I have never met an educator who was opposed to higher-level thinking activities. Yet, if you or I were to drop in on any classroom at random, research suggests that that we would observe teaching and learning operationalized at a fairly low cognitive ...

One the most challenging aspects of being an educator is knowing when to answer questions…and when not to. For example, the other day I was visiting a school and came across two young students who were in a heated debate over whether or not megalodons—...

Human beings seemed to be innately adept at asking questions. Over the past few weeks here are just a few interesting things that I have heard come out of students’ mouths.  -Why we do round up instead of down in math class?  -What are our armpits for?

Not everything we do in schools can be fun and games, but much of what we do in the classroom should be…especially when it comes to science instruction. I was visiting a school recently where I found a number of students outside,

How do you get learning to stick? That is the question on the minds of a number of educators I have visited with over the past few weeks…and an emerging body of educational research. Recently as I have worked with schools and educators,

(http://betterlearningforschools.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/choice_control-224x300.gif)In this podcast, we finish our visit with author Alfie Kohn. Alfie insists on the need to for educators to move beyond the ‘menus and ladders’ approach in the c

(http://betterlearningforschools.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/banner-railroad-crossing-300x149.png) One of the most effective ways to improve student engagement and student learning is to extend students a bit of control and choice in the classroom. In

My wife is a vegetable ninja. You see, over the years, she has secretly employed a handful of tricks to ensure that our four sons (and their father) develop healthy eating habits. From the time our boys were old enough to speak, she would offer them a ...

My wife and I have four boys—four squirrely boys. They aren’t what we would consider belligerent or even really disruptive. But each parent teacher-conference we have ever had goes about the same. We come in, sit down, and after a bit of courteous chi

Most concepts can be covered in the lecture hall, but are better experienced away from a desk.oncepts can be covered in the lecture hall, but are better experienced away from a desk. (http://betterlearningforschools.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/