“I’ve learned there are three things you don’t discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.” -Linus
Out of all of the Peanuts comic strips and television specials, this one is my favorite. As a child I thought that waiting for the Great Pumpkin was much more fun than waiting for Santa Claus.…
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.” -Colin Powell
Building conceptual understanding for math can be done through almost anything. I’ve witnessed the most powerful understanding of fractions by cooking with my children. When we double or half the recipe it develops fractional understanding at the middle school level.…
Go ahead and read the title of this blog again. I’ve been thinking about it for almost 24 hours. It’s what my 4th grader told me last night after dinner. He and his sisters were allowed to choose anything they wanted for dinner. They chose a famous chef’s ravioli concoctions.…
Yesterday’s blog gave the first half of tips and “aha” moments from participants in Tabor Rotation Training of Trainers Institutes. Here’s the second half. may they encourage you to try using small-group, differentiated instruction in your school.
Tip #16: Every learner ‘s brain craves moving from the concrete to the pictorial to the abstract.…
The following tips and “aha” moments came from participants in Tabor Rotation Training of Trainers Institutes. They allowed me to share them with you in hopes that they might ignite your fire for sophisticating the use of guided math groups, math stations, and differentiated instruction in math using The Tabor Rotation Framework.…
“Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions.” -Bo Bennet
Why do I need to change the way I teach high school students? What’s the big deal with small groups? What does differentiated instruction have to do with high school math—that stuff is for the little guys!…
“It’s been my observation that people who understand the to-do list and “two-fers” get the maximum benefit from their time. What is a “two-fer”? Example: I never get in a line at an airport without something to read.” -Zig Ziglar
Traveling has taught me a lot about patience, but it’s also taught me a lot about purpose.…
Why can’t students just learn the same way all of us did in school?
We sat. The teacher talked and wrote on the board. We solved problems. We came back and did it again the next day. We all did just fine.
Why can’t we do what we’ve always done?…
“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun.” -Pablo Picasso
When was the last time you sat around with your friends or colleagues and asked ANY of the following questions?…
This week I traveled east on TX Highway 150 to the small town of Coldspring, Texas. Although the downtown shops and restaurants looked quaint and inviting, I drove straight past them to one of the best parts of Coldspring–its students. I had the honor of working with a fifth grade class from Coldspring Intermediate.…
