Blog
What’s the Plan?
The ability of leadership teams to effectively answer this very simple question has either kicked off a great initiative or served as the catalyst for many difficult or frustrating conversations. . . . Read more
Pouring Rather Than Splashing
As a new mathematics teacher at Centennial High School, I quickly learned it was important to ask students who their teacher had been the previous year. Teachers in algebra “made it . . . Read more
Realistic SMART Goals
We recently received a question about SMART goals. The author wanted to know where he could find information about the required specificity and realistic nature of SMART goals. He asked, “Is . . . Read more
A Man, a Can, and a Plan
In a conversation with professor and author Robert Eaker around the topic of creating a learning organization, he stated, “Organizations must first address four critical questions. These . . . Read more
Don’t Forget the Most Important People in a PLC
The teacher sitting in front of me at a recent workshop looked crestfallen! I empathized with her right away because I had felt her pain when I was teaching elementary students. I knew exactly what . . . Read more
What Is the Sequence of Goal Setting in a PLC?
We received a question about goals from someone who wanted to know if district goals had to be established before school goals could be created, and if school goals were necessary before team goals could be developed. He also asked how to establish a goal that would address… Read more
Team SMART Goals vs. Smart Students
There are two assumptions we can make about teaching and learning. One is that students will learn according to their effort and ability and that their teachers and their school have no impact on their learning. The other is that… Read more