Here’s the uncomfortable truth: in schools, we’re always doing one of two things. We’re making excuses for why learning isn’t happening at the level we want. Or we’re making progress to ensure it does. It can’t be both. Excuses soothe. Progress stings a little, then gets better. The difference isn’t the kids, the calendar, or […]
Making Excuses or Making Progress? Read More »
Content no longer depends on us. A learner with a phone can summon definitions, demonstrations, and endless commentary before the bell. If our value is measured by how efficiently we deliver information, we are competing with the internet, and we will always lose. What endures, however, is the kind of learning that is durable, usable,
Learning Doesn’t Come From “From Us.” It Happens “Because of Us.” Read More »
Imagine if you will: You’re in the middle of a staff meeting, droning on about curriculum updates, and suddenly you catch yourself zoning out, scrolling through your phone under the table, or whispering to the colleague next to you about weekend plans. Sound familiar? Now flip that script to your classroom, where a room full
Stop Teaching and Design Learning to Reduce Misbehaviors Read More »
A learner gets back a quiz with 86% stamped at the top. Eyes scan for red marks, shoulders shrug, paper folds into a binder pocket or balled up and tossed into the trach can. End of story. But where’s the learning story? What did they understand? Where did the wheels wobble? What’s the very next
What Does an 86% Really Tell a Learner? Read More »
The start of the school year has a way of stirring something in us. The floors shine like possibility. The dry erase boards are blank but heavy with hope. Fresh rosters. New names. Maybe even a couple of new teammates. But there’s one more thing showing up with us in the room this year. It’s
This Year: Decide, Design & Deploy… Daily Read More »
There’s a difference between assigning work and designing learning. You feel it the second you walk into a classroom humming with energy, where the noise isn’t chaos. It’s cognition. Where learners aren’t just finishing tasks. They’re doing the work of learning. We’ve all stood in front of a class and handed out something to be
Tasks That Teach: Why Designing for Learning Matters More Than Assigning for Grades Read More »
Let’s be honest. We’ve been lifting the weight of learner learning like it’s ours to carry. Dragging it from the front of the room to the back, holding it up over our heads while simultaneously writing objectives on the board, answering emails, updating our gradebook, and reminding Dylan for the 47th time to “get started.”
The Power of Progressive Success Criteria Read More »
Educators, A new school year stretches out in front of you: blank, buzzing, and brimming with possibility. There are new notebooks waiting to be cracked open, fresh seating charts filled with unfamiliar names, and lesson plans that feel more like drafts than blueprints. The energy is there. The uncertainty is too. But before you brace
A New Year, A New Frame: You’re Not Teaching. You’re Engineering Learning Read More »
“What if we walked into this new school year knowing beyond all doubt that our kids will learn at high levels because of OUR design decisions for their learning?” Not a possibility. Not a goal. A certainty. What if we didn’t just cross our fingers and hope the first day would go well? What if
What If We Believed Learning Was Inevitable? Read More »
Every morning, we step into our classrooms with more than a lesson plan in hand. We carry the immense opportunity and responsibility of designing learning that matters. Tier 1 instruction isn’t some buzzword reserved for the pages of our SIP or for evaluation frameworks. It’s what we do every single day for every single learner.
Three Tier 1 Necessities for the New Year Read More »
