A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

This is a tricky question to answer as there is no definitive right way to lead and no shortage of advice available that you can weed through. So, what is the secret sauce when it comes to effective leadership?

Leadership 516

Leadership Research 516

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 2, 2023

Credit: Neal Morton/The Hechinger Report The assistance came thanks to a Washington state program — one of the first of its kind in the country — that aims to help children who aren’t considered homeless, and unqualified for help, under a strict federal definition. These definitions don’t matter.

Elementary School 135

Elementary School Government Advocacy Public School 135

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 9, 2022

I shared the following definition in Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms : Personalization constitutes pedagogical approaches that ensure all learners get what they need when and where they need it to succeed. Personalization is far from a fad or buzzword as it represents an equitable approach to learning.

Cultures 524

Cultures Research Education 524

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 22, 2018

Below is a good definition from the University of Miami : Cognitive flexibility is the ability to shift our thoughts and adapt our behavior to the changing environment. Others are not. This led me to focus on one skill in particular that crept onto the list at number 10 – cognitive flexibility. What does this skill entail?

Economics 403

Economics Tradition Education 403

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 24, 2023

While I firmly believe in the merits of digital learning, it comes with a caveat, which I recently shared on social media: Technology is just a tool and is definitely not a silver bullet. The more difficult mental hurdle is that using any digital tool is just another thing added to an already crazy workload.

EdTech 474

EdTech Pedagogy Teaching Research 474

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 18, 2021

Hence, the definition I created a few years back: Blended instruction is what the teacher does with technology. The key is to find strategic ways to use it as a means to improve learning, something that is emphasized in Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms.

Elementary School 545

Elementary School Tradition High School Education 545

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 4, 2024

Before I tackle these, let’s first start with a realistic definition that Nicki Slaugh and I shared in our book Personalize : Personalization is all students getting what they need when and where they need it to learn. The definition we developed was strategic in nature.

Professional Development 413

Professional Development Educational Technology Teaching Education 413

Cult of Pedagogy

FEBRUARY 2, 2025

And while not everyone agrees on an exact definition of this umbrella term, it’s frequently used to describe people who are on the autism spectrum, people with learning disabilities, and people with attention differences like ADD and ADHD, among others. What’s the difference between Amazon and Bookshop.org?

Pedagogy 211

Pedagogy Elementary School Teaching Education 211

A Principal's Reflections

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

When it comes to technology, less is definitely more. Fewer Tools for More Impact It’s not how much technology you use in the classroom that matters, but the degree to which students use it in a purposeful way. Too much of a good thing tends to have drawbacks, which tend to increase when not aligned with sound pedagogy.

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Pedagogy Research Education 532

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 8, 2020

While grades might work for some students, they definitely don’t for all, especially those who: Feel ashamed by the stigma that a letter or number has (or had) on them. Don’t learn one particular way, but that is how their classes were structured.

K-12 531

K-12 Government Cultures High School 531

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 26, 2020

These are just a few of the questions being pondered, where there are no clear or definitive answers. What will be the impact of budget cuts? How will educators get the professional learning support they so desperately need? The result has been unprecedented stress on anyone associated directly, or indirectly, with education.

Pedagogy 534

Pedagogy Leadership Tradition Teaching 534

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 3, 2022

Connect to Learning and School Culture Whether it is getting information out, providing feedback, or educating your stakeholders, there needs to be a compelling why, clear how, and definitive what that leads to the message resonating with your audience.

Leadership 533

Leadership Cultures Education 533

A Principal's Reflections

JUNE 13, 2021

While these are definitely important, a rapidly changing world requires the cultivation of disruptive thinkers who have the competence to replace conventional ideas with innovative solutions to authentic problems.

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Tutoring Pedagogy Library Cultures 532

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 2, 2020

If professional learning was not emphasized, it’s definitely not too late. However, this has also been a time of considerable fluctuation and flip-flopping on opening plans in relation to COVID19 infection rates. Think about experiences that reflect the conditions where your students will be expected to learn remotely.

Pedagogy 546

Pedagogy Social Justice K-12 EdTech 546

A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

Here is my definition shared in Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms that makes a distinction between instruction: Blended instruction is what the teacher does with technology. While there are many strategies to personalize, blended pedagogies represent the most practical means.

Pedagogy 491

Pedagogy Teaching Education 491

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 22, 2020

Greg Kulowiec provides an excellent working definition: App Smashing is the process of using multiple apps to create projects or complete tasks. Content consumption does not equate to the construction of new knowledge, discourse, answering questions, solving a problem, or creating a learning artifact.

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Primary Sources Artifacts Pedagogy Leadership 481

A Principal's Reflections

MAY 8, 2022

Typically, there is no definitive right or wrong response. These types of questions naturally allow for the sharing of more information such as feelings, supporting details, attitudes, and a deeper understanding of the concepts being presented.

Teaching 454

Teaching Research Education 454

ShortCutsTV

SEPTEMBER 24, 2024

The Thomas Theorem, created by W.I.Thomas and his wife Dorothy (The Child in America, 1928), is a simple and interesting way to introduce students to the social constructionist / Interactionist approach in Sociology, for a couple of reasons: Firstly, the Theorem – “It is not important whether or not the interpretation is correct, if we […] (..)

Sociology 98

Sociology Psychology 98

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

If this is for a high school audience, I definitely want them reading journals and looking at primary resources more, and not engaging through the filter of a chatbot.” For Rogoff, though, the goal is to inspire young people to get interested enough in the subject matter to want to engage with primary materials.

American History 141

American History History High School Teaching 141

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 10, 2021

I can definitely improve in this area, and I really didn’t think about it much until an experience with Jackson County Schools in Georgia. One way to move the needle is to seek it out from a variety of perspectives. If you are not receiving enough feedback to either spark or sustain your growth, how are you seek it out?

