Search Result (2487)
Quest for continual growth takes root
In the Vestal Central School district, in the heart of upstate New York, educators have created a spirit of “kaizen,” a Japanese word meaning the relentless quest for continual improvement and hig..
A challenge to educators
The basic language we use to communicate with one another is changing. The masters of building and transmitting knowledge used to be the Chinese. They invented paper, gunpowder, great schools, had ..
Test good ideas to check for unanticipated consequences
We are on the Yangtze, one of the last ships to move through China’s Three Gorges Dam Project before its completion. This dam, 1.2 miles across and 600 feet high, will create a reservoir 360 miles l..
We care, therefore they learn
JSD: During the 2000-01 school year, you did a survey of middle and high school students in highperforming suburban school districts to better understand racial and ethnic achievement disparities in t..
Expanding expectations for students through accelerated schools
What does accelerated learning mean? For scores of disadvantaged and at-risk students involved in the AcceleratedSchools Project, it means a deeper understanding of a subject and higher achie..
3 ways to fund literacy coaching
“I never thought about it that way.” Jan Knight hears that a lot as a literacy coach in Walnut Creek, Calif. As she models lessons, observes instruction, and coaches, Knight’s job is to help tea..
‘Collaboration lite’ puts student achievement on a starvation diet
In my previous column, I argued that 1) a professional is obligated to seek and apply best practice when serving clients; 2) it is evident that the best practice for meeting the needs of students a..
Connecting all the pieces
How can we tell what influence our staff development efforts have on the teachers who participate in them, or on their classrooms or students? Teachers, learning environments, and students continually..
Frank discussion in focus groups can yield useful data
Organizations everywhere are trying focus groups. People gather in small groups for 60 to 90 minutes to critique professional development plans, rate trainer materials, offer feedback on their expe..
So much to learn, so little opportunity
How strange and ironic it is that teachers, who disseminate knowledge, have so little time and opportunity to acquire it. Undergraduate teacher education is justifiably criticized — even by its reci..
