I’ve always been reluctant to let students teach other students, for a few reasons: First, how much do students really know? Second, will they give each other honest feedback? Third, are the “teaching” students losing their own opportunity to be challenged? This year, I’ve seen how powerful students teaching students can be. I’ve been so…
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We need to create independent learners
One of the major changes I’ve seen in 20 years of teaching is the subtle shift toward more scaffolding, step-by-step instructions and detailed scoring rubrics. Today every major assignment — like a paper, presentation or debate — requires an almost legalistic explanation of what is expected and how students will be evaluated, point by point.…
Read MoreInvite us to the party
What are the best new ideas in education? Who has the solutions that will motivate and inspire today’s students? This week, several of my Penn classmates attended the ASU GSV education technology summit in San Diego. According to the summit’s promotional materials, the program included “the top minds in talent and education from around the…
Read MoreYes, I love my job, but…
One of the drawbacks of blogging about your work is that there’s so much you just can’t say. The situations I cannot write about — because they might irreparably harm relationships or violate student privacy — are often the very problems we need to discuss. Because I self-censor day-to-day frustrations, I know that in my writing,…
Read MoreSmall effort, big impact
Earlier this semester, in her regular economics class at Tartan High School, teacher Lori Raebel enlisted three students to act as workers in a brief simulation. In the lesson, each worker can pick one unit of carrots, but they can pick different amounts of apples — one, three or five units — depending on their…
Read MoreCan you growth-mindset your way into college?
As teachers and parents, we want our teenagers to try new things, challenge themselves and learn resilience from failure. We don’t want them to obsess about grades, suffer anxiety or give up when a task is too hard. But how do any of these goals fit with the insanely competitive culture around college applications? Are…
Read MoreYou can’t spread your wings on a multiple choice test
One of the best parts of teaching is watching your students surpass what you’ve taught them. It’s like running next to your 4-year-old holding onto the bike, then finally letting go and watching them ride off, confidently, alone. We usually don’t experience this in a traditional classroom, when students are just listening, reading and repeating…
Read MoreThe power of assertiveness
When I was a high school senior, my Presbyterian church youth group took a “college caravan” trip to Michigan. As soon as we had all piled into the “Rev-mobile” – yes, we called it that – our youth pastor Jay Groat announced it would be an “assertiveness training” weekend. You want to change seats? No…
Read MoreIdeals or reality: What should civics teach?
I learned last week — from this funny but scathing commentary in our local City Pages — that Minnesota may soon require high school students to pass a “citizenship test” in order to get a diploma. According to the article, students would take a test similar to the naturalization test, which 97 percent of immigrants…
Read MoreFlip that sub plan
5-6 class periods, 25-35 students per class, 2-3 different preps, 5 days a week. That’s the typical schedule for an American high school teacher, and as I have noted before, it doesn’t allow much time for professional development, reflection, or even creative preparation, let alone absence. Just staying on the treadmill – keeping up with…
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MARTHA RUSH 