K12 Digest®’s Post

One of the most important things I've learned throughout my career is that lasting school improvement begins with teachers. Supporting all aspects of the educational ecosystem (students, teachers, admins, families) is important for success. I have spent the past few years researching student and teacher self-efficacy and its importance to improving educational outcomes. I appreciated the opportunity to contribute to this conversation in K12 Digest and reflect on the importance of intentionally building systems and resources that help strengthen self-efficacy for both students and teachers as part of school improvement conversations. Teachers and students can achieve incredible things if they have systems and resources that support their growth in believing they can. You can access the article below.

Really enjoyed this evening's webinar with Nathan Burns on "What You Really Need to Know About Metacognition". hosted by Dr Steve Murray - Deputy Headteacher at Sexeys School, Somerset and in conjunction with Chartered College of Teaching. If you haven't checked out the free webinars on offer - there are some superb opportunities for CPD! One of the things that struck me most from tonight’s session was the importance of developing a more aligned mental model of what metacognition actually is. It is a term that appears frequently within education discourse, but Nathan’s session did an excellent job of grounding it back in the research, challenging some persistent myths and helping me think more carefully about the theory that sits behind effective implementation. The session explored the two key components of metacognition: • knowledge of cognition • regulation of cognition …alongside the six “pillars” that underpin metacognitive thinking: knowledge of task, self and strategies, together with planning, monitoring and evaluation. What was particularly useful was the emphasis on metacognition not as a bolt-on strategy or standalone initiative, but as something intrinsic to high-quality teaching itself. Interestingly, this strongly echoed themes from an inclusive teaching webinar, (again through Chartered College of Teaching) I attended yesterday evening hosted by Adam Kohlbeck FCCT: the idea that the approaches with the greatest impact are often not separate “add-ons”, but the things embedded within excellent teaching, curriculum thinking and classroom practice every day and this is key for metacognition. Nathan repeatedly returned to the importance of modelling thinking, making invisible processes visible, and helping students understand not just what to do, but why particular approaches work. That feels especially important in curriculum development, where careful sequencing, chunking and explicit modelling all rely upon us understanding the thinking processes that sit behind learning. The research base remains difficult to ignore. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) guidance (https://lnkd.in/eYyj6g9g) continues to identify metacognitive approaches as having among the highest impact on student attainment (+8 months additional progress), while also emphasising that these approaches benefit all learners across subjects and phases. Lots to reflect on from this session, particularly around metacognition in curriculum design and disciplinary thinking. It also left me reflecting on the extent to which carefully sequenced curriculum experiences and secure domain knowledge may underpin students’ ability to engage metacognitively within the subject domain itself. Looking forward to exploring these ideas further through Nathan’s latest book. #Metacognition #InclusiveTeaching #HighQualityTeaching #Curriculum #EvidenceInformedPractice

In a high-needs district, middle school math scores were declining until leaders made two critical shifts... – adopting a coherent, districtwide curriculum – creating space for collaborative, active learning among both students *and* teachers The result? Real progress and a clearer picture of what’s possible when instruction is aligned and supported. This mirrors what we see every day with our ClearMath Secondary solution. When students engage in meaningful problem-solving together (and when teachers have visibility into student thinking) learning stops being passive and starts being durable. And just as importantly: implementation matters. This district didn’t just adopt our curriculum. They invested in ongoing, embedded professional learning and structured collaboration time – the conditions that turn good materials into real impact. There’s no silver bullet in education. But there is a pattern: - Coherent curriculum - Active, collaborative learning - Teachers equipped with real insight into student thinking When those come together, outcomes follow. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gfte4Vvn

What if student success had less to do with talent and more to do with belief and access? In this conversation, I sit down with James ONeal, Jr., M.Ed.'Neal, founder of Mastery For All, to explore how mindset shapes math instruction and why every student needs opportunities to win. We explore: - How teacher beliefs create (or block) student mastery - Why "notice and wonder" activities build ownership and confidence - The role of joy, belonging, and student voice in engagement - How leaders can support math instruction without being content experts - Practical strategies from his upcoming book, The Engaged Classroom One powerful reminder: When students stop winning, they start believing they can't. Perfect for math teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders who want to create classrooms where mastery is possible for all. 🎧 Listen now: https://lnkd.in/gappqr9P #AspireToLead #MathInstruction #EducationalEquity #StudentEngagement #MathMastery #SchoolLeadership #InstructionalCoaching #EdLeadership

