To be successful at scaffolding, students need to be able to understand and take the capacity verbs of the learning targets and successfully master them to climb up in their learning. This is all about, building one step at a time; hence why it is called scaffolding. For example, to compare and contrast something complex... Continue Reading →
How do we Know When Students Show Mastery?
Today, did my students learn? If not, why not? These are hard questions we must always ask ourselves and any good Principal should also ask: Are you providing students with what they need or just what they want? Are the students engaged? (For how to better ourselves, see “Always Actions” post.) We always need to... Continue Reading →
Hattie Ranking: 252 Influences And Effect Sizes Related To Student Achievement
o What works best in education ? This research from John Hattie can and should be a game changer how we are as a school and classroom. Are we placing our efforts in the winning channels? Notice what most schools do verses what actually works! John Hattie developed a way of synthesizing various influences in... Continue Reading →
The ABCD Learning Objective Formula
I have used this formula for years, as a trainer for a major Bank, as a public speaker, and as a curriculum writer, and as a teacher. Keep in mind that Learning Objectives give the purpose of what the student will be learning. This serves as the foundation and the heart of our lesson plans. Good Objectives... Continue Reading →
Developing Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives are not just for teachers, they are for the students. Having well thought-out learning objectives is thefoundation for class planning. These objectives need to state what the students will be able to know and what they will do when they complete the lesson. At this stage, they are to be specific, measurable, short-term, and... Continue Reading →
Capability Verbs in Learning Targets
The key for students to be able to learn is for them to know what is expected from them and then be able to see what success of that look like. Thus, a good teacher must be able to create and effectually communicate clear defined learning targets. And these must be presented and posted so... Continue Reading →
The First Step with a New Learning Standard
What do we do first when undertaking a standard, we have not done before? The first step I take with a new Common Core standard is identify the “what.” That is, what are the concepts and big ideas I can pull from that mess. Then, what will be my lesson goals? So, that I can break it... Continue Reading →
Tips for Planning Instruction with ELL Students
Learning a new language takes years. The reason is obvious, usually an ELL or ESL, English as a Second Language student comes into one of the most difficult and illogical languages, English, from another culture and home language. Imagine yourself moving to Beijing and trying to learn Mandarin with little help and you have Dyslexia.... Continue Reading →
How to Unpack a Standard
Any standard, including Common Core tells the teacher what to teach, it does not tell us how to teach. Thus, any good teacher can work it for the student’s success! What the standards do is show the expectations of what needs to be learned at what level and grade. They are the ends, not the... Continue Reading →