Hey! Where’d You Get That?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skemsley/ A good friend of mine, who has now been married for more than 30 years, used to use this expression whenever we saw a good looking woman: “It doesn’t matter where you go for your appetite, as long as you come home for dinner.” The same holds true with your projects. Projects that you […]
Read Anything Good Lately?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosterbroek/ I read this great editorial the other day by Ross Douthat encouraging people to read things that they might not normally read. His focus was on politics and how you learn more if you read from authors who you don’t, necessarily, agree with. I got to thinking what things I read related to education. Most […]
So, What Do You Think?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sea-turtle/ If this post sounds whiny I want you to tell me at the end of the post. If it resonates with you then feel free to leave a comment telling me that. If you found a typo in the third paragraph then feel free to let me know in the comments section at the […]
I’ve Got A Lot of Questions…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hp15/ Have you ever noticed that great teachers ask great questions? That actually wasn’t a great question. I could have asked several related questions: (1) Why is it that great teachers ask such great questions? (2) What great questions have you ever been asked by a teacher? (3) Have you ever been asked a great […]
Maintaining a Blog is Hard!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13053467@N03/ Watching the US Grand Prix practice rounds this morning and then opening my blog to see if there were any comments I had to respond to, I realized that I was attempting to maintain my blog so that it was functioning at it’s highest level. Not quite like maintaining a […]
Keeping a Focus on Learning
http://www.flickr.com/photos/derek_b/ At Decker Middle School I have a principal who understands the difference between a focus on teaching and a focus on learning. And, I don’t have to say that because I want a raise – I am being sincere. He has really opened my eyes to the difference between these […]
Where Do I Find Project Ideas?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bongarang/ I’m just not a creative person. I never had a big imagination. I can never think of great ideas. How do you come up with these project ideas? I hear this all of the time from people new to PBL. They really think that there will be a dearth of ideas and they will struggle when […]
Problem Statements and Driving Questions, Oh My…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/momboleum/ This week I was able to overhear and then take part in (for a few moments) a discussion on Problem Statements and Driving Questions and what they look like at various levels of educational maturation. I love my job and I love having smart PBL people like Chrysta, Claudia, and Ashley to […]
Using A Power Standard Protocol
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/ Many teachers get stuck at the project ideation stage when they consider using PBL in their classes. What standards will they use? How do they convert the standards to a step or concept in a project? Should they come up with a project idea and then figure out what standards “fit” the project? What […]
What if Education Were Like Golf?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chasemcalpine/ Watching the PGA Championship I started thinking about how we expect every student to be the best at everything. If they aren’t making “straight A’s” then we, as parents and teachers, have let them down. But what about golfers? Do they get straight A’s in every facet of their game? Let’s just look at the […]