Guest Blogger: Liza Garonzik I had the opportunity to record two podcasts with Liza Garonzik, the founder of R.E.A.L. Discussions. She provided great strategies around how we can have students learn the skills and value of discussion. I invited her to share more of her work in this blog. What does active listening look like […]

I found this diagram in a white paper from NWEA, titled From Survive to Thrive: Why partnership is an Essential for School Improvement. Citing a research study from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, it identifies the effects of improvement for schools engaged in School Improvement Grants (SIGs). They found student math […]

I was introduced to these two terms in a Tom Schimmer podcast interview with Lee Ann Jung. The interview focused on assessments in Universal Design for Learning (UDL). “UDL guides the design of learning experiences to proactively meet the needs of all learners. When you use UDL, you assume that barriers to learning are in […]

Student agency is an important element for schools and teachers looking to accelerate student learning. The American Institute for Research paper Maximizing Student Agency states that students’ ability to manage their learning and take an active role in seeking and internalizing new knowledge can have a significant effect on academic achievement. Also, the skills and […]

“We need to ensure that classrooms are filled with dialogue and not a monologue.” That statement appears in Grades K-12 Rebound (Fisher, Frey, Smith, Hattie) in the chapter on “recovering learning through instruction.” They describe the research supported impact on student learning when students have opportunities to talk with each other using academic language. “When […]

My frustration has grown as more and more conversations with educators have centered around people sharing their concerns about teachers’ and students’ wellbeing. They share concerns about teachers being stressed and contemplating leaving teaching. They describe students’ inappropriate behaviors and lack of engagement. Then, in the same conversation, they describe the need for students to […]