The Artificial Intelligence revolution is here. That might sound like hyperbole. After all, the world looks the same. The revolution didn’t arrive with Skynet and robots or with Blade Running cyborgs. It’s been subtle. Auto-correct here. Grammarly suggestion there. An auto-fill option in G-mail and…
If we want to empower students to own the assessment process, we need to incorporate meaningful self-assessment and peer assessment into our lessons. However, students still need guidance from their teachers. This is why I love five-minute conferences. Unlike a deep dive tutoring session or…
Socratic seminars are a democratic, student-centered, approach to class discussions. They can be used at any grade level with any subject area. In a Socratic Seminar, members meet in a circle (or more likely an oval, because, let’s be real, circles are really hard to…
Over the last month, I have been sharing practical ways that we can empower our students to own the learning from day one. This is the core idea that AJ Juliani and I wrote about in our book Empower. It’s a journey I began in…
When AJ Juliani and I co-wrote the book Empower, we focused on the ways that students could own the learning process. It’s the core idea of shifting from being teacher-centered toward being more student-centered. We often talk about what it means to move from compliance…
For years, I held a very teacher-centered view of assessment. I would grade student work and use that to modify lessons and pull small groups. Students would receive a grade, which would then motivate them to work harder. Later, I started realizing that my feedback…
When I was a new teacher, I had a goal of differentiating instruction for every student. I would provide additional directions, project sheets, tutorials, and small group instruction for any student who needed help. My main focus was on providing the necessary accommodations on IEPs…
I had the honor of interviewing PBL expert Trevor Muir on what it means to get started with PBL. Check out the podcast below. Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog but you’d like to listen to it on the go, just click…
December is exhausting for teachers. The days are shorter. The weather grows colder and (at least here in Oregon) wetter. Students are anxious — whether it’s a buzzing excitement for vacation or a sense of dread that some kids feel in homes that are unsafe…
When we think of choice-based reading, we often imagine silent reading with novels. However, we can take a student-centered, choice-based approach to non-fiction as well. In this article, we explore nine different areas of student empowerment within informational text reading. Listen to the Podcast If…
