Here is a big mistake I made for many years: I thought I knew what was best for students, for communities, and for organizations. Not all the time, and not…
Read More
This is the second post of a four-part series on making curriculum relevant, meaningful, and adaptable (link to the first post). This article focuses on the curriculum as a series…
Here’s the thing: I want my kids to go to school. In fact, I think most of the parents and families I’ve talked to these past few months would love…
If there is one thing we know for certain heading into a new school year, it is this: It is completely unpredictable. All around the world, there are variations of…
My colleague and I looked at each other on Tuesday of last week. She had a look in her eyes of pure exhaustion. I could sense a call for help,…
I messed up. For the first few weeks of our current situation, I’ve been referring to what teachers, schools, families and kids are going through as “online learning” or “distance…
The longer I live, the more I notice how valuable it is to do one simple thing: be kind. – When someone does a good job, tell them. – When…
My son Tucker seems to be growing up too fast. He’s eight years old and playing in soccer, lacrosse, and basketball leagues. He’s reading, playing video games, and always wants…
I often get asked to do short design sprints with leadership teams and teaching teams. One of the major areas to focus on is having people talk about REAL problems,…
When my students were doing the 20% Project (Genius Hour) in my class we had an “Epic Fail Board” (inspired by a number of people) where they would pin up…
Note: The following is an extended excerpt from my upcoming book, Empathy Every Day: How to Listen, Learn, and Lead with Empathy. It is filled with 366 daily stories, vignettes,…
In case you missed it last week, the podcast is back! We are calling this podcast, TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE – because every episode is focused on actual practical strategies, not just…
It is a simple question, but one that leads to all kinds of reactions: “Did you ask the teachers?” Often times in a search for innovative ideas and programs, we…
I was recently listening to George Couros talk about Ryan Gosling in his presentation. I had seen the presentation before and loved the video he shared where a man battling cancer created…
Blockbuster was doing everything right. They had a fantastic business. It was booming and growing each year. They would tweak something here or there. Improve customer service. Move to DVDs…
I’ve got that feeling. My stomach is in knots. My head keeps spinning. Running scenarios through my mind. But most of all, I’m anxious and a bit scared. I left…
I used to think all I needed to create something that mattered was passion and I was wrong. It turns out passion/interest might start the engine and get the creative…
When Khan Academy burst onto the scene my initial reaction was to laugh. What was so special about it? The more and more I thought about Khan Academy and the…
If you are going through a deep period of reflection at the end of the school year (or even a short period) and are thinking about how to get recharged,…
It is a blessing and a curse. Over the past 10-20 years, there have been numerous books, articles, and videos centered around the idea of cognitive science—or the science of…
In the 1930’s there was a young boy who had become addicted to and obsessed with eating sugar. His mother decided to get help and took the long and hot journey with her son…
You may have heard this story: A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were…
“I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don’t know the other side’s argument better than they do.” — Charlie Munger It was early on in my…
Three different schools, in three different states, in a matter of two weeks. I got the same question. “How can I use Flipgrid in my class?” “Have you tried this…
When I heard the news that Phil Schlechty had passed away it was sudden and I felt sadness. I’ve never met Phil but I’ve been deeply impacted by his work…
When my students were doing the 20% Project (Genius Hour) in my class we had an “Epic Fail Board” (inspired by a number of people) where they would pin up…
Listen to the podcast here or check it out on iTunes or the Google Play store. I was recently listening to a speaker (George Couros) talk about Ryan Gosling in his presentation. I…
One of my favorite writers (and thinkers) in the world, Shane Parrish, recently wrote a post titled, “What’s Staying the Same?”. In this post, he flips the questions we all…
I first met Angela Duckworth when our Student Innovation Lab kids toured her Character Lab facility down at the University of Pennsylvania campus. We weren’t sure she was going to…
I had the chance to interview New York Times bestselling author James Clear, for my new podcast, Scratch Your Itch. James is the author of Atomic Habits and has built…
When I started on this writing journey seven years ago, there were a couple of things I knew for sure. I wanted to share experiences through writing. Something different was…
