The Student as (Meaningful) Worker
One of my career highlights is leading the introduction to teaching and learning classes during the first summer of the masters in education program at Claremont Graduate School (now University)...
View ArticleYou Better Have a Map and Compass Before You Head Into the Woods
Words are powerful. While studying the Greek New Testament and Church history many years ago I quickly learned that words can have multiple meanings and the one chosen and by whom can be very...
View ArticleThe flipped challenge –“make school as exciting as real life”
It always amazes me how some ideas go from 0 to 100 mph so quickly in education. Two years ago the only flipping going on in schools involved sports or getting sent to the office and Salman Khan was...
View ArticleCBL and the Common Core – A View from 30,000 Feet
The introduction of new academic standards presents an opportunity to reflect on what and how we teach and learn. The Common Core standards are a state-led effort designed in part to bring consistency...
View ArticleCommon Core Assessment – yes, and . . .
As we await the release of the “next generation” common core assessments I say we take some time to reflect on other ways to measure student performance. For the sake of the common core I hope that the...
View ArticleFree the Children . . .
Historically schools have been the place where our children spend 12, 16, 20+ years preparing. A guided series of stepping stones to navigate while gaining the knowledge and skills to participate in...
View ArticleSome Key Elements of CBL
CBL thoughtfully incorporates qualities from many successful approaches to teaching and learning as well as ideas from design, entertainment, mountaineering and others. I believe that quality...
View ArticleMoving from Challenge to Solution
Moving from the challenge to the solution is a critical element in the CBL process, and tends to be the most challenging phase as the learners want to move directly to solutions. If the learners think...
View ArticleSlowing down the process
The school year is an unrelenting march to cover the prescribed content in time to participate in exams. Driven by school calendars, bus schedules, lunch schedules, district policies, curriculum maps,...
View ArticleThe Side is No Place for a Guide
In a recent tour through several educational journals and websites I came across the contrast of Sage on the Stage (bad) vs Guide on the Side (good) on multiple occasions. This widely used adage is a...
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