As leaders we have to constantly ask ourselves this question: Is this easy for me or is it easy for the people I’m leading? Very rarely is something easy for both parties.
Year: 2019
Why I Quit Scouts
As a kid, I got all the way to the top of Cub Scouts, but I never became a Boy Scout. I quit before I made the jump. Here’s why.
Differentiate Math: Getting Started
Working with a student who is bored in math? Quickly finishing lessons? Needs something more? Here are three ways you can get started differentiating in math.
Acceleration – The Simplest (but Least Used) Differentiation Technique
Acceleration is a cheap and simple way to differentiate for students who are ready for something more. It can mean skipping a whole grade but is more commonly accomplished through subject-specific acceleration. Lots of people have weird arguments against acceleration, but the research shows that it works (when done well).
A Christmas Carol – Study Guide Ideas
Take your students through Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol this holiday season and expose them to a classic while exploring the Universal Theme of Change. And, hey, since this story’s in the public domain, you can print out a PDF or link to the text at Project Gutenburg. A Christmas Carol Summary Dickens has organized […]
2 Simple Questions for Conference Feedback
So many conference feedback forms are 7,000 questions long when there are really only two questions to ask.
The Frayer Model – A Tool To Explain Concepts
I love Dorothy Frayer’s 1969 model for developing a deep understanding of a concept: The Frayer Model! It really illustrates how insufficient a mere definition is when trying to explain an idea.
Depth and Complexity: 📚Across Disciplines
The Across Disciplines prompt asks students to think about how this topic intersects with other fields as well as with other topics within the same field.
Depth and Complexity: ⏳Change Over Time
It’s quite easy to “use” Depth and Complexity and yet have low-level thinking at the same time. Here’s why it’s so important to make sure that our use of Depth and Complexity is truly changing students’ thinking.
Is it a Lesson or Just a Topic?
Early in my career, I mixed up “topics” with “lesson.” Here’s how I learned to plan real lesson objectives, not merely list my topic.