Signature Pedagogies, Part 2: Types of Curriculum & How They Impact How We Teach
Signature pedagogies are the teaching models and activities that help students develop skills relevant to the discipline that represent the kinds of activities they would do in a profession related to that discipline (Schulman, 2005). For instance: students in science classrooms should be performing experiments using the scientific method; students in social studies classrooms should […]
Signature Pedagogy Series, Part 1: Why “Good Teaching is Good Teaching” Can Be a Harmful Myth
When I hear the phrase “good teaching is good teaching,” I cringe. The statement is not false, but it is also not entirely true—and it can harm our young people by not properly preparing them for life beyond K-12 education. It is frequently made by an administrator justifying why they are able to effectively evaluate […]
Acing Your Ed Leadership Interview
Hey there, aspiring educational leaders. You’ve made it to the interview! You’re amazing! Now you have to stick the landing with the interview. Interviews are high-stress situations, so you’re more likely to do well if you’ve practiced beforehand and some of these “tricks of the trade” are muscle memory. Here are some of the top […]
How Districts Can Balance Consistency with Teacher Autonomy in Curriculum: The Cookbook Method
Teachers need autonomy. They need space to use their expertise to make lessons that are appropriate for their specific students each academic year. But a district also needs a systematic guaranteed and viable curriculum; we cannot simply leave it up to luck whether a some students get quality learning experiences and others do not. The […]
Why the Digital Revolution Hasn’t Revolutionized Education…And Four Things We Can Do About It
by Kate Wolfe Maxlow You’ve bought the most current and groundbreaking technology for your schools. You’ve done the training session for all your teachers. And yet, how often have you seen any of the following? When the Digital Revolution started, educational leaders rightly proclaimed that it had the power to make learning accessible for all […]
Wide Awake Presentations: 3 Better Ways to Share Information Than Reading Your Slides
by Kate Wolfe Maxlow You walk into a training session or a classroom and the first slides come up looking like this: …and the presenter starts to read aloud every. Single. Bullet. Inwardly, everyone in the audience groans and inwardly dies a little, knowing that they’re never going to get this hour of their lives back. […]
Steps to Stand Out: Tips for Snagging an PreK-12 Job Interview
So you found your dream education job. Excellent! The first step, then, is to get yourself in the door to an interview. When dozens of applicants apply for a position, it can be hard to determine who to interview…and we do have to leave some people out of interviews because there are only so many […]
Getting an Interview: What to Do (and Not to Do) in Your Cover Letter for K-12 Education
by Kate Wolfe Maxlow I read a lot of job applications from teachers, and here’s the thing: most teachers have very similar job duties and abilities. This means that if you want your application (for a teaching, admin, or any other position in education) to stand out, you need to take some important steps. In addition to […]
7 Crucial Steps to Writing a Resume for a PreK-12 Education Leadership Job
by Kate Wolfe Maxlow So you’ve finished your coursework, gotten your endorsement, and are now hoping to get an educational leadership position in the PreK-12 world (I say that because there are very different standards when applying for a job in higher education where they love long CVs). A strong resume is going to be […]
Quick and Easy Connect/Do Activities for All!
by Kate Wolfe Maxlow So, you’ve read the article on the AbCD (Absorb & Connect/Do) Learning Cycle, and you want to get started. But how, you’re wondering, can you incorporate this into your classroom without taking a ton of extra time? We’ve got you covered. Below are several easy ideas to get students Connecting information to […]