How Can We Best Address the Learning Needs of Our Students?
How do you overcome learning barriers in your classroom? What steps have you taken to address the needs of all learners? How are you able to keep your students engaged in their learning? These are the questions accomplished teachers frequently ask themselves. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) not only helps teachers answer these questions but…
Can we push accomplished teachers even further? (Part 1 of 3)
The hallmarks of accomplished teaching are analysis and reflection, the disposition to think carefully about teaching and learning, past and future, with the goal of constant improvement. I think every teacher I know, and certainly every National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), has the drive to improve. After all, no one wants to devise and deliver…
The Reasons Why I Blog
At this year’s Teaching & Learning Conference, I stepped out of my comfort zone as a journalist and twitter-holic and into the role of a presenter. I was honored to be a part of the “Writing Our Future: Blogging for Educational Change and Personal Growth” panel, along with widely-read bloggers José Vilson, Renee Moore, and…
Passive to Active, Philosophy to Action, Novice to NBCT
For many years, I’ve worked both formally and informally with teachers pursuing National Board Certification. I coach them on their written commentaries, probing their thinking to bring to the surface key details that establish clear, consistent and convincing connections between their practice and their impact on student learning. Now, in my current role as a…
#TeachStrong
As a National Board Certified Teacher, though you may not know it, you are already a TeachStrong Advocate. As an Advocate, you should know that TeachStrong is releasing its first policy proposal tomorrow (May 24th)—on the importance of identifying and recruiting high-achieving, diverse teacher candidates—in Denver, Colorado. Tomorrow night, we will also be hosting our…
Why More Teachers Should Use Podcasts
When we started the third of four quarters in February, I gave up on getting my students to read outside of class. Despite the fact that the approaching ACT and an AP English Language test were a couple months away, I said, “No more reading Atlantic articles for homework. Now,” I told them, “I need…
How is candidate support connected to a teacher’s professional learning?
What value does candidate support provide to our students, candidates, candidate support providers, and National Board? How will candidate support improve the teaching profession? At our session at the March Teaching and Learning conference, titled Getting Board-certified – New resources for Candidate Support Providers, our panelists (listed at the end) discussed the structure and values…
What About Authentic Appreciation All Year Long?
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week. That one week a year when social media explodes with gratitude for educators across the country as we collectively #ThankATeacher. A week when we pause to appreciate the profession that makes all others possible. On Tuesday, May 3, the official Teacher Appreciation Day, I joined five other National Board Certified Teachers…
A Gift for Teacher Appreciation Week in the Form of Two Questions
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! In 1985, the National Parent-Teacher Association declared the first week of May as a time to appreciate the work of educators throughout the United States. Since then, Teacher Appreciation week has become an annual tradition in American life. I myself have enjoyed basking in the love that my colleagues and I…
