“The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.” -Thomas Henry Huxley
I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about Tabor Rotation (a highly successful, research-based strategy for rigorously differentiating instruction in mathematics) and how to implement the essential components of T.R.…
“We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” -Lloyd Alexander
“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” -Albert Einstein
I was never more aware of how important hands-on instruction is until I taught concepts like decimals.…
“Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven’t fallen asleep yet.” -Anonymous
Welcome to March, April, and the 1st half of May. For most people in the United States, this means the coming of warmer weather and spring. For teachers and schools it is the season of state tests.…
“Now, go “think” about it!”
I was in a school a few weeks ago and heard this phrase being repeated by a math teacher after discussing a difficult concept with her students. I woke up the next morning at 5:30am—partly because there was a large truck backing up and beeping loudly—but mostly because that phrase had reminded me of a student I had named Reggie.…
“There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.” Warren G. Bennis
“I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” …
“Information’s pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience.” -Clarence Day, The Crow’s Nest
Last week I received a comment and a request from Anne, an academic coach at an Elementary school in Georgia. I first heard from Anne this August when she visited my website looking for information about differentiating instruction and using small groups in math. …
“A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of idea.” -John Ciardi
“The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer.”…
“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” -Brian Tracy
“The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.”…
“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” — T.S. Eliot
A few weeks ago I watched a group of first grade students use base ten blocks.…
“Once you have experienced excellence, you will never again be content with mediocrity.” – Thomas S. Monson
Are you ready to challenge yourself by trying another strategy for differentiating instruction? One that has been successfully used by many educators is tiering instruction. Tiering an assignment is using varied levels of the activity to make sure that all students explore ideas at a readiness level that builds on their prior knowledge and deepens understanding of the identified concepts.…
