Most of us have been to trainings or professional developments on how to ask good, rigorous, thought-provoking questions. Whether we are using Blooms, or Costa, or Depth of Knowledge (my personal favorite), or any other measurement tool to get our questions to the level of rigor we are searching for in the classroom, sometimes it…

Learned helplessness is a very real issue that occurs subconsciously with many of the struggling students, long-term English learners, and students of poverty that struggle year after year. Learned helplessness occurs when students have been conditioned to believe that no matter how hard they work, they cannot move forward.  Once they believe that no amount…

It’s April. You’re tired.  Your students are tired.  They are pushing the line.  You feel like they should know where the line is have no patience for their pushing. It can be like pulling teeth to get them to turn in work! What is happening? Or maybe you’ve had scenarios similar to these: Have you…

What can we do to help our students pass state assessments now? Your students are listening.  They are even engaged. You are prepared.  You’ve worked hard.  Most of your students are making decent grades in your classroom.  You love your kids.  You love being a teacher. But you are tired, and your students aren’t making…

“My kids won’t stay on topic.” “My students can’t control themselves.” “My students won’t participate.” “My students won’t interact with kids they don’t like.” Is it worth it to push through all of these “problems” and facilitate conversations? YES! We all have pet peeves, and one of mine is the phrase “My students can’t do…