High School 462

High School Teaching 462

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 28, 2018

Tanveer Nasser shares this perspective: Unlike science, art allows for a more subjective interpretation of ideas or concepts; that there’s no need for a singular, fixed answer or definition to understand it. It is hard to say definitively that there is one style or technique that works best when all the variables are taken into consideration.

Leadership 319

Leadership Psychology Cultures Humanities 319

A Principal's Reflections

JANUARY 8, 2023

This is a skill they will definitely need in their future! I love seeing 13- and 14-year-olds learn how to manage their time using short-term deadlines. The academic deadlines for their course are sometimes hard to conceptualize because they take weeks to accomplish. Self-regulation is a hallmark of personalized learning.

Junior High 507

Junior High Psychology High School Research 507

A Principal's Reflections

JANUARY 18, 2015

Increase collaboration : Just as social media has given rise to new definitions of community, digital tools are transforming community and the give-and-take between students and teachers. Understanding how they are impacting teaching and learning will help guide your consideration of which tools are useful and how to best implement them.

Teaching 419

Teaching Artifacts Critical Thinking Educational Technology 419

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 11, 2021

There were definitely excellent practices taking place in classrooms across the globe. I will even go out on a limb and state that what I have seen the past couple of months is significantly better at scale than what was observed prior to COVID-19's emergence. Now don't get me wrong. However, they were more isolated than widespread.

Library 456

Library Pedagogy Education EdTech 456

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 28, 2021

Teaching during this past year has definitely challenged me, Lauren, to view things a little bit differently and has forced me out of my comfort zone in many ways. This was a fantastic lesson that genuinely personalized the experience for all kids where they got what they needed when and where they needed it.

Pedagogy 546

Pedagogy Elementary School Critical Thinking Cultures 546

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 18, 2019

Inclusive learning and providing for students and families from different backgrounds is something that the Buncee and the Microsoft team are definitely passionate about, making this integration a natural fit. I've also had students experience difficulty with reading on certain colored backgrounds, so this is a definite plus.

Interactive Learning 387

Interactive Learning Critical Thinking Leadership High School 387

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 24, 2016

Professional learning definitely matters and effective planning and implementation is key. Professional development is not effective unless it causes teachers to improve their instruction or causes administrators to become better school leaders.”

Professional Development 403

Professional Development Leadership Research Teaching 403

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 25, 2020

Mostly miss as there is a definite need for practical strategies in the areas of remote, hybrid, and blended learning facilitated in practical ways. Choice in professional learning Forcing educators to engage in one-size-fits-all professional development at this time will tend to be hit or miss depending on the person.

Leadership 530

Leadership Pedagogy Professional Development Tradition 530

Passion for Social Studies

OCTOBER 27, 2024

Students will learn this through several primary sources before deciding if the era was truly progressive after studying the definition. So, it shows that while it is a good term to generalize a scattered era of history, it has flaws. Honestly, this is a great way to tie in argumentative writing from ELA!

Teaching 130

Teaching Primary Sources Critical Thinking History 130

ED Surge

DECEMBER 4, 2024

In an effort to make sense of what I saw that day, I looked up the definition of play and learning. As I reflected on both definitions, I realized that the unseriousness we associate with playfulness is at the core of why it’s a shunned approach to education.

Humanities 126

Humanities High School Teaching Education 126

TeachThought

JUNE 10, 2024

Definition of Constructivism Constructivism is an educational theory in which learners actively construct their own understanding and knowledge through experiences and reflection on those experiences. The Difference Between Constructivism And Constructionism Constructivism is–more or less–the same thing.

Artifacts 328

Artifacts Project-Based Learning Psychology Interactive Learning 328

A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

I suggest only three rotations to begin, but you can definitely add more if you are working with a more extended block of time. The entire premise of the model presented above is to make the best use of available time during a class period where a teacher is managing both face-to-face and remote learners.

Middle School 546

Middle School High School Education Pedagogy 546

A Principal's Reflections

MAY 5, 2019

My point though is that there is definitely room for growth in terms of validating all the talk with substance. Video It is hard to imagine a more robust digital asset than images, but video definitely takes the cake. A one-minute video equates to well over one million written words.

Archiving 357

Archiving Artifacts Leadership Pedagogy 357

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 29, 2018

On the contrary, it a definitive sign of strength. There were also may other teacher leaders, as well as members of my admin team, who were not only wicked smart but also leveraged the professional relationship they had with me to guide me in a better direction at times. Depending on others for guidance and wisdom is not a sign of weakness.

Leadership 420

Leadership Library Cultures Education 420

Cult of Pedagogy

FEBRUARY 16, 2025

“If there’s a story that can bring a term or a really dry definition to life,” Harvard says, “and students can relate to it, thats great. Doing this can fill up students working memory and leave less room for the essential stuff. But if were just telling a story to tell a story, again, that working memory is limited.

Pedagogy 234

Pedagogy Psychology Library Teaching 234

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 15, 2020

Going forward, I will definitely be integrating more choice boards and station rotation into my workshops. The iteration that you see was updated and tweaked numerous times thanks to the feedback I received from the Corinth School District, Jill Bromenschenkel, and my wife.

Pedagogy 433

Pedagogy K-12 EdTech Elementary School 433

A Principal's Reflections

MAY 10, 2020

I must say that the definition and description above align seamlessly with the environment we are currently experiencing. It requires a dynamic combination of mindset, behaviors, and skills that are employed to change and/or enhance school culture through the assistance of technology.

Leadership 512

Leadership Education Pedagogy Cultures 512