Erica and I just spent an hour on the phone with a group of amazing colleagues–Audrey Spencer, Becky Banton, Jomara Laboy and Francis Vernyuy–who train Peace Corps volunteers working in education in Africa- either as teachers themselves or as teacher trainers. They use TLAC quite a bit, which made me very happy to know, but…
This beautiful clip of Achievement First’s Summer Payne Cold Calling her kindergarten students is a throw back. I think we shot it in 2010. For a couple of years it was a staple of our workshops. Somehow we haven’t used it in a while. But it’s still so wonderful. And quite influential- I still go to…
The benefits of using Cold Call in the classroom are pretty clear. It helps ensure that students are always mentally ‘on’ during a lesson and it allows teachers to question quickly and efficiently, especially to make sure that students know what they need to know—to Check for Understanding. These ideas are critical in a coaching…
I’m not really sure where to start in talking about the clip I’m going to share in this post. It’s pretty amazing. It’s of Eric Snider, who teachers English at Achievement First Bushwick Middle School and who is a TLAC Fellow. It’s important because it shows how Eric installs a routine in his classroom. One of…
This morning we watched two great clips of first grade teacher Jennifer Crucetti Cold Calling her first graders on the second day of school at Abram Lansing Elementary in Cohoes, NY. Cold Call, as you may know, is a hugely powerful tool in the classroom when it’s a normal and positive part of the lives of…