Discovering a New Language of Teaching I was halfway through my first year of teaching when I hit play on Mr. Barton Maths and discovered another world of education I didn’t know existed. What hooked me was the language Barton and his guests used to describe teaching. Through his interviews I learned about ideas in … Continue reading A Profession of Buzzwords: Redefining the Language of Teaching
Education suffers from initiative overload. Teachers are yanked here and there, impossibly tasked with newer and ever-more complex trends that come and go with each new school year. Mike Schmoker (2011) captures the conundrum: "Our failure to be clear and focused prevails even as we continue year after year, to attend conferences, workshops, and book … Continue reading Tidying Up: Instructional Routines for Whole-Class Reading and Writing
Making Knowledge [Actually] Rich We're currently in the midst of an exciting shift in how reading is being taught. Backlash after decades of teaching to the test with skills and strategies has brought renewed enthusiasm for cohesive curricula that deliberately develops depth and breadth of student knowledge. What is less clear, however, is how to most … Continue reading Questioning the Author: Unlocking and Weaving Together Knowledge Rich Text
Teachers are increasingly interested in student motivation, believing it to be a panacea for boosting learning and reversing low academic achievement. Yet the psychology of motivation is vast and dense, and most peoples' vague understandings are largely shaped by a single 18 minute TED talk and its accompanying best-selling book. I'm referring to Daniel Pink's Drive (2009). Pink's framework of … Continue reading Motivation Madness: Dismantling Daniel Pink’s Misapplied Ideas in Education
The "knowledge-gap" is pinpointed most recently by Natalie Wexler as a culprit for continued stagnant reading proficiency levels and growing disparities in student outcomes in the U.S. Thankfully, more and more are realizing that students' ability to think critically and creatively is severely hampered without a solid foundation of background knowledge. Yet beyond adopting a … Continue reading Robust Vocabulary Instruction: Bringing Knowledge-Rich Curricula to Life
“Tracing the Origins” is a multi-part series. Each post explores how an initially promising finding in education research became distorted and misinterpreted in its widespread implementation. Part 1 examined the origin of "reading comprehension strategies." A week or so ago, there was one sentence that stopped me cold while reading. It was Robert Slavin (1996) proclaiming … Continue reading Tracing the Origins: The Slippery Slope of Cooperative Learning
"Tracing the Origins" is a multi-part series. Each post explores how a promising finding in education research became distorted and misinterpreted in its widespread implementation. Frenemies: Background Knowledge and Comprehension Strategies This post untangles the fascinating history and current misunderstandings around what teachers nowadays commonly refer to as “reading comprehension strategies.” Surprisingly, modern misconceptions around … Continue reading Tracing the Origins: “Reading Comprehension Strategies”
