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“What we’re striving for,” the textbook publisher explained, “are materials that are teacher-proof.” My face revealed my incomprehension. “You know, materials that can be picked up by anyone, and as long as they do exactly what the teacher’s guide says, they will have taught a lesson.” “You mean, like a script?” I asked. “That’s . . . → Read More: Here’s to Teachers or How to Improve Education Consider the following: 70% of 4th-12th grade students are considered low-achieving writers college professors estimate that 50% of college freshmen are unprepared for college-level writing nearly 40% of college students and high school graduates in the workforce view their own writing as not meeting expectations of quality The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and . . . → Read More: Teaching Writing with an “Optimal Mix” Writer’s Stylus equips teachers to develop writers, not just students with adequate writing skills. Students use their knowledge to not only correct errors in punctuation and grammar, but to improve the clarity and strength of their communication. As editors of their own writing, students use knowledge and skills gained from effective instruction to develop . . . → Read More: Writer’s Stylus Program & Training: New Info Available! In The Opposable Mind, Roger Martin (2007) defines integrative thinking: The ability to face constructively the tension of opposing ideas and, instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generate a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new idea that contains elements of the opposing ideas but is . . . → Read More: Integrative Thinking, Part 2: Salience Everyone has opinions. Some are informed opinions. Others are judgements reached in the absence of evidence. For example, much to my wife’s dismay, I know that I do not like shrimp. I also claim that I do not like calamari. One informed opinion (I’ve unfortunately tasted shrimp) and one judgement formed without evidence (I’ve . . . → Read More: “Integrative Thinking”: Part 1 Researcher Mark Jung-Beeman, leadership and coaching expert David Rock, and author Jonah Lehrer presented the seminar “The Anatomy of an A-ha” at October’s Neuroleadership Summit in New York City. An “a-ha” is an insight, often a solution to a problem, that seems to “pop” into an individual’s mind as a whole. Insights trigger thought . . . → Read More: “A-ha!”: Insight and Learning Memory formation is a byproduct of other cognitive processes, explains Dr. Lila Devachi (2008) of NYU’s Centers for Neural Science and Brain Imaging. We cannot say to ourselves, “Okay, I’m now going to make a memory,” and then turn on THE memory-making brain function. However, we can engage the cognitive processes that construct memory . . . → Read More: Maximizing Memory (and Learning) Teachers as “Critics” The BBC used to produce a show in which an individual was taken from his normal surroundings and professional practices and placed in a month-long, immersion experience in a profession he dreamed of practicing. At the conclusion of the month, the individual faced a test. He or she had to interact . . . → Read More: Transforming Substance into Significance, Part 10: Teacher Expertise—”Critics” & Teachers Sufficient research exists to make the following claim: the most significant school-based factor influencing student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. An effective teacher increases a child’s achievement. An ineffective teacher decreases a child’s achievement. This seems like common sense, but perhaps we remain unaware of the magnitude of difference . . . → Read More: Transforming Substance into Significance, Part 9: Teacher Expertise—Writers & Coaches Consider the following findings from research: Author and teacher Gloria Houston found that students who wrote at the conclusion of every class regardless of the discipline (i.e., they wrote at the end of math class, science class, social studies class…) made greater achievement than their non-writing peers. Houston (2004) reports: “At the end of . . . → Read More: Transforming Substance into Significance, Part 6: Authenticity—Writing to Learn |
 
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