Assessment expert Dylan Wiliam says that student thinking is the primary goal for descriptive feedback. He contrasts that goal with what often happens when teachers use judgement instead of feedback with students:...

"What's the point, Mrs. Adams?" asked Brian. I will never forget the confused yet honest look on my 8th grade student's face when he asked me this question after I had concluded my riveting lecture about the causes...

Peer-to-peer sharing is one of our most meaningful and effective kinds of professional development—and it's so easy to do. Whether it's presenting at a meeting or conference, writing an article, or participating...

Cultivating, building, and sustaining relationships is not guaranteed in all learning environments; however, just as we help students develop cooperative and communication skills, we can adopt and hone collaborative...

There’s a great story about General Westmoreland that reminds us what can happen if we are brave with each other. The general was reviewing a line of paratroopers and decided to talk to three of them. "Son,"...

It all started when… Michele: "It all started because my last hour French students were driving me crazy. Becky was teaching in an eighth grade English classroom kitty-corner from mine, and I wandered in. I...

There's no getting around it—we teach who we are. By our presence in a classroom, it is inevitable that students learn about us. We teach who we are, so who we are matters. Who we are becomes evident through...

If we’re not careful, we may lose our intellectual selves. We can grow numb with repeated exposure to ideology and structures built to maintain the school’s status quo. With each passing year, our...

It seems like everywhere you turn, you can find a study that says that the teacher is the number one factor impacting student achievement. No kidding, right? I think many of us in the field have known this for a long...

On a walk in my neighborhood, I passed by a relatively uneventful river birch standing near the sidewalk in the sunshine. I almost looked the other way when I spotted an interesting relationship happening in the...