In March of 2020 life came to a SCREECHING halt. For a brief moment I think we all kind of looked at the “two-week quarantine” as an opportunity to slow down for a minute and count our blessings. That is, of course, only to quickly realize that
Early in the pandemic, distance learning was just that: instruction from a distance designed for remote delivery. We all brushed up on our understanding of synchronous and asynchronous learning. As teachers innovated, we learned about what works best in asynchronous situations, including interactive videos of
As school divisions across the globe map out their re-opening plans, never has the importance of high-quality, high-impact teaching been greater. For many of us, this teaching will take a variety of forms from 100% virtual learning to a hybrid of face-to-face and remote learning.
The 8th Annual Visible Learning Conference, originally slated for New Orleans, streamed live on Zoom with almost 1,000 colleagues online with us. The conference opened with our MC, Sonja Alexander, welcoming attendees with the New Second Line Song by Mardi Gras Big Shots and Milton
Short post description: If we want students to become visible learners and to truly be their own teachers, we need to teach them how to use self-questioning to guide their learning. From the series: Developing Students’ Ownership of Learning—from a Distance, too! Post #1 Post #2
Math practice doesn’t have to be all exercises and worksheets. You know that, but do your students’ parents know that? Families probably know far more about teaching now after supervising hours of Zoom lessons during the various degrees of sheltering in place that families have experienced since the
From the series: Developing Students’ Ownership of Learning—from a Distance, too! Post #1 Post #2 Post #3 Post #4 Teaching Students How to Solicit Feedback Let’s continue our journey to developing assessment-capable, visible learners. At this point, students know what they are supposed to be learning, what success looks
From the series: Developing Students’ Ownership of Learning—from a Distance, too! Post #1 Post #2 Post #3 Post #4: Selecting Tools to Guide Learning Let’s continue our journey to developing assessment-capable, visible learners. At this point, students know what they are supposed to be learning, what success looks like,
We have so much to learn from the recent “pandemic teaching and learning” experience. The strongest message is to learn from what went well during COVID, and ensure we do NOT return to the old ‘grammar of schooling’. We should be collating and sharing all
When the governor of Massachusetts declared that learning would continue while schools are closed, he added that the creativity of teachers would get us through this quarantine. Indeed, the creativity and hard work of teachers keeping students focused and engaged with learning has been impressive. However, we all have to shift our thinking in order to make distance learning work for each student. Teachers are only one third of the equation. Teachers must rethink how to structure learning so that parents and students can develop routines and apply self-direction skills to accomplish