Edutopia

“We already know this.” Every teacher has heard some version of that sentence. In my English classroom, it happens when I mention “main idea”: “We’ve been doing main idea since elementary school.” And they’re right. Ask students what that term means, and they’ll tell you. But put an unfamiliar, grade-level text in front of them, and things get more complicated. One student chooses an interesting detail. Another identifies the topic. The concept is familiar—actually using it is harder.

Professional Learning and Tech Integration Coach Jessica Milintschuk is a Digital Promise VILS Coach for Roselle Public Schools, where she helps teachers and students use technology in meaningful, creative ways. She coaches educators through professional learning, classroom support, and curriculum design that makes technology feel purposeful instead of overwhelming.

This was a frequent occurrence in my elementary classroom: I would explain the routine. I would demonstrate it. I would ask if everyone knew what to do. Students would nod their heads, and then when I asked them to try it, almost every student in the room was doing something different. I was treating classroom routines as directions to give students rather than skills they needed to develop. Knowing what a teacher expects isn’t the same as being able to actually do it independently.

In kindergarten teacher Jane Tech’s small group literacy session at Clinton Valley Elementary School in Mount Clemens, Michigan, students use phoneme-grapheme mapping boards to help practice connecting spoken sounds to letters.

Three years ago, I ran into a familiar problem: Our high school’s device support queue was a mile long, and I was stretched too thin to help everyone while also fulfilling my duties as a tech integration coach. So I turned to our students, nine of whom joined a brand-new after-school tech team. I quickly realized, though, that many of the tech issues these students could solve were occurring during the school day. Our nine members also needed more direction than to simply repair laptops.

When a new student arrived in algebra teacher Tyne Brack’s classroom, it was clear that she was “super sweet,” and she attentively took notes during each lesson. But whenever Brack directed the class to work independently on math problems, the student’s hand would immediately shoot up: a sudden need to grab a tissue, sharpen a pencil, or an urgent plea to visit the restroom.

Barbara Soares Gould, Ed.D., is chief academic officer for West Windsor–Plainsboro Regional School District in New Jersey. As an educator and district leader with over 20 years of experience, she focuses on instructional leadership, educator development, equitable learning systems, and strategic change. She has led districtwide work in MTSS, teacher evaluation, curriculum redesign, and professional learning, and she contributes to statewide initiatives in literacy and educator evaluation.

Author and Literacy Consultant Whitney La Rocca is a world-renowned author and presenter with a rich background as a teacher, literacy coach, and consultant. She has worked extensively with children and educators across grade levels, schools, and districts. With deep expertise in content, standards, and best practices, Whitney is passionate about delivering professional development and coaching teachers to support students as they develop their identities in the world of literacy.

Traditional evaluation systems are, by design, retrospective. They rely on formal observations, written reports, and ratings that summarize performance after the fact. In many ways they function exactly like a rearview mirror in that they are useful for seeing what has passed, but limited in their ability to influence what happens next. The problem is not that reflection lacks value.

What’s your personal tolerance for allowing young children to take risks? For many early childhood educators, risk tolerance is fairly low. The primary goal of childcare is to ensure children’s safety and well-being. However, risk-taking is essential to learning. Those familiar with Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development know that learning only happens when a child is challenged to go beyond what they already know how to do.