Educators

We caught up with regular edCircuit contributor, Howard Pitler, at the ASCD annual conference to discuss what is and is not formative assessment in education.

In this episode, Jonathan Cassie shares his journey as a history, English, Latin, and game designer teacher at Dallas, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh schools. 

Check out this interview with ASCD author and educator Pete Hall as the season begins to shift to Friday night football and school dances. Hall and Dr. Berger met up at this year’s ASCD conference. Hall shares insights into his new book The Principal Influence.

I can remember my college graduation like it was two months ago. Which, quite frankly, it was. I stood alongside my peers, anxiously anticipating walking across the commencement stage. The many families and friends in the audience cheered as my name was called, and the President of the College theatrically shook my hand in congratulations. A photographer took my picture as I proudly held my diploma. “It’s over!” I thought, “It’s finally over!”

In this episode, 2014 VH1 Keys + Kids grant winner Lisa Costantino shares her journey as a music teacher at Washington Elementary School, Trenton, New Jersey.

In this episode, Timothy Hofmann, Principal of Parkway Montessori Middle School, shares the significance of being the recipient of the 2016 Keys + Kids Grant.

edCircuit Opinion:
When I was younger, I often would gather with my neighborhood friends, head into the backyard, and spend hours digging a massive hole to China. We’d all attempt to use the shovels that were two times our size, all while fantasizing about what we’d do when we finally made it – or better yet if we hit the center of the earth! Many would not think twice about this scenario, and simply view it as kids being kids. But, child development researchers would analyze this situation much differently.

The word sabbatical brings to mind connotations of higher education. It’s unheard of for K-12 teachers to take time a one-year leave and dedicate themselves to research. Why is this not widely accepted? If teachers plan on remaining in their profession for an extended period, how will they build relevant knowledge and be better educators for their students?
Should teachers still learn? Scientific American understands the challenges of doing so. Teaching is a labor-intensive profession. It’s challenging to find access to innovative and informative workshops, and a new standard of professional development should be put into place.

Current lesson plans allow students to, memorize the subject matter instead of honing their computational thinking skills.