Peter DeWitt is the founder and CEO of the Instructional Leadership Collective. A former public school teacher and principal, he now facilitates professional learning in the United States and abroad based on the content of many of his best-selling educational books. Former superintendent Michael Nelson is a frequent contributor to this opinion blog. He is the co-leader of ILC and a former superintendent who has been an educator for more than 40 years.
Education
Opinion
Grit, Growth Mindsets, and Technology
We often want students to have grit or a "growth mindset" but we often lack it at the same time we are telling them to have it. Here are 3 ways to show our students what we want.
Education
Opinion
Leadership: It's Much More Than Doing Discipline and Blanket E-mails
Collaborative leadership is about working in partnership with those groups that are a part of the school community, and there are 6 influences based on the research of John Hattie to help get leaders there.
Teaching
Opinion
Last I Checked, Compliance Isn't a Learning Standard
How often do our students have to engage in compliant engagement rather than authentic engagement?
Education
Opinion
5 Keys to Achieving Deliberate Practice
Getting better at what you do can be achieved through deliberate practice. Here are 5 reasons how.
Education
Opinion
Why Can't Instructional Coaches Reinvent Themselves?
We always tell students to learn from their mistakes but it seems that we don't give the same courtesy to instructional coaches. Why is that? Here are five steps coaches can take to reinvent their program.
Education
Opinion
Observation: Can We Stop The One And Done?
Teacher observation has been a waste of time for many leaders and teachers. Instead of looking at observation as a 1 and done, we need to look at it as a cycle, and this blog helps explain how to do it.
Education
Opinion
3 Collaboration Tools and Tips for Education Leaders
Providing opportunities for teachers to interact with collaborative tools can help them brainstorm ideas for their own instructional goals. So why don't more leaders do it?
Education
Opinion
What Are the Best Strategies for Surface to Deep Learning?
We hear a lot about surface to deep learning. In this blog, Peter DeWitt explains the different between the two citing a recently released paper by John Hattie and Gregory Donoghue which explores the two levels of learning and what specific strategies go with them.
Education
Opinion
Rubrics Are Fine, But How Do I Get an A?
Most educators begin developing rubrics by articulating what students must do to meet a standard or be "proficient." From there they identify two or three levels below "proficient" to describe students' progress and one level above to recognize higher or more complex learning. But what about their grades?
Teaching
Opinion
Learning Strategies, Not Learning Styles
We should be teaching student learning strategies to use when we aren't there to help support them.
Education
Opinion
Who Are Transnational Students?
Schools are dealing with an increasingly diverse population of students, which include transnational students. Who are they and why should we care?
Teaching
Opinion
Yes, Differentiation Is Hard. So, Let's Get It Right.
Differentiation is a word that makes some teachers shudder, but we know it's important, so let's get it right.
Education
Opinion
Managing the Onslaught: 7 Tips for Principals Trying to Survive August
Ah...summer time. Before principals know it the school year is quickly approaching. Here are 7 tips to survive August.
Education
Opinion
School Leadership: Stop Saying It's 'Going to the Dark Side'
So often leaders hear that they are "Going to the dark side" when they enter into school leadership. We need to stop treating leaders like they're leaving the trenches when they're actually right there in them with teachers.