Signature Pedagogy Series, Part 6: Essential Pedagogies of Learning to Read

The following article is a part of our Signature Pedagogies in the K-12 Classroom series. “Signature pedagogies,” as defined by Schulman in 2005, are “the types of teaching that organize the fundamental ways in which future practitioners are educated for their new professions” and they include three critical aspects: how to think, perform, and act […]

4 Ways for Facilitators to Respond When Challenged in Training

In my career, I’ve been a teacher leader, a technology coach, an educational consultant, a professional learning coordinator, director of a virtual school, and a Director of Curriculum. I have presented on many, many topics to every level of teacher–from PreK all the way to PhD. I’ve had smooth sailing training sessions where everything went […]

Engaging Classrooms: Rethinking Instructional Time in Education (AbCD Learning Cycle)

by Kate Wolfe Maxlow In this age of screens and 30-second clips, it’s vital that educators keep abreast of the current research on student attention spans and how we leverage our instructional activities so that they’re developmentally appropriate. There’s both an art and science to stretching students’ attention spans successfully. Enter then: the AbCD Learning […]

Engaging Classrooms: Why We Need More Arts in Every Classroom, Every Day

By Kate Wolfe Maxlow I can still sing the entire jingle from a Milky Way commercial that played non-stop on TV when I was five. I remember all of King Henry VIII’s wives from a coloring page activity I did when I was eight. I can name all of the states in alphabetical order because […]

Leadership Matters: Growth Mindsets…Do Our Actions Match our Words?

by Kate Wolfe Maxlow The term “growth mindset” is a well-worn phrase in education. Yet, sometimes we see schools where the staff talks a good talk about growth mindset, but certain actions or beliefs undercut the philosophy. It turns out, this can actually negatively impact the growth mindset of students. Why does this happen? Let’s […]

Follow through: It isn’t just about your golf swing (Part 1)

A couple of years ago I was looking at our school district’s data regarding the number of classroom observations that were being conducted.  We had been focusing on using walk-through forms to collect data and follow through conversations to give teachers objective feedback regarding their teaching, Visible Learning and Teaching and student engagement. Many hours […]