I distinctly remember the moment I wanted to become a teacher. There was nothing fancy or profound about the moment, but instead, there was a feeling I had. I was…
As I sit here writing this my brother is on a respirator in a hospital room. He hasn’t been able to breathe completely on his own or wake up fully…
I’m sharing out my process below for writing my new book, The PBL Playbook: A Guide to ACTUALLY Doing Project-Based Learning. I used design thinking as a framework to write the book…
I had to share this story. Last week I had the opportunity to take a group of students from our High School to the Franklin Institute. It was the first…
It was towards the middle of my first year teaching (8th grade) when it hit me: My class was spinning out of control, and it was all my fault. I…
A few years ago, during the school year, my students and I had a similar problem: There wasn’t an opportunity for me to find out what they really enjoyed doing,…
As teachers, our life is busy. It’s not only the kind of busy when you run from one activity to the next activity. It’s the kind of busy where you…
Daniel Coyle, the author of The Talent Code, recently looked at a study on feedback from teachers. This study showed that one simple phrase could boost student effort by 40%. I was shocked…
I get to visit a lot of schools around the country, and I’ll admit that when I see signs like the one below, I often cringe. It’s not the sign’s fault,…
In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg describes keystone habits as, “small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of…
You are not average. Neither am I. Actually, no one is average. The assumption that metrics comparing us to an average—like developmental milestones, GPAs, personality assessments, standardized test results, and…
Imagine you’ve been in education for 7, 11, 15 or even 25 years. In each of those years, you have grown as a professional, learned new technologies, shifted with the…
Let’s start with the beginning. I’m an idea guy. That is, I have a lot of ideas. As a teacher I would constantly improvise, come up with new projects, lesson…
Blended learning. Personalized learning. Individualized learning. Mass customized learning. Differentiated learning. Online learning. It seems we are obsessed with adding adjectives in front of the noun, learning. While I have…
It’s 2017. Communication is changing fast (my 7-yr old daughter and I just exchanged Snaps while I am in Chicago and she is outside of Philadelphia in different time zones,…
A few years ago a colleague of mine shared a slide deck with me that completely transformed my perspective on leadership and building culture. I was new to a leadership…
When we look at what research says about becoming better at something, two pieces of evidence stand out. First, we must have clarity on what our goals are, and where…
Ahh, the day after Thanksgiving, and I’m seriously regretting that last piece of pie last night. But, I’ve got something today that’s been on my mind for a while. I…
Before I begin, let me make a very clear statement: I don’t believe that technology in our classrooms is a silver bullet. Adding technology cannot alone increase engagement, empower our…
When my students were doing the 20% Project (Genius Hour) in my class we had an “Epic Failure Board” (inspired by a number of people) where they would pin up…
A few years ago I was lucky enough to teach the book, Things Fall Apart, to my 10th grade English class. It’s a great book…but that’s not why I was…
While John Spencer and I were developing the LAUNCH Cycle, we came up with a few areas that were likely stumbling blocks in the creative (design-thinking inspired) process. One of…
I’ve been around a lot of 1:1 initiatives in schools. As a teacher, I was around when Classrooms for the Future started, and when my former district went 1:1 laptops…
I used to think all I needed to create something that mattered was passion…I was wrong. It turns out passion might start the engine and get the creative process moving,…
Usually, when I write a blog post it is because I want to dig deeper into a topic and explore its merit. The post then becomes my way of explaining…
I remember devouring “Choose Your Own Adventure” books as a kid. I’m sure many of you had the same experience as the “hero of your own story” making choices that…
My daughter lowered her eyes, looked at me, and said, “I can’t do it.” I looked back and asked her again to put one foot on the board, push off with…
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” ― Steve Jobs There are moments of…
In 1915 Albert Einstein sent a letter to his son, Albert. Einstein was living with his second wife, and had not seen either of his two sons for quite some time….
I am by habit a bibliophile. I read at least 25 pages of a book per day which usually turns in to 40-60 books per year. I’ve written a few…
My first season as a head football coach, our team had gone undefeated leading up to the final game of the season. We had a heck of a team with…
