Can a test capture how well you understand something? I’m not talking about the massive standardized tests that are making us crazy right now. Just the humble classroom test, written by a teacher to evaluate how well a student is doing in class. The kind of test that forms a grade, then a transcript. Then…
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I have been teaching high school for 26 years, and I cannot tolerate bored, disengaged teenagers. I've spent my entire career developing student engagement strategies that work and abandoning lessons that don't work. As a result, my students frequently comment that they are "never bored" in my class. I'm proud of that -- and of my students' outstanding performance.
I'll use this blog to talk about engagement strategies as well as other issues facing teachers, students and everyone who cares about education today. I hope you find it interesting.
Stop waiting for a revolution
Traditional schools will disappear. Knowledge itself will be obsolete. In the revolutionary education system of the future, textbooks and standardized tests will be eliminated, and reasoning skills will triumph as groups of children abandon boring classrooms to connect with peers across the globe and pursue answers together in virtual spaces. Really? Well, that’s what I…
Read MoreExit slips: Just the first step
Using formative assessment to check student understanding may be one of the best new ideas in education, but are we doing it right? When I first learned I was expected to use “checks for understanding,” I was skeptical. I was certain my students understood what I was explaining, and I didn’t want to burden them…
Read MoreThe “why” matters
We don’t talk enough about relevance. In one study of more than 300 teachers, motivation researcher Jere Brophy found that only 1.7 percent of them clearly explained the relevance of their lessons to students. The rest may have assumed that relevance doesn’t matter; after all, the students are required to learn this stuff. But it…
Read MoreLessons from a “blended” classroom
In 2010, I jumped head first into the world of “blended learning.” It wasn’t because I was eager to learn new technology tools (I wasn’t) or because I wanted a flexible schedule (though that turned out to be nice). I did it because this was the only way I would be permitted to offer AP…
Read MoreWe can get better
Every hour of the day, teachers need to provide meaningful content, build relationships, inspire young minds, maintain order, assess learning, correct for mistakes, help kids in crisis, respond to parents, follow IEPs, tolerate interruptions, ensure equity, manipulate technology, interpret data and manage frustration. Doing this job well requires passion, energy, organization and the ability to…
Read MoreMake them care
When I was an education reporter years ago, a school administrator in Kansas told me this: A major problem in education is that most teachers liked being students. You may wonder why that’s bad. Would we really want people who hated school to be put in charge? The problem is: Consciously or unconsciously, we teachers…
Read MoreFirst Day: The Job Interview
Teachers all over the country have already been back in the classroom for a few weeks, but here in Minnesota, the day after Labor Day is the official start of school. Welcome back! For too many high school students, that means a day of listening to six or seven different teachers review six or seven…
Read MoreShe got it wrong, but why?
You know when your students get something wrong, but do you know why they get it wrong? Figuring out a student’s cognitive missteps is one of the most difficult parts of this job — and one of the keys to being an effective teacher. It starts with a question for the class. Let’s take one day…
Read MoreA thoughtful response to trends
Teachers: How do you react when a new trend sweeps through schools? Are you one of those enthusiasts who can’t wait to try whatever is new: fishbowl discussions, project-based learning, standards-based assessment, blended learning, formative clicker quizzes… or whatever comes next? Or are you the type to sit back and wait, figuring this is just…
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MARTHA RUSH 