One of my students this fall — we’ll call her Rachel — has a problem with technology. Whenever she’s on a Chromebook, it’s as if her fingers take on a mind of their own. She’s almost never on task when I come around to see the thesis statement she’s supposed to be typing into PollEverywhere, […]
Instruction
The Positive Parent Phone Call
Armed with the following, it’s possible that a three-minute phone call can make your year with a given student. You just need: a specific thing/event/anecdote that you appreciate about the student in question; the right “bent” — humility, appreciation — for working well with parents (a whole post on that here); and a working phone […]
“Worksheets Are the Worst”
It’s common enough to hear a well-meaning teacher use language like this: Worksheets are the worst. There should be zero worksheets allowed in schools. Only bad teachers use worksheets. In one sense, I get it. When a class period becomes nothing more than a teacher distributing worksheet after worksheet to keep kids busy, that class […]
Fast Feedback is Effective Feedback: Here’s How to Do Better
If we want our kids to become good at things, we need to give them feedback. It’s not grades that make a student become a better writer or speaker or knowledge-builder — it’s feedback. (I do work in a system where we use grades, by the way — I don’t spend much time thinking or […]
Moments of Genuine Connection: A Piece of Paper, a Clipboard, and a Goal
Neat Update, Fall 2020: This strategy has been featured at Cult of Pedagogy! You can find it here. When we intentionally track moments of genuine connection with students, starting with the first day of school, a few important things happen: We connect with every kid. Using a clipboard and a single sheet of paper with all 120 or so […]