We often equate Social Emotional Learning (SEL) as an “add on” to curriculum. Something taught on top of, and apart from, reading, mathematics and the more traditional versions of curriculum. In response to that thinking, standalone SEL programs are plentiful, expensive and often difficult to sustain with whole-school impact across year levels. Schools can feel overwhelmed by the number of options available, balancing cost, implementation demands and identifying approaches that genuinely fit the needs of their context. I’ve been spending time exploring how schools effectively funnel their programs, frameworks and curriculum initiatives into a cohesive whole-school approach to SEL. The responses have been varied and wide, and interestingly, no one seems to have found the miracle program that “fixes” everything. But what if it was never meant to be a program? What if SEL wasn’t another box to tick, but something intentionally mapped and prioritised through the curriculum, routines, behaviour teaching and pedagogical practices already happening in classrooms every day? SEL doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be present consistently enough for students to build, practise and compound social and emotional capability over time. Like literacy, students will get it right sometimes and wrong other times. It’s repetitive, developmental and lifelong work. Some days the adults around them won’t get it right either. But we teach. We model. We foster. We practise. Every day. The schools doing this well don’t necessarily have the flashiest programs. They have clarity, consistency and a shared understanding that SEL is embedded in the daily life of classrooms, relationships and learning. I’d love to hear from schools and educators: What’s working in your context? Have you found ways to explicitly teach and reinforce SEL through curriculum, pedagogy or everyday practice? What are your SEL wins? #SEL #traumainformedpractice #bullyingprevention

These are great hard truths! The way teachers and principals approach teaching mathematics and assessing true student understanding bolsters higher order thinking skills and confidence.

“It’s more than just the buying of the materials. That’s the foundation... How do you go about implementing those materials? What is happening in classrooms with teachers and students?" Choosing the curriculum is the easy part. The real challenge is making sure teachers are prepared and supported to implement the new material. This takes time and continuous, intentionally designed professional learning opportunities to support teachers. This is part of what we focus on at Rekindle Education. Our Coaches help teachers unpack and maximize the resources available to them... while also sharing ideas on how to bring joy to math class through relevant, hands-on instruction. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e9RjqQWs ➡️ Check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/evUPb84w

𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲. 𝗬𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. A student struggles with a math concept… so we reteach it using the exact same method that didn’t work the first time. Same explanation. Same worksheet. Same approach. Just slower. Sometimes louder. But students with unfinished learning often need a new experience with the math. Sometimes that means: ✅ Starting with sense-making instead of procedures ✅ Using visuals or manipulatives ✅ Creating opportunities for student discourse ✅ Connecting learning to prior knowledge ✅ Reducing cognitive overload ✅ Allowing students to explore multiple strategies Intervention shouldn’t just feel like repetition. It should feel like re-engagement. That’s one of the biggest shifts from compliance-driven instruction to thinking-driven instruction. What’s one approach you’ve seen help students reconnect with math after struggling? _____  📫 Join my bi-weekly newsletter, The 3-1-4. https://lnkd.in/eksSbCJs 3 insights, 1 strategy, in 4 minutes focused on math leadership, instructional coaching, and building cognitive-driven math classrooms. 👥 Follow me, Dwight S. Williams, for insights on math leadership, coaching, and instructional systems. ♻️ Repost if you think intervention should re-engage students in learning, not just repeat what already failed. _____  Hi, I’m Dwight Williams. I help school and district leaders move math instruction from compliance to cognition through coaching, systems, and instructional leadership — so classrooms drive stronger student thinking, confidence, and achievement. 👍🏿 Like | 🔔 Follow | 💬 Comment | ♻️ Repost

Exactly this! Until we spend as much time focused on HOW we teach as we do on WHAT we teach, gaps will widen. When I had Black babies in Englewood outperforming more diverse neighborhoods in math, my colleagues from other schools would say “I’m teaching the same content; I don’t understand.” My question to them was “but do you love them?” Because when you love the young people you serve, you will do whatever you have to do for them to experience success. That includes finding (literally researching what you don’t know to fill gaps in your practice) different approaches to deliver the same content. But in order to do that, you must first believe that them not learning it was because of how you taught it and not because they couldn’t grasp it. What we believe about ourselves and the people we serve are tied to our outcomes. I’ve seen it as a teacher and school leader. Those who genuinely believe their students are brilliant get strong results. Leaders who genuinely believe their teachers are brilliant get strong results. Because that belief is what pushes their practice. Signed, An award winning teacher and leader