Teaching Beyond the Test
Any teacher who says they don't teach to the test either doesn't have tests or is lying.We are judged by how well our students do, and tests are the conventional method of measuring that.Yes, we teach...
View ArticleListening
Calvin Coolidge once said, "No man ever listened himself out of a job."I find this especially true in teaching...and especially hard to do.Why?1. Listening requires halting one's own agenda and truly...
View ArticleMultiple Choice Fallacy
I have recently read a whole bunch about the problems of multiple choice tests, and I just want to throw out there that perhaps we live in a multiple choice world.Let me explain.We are not always the...
View ArticleListening Part 2: Listening Failures
Here are some listening failures from my own experience. After each are a few perceived causes of the failures followed by an approach that seems to open channels of communication a little more.Case...
View ArticleJust Sayin'...
Recently, I have repeatedly stumbled across the idea of accommodations and/or changing teaching strategies. As any of you who have met me know, I am no fan of blind conformity and view best practices...
View ArticleJust Sayin'... Part 2
Just FYI - I do realize that one of the major responses to my example of the blind kindergartner/mental health diagnoses is that these children might benefit from separate schooling outside of the...
View ArticleStuff That Works 1
Okay, so I have a bunch of ideas about how things "ought" to go, but none of that really matters unless you can see it working.So here is one of those lessons that I have pulled out in Korea from time...
View ArticleJust Do It
A number of experiences lately have brought me back to one of my fundamental principles of understanding (not just teaching or learning): do it yourself.There is simply no better way that I know of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SAT Writing Question Strategies
Okay. This post is about a work in progress. As many of you know, I have tutored on and off for years. In recent years, my students have included high school kids taking the SATs. I am now blessed...
View ArticleTake Charge of Education 1
So often we say of our students that we want them to be self-guided, to know what they need, and to take charge of their own education. Lamentably, I find that very few teachers really teach...
View ArticleWhat if?
Sometimes I just wonder about our teaching practices, especially the ones I spend a great deal of time being on both sides of with very little peace about.Reactions to "canonical" (used loosely here)...
View ArticleFacilitation
As a teacher, I feel my role is always one of facilitation. I cannot force anyone to learn, but I can definitely facilitate the process.In the past couple of months, however, I've really had to...
View ArticleMulticulturalism. Really? Part 1: Grammar
Question: We say we are interested in the expression of other, non-majority thoughts, but when it comes to thoughts that challenge our ideology, are we ready to listen, or, worse than not listening,...
View ArticlePerspective
Several friends recently posted a story from NPR that, in conjunction with a recent blog post, provoked some thoughts about the ability to see beyond our culture, the ability to see beyond what we...
View ArticleHomework at My House (and Occasionally in My Classroom)...
Okay, without any nods to Macs or PCs, I just want to say that this video accurately records what often happens at my house during homework time (and occasionally in my classroom as well).And whenever...
View ArticleWhat Is Writing?: Part 1
Special thanks to Josette LeBlanc and her fabulous blog post, "Feedback in the Hallway," that inspired this series of posts on writing.Most of us think of writing as a how, a series of skills which we...
View ArticleWhat Is Writing?: Part 2
So in my last post, I told you that writing is a what and not a how, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of you didn't believe that assertion at all, which is not surprising in the least because our...
View ArticleWriting Part 3: What Reading Comprehension Questions Tell Us About Writing
There are three fundamental types of reading comprehension questions currently utilized in testing students:Literal Comprehension QuestionsInference Comprehension QuestionsEvaluative Comprehension...
View ArticleWriting Part 4: How *Our* Comprehension of Ourselves Affects Our...
NOTE: I promise not to try to change the world in this post. But if you have patience through the explanation of the problem, you will see be better able to understand the beginningof the solutions I...
View Article
