Student inquiry is at the heart of student choice. When students are able to ask their own questions, they can chase their curiosity and tap into their own interests. They can build on their prior knowledge and build a bridge to new information that they…
This post is loosely based on a chapter from my latest book Empower. Thank you to everyone who has helped make it a number one best-seller on Amazon! Thank you to anyone who has left a review on Amazon and spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,…
Schools are designed to be practical but this has a hidden drawback. Innovation is often impractical because it’s unpredictable. So, what if the push toward “practical skills” in school is actually making learning impractical? And what if impractical ideas and skills we ignore are actually…
I still remember the moment I went to the computer lab to check out the World Wide Web. This was somewhere around 1993. The librarian called it a Field trip to the Information Superhighway and for awhile I thought she was like Ms. Frizzle….
When I taught middle school, I wanted my students to be curious. I wanted to see them tap into their own natural wonder and ask tons of questions. I wanted them to ask, “Why?” and “Why not?” I wanted them to question answers as…
When I go home, I’m no longer a dad. I transform into a sidekick to the world’s coolest superhero. I become a nurse to a stuffed animal surgeon. I get to help an architect and a builder in forts made from couch cushions. I become…
When I was a kid, I used to get jealous of classmates who were rewarded for reading. They would get video games or money or whatever and it seemed odd to me. I didn’t understand why someone would get rewarded for doing something fun. It…
When I was a kid, I hated research papers. I hated the paint-by-numbers rules we had to follow. I hated the fact that I couldn’t choose the topic or ask the questions or find the sources. I hated the notecards and the binders and everything…
When I was a student, I thought I was a top tier reader. My teacher didn’t do numbers for our reading groups. She chose large cats. But I knew that it was better to be a Lion than an Ocelot. I knew my reading level….
In classrooms across the country, something subtle but powerful is taking shape. Amidst the distractions, the surface-level shortcuts, and the pressure to speed everything up, I’ve seen students quietly shift from passive to active. They’ve gone from compliant to curious and from distracted to dialed…
