Teaching Well, Teaching Correctly

Teaching is not a Simple Matter of Tricks and Tips  

Teachers know what they are doing
and why they are doing it!

(for Melissa)

by Harvey Craft

Teachers are constantly looking for ways to improve instruction and many seek help through tricks and tips. Good teaching requires knowledge of what works.

Teaching is hard work. The lack of consistency in accepted practices makes it even harder. While the nation has made some progress in developing common standards, there is still a lack of agreement on what methods work best to transmit information and problem-solving skills to students. Effective teaching demands a commitment to professional development. 

Teachers must be able to justify what how they teach. The key question is, "Do I know this works, and how do know?"

Professional Development Defined

Professional development in any field is a matter of staying aware of those practices that have been demonstrated to be effective. Teaching, like any job done well, requires an understanding that learning new techniques must continue. If ones job is assembling widgets on an assembly line, then variations from proven practices can be immediately detected by workers down the line who depend on everyone repeating precise steps.

Teaching is not about assembling widgets, but about transferring information and thinking skills. Every students ability to learn is affected by a variety of factors. Teachers must be willing and able to manage individual differences. Teachers must commit to grow continuously and learn new instructional methods. Preparation by college education is virtually essential for good teaching, but learning doesn't stop after college.
Teachers must Commit to Improve

Teachers should be the best learners. They are trained to understand learning and they should believe that what they do is important. The various media are quick to report bad news about teaching, and truthfully, teachers make mistakes.

• Too much homework, especially for younger learners;
• Poor methods of assessment and evaluation;
• Grading methods that are archaic, inaccurate, and misleading;
• Over-dependence on rewards;
• Failure to treat students with respect.

The list could be much longer, but the point is simple. Large numbers of teachers spend too much time preparing lessons and bulletin boards and too little time staying current on contemporary and controversial issues in education. Too many teachers resist change while expecting students to adjust and readjust to the instructional methods of various teachers.

The commitment to improve implies that teachers make a conscious decision to be aware of what works and why it works. Reading and joining respected professional organizations is essential to improvement.

The ideas that are exchanged in teachers lounges are often incorrect and dangerous. The commitment to improve must involve a willingness to speak out when others are involved in reinforcing the many myths about teaching, students, and parents.

Some Effective Teaching Practices

Good teaching practices are determined by the effect they have on student learning and behavior. Good practices also take into consideration how individual students feel about fairness issues and their attitude about the class.

• Be an informed, enthusiastic, and inspiring teacher. Know the answers to questions and have a positive attitude that inspires students to give their best efforts.
• Smile often.
• Be the adult in the classroom. Don't result to embarrassing or sarcastic put-downs. A soft voice used with authority and consistency is better than shouting to manage students.
• Have an attractive classroom and allow students to contribute to its maintenance. Post student work.
• Rewards are not necessary for learning. Often rewards are given because teachers like the good feeling of giving and not because rewards help. Recognition of effort and helping students feel special and important does not encourage materialistic learning like rewards often do.
• Learn how to construct good assessments. Dependence on packaged assessments can cause problems because they are not written in the same voice that students hear on a daily basis. Know the difference and application of formative and summative assessments. Assess academic progress, not behavior. Dont offer points for favors or deduct points for being late to class, failure to return papers, or similar behaviors.
• Greet students as they enter the class.
• Don't imitate favorite teachers in ones experience as a student, but develop a personal style based on knowledge of best practice.
• Resist the influence of complaining, negative teachers.
• Think of discipline as a way of managing whole class and individual behavior. A quiet class is not necessarily an engaged class. Involve all students in learning.

Summary

Tips and tricks should not define instruction. Good teaching comes from knowledge and implementation of strategies that engage students in learning. Just as teachers strive to encourage students to be life-long learners, teachers should commit to improve teaching skills as long as they teach. Teaching tips should be evaluated by teachers based on their growing knowledge base acquired through continuous, self-imposed learning.

What Parents Need to Know About Teachers and Teaching #2

REWARDS AND STUDENTS

Rewards are impossible to avoid at any level of our society. Evidence shows repeatedly that the most effective rewards come from within. Are teachers who use extrinsic rewards doing more harm than good? 

Reward Problem # 1: Who is being Rewarded?

