When we incorporate literacy assessments that honor students’ assets and identities, we take an essential step toward creating an inclusive classroom that values students’ cultures and centers them in their learning. Teacher educators Sean Ruday and Katie Caprino show how.
The 2021-22 school year came with all the expected sound and fury, and for many of us, weariness and low spirits. Now summer’s here and MiddleWeb has pulled together a diverse set of deep-dive PD articles you might have missed. They’re insightful, informative and actionable!
Gene Bottoms, a national CTE leader and secondary school reform advocate, discusses the inequities in opportunity found in current college and career practices and details steps to transform high schools into places that serve ALL students well, writes principal Frank Hagen.
After another school year weighed down by a wide range of challenges, education consultants Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn offer school-based leaders a path to restore momentum in their school and revitalize their community’s commitment to a collaborative vision.
In The Power of Regret, creativity and motivation author Dan Pink finds that regrets can make us stronger and more effective in our work. Professional learning consultant Cathy Gassenheimer encourages educators to consider how Pink’s four types of regrets relate to our lives.
Chris Hall wasn’t satisfied with the way he taught revision in MS writing workshop. After much reflection he’s concluded that the best revision takes place in the mind of the writer during the writing process – not after it’s done. Six mindset ‘stances’ help students learn this skill.
Any educator who leads in schools will find principal Matt Renwick’s Leading like a C.O.A.C.H. grounded in real boots-on-the-ground work and loaded with opportunities to reflect on and improve leadership practices. Instructional Walks are key, writes school leader Rita Platt.
When we transform a text into a multitasking mentor text, we increase the instructional mileage we can get from one power-packed teaching tool, writes veteran teacher and literacy consultant Pam Koutrakos. She includes five “energy star” ideas and a text set to get started.
Teacher educator Curtis Chandler guides us through Global Pandemics, a “fantastic” free Chrome app that transports teachers and students back in time to the lives, choices, and dilemmas faced by individuals during some of the most severe plagues and pandemics in history.
Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn have advice that can help school leaders stay attuned to today’s constantly changing school environment, recognize the stress of external factors, and use strategies that encourage teachers’ intrinsic motivation and sense of self-efficacy.
