This is the first post of a four-part series on making curriculum relevant, meaningful, and adaptable. This article focuses on the testing culture in education, what some of the research…
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I sensed the anticipation as soon as I entered the classroom. Groups of students were huddled together flipping through notes and documentation. A few were going back and forth about…
Note: This is the final article in a four-part series answering the question, “Does education really need to change?“. You can read the first, second, and third posts here. It…
Remember waiting? We used to wait for our favorite song on the radio. We used to wait for a TV show to come on and watch simultaneously with millions of…
Last week I asked you to fill out a survey about professional development. Many of you (342 to be exact) took time to fill out this survey and share your…
A young man was restless in his studies. He couldn’t stay focused on school work, and found himself consistently skipping classes, missing due dates, and working on projects that meant…
First, I just want to say thank you to all of my blog readers for helping make my new book, Learning By Choice, hit #1 in Amazon in Education over the weekend….
Imagine you’ve been teaching for 15 years. In those 15 years you have grown as a professional, learned new technologies, shifted with the standards, had new initiative after new initiative…
This was originally published in a TeachThought guest post. John Maeda grew up working in his family’s Seattle tofu store in the 1980s. He was a bright and curious student who…
I recently lead a team of six Middle School teachers and our Middle School Principal on a school visit. We are just starting a Chromebook pilot with our 6th, 7th,…
I sensed the anticipation as soon as I entered the classroom. Groups of students were huddled together flipping through notes and documentation. A few were going back and forth about…
It’s the same game. The same course. The same clubs. The same ball. Yet, its so difficult and challenging every time. Past winners fail to make the cut. Rookies play…
I stood in front of a packed classroom flipping through pictures on our SmartBoard. I’d never heard my students so quiet. I’d never seen them so engaged. A 10th grader…
Each month I add a new resource to the Innovative Teaching Toolbox. Here is a simple framework for innovation in the classroom that came out of the research, interviews, and…
As a new teacher I remember getting into my classroom for the first time. I set up the space like classrooms I had seen before and enjoyed; I got my…
In 1989 researchers set out to “evaluate the ethical continuum” of “teaching to the test”, and came up with a seven point range from “most to least ethical”: General instruction…
I’m really excited to share some awesome news! I’ve been working on my first published (by Routledge) book for the past year. It’s been a learning process throughout, but now…
I’m writing a book on inquiry and innovation in the classroom. The research is fascinating (I cite some of it here), but even more interesting is the lack of knowledge…
It’s been one year since I left the classroom as a HS English teacher. It was a difficult decision but I really enjoy my role as our district’s K-12 Tech…
I didn’t fail out of high school. But I sure wasn’t a “good student”. While many of my friends took Honors and AP level courses, I stayed on the “regular”…
With the influx in educational technology over the past decade, many schools, communities, and leaders have missed the point. Most often I hear that they want educational technology to do…
Remember waiting? We used to wait for our favorite song on the radio. We used to wait for a TV show to come on and watch simultaneously with millions of…
“The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” ― Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can…
In the past six months I’ve launched four different ebooks for EducationIsMyLife.com. We’ve had great success in getting our readers to share and spread the ebook before launch. What’s been…
