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This challenging school year has made it clear that educational institutions and educators must be flexible and willing to adapt to a changing educational landscape. This will be easier to do if school leaders harness the talent on […]
The end of the school year is a great time to do a few “housekeeping” items. This is probably the last thing you feel like doing after the year we have had! Despite finding these chores tedious while […]
June 3, 2021 was the official launch of my newest book UDL and Blended Learning: Thriving in Flexible Learning Landscapes, and I had the pleasure of collaborating with Dr. Katie Novak on this project. We combined our expertise […]
As this year winds down, I encourage teachers to take the final weeks of the school year to create closure, collect feedback, and help students look forward. Needless to say, the 2020-2021 school year has been intense. Teachers […]
I am concerned about the impact that the imbalances in education have on teacher engagement and job satisfaction. I know firsthand the toll that the imbalances caused by traditional workflows in education can have on a teacher. Those […]
Recently, a teacher posted a comment to my blog lamenting that direct instruction consumed much of the class period. Like many, this teacher felt intense pressure to teach the standards and wasn’t sure how to embrace Universal Design […]
There are two things I am certain of in education. First, learner variability is the norm, not the exception. Second, technology is here to stay. So, how do we design and facilitate learning experiences to remove barriers and […]
Feedback is how students feel seen and supported. It is also how we communicate to our students that we value the process over the product. When we give feedback as students work, we signal that the work they […]
My children love “would you rather” questions. Would you rather go to the beach or the snow? Would you rather eat a cookie or a brownie? Would you rather watch a movie or read a book? They enjoy […]
Metacognition is defined as thinking about one’s thinking or learning. More formally, “metacognition was originally referred to as the knowledge about and the regulation of one’s cognitive activities in learning processes” (Veenman, Van Hout-Wolters, & Afflerbach, 2006, p.3). The ability to think […]
I led a training last week on blended learning and asked teachers to brainstorm the biggest challenges they face in the classroom. One answer resonated with me. “Learned helplessness.” On my drive home, I kept mentally returning to […]
As I planned my lesson for today, I identified three specific tasks I wanted my students to complete over the course of our 90 minute block period. I knew they would work at different rates, and I wanted […]
