“Oops, I Forgot”: Small, Beautiful Moments

2 Jan 20222 Jan 2022

I sat with fourth grade teacher Ms. Goldman in the back of her classroom as students cleaned up materials from the class. There were 15 minutes left in the school…

Student-Created 3 Act Tasks

10 Jul 20196 Feb 2022

Ashley, an experienced 2nd grade teacher, added the 3 Act Tasks to her repertoire this year. Among Ashley's many strengths include listening thoughtfully to students and engaging them in the design process. She…

Anchoring Online Portfolios

10 Oct 201710 Oct 2017

When I was an elementary classroom teacher, my students built elaborate portfolios to document their thinking and progress. As a specialist, I carry components of this into my practice --…

The Intersection of Fraction Talks & Clothesline Math: Formative Assessment and the Five Practices

8 Feb 201722 Jun 2021

My sixth graders are weary of pre-assessments. No matter how many times we discuss the goal of a pre-assessment – for me to learn more about their current strategies and…

Counting to 10 in Danish: Learning from Students, Colleagues + the #MTBoS

23 Jan 201727 Nov 2018

I started this post yesterday, and then read a blog post by Kyle Pearce that filled in some of the gaps in my own thinking. Once again, I feel indebted…

Response to Michael Pershan’s Essay, Part 2

13 Jan 201723 Feb 2017

Read Michael's essay, "Missing Factors: On Learning What You Don't Know." Read Part 1: Counting with Celine, about a student I worked with for five years. It was bittersweet to…

Counting with Celine / Response to Michael Pershan’s Essay, part 1

13 Jan 201723 Feb 2017

I read Michael Pershan’s essay, "Missing Factors: On Learning What You Don't Know," twice. He described a familiar experience: when students seem stuck with operational fluency, in spite of our…