The act of bestowing a reward on another person creates a positive feeling in the giver as well as the recipient. This reinforces the giving behavior and can lead to increased reward use. If teachers feel good about giving why not bring the whole class a cookie occasionally for no particular reason. Thus the entire class enjoys the benefit of having a kind, generous teacher and the teacher can enjoy the giving experience.

Reward Problem #2: Extrinsic Motivation may Weaken Intrinsic Motivation

The reward may become the objective for students. The value of learning can be overshadowed. Freelance education writer, Alfie Kohn, says, “Rewards undermine intrinsic motivation. At least seventy studies have shown that people are less likely to continue working at something once the reward is no longer available, compared with people who were never promised rewards in the first place.”

Reward Problem # 3: Rewards Lose Value over Time

As time passes, rewards tend to lose their effectiveness. What was motivating a week ago is suddenly ordinary. Teachers may find that more rewards are needed to maintain a level of engagement.

Reward Problem # 4: Some Good Kids Don’t Get It

One must not assume that what is rewarding to one student is equally motivating to another. To find equally motivating rewards is very difficult. Some schools have resorted to the debatable tactic of using cash as a reward.

Sadly, as awards are handed out for a plethora of “achievements” at year’s end, some students have to sit and watch as others are recognized. Although some teachers may justify awards ceremonies as a proper way to reward the smart and good students, there are many students in the audience who do the best they can — for these students the ceremonies only increase the distance between them and their classmates who have an advantage in innate ability and in parents who know how to raise children.

Rewards Problem # 5: Character and Values

Most teachers would prefer that students who do good because good is right and expected than students who must be coerced manipulated or bribed, manipulated, or bribed to be good. Rewards do little to enhance positive values. People who contribute the most prized things to society do so out of an internalized value system.

Basically, rewarding children builds an expectation for more rewards. True character has been defined as how one behaves when no one is looking. The shaping of character by artificial means produces artificial character — students learn to "perform."

Rewards Problem # 6: The Real World

Healthy people do not grow up expecting rewards for good behavior. Adults do not expect that someone will suddenly appear and hand them five dollars when they obey a stop sign. Children who develop materialistic expectations may have more difficulty adjusting as they grow up if they are taught that good behavior is always rewarded.

Rewards Problem # 7: Assuming the Worst About Children

The reward-based classroom assumes that children will not behave without a carrot and stick approach — I.e., they must be bribed into correct behavior. The truth is that most children are raised by parents who have shaped good behavior with love, acceptance, and offering good role models.

Solving the Dependence on Rewards

Dr. Marvin Marshall is but one authority in classroom management without rewards. “Punished by Rewards” is another excellent, common sense book by Alfie Kohn.

If teachers feel they must offer something to students they should never underestimated the value of “self.” The giving of one’s self through offering patience, kindness, friendliness, a sense of humor, and other positive attributes have enormous value as rewards while demonstrating good modeling behavior.

Do not single students out for rewards, but do something good for the deserving and obstinate alike. Talk periodically about character issues, and never, ever reward charitable behavior. Rather challenge students to do the right thing “just because.” Charity is its own reward or it ceases to be charity.

If schools are truly interested in the development of character they must get on with the task of expecting students to do right things because they are right. The perception that students can be disciplined or taught only when they get something tangible is a pretty negative view. Instill values in people that hard work, good acts, and helping others have intrinsic value and students will seek these things because they are intrinsically rewarding, not because there is a pay off in the material world.

Decent, successful people are influenced by the way other decent, successful made them feel. They are motivated by the validation and love of important people with positive values. Love of friends, family, and teachers are powerful rewards.

Sources:

Kohn, Alfie. Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993 / 1999.



“Discipline Without Stress, Punishments, or Rewards,” Dr. Marvin Marshall

Teaching Mistakes Teachers should Avoid

Teachers continue to make the same old teaching errors and ignore opportunities to improve. Student achievement suffers as a result.

Common instructional mistakes that teachers just won't give up.  

1. Incorrect use of homework. Homework is a formative activity -- i.e., it is assigned to help        teach new material. As such it should not be graded. If students see it as clearly related to learning they are more likely to do it. There should be no need to grade it; if homework is clearly relevant student grades will be lower on their tests. Why give zeros for missing homework if the student will receive a lower test grade because he did not use 

the learning opportunity homework offered. Tell parents about the missing homework.

