A new reality starts with a good question... (97)

What if schools didn't use grades and numbers to tell their story and instead used emotion like major companies such as Coke, Anheuser Busch and Google? via @gcouros

What if just one time a teacher said, "We won’t have time for Math today, we have too much PE to do?” via @shareski

What if the world as we know it ceased to exist and everything we thought was important became no longer important? Would our students still have the skills/ability to adapt and find success?

What if 65% of today's grade-school kids ended up working a job that hasn't yet been invented? (article written back in 2011... http://goo.gl/JK8KUn)

What if what we call cheating in school is in fact in the "real world" called collaboration and maximizing time and resources? via @adambellow

What if schools had more open and shared learning walls/spaces like this? via @curriculumblog

5 ways to gauge student engagement... (96)

Student engagement... a topic that is commonplace in schools and school districts around the world. The goal being that we want to have highly engaging classrooms where our students are intimately and passionately engaged in whatever task they are working on.

Engaged classrooms are where learning occurs and one of the defining characteristics of a great teacher is the ability to have his/her students engaged in learning.

But... student engagement can be a tricky and slippery slope at times because how we define student engagement can vary from educator to educator.

For example, when looking at a student who is working and doing what they are supposed to be doing, can we automatically assume they are engaged? Are they cognitively engaged or are they merely compliant and obedient? What about the kid who is passionately doodling and completely ignoring whatever the rest of the students and class are doing? Do we assume the student is not cognitively engaged because the student isn't compliant and obedient?

The point is simple... student engagement and the gauging of student engagement really aren't as easy or straightforward as some would think.

Also worth noting... most of our kids are truly engaged at most times during the day. The question is... are they engaged in what we are wanting them to be engaged in...

Having said all that, here are 5 ways to tell if your students are truly cognitively engaged in the learning occurring in your class.


1). Your students are asking in-depth questions that are specific and relevant to the learning occurring in your class and the questions go beyond simple yes and no answers.

2). Your students are curious about the topic and are expressing an interest in exploring the topic further beyond even your original intent.

3). Your students are taking the initial and baseline information and are creating and designing something completely different and completely new.

4). Your students are able to explain the purpose and reasoning behind learning what they are currently learning and see how it relates to their lives and the bigger picture.

5). Your students can clearly explain and articulate where they are in terms of their learning progression... they know where they are doing well and they know where they are still struggling.


What other signs and indicators would you say constitute true student engagement?

5 blog posts to get your wheels turning... (95)

1). Self Talk by Seth Godin: http://goo.gl/MiBDH5

2). The Death of the Final Exam: http://goo.gl/WXuEpN

3). Your Nostalgia isn't Helping Me Learn: http://goo.gl/1LPyN4

4). 21st Century Libraries Becoming the Learning Commons: http://goo.gl/APnwcB

5). Why I Do the Same Student Projects Over Again: http://goo.gl/kXdR8F

What if...

http://goo.gl/143ffV

And, being an innovator and pioneer won't always be received positively at first...

Challenge yourself with these 10 thoughts... (94)

Keep this in mind...

Recognize how important and powerful you are...

Never be afraid of answering this question...

Be sure you don't do this...

This should be one of our main goals...

The differences may be subtle but they're extremely important...

Our words really do matter...

We don't have standardized kids nor are we preparing them for a standardized world...

Significant difference between the two...

Something to blow your mind...

Experts do these 13 things every day... (93)

'Fires in the Mind,' a book by Kathleen Cushman, discusses what kids can teach educators when it comes to motivation and mastery. Though the book covers plenty of topics, the part most intriguing was Cushman's point on "the habits of experts." As educators, we are constantly learning and growing, and when considering the term 'expert,' we all probably have a pretty confident definition of what we believe an expert is. The part we tend to not think much about is what someone does to become an expert and what they do once they've reached a certain level of expertise.

ex·pert/ˈekspərt/

Noun:	A person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area.
Adjective:	Having or involving such knowledge or skill.
Synonyms:	noun.  specialist - connoisseur - adept - judge - master adjective.  skilled - skilful - skillful - proficient - adept

The 13 habits of experts:

1) - Experts ask good questions...

2) - Experts break problems into parts...

3) - Experts rely on evidence...

4) - Experts look for patterns...

5) - Experts consider other perspectives...

6) - Experts follow hunches...

7) - Experts use familiar ideas in new ways...

8) - Experts collaborate...

9) - Experts welcome critique...

10) - Experts revise repeatedly...

11) - Experts persist...

12) - Experts seek out new challenges...

13) - Experts know their own best work styles...

After looking at and reflecting on this list of habits, Cushman describes expertise not in the traditional way many of us are accustom to. Cushman doesn't focus on what you know or the skills that you might have. Instead, she is more concerned with how we use information and approach a particular situation or issue. She focuses on the "growth" mindset rather than the "fixed" mindset.

How would the culture in your building or in our district evolve if we all exhibited the habits that Cushman feels characterize 'expertise...?'