I‘ve been thinking and writing a lot lately about how our beliefs about students, learning, and teaching influence our practices. Part of this reflection has stemmed from my own instructional practice and how it has shifted—in subtle but also dramatic ways. How, for example, the nagging… Read More
All posts tagged “tricia ebarvia”
Is School Becoming Irrelevant? (Part 2): How Our Beliefs Shape Our Practices
Beliefs are powerful. What we believe—about school, learning, learning in schools, and learning for the world—shapes every instructional decision made on behalf of students. For example, the belief that teachers need to be held accountable for student test scores is behind value-added teacher evaluation. The… Read More
Discovering a Writing Process that Works
I knew I wasn’t doing things as well as I could. My instruction felt fragmented. For example, when my students and I were working on a memoir essay, I used one process for instruction. When we worked on a book review, we used another process.… Read More
Teachers are Learners, too.
Every now and then, I hear teachers express less than positive reviews of their teacher education programs and coursework. Too much theory, not enough practical advice. The result? Walking into a class full of students on the first day only to quickly realize that you don’t know… Read More
Is School In Danger of Becoming Irrelevant? (Part 1)
As a teacher, I certainly hope not. But as I listened to Will Richardson speak over the weekend at the Tomorrow’s Classrooms Today Conference, I couldn’t help wonder. The conference, hosted by Evolving Educators and held at Rider University, focused on the ways in which schools… Read More
Read & Reading, Exponentially
I signed up for Meenoo Rami‘s digital newsletter a few weeks ago after she hosted a #G2Great chat. I have been a huge fan of Meenoo’s work since I read her book Thrive last year (in fact, I loved it so much that a colleague and… Read More
Structure as Mentor Text: How Can We Organize Ideas Beyond the 5-Paragraph Essay?
I’m so happy to share that starting this week, I will be a regular contributor to MovingWriters.org, a site dedicated to “move our student writers forward in their craft.” Moving Writers was founded by educators Allison Marchetti and Rebekah O’Dell, authors of the marvelous book, Writing with Mentors. I’m… Read More
How can we get students to re-read?
As I walk around the room, I notice students talking—generally enthusiastically—about the book we are reading. They have a few discussion questions on a handout to take notes, which they dutifully fill out. What I don’t notice are any books open on their desks. In… Read More
Getting out of the way: A line of argument
One of my favorite essays in my AP Lang & Comp class is Amanda Ripley’s “The Case Against High School Sports,” originally published in The Atlantic. Ripley’s argument is particularly provocative as she questions the possible disproportionate value that schools place on sports versus academics. Conversation is… Read More
Getting out of the way: EdCamp-inspired discussion
The end of the week is finally here. I think I speak for most of my students and fellow teachers when I say that Friday couldn’t come fast enough. It’s been one of those weeks where every day I rushed to get things done, and… Read More
Tricia Ebarvia 
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