Tag: Improvement

I’m going to share with you how undertaking antiracist and antibias work with schools forced me to confront my own blind spots.

School operation teams, the backbone of making the school day happen across the country, are often invisible. With little acknowledgement of success, it's easy to notice when things fall apart: when buses don’t arrive on time, admission numbers are lower, computers stop working, or thousands of dollars are wasted on food ordered, but never eaten.

M’s fourth graders were buzzing as they worked in pairs to solve the math problem M. had just presented to them. The other educators in the room circulated and listened in as students used academic language to discuss their answers with each other, jotting down notes about what their partner had said and the language they had used. 

My fourth-grade classroom was covered in cardboard boxes. The entire back wall was piled high with donated boxes. The tables were covered in glue and paint cups sat in the sink. As I began to clean up some paint splatters, I smiled to myself as I thought about how I ended up in this situation.

We wrote this chapter several years ago, in response to a request from the Sitra Foundation in Finland that we envision the school of the future. The chapter is dated in some respects, but apart from minimal updates and revisions for clarity, it appears here as written.

During a time when people feel overwhelmed by endless professional development opportunities, new technology, and new approaches to doing their work, we wanted to emphasize that the continuous improvement model is not a totally new framework for most organizations.

The 0-100 scale for grading divides points unevenly in each grade chunk creating a situation where a small number of failing grades can outweigh a larger number of passing grades

A concentrated approach to boosting student trust and growth. Try this strategy to deepen class connections and encourage students to reinvest in learning goals.

Effective teaching involves setting high expectations for students and providing them with the necessary support to meet those expectations, fostering an environment where students can thrive through understanding, guidance, and belief in their capabilities by the instructor.

Use this welcome routine to get students thinking about the lesson without risking the "wrong answer."