Professional Learning Events Matter! Marzano Research Summit 2019 Wrap-up
The Marzano Research Summit in Brisbane was a fantastic event and a real joy to present at. It is a professional learning event that brings a whole range of people together to learn, to network and, most importantly, to walk away with some practical ideas for...
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Four Reasons Why PLCs Fail…and How to Stay on Track
Schools and systems throughout the world claim to embrace the professional learning communities process. Unfortunately, a term that is often used to describe some schools and systems is “PLC lite.” How can a school or system buy into the process but not...
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Collaborative Teams That Transform Schools
The importance of collaboration in general has been prominent in the literature since the 1970s, and the concept of a professional learning community (PLC) in particular has been prevalent since at least the 1990s. Schools and districts claim to be...
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Identifying When to Collaborate on Decisions
Based on Leading a High Reliability SchoolA key aspect of leading a high reliability school is to put formal structures in place that clearly invite teachers to participate in specific aspects of decision-making for the school. In fact, when specific...
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Advocating for the Gifted
What exactly does a "gifted coordinator" do?As a gifted coordinator, I get asked a lot of questions. Curiously, the question I probably get asked the most is not what great things are you doing, how can I be involved, or what way do we best reach our...
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Book Review: Bill Lucas and Ellen Spencer’s – Teaching Creative Thinking: Developing Learners Who Generate Ideas and Can Think Critically
Thinking about learning that really matters in a world that is unpredictable, challenging and requires nimble ways of thinking, is at the heart of Bill Lucas and Ellen Spencer’s book, Teaching Creative Thinking. There is growing evidence across the world...
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“Rigour” and “Hard” Are Not The Same Thing
How to challenge your students with their thinking I have had a lot of conversations in my career where it is offered that the solution to the problem of challenging students is simply to add more rigor. It is as though a teacher could go to the spice rank...
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Product Spotlight: Dream Team – A Practical Playbook to Help Innovative Educators Change Schools
Australian education leaders Aaron Tait and Dave Faulkner offer audacious insight, lots of practical tools and an experience-proven process to guide school-based teams pursuing bold change.
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Why Should Teachers Differentiate? Five Compelling Reasons
Differentiation is neither revolutionary nor something extra. It is simply teaching mindfully and with the intent to support the success of each human being for whom we accept professional responsibility. —David A. Sousa and Carol Ann...
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Book Review: Making Every Lesson Count: Six principles to support great teaching and learning
If we are to make every lesson count, what simple and manageable actions have the greatest impact on learning? Before sitting down to review this book, I had just met with the senior leaders in a school to discuss a middle leadership professional learning program. As...
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