by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
How do we begin encouraging the best self-assessment practices for benefitting our learners? Perhaps we’re beginning with the wrong question. Instead, we should begin by looking at the common perceptions around the idea. From there, hopefully we’ll... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
Ed note: This is an updated version of our original article on best self-assessment practices. How do we begin encouraging the best self-assessment practices for benefitting our learners? Perhaps we’re beginning with the wrong question. Instead, we should begin by... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
Checking understanding is a critical ongoing aspect of instructional guidance. Teachers ask questions of students because they want to discover two things: what they know and what they have yet to learn. However, they also use guiding questions to determine if prior... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
If you’re like many teachers, you have a framework of self-evaluation tips that you use. Musicians, athletes, or artists critique their own work daily. We hope that the same self-analysis can be carried over to our students.Fostering lifelong learning mindsets in our... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Classroom Management
What is a mindful classroom? How does it work, and how does the concept fit into teaching and learning? Most importantly, what does it mean for our learners?Teaching in a mindful classroom can help students remain calm in stressful situations. It encourages them to... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
Using formative assessment effectively in our classrooms is one of the best ways we can help our students thrive. For our modern learners (or for any learner) formative assessment fits much better with student needs. It also better compliments the teaching and... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
A big benefit of doing formative assessment properly is that we get to know our students really well. But why is this important? It has to do with the fact that teachers don’t actually create learning, but rather encourage and facilitate it. Only learners create... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Critical Thinking
The notion of students assessing themselves is difficult for many educators to get around, but they’re warming to the idea. If our students learn to ask the right self-assessment questions and keep themselves accountable, the results in learning improvement can... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
When it comes to classroom productivity, the ideal classroom is a happy one. It means students are creating solutions and projects that have meaning and purpose. They gladly take initiatives and assume responsible ownership of class time. Above all, it means students... 
by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Assessment
How do we measure learners’ understanding? What sets the master teacher apart from the amateur? The masters have perfected assessment for understanding, rather than simply knowledge. However, in their oft-quoted book Understanding by Design, Grant Wiggins and...