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
Equity and Academic-Language Access for ELLs and SELs
All students can benefit from academic language development modeling, scaffolding, and practice, but ELLs and SELs need it to survive and thrive in school.
Education
Opinion
Professional Development: Are You Content With the Scenario?
Professional development is done with us, and sometimes it's done to us. When it comes to your professional development, are you content with the scenario? If so, here are a few ways to change that.
Education
Opinion
4 Steps Toward a More Inclusive Curriculum
In schools we have many diverse students entering into our classrooms but the literature we read doesn't always represent those diverse students. Here are 4 ways to change that.
Education
Opinion
Why Do We Label Our Students?
There are many more benefits to not labeling students than there are to labeling them. So why do we do it so much in schools?
Education
Opinion
14 Things Gifted Students Want Teachers to Know
Our students don't often feel comfortable telling us what they are thinking, and sometimes their reactions can be misunderstood. This is especially true for gifted and talented students. Here are 14 things they want their teachers to know.
Education
Opinion
If Schools Had a Relationship Status, It Would Be 'It's Complicated'
Schools are sometimes like hoarders. They keep collecting stuff and don't get rid of the things they don't need.
Education
Opinion
Collaboration: Are You Compelled or Repelled?
Collaboration is quite the buzz word. Are you compelled or repelled by collaboration?
Student Achievement
Opinion
Why Don't Schools Accelerate More Students?
We always think students need to be retained, but never that they need to be accelerated because they have already mastered key concepts.
Education
Opinion
My Bad: Why We Need to Talk About Our Shortcomings
Mistakes, errors, misjudgments...whatever you want to call them are an important part of our learning. In a show called My Bad, we get the opportunity to hear form teachers and leaders about their greatest mistakes and what they learned form them.
Education
Opinion
Magic Bullets and Sacred Cows
Not every old method is bad. Not every new initiative is good. Rather than holding on to sacred cows or embracing magic bullets, we need to work together within our schools to figure out what is best for the students we teach.
Education
Opinion
What's in a Goal?
We know that schools are filled with teachers and students who have a low level of self-efficacy, because they don't feel like their goals matter. One way to make them better is to have dialogue around them and write them down. We should all feel like our goals matter.
Education
Opinion
7 Ways to Break Bad Blended Learning
What separates transformative teachers, schools, and districts from those stuck in the routines of the past? The country's best blended teachers have uncovered these commonalities.
Education
Opinion
Is Your Parent Engagement Authentic or Compliant?
Communication between schools and parents can sometimes be very one-sided, which makes it more compliant engagement than authentic. There are at least 5 things to think about when it comes to parental engagement to make it more authentic than compliant.
Education
Opinion
5 Ways to Foster a Positive School Climate
Schools are still consumed by test scores when they should really be consumed by making sure they have a positive school climate. Here are five things they should focus on to get there.