2. Giving poor assessments. Teachers should understand formative and summative assessments and grade only summative. Also, teachers should not depend heavily on published assessments-- they might not agree with teacher vocabulary or syntax. 

3. Grades are for assessments, not behavior. Teachers should not deduct points for misbehavior or add points for behavior not related to learning. 

4. Avoid extra credit. If parents or students want extra credit allow them an opportunity to retake an alternate version of a failed assessment.

5. Screaming at students teaches them that you don't mean it unless you scream. 

6. Don't expect students to act like your children. Respect individuality.

7. Rewarding students with material "things" will not necessarily improve learning. There are problems with this practice. Dr. Marvin Marshall, an expert on motivation writes, "External controls are manipulators that set up students to be dependent upon external agents." 

8. Punishing the entire class. Would you want to pay a fine because your neighbor has a wild party? The practice turns peers against one another, while demonstrating that teachers have a right to be unjust.

Classroom Management by Self Control

Self-control!

Teachers spend a lot of time thinking about thinking about ways to promote good student behavior. Call it student discipline or classroom management—it’s all about teaching students how to control themselves.

“Don’t you know how to behave?” It’s a common question asked by teachers countless times every school day across America. The question is typically academic — intended to voice disapproval of a breach of decorum. My point is that teachers who simply expect that students know how to behave are apt to be disappointed.

Classroom Management Calls for Teaching Skills

Too many teachers depend on discipline tips — including rewards. Good discipline, however, requires knowledge of factors that determine human behavior. For example, to what extent are teachers aware of the role of “cues” in managing behavior?  In other words, are there things present in the classroom or visible outside that might encourage some students to act out? Something as simple as a poster that has an anomalous picture or word might serve as a stimulus for a crude joke.

The best classroom control comes from self control because it is more desirable for students to internalize the ability to manage their own behavior, and the good news is that self control can be taught.

Suggestions for Teaching Self Control -- the Key to Classroom Management

The first step in teaching self-control is to model it. This precludes all-too-common practices like screaming at students, overt displays of anger, put-downs, etc. Along with controlled emotions, teachers much present themselves in a manner that demands respect.

On the first day of class initiate a discussion of self-control. Be positive. Make it clear that good manners are part of self-control.

• Be friendly, relaxed, and smile on the first day and every day.
• Have an activity that focuses on teaching self-control.
• Help students understand that control must come from within.
• Do not reward students for showing self-control. Doing so violates the concept of controlling one’s self. Material rewards are external controls.
• Try to omit rules based on pet-peeves.
• Work hard on mutual respect instead of rewards and punishment.
• Have frequent, brief discussions about self-control and character development.
• Read and learn what you can about self-control. 

Links re: self-control

Teaching Young Children Self-Control Skills

Teaching older kids self-control

Teaching Self-Control Skills to Children Reduces Classroom Problems

For Kids, Self-Control Factors Into Future Success

Games to Teach Self-Control in Kids

Punished by Rewards

Punishment Does not Motivate Students

"YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL!" WHAT DAVID MCCULLOUGH'S COMMENCEMENT SPEECH MEANS TO ME

We are becoming a nation addicted to grades, rewards, and awards. School is about "What'd you get?" rather the an "What'd you learn?" We have failed to instill a love of learning in most of our students. 

We drown them in a sea of papers and goodies attesting to their "good grades." The "paper chase" is no longer a pursuit of the pages of great books and what they contain, but the computer-generated, multicolored awards doled out daily all over our nation. Some are posted on refrigerators at home, some litter the school halls and grounds. All intend to motivate or reward students by emphasizing that some students are better than others. 

We forget that there are large numbers of students who go ignored because, for a variety of reasons often beyond their control, they are not better. These less-rewarded students become convinced by their consistent failure to achieve that they are, in some way they cannot comprehend, less worthy and defective. Many become discipline problems, and we seem surprised.

I shamelessly quote out-of-context, Wellesley High School English teacher David McCullough, Jr.’s faculty speech to the Class of 2012 last Friday. His "you are not special" commencement address has caused quite a stir. Nevertheless, Mr. McCullough "gets it."


"You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another–which springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality — we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point — and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole. No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it… Now it’s “So what does this get me?”


No reward or award can replace the motivation of a love of knowledge. Rewards get in the way of that love in ways that are insidiously unseen. Mr. McCullough "gets it." Again, I quote:


"... the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.

