Blogs on Teacher Development

Connecting educators with online communities to advance their professional learning is the goal of the first Connected Educator Month, a U.S. Department of Education initiative that kicks off today, August 1, and continues through the month. The flurry of keynotes, panel discussions, book chats, and other interactive online events should give participants plenty to think about and, more importantly, discuss with colleagues as they head into the new school year.

Hollywood teacher movies typically provoke strong emotions: you either love to hate them or hate to love them. For better or for worse, those silver screen teachers shape how the public thinks about teaching. And most educators I know can't help but watch teacher movies, even if only to criticize them resoundingly, Mystery Science Theater 3000-style.

Summer is a good time for reflection, and I have been reflecting on why, after so much education research, and so many years of educational practice, we still seem to be struggling to find "what works." So my next two blogs will look back at the words of folks who have thought about social-emotional aspects of education, written about them, and created successful and effective efforts to promote them.

Start with the end, a veteran teacher told me my first year teaching. In my young, inexperienced teacher mind, that meant "fun project." And though there's not a thing wrong with fun, the end assessment needs to be about the learning and not about the product. Starting with the end means we need to put the skills, knowledge, and concepts students will learn first, then the product second.