PowerPoint is one of the most utilized technology tools to deliver content to students. Most teachers, if not all, have created or used a PowerPoint lesson in their classroom. Even though PowerPoint is widely used in education and has been around for a long time, most people do not use it to its full potential.…
As an avid reader, the twists and turns of the written word have always been an interest to me. Each time I reread a book, I learn something new that I overlooked the time before. Generating this epiphany in students is the hope of most teachers. Re-reading stories is about the discovery of something that…
With increasing expectations  and new standards, it can be tempting to throw everything (including the proverbial kitchen sink) at our students. Doing so may, in fact, hinder learnersâ understanding of a topic and have the opposite of the desired effect. Instead, by applying research-based strategies, we can ensure that even complex topics are presented in…
I am a veteran, award-winning teacher who recently discovered how I could significantly improve my teaching. I did it by learning to use the research-based strategies of Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) developed by DataWORKS founders John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. When I first heard about EDI, I was frustrated, skeptical, and a bit resistant…
Each state that has adopted Common Core State Standards will select an assessment consortium to assess how children are progressing in school. The two options most widely chosen at this point are: Smarter Balanced and PARCC. Each assessment consortium has provided practice test questions and today we will review one of these questions and discuss its potential impact on classroom instruction.…
A chicken in every pot and an iPad in every hand Like Hooverâs promise of prosperity in the 1920s, education officials are promising students and teachers a major upgrade in technology over the next few years. This is excellent news because being technologically literate is one of the most important skill sets that students can…
 Automaticity does not mean that teachers become automatons â glorified robots just walking through their classes. No, automaticity means that teaching skills have been learned so well, they have become so ingrained, that they are automatic. Just like when we learned to drive a car, the first attempts were focused on details and we had lots of…
Where does learning occur? Where does learning occur? The obvious answer for teachers is in the classroom. But the real answer is that learning occurs in the studentâs brain. Bestselling author Daniel Coyle in his book The Talent Code describes the process of learning a skill as a process of neural pathways being insulated…
Today, we are going to focus on general questions about teaching English Learners (ELs). These are questions we regularly get from teachers. If you would like further information about teaching English Learners, feel free to contact us. We also recommend the book, Explicit Direct Instruction for English Learners by DataWORKS co-founders John Hollingsworth and Dr.…