Perspectives on Grading
on Dec 30, 2008I'm constantly thinking about why and how I grade, and I believe these considerations have led me to make positive changes in my own classroom. Check out the latest issue of NEA Today and my column What's In An 'A'?In addition, why do

Data, Now What?
on Dec 29, 2008Perusing testing data has been a common experience for many of us educators over the past five years.  It seems to get more intense every year.  But do these efforts seem to be leading towards significant changes in teaching and learning, student a...

This Shouldn't Be Ingored.
on Dec 10, 2008In one of the best Education Week commentary pieces I've seen in a while, Cal-Berkeley professor Heinrich Mintrop has stated what is an elephant in the room--in general, schools that score highly on test scores don't do anything differently than

21st Century Skills
on Nov 21, 2008The Partnership for 21st Century Schools, an organization dedicating to infuse education with new skill sets for a new century, is one of many groups aware that current education policies aren't doing enough to prepare students in a changing world.Ou

This is Painful
on Nov 8, 2008There is a purpose for teacher-directed instruction...but what happens when we rely on this teaching model too much?

Dicourse Follow-Up...What Does Teacher Talk Sound Like?
on Nov 8, 2008As a follow up to my Education Week commentary titled Can Changing the Discourse Change the School?, I wrote the following about acronym overload in school discourse (Spring 2008). This school year, more of our team and faculty meetings are focused...

Pressure to Reach Every Child, A Good Thing*
on Nov 2, 2008Too often, the implementation of high-stakes testing and curriculum damages learning environments, student interest in school, and crushes teacher and staff morale, among other detrimental effects. But this I will admit: despite all that is wrong w...