Whether in the classroom or teachers’ professional development, the instructional goal should be transformational learning rather than transactional learning. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Transaction: “an occurrence in which [something] is passed from one person . . . to another” Transformation: “a complete or major change in someone’s . . . appearance, form, etc.” Much […]
At ASCD 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia, people are talking about: We’re enjoying the many great conversations with old friends and new. Pedro Noguera: “How do we teach teachers to make their classrooms come to life?” “Good teaching takes art and skill.” “Equity is the issue of our times.” Carol Dweck: “Growth mindset isn’t just […]
Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they learn.” This speaks of the shift from teacher as the purveyor of information to that of an architect of a complex environment in which students learn; a shift from “teacher as ferry” to “teacher […]
In spite of mounting research on how the brain learns, math instruction often falls into the category of “we’ve always done it this way.” Guest blogger Shané Beauford shares her experiences in shifting math instruction . . . A mother is cooking a ham dinner. She cuts off the end of the ham, places the […]
revised 11/17/23 Since the original posting in 2016, the world experienced a pandemic that caused schools to acquire and place computing devices into the hands of every student. Suddenly, many schools became 1:1! But did instruction change? Read on . . . Change is hard! It requires some paradigm shifting; that is, a rethinking of […]