                            Because everyone is."


Make ALL of your students feel special. You may be the only person who ever does. 

Video and Text of David McCullough's speech

Some of the Worst Instructional Mistakes Teachers can Make

Many teachers spend a career doing the wrong things. What's worst is that some are aware that much of what they do is poor teaching and teachers continue because they are unable to adapt to new ways, or some are just "wrong-spirited" and seem immune to new ideas.

#1. Grading formative assessments. Homework, for example, is generally for diagnosis and practice. It has two serious defects as a gradable assessment: (i.) it can be -- and often is -- copied; and (ii) it often violates the principle of grading something  that has not yet been thoroughly taught -- that's why it is designated as a "formative" assessment.

Likely, the most common reason for grading it is personal deriving from the notion that the teacher told students to do it and feel as though the student disobeyed by not doing it. The grade is a punitive action for the disobedience and a reward for compliance.

 

A picture of a mother teaching
responsibility.

Perhaps equally common is the belief that "If I don't grade it, they won't do it." That is due to the fact that many students have been    "taught" that school is about grades and learning is secondary. Students often do not understand that well-conceived homework is about learning and not grades. After receiving a few grades for homework students expect it. 

Finally, many teachers believe that homework develops responsibility. Actually, responsibility develops homework. The seeds of responsibility are planted and nourished at home and responsible students do homework because their parents engendered positive habits. Students with parents who don't nourish children get penalized. 

Suggested reading for #1        

#2. Over-Reliance of Punishment and Rewards. Teachers often face a genuine dilemma when students  misbehave or violate class rules. They often turn to some type of punitive retribution that may or may not bring about positive changes in student behavior. Punishment can create as many problems as it solves and may be effective at temporally stopping bad behavior but useless at creating long-term positive changes.


Rewards to increase positive behavior or enhance learning can likewise create serious and unexpected consequences. To believe  that material rewards are necessary for learning is simplistic and incorrect. 

Careless use of rewards by teachers
may discourage charitable behavior.

Most of us are raised on a reward/punishment routine by our parents, so it seems OK to apply the same techniques in class, but there are ethical and behavioral issues with both. Punishments have been briefly discussed above. As for rewards, teachers should know that rewarding expected behavior is equivalent to giving a payoff for doing things that are simply right and should not be rewarded. Charitable behavior, for example, is something we want people to internalize as "a right thing to do." It becomes an ethic, and the "reward" should not be an expectation of a prize, but a good feeling from within. 

Suggested reading for #2.

#3. Poor Evaluation Techniques. No. 1 (above) addresses the issue of grading homework, but there is a large class of student work that need not be graded. They are generally called "formative assessments" and include lots of written classwork (like worksheets) which students complete while they are learning something new. Getting students used to completing work that they know will not  be graded may seem difficult, but the solution lies in convincing them that what they do helps them learn the material for formal testing (summative assessments). That also means that teachers must plan and select class activities that actually do help students learn. 

The big bonus for teachers is that there are fewer papers to grade, since students can correct answers in class. Teachers must help students see the relationship between formative work and summative grades. Parents should be kept up to date about whether or not students are completing formative work-- not because it is graded, but because failure to complete formative assignments can result in lower grades on tests.

Many teachers record 40 or more grades per student per grading period. Some of  these grades are for non-academic work like returning important papers with parental signatures, scores for good behavior, deductions for tardiness, etc. Grades or unfortunately used as bribes, rewards, and punishments. Lots of teacher do it, but it is still wrong.
Suggested reading for #3.

#4. Poor Discipline. Often during class two or three students might continue to talk or be disruptive despite the teacher’s warnings. A common practice is to announce that if unless everyone behaves that the entire class will be punished in some way. This is equivalent to arresting everyone present in a bank even though all of the evidence makes it clear that only one person committed the crime!

Use positive discipline to develop trust  and cooperation.

The intent of this type of negative discipline is to create resentment toward the offender and turn peers against one another. Often the one or two guilty students aren't the most popular kids in school anyway, and punishing the class distances them even more from good role models who typically behave. Holding each member of a class responsible for controlling the behavior of all makes little sense. It is a Machiavellian power approach -- the ends justify the means. If it works, it is deemed "good." 

