I was recently asked to facilitate a high school staff who had been working in PLCs that were department centered around curriculum and assessment. I was given a request to create an opportunity for them to focus on individual student success. The staff was regrouped for the day into teams of about six who were […]

While observing in classrooms in several schools these past few weeks, I was re-engaged in the examination of the language teachers and students use when describing the tasks in which students are engaged. It is often described as the “work” that students are to do.  I’m wondering how that concept interferes with students’ focus on […]

In recent weeks I had several opportunities to work with school leaders, teachers and administrators, who wanted to examine the current level of learning present in their schools. We created teams of two to five who observed in classrooms for 5-10 minutes and then discussed their insights. Our first goal was the learning of the […]

TEXAS Last February, I shared a blog about the Leander Independent School District in Texas where staff have focused their professional development, PLCs, and  classroom observations around seven critical student behaviors. Learning Objective: Students articulate the learning objective/target and find meaning in their learning. Assessment for Learning: Students assess their progress toward achieving the current […]