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For years, we’ve been chasing learner engagement like it’s some elusive treasure—something that will magically appear if we just give the right pep talk or create a fun activity. But here’s the truth: engagement isn’t something we wait to happen. It’s something we must intentionally design for. When we talk about learner engagement, we’re really […]

I sat at a red light the other day, and my mind wandered as it tends to do in these moments of waiting. Looking around, I watched all that surrounded me at some random stop light on a typical city street on a day just like any other. Cars rolling by, buildings on either side

The new school year is here. School leaders, you are tasked with creating an environment that fosters growth, collaboration, and success for both staff and students. Effective leadership goes beyond mandates and directives; it requires a deep connection with those you lead. How do we, as school leaders, prioritize meaningful interactions and build strong relationships

Curiosity, far from being merely an intrinsic trait, is the cornerstone of effective learning-a dynamic force that can transform conventional classrooms into vibrant spaces of discovery and deep understanding. With an effect size of 0.74 or almost 2 years’ learning, curiosity can be a way we can get our kids on the hook while also

The constant pursuit of achievement in schools often puts educators under immense pressure. We go to great lengths—teaching, assessing, analyzing data, adjusting instruction, and providing interventions—to secure the desired gains from our students. The celebrations when it happens are euphoric, but the defeats when it doesn’t are disheartening. Amidst pandemic impacts, home support challenges, and

You have a mess right now in your school or district. It might be a small one, a tiny corner area of a school that needs attention. It might be a huge one, an overarching need that needs a massive effort to overhaul. The kind of mess I’m referring to is not one to be

The longer I find myself in education, visiting classrooms, working with schools and learning from other educators, I keep coming back to one word that may help us all turn things around: intentional. I think we say we are being intentional, and at the beginning of an initiative we might be. But, if we are

Summer, with its heat and humidity ever rising, has me perspiring but also pondering our work in schools.  Teachers, when it comes to what’s happening in your individual classrooms, be a thermostat. Leaders, when it comes to what’s happening in your schools, be a thermostat. Being a thermometer does no one any good. Let me

Remember that scene in Walk the Line, when Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash walked into the recording studio to play for the first time for Sam Phillips. The first attempt did not go so well, and Sam’s reply to Mr. Cash helped bring a little perspective to the situation. “All right, let’s bring it home.

When it comes to what we do in the classroom, we have to stop and think about the true purpose of why we are there. I know when I first started out as a high school English teacher, I thought the job was to go into class, do my best Mr. Keating, and inspire, lead,