David Ginsburg has served over 20 years as a math teacher, instructional leader, and PD provider. He leads a Philadelphia-based team of consultants that specializes in instructional coaching, leadership coaching, and common-core implementation. Follow David on Twitter, and connect with him through email and LinkedIn. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: teaching strategies.
Education
Opinion
NCLB: No Chance for Latinos and Blacks
This is a reprint of a November 2011 post. I'm reprinting it now because it's a lot easier to revisit and revise policies and practices over the summer than it is mid-year. And nothing needs to be revisited or revised more than our response to test score pressure.
Mathematics
Opinion
Procedural Fluency: More Than Memorizing Math Facts
Procedural fluency or conceptual understanding--math educators have debated for years which is more important. I sided with conceptual understanding until my colleague Angela McIver helped me see
Mathematics
Opinion
Common Core State Standards: Math Instructional Shifts
The fate of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics will depend on how we teach more so than what we teach. It's great, for example, that teachers will now have time to explore topics in greater depth. But unless they're prepared to go deeper with those topics, the extra time will be spent reinforcing algorithms and formulas rather than deriving them.
Assessment
Opinion
The Other Test Prep: Final Exam Review
Many people, including me, decry test prep for standardized tests. But what about other tests? I bring this up now because test prep is as common this time of year as it is in the weeks leading up to standardized tests. No enrichment or extension activities, and no new material. Just sneak previews of final exams, and opportunities for students to prepare for them using study guides--provided by their teachers, of course. (Many teachers spend more time preparing for test prep than students spend preparing for tests.)
Assessment
Opinion
Memorization Through Application
Last post I introduced Concept Cards, a note-taking system that helps students store, retrieve, and use information more efficiently than traditional note-taking methods. Now, here are a few tips for maximizing the benefits of Concept Cards:
Teaching
Opinion
A Noteworthy Note-Taking System
"Look it up in your notes," I told students when they asked me for information that either I had already given them or they had found on their own. "You're the teacher. You're supposed to answer our questions," students responded.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Opinion
Graduating or Dropping Out: What's the Difference?
The dropout rate at Chicago's Manley High School was over 60% when I taught there, and even higher for males. Yet Rodney Wilson (not his real name) made it to graduation, and his family and friends roared as he received his diploma. No one was louder or prouder than Rodney's girlfriend, Nicole (not her real name), who would graduate from Manley the following year.
Teaching
Opinion
Independence First, Interdependence Second
"Stop the madness for constant group work." said author Susan Cain in her recent TED Talk, The Power of Introverts. "We need to be teaching kids to work together, for sure. But we also need to be teaching them how to work on their own because that is where deep thought comes from." (Check out Cain's talk--it's enlightening and inspiring.)
Teaching
Opinion
I'm Returning Your Tests, But Don't Look at Them
"I'm returning your tests, but don't look at them yet. Keep working on today's assignment."
Mathematics
Opinion
The Dreaded F Word: Fractions
Just hearing the F word can cause kids (adults too) to freak out. And if you think about it, there are lots of reasons students feel flummoxed by fractions. For one thing, there's the misleading vocabulary, as when we reduce a fraction to lowest terms even though it doesn't involve a reduction in value. Or when we call a fraction "improper" just because its value is greater than one.
Teaching
Opinion
Learning and Leading by Listening
A lot of teachers give students participation points for speaking up during class discussions. The more students contribute, the more points they get.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
There Are No Stupid Questions, But...
It's fine to encourage students to speak up by telling them there are no stupid questions. Yet students' willingness to ask questions has less to do with us encouraging them to do so than how we respond when they actually do ask questions.
Mathematics
Opinion
Spiraled Instruction, Stifled Learning
My first teaching experience was as a substitute teacher in Chicago assigned to an 11th grade Algebra 2 class for ELL Polish students. I began by giving students an assignment their teacher had left for them. But no one attempted it, so I asked a boy who understood English if he and his classmates needed help. He laughed and, after he translated my question for his classmates, they laughed too. He then let me in on the joke: "We learned this in 7th grade."
Teaching
Opinion
Mandatory Homework--for Teachers
In my recent post, Don't Prevent Students' Mistakes, Prepare for Them, I wrote that lesson planning should be more about anticipating students' errors and preparing to help them learn from those errors than trying to develop presentations that prevent all errors.