After the initial panic and confusion, it seems that people are settling in. Zoom classrooms are up and running. Teachers, parents, and students are slowly moving into a rhythm after spending countless hours working out technology kinks, lighting, microphones, curriculum design, and finding space in
We have spent the last weeks watching many schools close their doors–some for the rest of this semester—to control the number of COVID-19 infections. I am excited to see our society’s strong commitment to public health. As many of us teachers face the daunting task of serving our students by transitioning to online instruction, most for us the first
With the prospect of schools being out for a while, I will review some of the Visible Learning influences that may help understand what really matters and what does not matter as much. First, does it matter that students are not in the physical place called school? There is a body of research on the effects of losing school time, but
From the series: Developing Students’ Ownership of Learning—from a Distance, too! Over the past several years, we have worked together with our colleague John Hattie to identify key practices that help students develop ownership of their learning. We believe that students can—and should—become their own teachers. And we believe that teachers
Many teachers and families are concerned that children staying at home for an extended period of time—whether due to an illness, a natural disaster, or another emergency situation—aren’t learning as much as they would if they were in their regularly scheduled classes, even when teachers
The second hour of the second day. That’s how long we made it into online school before my 4th grader and I had our first blow-up. He yowled and threw a notebook on the floor; I stomped into the kitchen to get Advil for my crashing headache. Our argument was over haiku, friends… haiku. Perhaps you
Two weeks ago many of us were in classrooms running authentic projects or around tables planning rigorous and engaging PBL experiences for students. All that came to a sudden halt in the wake of COVID-19. I have been so inspired by the informal crowdsourcing that I have seen across
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is essential for ALL learners -- both kids and adults -- and we must be willing to learn from kids, peers, and the world to build SEL into our practice as educators. SEL for ALL Learners The research on emotions and their impact on
Over the past few weeks our world has plunged into what we’ve been calling, ‘The New Normal’. With social isolation and social distancing becoming the identified method for flattening the curve of COVID- 19, school districts across the globe have been tasked with finding ways that continue to
The educational community (like all other communities throughout the world) is experiencing a time of uncertainty. It’s scary having to give up what we know and change the way we do things, but the unknown is where our new reality exists (at least for a little while anyway). What we need