There is much more to feedback than the giving of it. When feedback stems from the outside, our willingness and ability to use it depends on our readiness for the feedback, our relationship to the feedback giver, and the conditions in which the feedback is provided. Feedback that is descriptive, anchored, timely, meaningful and respectful can increase the likelihood that the receiver can and will use it to improve upon the work.…

Going Beyond Growth Mindset to Teach Students Optimism

(Originally titled “Seeing Beyond the Glass Half-Full”)

In this Education Update article, Sarah McKibben reports on a curriculum designed to build a positive mindset. “Optimism is not about being happy all the time,” says Amy Lyon, a New Hampshire 5^th…

Measuring the “Working Alliance” Between Teacher and Student

In this Elementary School Journal article, Jessica Toste (University of Texas/Austin), Nancy Heath (McGill University), Carol McDonald Connor (Arizona State University), and Peng Peng (George Washington University) suggest that a good way to conceptualize the teacher-student relationship – so important to students’ success – is as a “working…

We question how it is possible to truly prepare students for lives beyond our walls when no one knows how rapidly the world will proceed to change. Yet, we can be pretty sure in our hearts of hearts that retaining what happens within our walls the same as the last century isn't enough...and it isn't right.  We contend that systemic change is required. Agreement on the purpose of public education and a shared vision for schools must come first. …

 I've written 30 or 40 articles about the reading wars. I always think I've explained the subject clearly, just as Rudolf Flesch thought he had explained the subject once and for all in1955 (pub. date of Why Johnny Can't Read). But nothing gets better. 

Here's why: our Education Establishment is married to the idea that  K-12 schools must not use the most efficient methods. The result is that…

I have been very fortunate to travel both nationally and internationally to attend education conferences. A primary benefit of this is having great conversations with various types of educators. With so many of these conversations taking place on a regular basis, I find myself often depending on an opening question that resides on a short list of questions in my head. I have teacher questions, principal questions, and superintendent questions. Most of these questions are geared to being…