What these teachers fail to understand is that creating resentment in students is not a good idea. The teacher has made a judgement call that "bad" students deserve to be disliked by peers. Also, students correctly see this technique as unfair and are more inclined to label the teacher as unfair. 

The responsible, well-behaved students in the class may  behave better because they fear the irrational actions of the teacher, not because they respect  the teacher. Those students who cause the problem initially feel great-- they may not like others in class and have found a way to manipulate the teacher. If the resentment created is strong enough, the offending student(s) may become targets of physical violence if the mistreated students decide to take retribution.

Suggested reading for #4.

#5. Too many Notes. Notes are a pat of the learning process, especially as students get older. But teachers who depend on notes and lectures daily are making a big mistake. Some teachers learn that giving notes can help bring quiet to a noisy class by giving them something to do. I.e., students who are busy writing are not as likely to get involved in misbehavior. 

This does not mean that the students who are busily copying notes are involved in a learning activity. It means that they have something to do. It's like "doodling," and compliance in note-taking helps defeat the boredom of sitting quietly and paying attention. There is no guarantee that students will use notes to study. Indeed, they may never look at them again.

Before using notes teachers should offer tips to students about taking and using notes.

• Listen to what is said by the teacher. Be confident about listening skills.
• Writing word for word is not necessary. Key words and concepts can be studied later.
• Abbreviate liberally. Develop unique shorthand symbols.
• Don’t copy what is already known well.
• Ask questions for clarification.
• Students should organize notes in a way that they understand.
• Use highlighters to emphasize key points.
• Have a designated notebook for notes. No loose-leaf paper that ends up stuffed into a book bag.
• Review notes soon after taking them. Compare them with classmates.

There are many ways for students to take notes. Teachers should not dictate a precise method. The important thing is that the notes are meaningful and useful to the student. 

Notes have their place, but teachers who use them as the main instructional method on a daily basis run the risk of being boring and ineffective.

Suggested reading for #5. 

#6. Failure to Know and Treat Students as Individuals. One size does not fit all. Cookie-cutter teaching does not reach everyone. The expectation that all students will react identically to one method of teaching is flawed. 

Teachers need to know something of significance about each students. They need to know something of their families, their hobbies, their reading and math abilities. This does not mean  we delve into their personal lives for sordid details, but the social  grapevine in schools is fruitful and paying attention to it can provide insights into behavior and academic progress. 

Differentiate instruction when possible. With cooperative work, mix the groups frequently rather than allow the same students to work together all the time. 

If students are failing assessments due to particular deficits in basic skills, make tests that are fair to a broad group of students. Be sure vocabulary is appropriate and sentence structure is appropriate for the entire class. 

Talk with parents to gain understanding of students. No need to pry, but parents are usually anxious to share issues that might become barriers. 

Take time to engage each student in polite conversation as time allows. Make each one feel welcome and noticed. Validate their existence as persons of worth. You may be the only person to do so. 

THE HOMEWORK DILEMMA: PART 2

Homework or home torture?

The Homework Dilemma: Part 2 

My Opinion for What it’s Worth

Before continuing I am obliged to make it clear that I do not believe in the abolition of all homework. I believe that if it is well-conceived some homework can be useful. I believe in the abolition of bad homework assigned for the wrong reasons.

So how do we determine the value of homework as a teaching tool? A simple question will suffice. “How do I know it works?” That straightforward query allows us to screen new and old instructional methods. If no answer is forthcoming then professional responsibility requires that we find one.

Disagreement on Homework is Common

Teachers don’t need to be researchers. They don’t have to commit to spending hours each week involved in reading journals and searching the Internet. What is needed is healthy skepticism about teaching methods that prods them to ask the question above.

Regrettably, many teachers believe that more homework is the answer to improving learning and pile it on. Some of these teachers have observed that students who do homework make better grades than those who don’t, but drawing a conclusion from that observation is not justified.

There is also the personal factor that is exemplified by teachers feeling that students have disobeyed by not completing an assignment. Kids are supposed to do as they are told, so not doing homework gets personal. The result is often a zero which makes some teachers feel better but does little to improve learning. Finally, there is a prevailing belief that many students will not complete homework unless it is graded. That is because we have taught many students that grades are more important that knowledge. This is the result of overemphasizing grades to the exclusion of learning.

