faulker008

I know two amazing math brains. They can both do calculus, applied mathematics, and whatever else it is that amazing math brains do.   They know their stuff. One of them is an amazing teacher. The other is not. When one sits down with a student to tutor him through a difficult math problem, he prompts and supports and explains and leads his student into understanding. When the other sits down with a student to tutor him through a difficult math problem, he demonstrates how to solve the problem. He gets frustrated and can’t understand why the student can’t do it, too, after the clear procedure he has provided. I know two amazing math brains.   One is a teacher. The other is not.   It is clear that teaching requires more than simply knowing the content. The skills necessary to support a learner along the path to discovery go beyond content knowledge. Pedagogical knowledge supports good teaching. Similarly, there is more to good coaching than knowing the content. Even being ...

In recent weeks, I’ve posted about how to sustain changes that lead to improved student learning.   In order to stay the course in educational change, teachers need the opportunity to engage in ongoing, focused, challenging, professional learning.   Teachers’ professional learning can (and should) take many forms, however, sit-and-get is not one of them. Passive professional development experiences tend to result in more frustration than change.   Instead, teachers benefit from the opportunity to think and talk together, to try the new ideas they will be using, and to have time to plan for their revised instruction. These opportunities can occur during released-time trainings and summer institutes. They can also be job-embedded, supported by instructional coaches and department heads.   Planning periods, PLC time, and faculty meetings can be oriented toward professional learning.   During the first year after we created our shared vision for literacy instruction...

In order to sustain change, we have to decide what is worth being consistent about. Every classroom has a different combination of learners who have unique needs and experiences.   Every classroom also has its unique collective culture: webs of relationships, ways of doing and caring, and shared experiences. Because of this variation, there are many, many things that must be left to teachers’ judgement.   What, then, is the focus of our change efforts?   What are the things about which we stand firm? In previous posts, I’ve described a process for creating and maintaining shared vision through ongoing communication .   The things that we stay firm on are rooted in best practice and determined by common consent.   They chart our route to the hoped-for future.   Having common language about that work can be a rudder that provides stability as we move forward.   This common language is important for both teachers and students.   When we call things...