By observing, or "noticing," what sparks learning in the classroom, teachers and students alike can cultivate a learning environment centered around personalization and choice. Education experts John Almarode and Paul Emerich France outline strategies for engineering a culture of self-reflection that sets learning in motion.

Despite the trend to do so, teachers should never treat race conversations with students as a "moment's theater," says Matthew Kay, a Philadelphia educator and author of "Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom." When white teachers stand up in front of students to declare they're…

"There are no shortcuts for true equity," says authors and consultants Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan. Equity work is hard, on-going work--and it means not falling into ineffective traps and tropes. Find out what these traps are and how to avoid them.

Self-directed student learning begins with self-directed educators. Teachers in Greenville, North Carolina, are training in the Habits of Mind, a series of thinking behaviors that support self-directed learning by helping students successfully tackle complex problems. The authors outline key instructional strategies that have grown from these…

Jackson--a former teacher, now a speaker and author--shares techniques he used as a new high school teacher to handle disruptive behaviors and threatening conduct from students, while remaining respectful and compassionate about the realities kids faced. His suggestions: establish rules early on and stick to them unwaveringly; understand your…

Especially for new teachers, doing certain small actions or interactions right in the classroom can have an outsized impact on becoming a solid teacher. And when experienced teachers guiding other teachers' growth is expected within a school, novices can master discrete skills very quickly--provided the school culture makes practicing…

Author and educator Owen Griffith shares how leaders can infuse small acts of gratitude to energize their schools and create a positive, thriving culture. Leaders must begin by practicing gratitude personally, then slowly introducing the practice to their faculty and eventually students. With the right attitude and creativity, the acts of…

Although teachers can build positive relationships with students throughout the school year, the first weeks are crucial, writes Wormeli. They set the tone and conditions for the year ahead, creating a more effective teaching and learning enterprise for everyone. Wormeli tells how, as a middle school teacher, he set a goal of learning the names of…

For many emotionally troubled students, adults in their lives have acted like the mountain trolls featured in the Harry Potter books: scary, unpredictable creatures who can't listen and who respond to conflicts with the club of punishment. Although emotionally fragile students often "act out" or withdraw in ways that create problems, and…

We all have emotional responses that affect what we do; teachers see all kinds of emotions emerge from students. Despite this fact some teachers think their purpose is to teach content and skills only, not to deal with the touchy-feely stuff. Rick Wormeli encourages teachers to develop constructive responses to their own affective needs and equip…

The authors note that when it comes to balancing free speech and schools' responsibilities, the online world is largely uncharted waters. Questions remain about the rights of both students and teachers in the world of social media. Although the lower courts have ruled that students' freedom of speech rights offer them some protection for…

A Vancouver high school that struggled with poverty, low scores, and student misbehavior decided to turn things around by implementing a detailed code of conduct that they called ROARS for Respect, Ownership, Attitude, Responsibility, and Safety. Teachers and students were extensively trained in the new code, and teachers started using ROARS…

This article presents prominent educators who describe the most important quality of an effective teacher. Sonia Nieto, professor at Emerita, Language, Literacy, and Culture University of Massachusetts, argues that in this age of hubris and shameless self-promotion, humility is an essential quality for teachers to have. Joseph Semadeni, fifth…

Too often, teacher evaluations haven't provided enough information to spur improvement in teaching. The vast majority of teachers in any school, district, or state are rated above--sometimes well above--average. The feedback that teachers do receive is often not specific enough to help them improve. In this article, Morgaen Donaldson explores some…

Values are essential for the improvement of instruction because values are the source of and support for teacher behavior and values bring consistency and commitment to that behavior. (Author/IRT)