How “Talent-Friendly” is your School?

Over time, some schools attract and retain more than their fair share of talented teachers while other schools loose talent. Talented teachers have options and they are relatively mobile. They are not necessarily like athletic free agents, willing to go anywhere to...

Tips for Giving and Receiving Feedback

The late Madeline Hunter once said “Teaching is more complex than brain surgery.” When asked how this could be so she said, “Teachers operate on 30 patients at once and they are all fully awake!” I tend to agree. Teaching is complex. As a teacher seeks to improve his...

Design Lessons for Active Engagement

One of the most consistent predictors of student learning is the degree to which students are actively engaged in the teacher’s lesson. It makes sense, even to the non-educator, that an inspired lesson never produces the intended result without an inspired response....

What Type of Talent are You Seeing?

All human beings have talents… and weaknesses. In their best-selling book, Now Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton define talent as “a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied”....

Make a Good First Impression

Whether it’s a movie, a book, a first date, or a dinner out at a nice restaurant, hav- ing a positive beginning is the key to a memorable experience. Memory research confirms that we naturally remember things that occur first in a series. It’s the same with a coaching...