One experienced school administrator shares two common misconceptions about teaching and learning that he once thought were the gold standards, then reflects on how adaptive leaders must continuously learn themselves, shifting their practices when and where it is necessary to provide the best education for students.

Education experts Jim Heal and Bryan Goodwin explain that students should be able to think deeply about their learning, not just appear to be engaged. The authors differentiate between student thinking and engagement and offer educators practical strategies to deepen learning and ensure it sticks.

Students need "critical data literacy" skills to help make sense of the multitude of information available to them, especially as it relates to high-stakes issues of social justice. The authors describe two curriculum modules they developed--one on income equality, one on immigration--that help students learn to analyze data in order to…

For students to feel empowered in their learning, they must understand the language, purpose, and goals of assessment. Dueck argues that students need to understand what they are supposed to be learning and determine whether they actually learned it. Clear objectives and cooperative assessments can help with these objectives.

Teachers who are concerned about introducing inherent biases into their classroom practices may find themselves turning to equity strategies to help randomize and equalize their practices. But these strategies, such as using popsicle sticks to randomize who a teacher calls on to ask a question, can also mitigate inequities in a different direction…

It is time to mobilize whole child advocates behind the neuroscience of learning and development, write education professors Sara Rimm-Kaufman and Jacqueline Jodl. Here, they describe four key research findings on the brain and learning--and how to translate them into practice in order to support the whole child.

Students and teachers often approach math with a single goal in mind: to get the right answer. But teachers must resist the urge to simply teach a procedure, writes educator LauraMarie Coleman. Instead, they should make a conscious decision to facilitate a discussion that leads to deeper student learning.

Last year educators nationwide met the challenges of hybrid teaching and intensive block scheduling and gained a deeper understanding of the extensive inequities that so many communities face. Educators and students alike were asked to completely rethink schooling as the pandemic laid bare a fundamental question: What should education look like in…

Teachers spend tremendous amounts of time giving students feedback and grades. Their efforts fill weekends, late nights, and planning periods. The time they spend correcting student misconceptions, engaging with their thoughts, and coaching them toward deeper intellectual work is often deeply intertwined with their identity as educators. In their…

"A common and fair critique of online professional learning is that a lot of it is not very engaging," says professional development leader and expert Mike Flynn, who gives readers tips on how to wow their audiences with amazing online PD sessions.

Skills in discussing substantive issues are vital in any job or civic role--and even in family life. Anne Vilen and Ron Berger, leaders in the Expeditionary Learning Schools network, detail how Casco Bay High School and other EL schools have established structures and programs to ensure courageous discussions are a regular part of learning for…

Psychologist Wendy Ostroff explains why using dialogue in learning with elementary-age students is a win for everyone, especially for learning. Young students are inventive questioners and naturally divergent thinkers, and they are engaged and empowered by exercising their voices. Teachers will benefit from Ostroff's guidance about fitting…

In a candid conversation, two preeminent education researchers discuss the state of the field and their own methodological differences. Matthew A. Kraft, an influential education scholar and former K-12 teacher, talks with John Hattie, renowned author of Visible Learning. They debate their different viewpoints on effect sizes, discuss how evidence…

Teachers are frequently told to use "research-based strategies." At the same time, they face unreasonable workloads, with inadequate time and resources to engage with the research and evaluate it themselves. In the same professional development workshops that elevate the importance of research, teachers are also told to focus on…

Differentiated instruction has always been about providing every learner full opportunity to grow as much as possible academically, intellectually, and socially. A key principle of differentiation is "teaching up" (Tomlinson, 2021, 2022; Tomlinson & Javius, 2012). Teaching up is of particular importance at this moment in education…