These problems are entrenched, and I won’t attempt to try to solve them here. Part of the problem is the overuse of rewards and awards doled out for grades. In the U.S. we have come to believe in the power of the reward. Albert Einstein was no dummy. He said, “If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” I agree with Albert.

Real Problems with Homework?

Likely the most common error teachers make regarding homework is grading it. Homework is a formative assessment. Formative assessments are those non-graded activities that students do while they learn something new. If we believe — as experts generally do — you don’t test what you haven’t taught, then we use homework for diagnosis and practice.

“If I don’t grade it they won’t do it!” Well, perhaps not, but if teachers spent more time convincing students that homework has value as a learning tool by making sure that homework addresses standards and therefore will appear on test and quizzes, then the real value of homework will be more clearly established, and the homework is graded when the test is graded.

OK, are you sitting down? Many students can and do copy homework. That single fact renders homework as invalid for grading. Related to copying is the fact that some parents help and some don’t. And as long as I’m talking about parents — please remain seated — some parents just aren’t very good at parenting. Some don’t frankly care whether or not Junior does his work. Knowing this, why punish Junior?

Aside from mom and dad, other factors can make home an unsuitable place for homework. Love and concern may be present, but the home can be collapsing under the weight of dad’s recent arrest, Uncle Bubba’s visits while under the influence, mom’s job loss, etc. Dysfunctional homes are all too common.

Thankfully most homes function well, but homework is often boring. I know it’s true; some of my brightest students told me early on that homework was boring. How dare they! I never promised them a rose garden! Time for zeros! The problem is that negative grades don’t motivate students who aren’t motivated by grades, and they are the ones that are most likely to not do homework. That’s why so many students accumulate strings of zeros. It doesn’t matter! If teachers are interested in motivation, try — really try — to give interesting homework.

Homework should never be assigned as punishment. When my son was in high school he brought home an F for algebra on his first interim. He had an A average on tests and quizzes. His teacher told me that she thought a failing grading was proper punishment and would motivate him to work harder. Duh!

My son’s aversion to homework was born out of his need for down-time. How selfish! Don’t ruin weekends and holidays with homework. Students need and deserve time with friends and family. If you mess up parents’ time they won’t like you either. Remember that other teachers are assigning homework. One of my granddaughters is in the fourth grade. Two weeks ago she called my wife — a former math teacher — for help with a math problems. My wife asked me for help! After missing a new episode of House, we finished, and my granddaughter went to bed with social studies homework not yet done!

In using homework, apply compassion, be empathetic, and don’t let it get personal. A caring, kind, and congenial teacher will affect grades positively more than all the homework ever assigned. There are times when homework is needed, but have specific occasions for assigning it.

Of course you may choose to agree or disagree with the above. You can do all of that homework checking and recording homework grades and calling parents, etc.

But, “How do you know it works?”

Dysfunctional families interfere with homework completion.

 

Links on Student Motivation

Intrinsic Student Motivation and Relevance

Teachers want motivated students. Motivating students is easier if relevance is understood. To motivate students requires thinking it through.

Motivating Apathetic and At-Risk Students

Few issues are as important to teachers as motivating students. Lots of techniques are tried, but often fail. Knowing students is the key to motivation.


Extrinsic Rewards, Student Motivation, and Character Development 
Rewards have become a major component of the classroom and schools generally. Are rewards the best way to improve behavior and grades?

Student Motivation: Do Teachers Understand?

Daniel Pink Discusses Motivation (click)


A must-watch for all teachers who wish to understand motivation.

Controversial Topics in Education

The list below contains some contemporary issues in education like grading, assessment, discipline, and motivation. and more.

Should homework be graded?
What is the role of rewards in education?
What is the advantage of median grading over averaging?
Should students be graded on effort?
Should students be graded on participation?
How can teachers empower students?
What is the role of grades in motivating students?
Formative and Summative Assessment
Why should principals examine teacher assessments?
How can teachers differentiate instruction?
Rewards and Motivation
Grading Homework
Homework as a Teaching Tool
Traps with Rewards and Motivation
Sugar and Hyperactivity
Is a "Zero" a Valid Grade?
Punishment Does not Motivate Students

Homework and Student Learning

Tips on Assessment

Avoid Giving too much Homework
Teacher Evaluations
Teacher Evaluations and Student Achievement
Common Core State Standards
We're not Teaching Social Studies well Enough
The Newtown Shooting Tragedy
When Students Cheat