In my first year of teaching, my mentor said something I’ll never forget. I taught a lesson that tanked. It was awful. I literally did everything wrong. It was the cringiest of cringe and I shared every detail with him over a coffee. I expected…
Ever felt stuck in a creative rut? Ever had a dream of getting started with a creative endeavor but you just can’t make the habit stick? The challenge might not be one of habit-forming or inspiration but actually creative momentum. While habits focus on consistency,…
Each day, I do an entry in my gratitude journal. Okay, not actually each day. About 2-5 times a week, I fill out an entry in my journal. With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought I would share a personal journal entry after being in…
It’s 4:25 p.m. and I’ve been working nonstop since 7:00 a.m. this morning. Actually, that’s not entirely true. On three separate occasions, I close my laptop, lace up my running shoes, and head for a walk in the brisk fall air. I absorb the sun’s…
In my latest podcast episode, I interviewed Scott Witthoft, who shared an expanded view of what it means to prototype. I’ve written extensively about design thinking but his latest book This is a Prototype? challenged my thinking while also providing several new strategies I plan…
If we want to empower students to own the assessment process, we need to incorporate meaningful self-assessment and peer assessment into our lessons. However, students still need guidance from their teachers. This is why I love five-minute conferences. Unlike a deep dive tutoring session or…
Socratic seminars are a democratic, student-centered, approach to class discussions. They can be used at any grade level with any subject area. In a Socratic Seminar, members meet in a circle (or more likely an oval, because, let’s be real, circles are really hard to…
Over the last month, I have been sharing practical ways that we can empower our students to own the learning from day one. This is the core idea that AJ Juliani and I wrote about in our book Empower. It’s a journey I began in…
As an educator, you are a community builder. From day one, you getting to know your students on a relational level. It’s often in the little things, like sending an email the first time they miss a virtual class session. It’s what happens when you…
Writing Prompt: It’s a lazy afternoon on a blazingly hot Saturday, so you and your friends decide to go to a mall to cool off. Once you arrive, you notice a water fountain where people are tossing coins and making wishes. You know it seems…
I’m a professor and a maker. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.
