most important ingredients that teachers and students need to ensure learning happens. How can students possibly learn when they’re not clear on what the learning intention is? What if teachers aren’t clear? In this post, Fisher and Frey share four elements of clarity that help teachers and students achieve their goals.
- “Why Should Misbehaving Students Receive Incentives?” by John and Jessica Hannigan
It’s an old debate: Why should students be incentivized for good behavior? Shouldn’t they just do it anyway, without any expectation of reward? John and Jessica Hannigans are experts in positive behavior intervention—and they weigh in with their own solution for ensuring good behavior.
