Helping you to hone your craft, improving the art and science of teaching.
The Curse of Knowledge: once you know something, it's hard to think from the perspective of someone who doesn't know it. And the more you know, the harder it gets.
The more I started looking, the more I realized that most of my questions just asked students to merely remember, not actually think.
Asking questions is such a basic tool of teaching, yet how many of us have ever been taught to ask good questions? In this opening to a series about questioning, we'll explore how to get students asking each other questions.
If we want students to remember the material we teach, we have to set them up for success. Use techniques like chunking, mnemonics, and spaced repetition to slowly move information into your students’ long-term memory.
There’s no special note-taking system to solve your students’ memorization needs. Instead, we have to teach them how (and when) to review their notes.
I frequently receive questions like this: How do I get a student to read more challenging books? They only like “Book Series X”… I have always been a voracious reader. So, when I get this question, I think back – what led me to become a lifelong reader? Why do I love to read as […]
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.
Clear communication is simple, succinct, and relies on words that people understand. Jargon is the opposite. Journey with me as I attempt to define some edu-jargon…
I had a reader ask a question about homework and gifted kids and I figured this was a pretty common question. My thought: you need a philosophy about this.
Often, the problems we try to solve are not the root problems. The Five Whys is a thinking tool to help you sift through the superficial to find the real issue.
90 years ago, Alfred North Whitehead used the term “the inert knowledge problem” to describe an issue he faced while teaching. I’ll bet you’ve seen the same thing…
My recent experience as a learner and what it’s like when your teacher falls into the trap of Curse of Knowledge.
Before you implement an educational theory like Mindset, Grit, or Multiple Intelligences, make sure to read the original work, understand the limitations, and know the most common misunderstandings.
