Watered down instruction is a problem in American classrooms. TNTP’s 2018 white paper, The Opportunity Myth describes the scope of this problem. The average student “spent more than 500 hours per school year on assignments that weren’t appropriate for their grade and with instruction that didn’t ask enough of them—the equivalent of six months of wasted class time…
Two of the most important culture building techniques in Teach Like a Champion are Habits of Attention and Habits of Discussion. Habits of Attention is about teachers shaping the non-verbal signals students send to one another when they are talking. When the people in the room are looking at you–and looking a bit interested–you are…
Every so often Teacher Twitter turns itself to the topic of tracking and “SLANTing” in the classroom- basically whether student can and should or can be asked to look at one another when they are speaking in the classroom and whether its reasonable to ask them to sit up. That time has arrived again over in…
Vibrant, positive, productive classroom culture is a foundation of learning. Students do their best work when their time is honored and when they feel safe, successful and known. But easier said than done. It’s hard work building pitch-perfect cultures that maximize learning. On May 11 and 12 in Troy, NY (just outside Albany) we’ll spend two…
Cognitive load theory describes the relationship between Working and Long-term Memory during learning. Understanding cognitive load theory and its implications for the classroom is one of the most important things teachers can do to improve their instruction. Cognitive load theory focuses us on understanding and addressing the importance of building Long-term Memory. Kirschner, Sweller and…