Welcome to Core Connections, a blog by Success at the Core. You'll find stories of best practices, inspiring experiences, and effective strategies related to leadership development, classroom instruction, and student engagement.
At my school, there’s a lot of talk about Washington state’s new teacher evaluation system, which will be implemented statewide in Fall 2013. Principals are gearing up to measure teacher performance and teachers are working to strengthen their practice around eight new criteria. Last week, such preparatory efforts became very real to me. At my high school, where I teach American Literature and Mythology, the rubber was about to meet the road in evaluation. Here’s what happened:
8:41 am—I receive an email from my vice principal. He asks if I’d be willing to be on deck for a “quick” observation tomorrow …
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Let’s face it, professional development – PD – has become a dirty word for many teachers. Why? Because the model of PD that has dominated in schools for years now is often outdated and largely ineffective. Teachers don’t resent the opportunity to improve their craft. What we do resent is wasted time – time that we desperately need to chip away at the mountain of planning, grading, paperwork, and parent contacts that we always feel lurking.
When a professional development experience is well-designed and effective, teachers feel invigorated and more ready to tackle the immediate needs in their classrooms. What makes …
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Whether you are a teacher, student, or parent, there is something about the word “homework” that causes people to cringe. Too much, too little, it doesn’t get turned in: these are just some of the issues around homework. When I have helped students in “Homework Club” or in a non-profit after school program, I have found that sometimes kids have a hard time remembering what they learned earlier in the school day. They look at their homework, and they just don’t know how to do it.
Last week when I gave a presentation about Success at the Core to the Mount …
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In the Success at the Core video Guided Groups, middle school teacher Shawna Moore directs her students to assess their understanding of a concept by assigning themselves a “C” (I’ve got it), “B” (I’ve got a few clarifying questions) or “A” (I still have major misconceptions). This video inspires me as I think about having my fourth grade students self-assess their understanding. Here’s what I’ve learned and how I’ve adjusted Ms. Moore’s technique for my students.
When my students learned the standard algorithm for multiplication, I asked them to group themselves based on their ability to use the algorithm to …
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