Lessons from a Taxi Driver

Steven LevyThe Teachers' Lounge9 Comments

View from inside a taxi cab

A taxi ride to the airport turned into an intuitive discovery for understanding the process of professional development. If you are an experienced teacher, you understand that when students walk into your classroom, you never really know what you are going to get, and that, “the success of our teaching depends on those moment-by-moment decisions as much as any lesson or project plan.”

Third Thoughts on Curiosity

Richard EdlinThe Teachers' Lounge1 Comment

When one of my grandsons comes to stay, you can be sure that among the first books he plucks off the bookshelf and curls up on the couch to read is How Things Work. He has a delightful curiosity in how aspects of the created order function (such as photosynthesis or the limbic system) or how human re-creations operate (such … Read More

What If Assessment Was A Gift?

Patricia KornelisThe CACE Roundtable1 Comment

Each fall when I teach a graduate course in assessment, I begin by having my students engage with a powerful article by Elaine Brouwer called “Assessment as Gift: A Vision,” in which she posits that assessment should be a gift that honors our students as image bearers. My students and I wrestle with this idea throughout the course. It is … Read More

Teaching the “Real” American Revolution

Steven LevyThe Teachers' LoungeLeave a Comment

As we celebrate Independence Day and the political incarnation of the idea that is “America,” I think of all the teachers who have the opportunity to invite students into the story of the American Revolution. What guiding question will you use to spark curiosity and stimulate deeper investigation into this remarkable event? In a letter to H. Niles in 1818, … Read More

Transform Learning: Let Students Do the Planning

Darren SpyksmaThe CACE RoundtableLeave a Comment

A courageous principal can have an amazing impact. Darren Spyksma, SCSBC Director of Learning, uses this TEDx presentation to share how one decision by his principal significantly increased the quality of learning in an intermediate classroom. While navigating risks and errors, Darren shares how learning focused on personalization, inquiry, and engagement, can lead to deep, authentic learning which also meets … Read More

Education and the Good Life: Conversation with Dave and Doug Sikkema

Dave SikkemaInnovation

I recently had a conversation with Dave and Doug Sikkema, twin brothers, who are not only fun to talk with, but both of which have an abiding love for learning. I was intrigued at the combination of classical learning and digital innovation in their writing, work, and lives. Dave quotes, Hicks in his article “Playful Minds” saying, the school is … Read More

School Safety & Building Culture with Mark Hamstra

Mark HamstraThe CACE Roundtable

School safety and security have been at the forefront of our minds because of the recent tragedy in Parkland, FL. It seems as if the conversation around safety and security have taken a different tone, and this is why I was glad to read the Chicago Sun-Times Op-Ed by my friend Mark Hamstra, Dedicated teachers — not gun-toting teachers — … Read More

Deeper Play

Steven LevyDeeper Learning1 Comment

Play is the highest form of research. Albert Einstein I love when I am invited into schools to do model lessons. I might demonstrate a variety of teaching practices in a range of subjects, but no matter what strategy I focus on, what content we address, the most common response I get from teachers after the lesson is, “The children … Read More

No More Crappy Homework

Dave MulderThe Teachers' Lounge

In his blog, “No More Crappy Homework,” David Mulder poses a question to his readers wondering if homework is worthwhile. He concludes: In some cases, yes. But in other cases…I would say it’s probably crappy homework, the kind I assigned to my middle school students 15 years ago. I am embarrassed of the quality of homework I used to assign, … Read More