3-Read Friday #49

Praise, Do Nows, and working memory

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Here are three blog posts that I found interesting this week.

1. Don't use praise - learn from success instead by Sarah Cottinghat

One of the biggest changes I have made to my coaching over the last 12 months has been how I present praise. Prompting teachers to explain exactly why they do the good things that they do reveals important information about the strength of their mental models and gets them cognitively engaged in the coaching session from the first minute. Sarah shares some great insights on the role of praise here.

2. 5 Reasons My Class Begins with Retrieval Practice (Almost) Daily by Blake Harvard

As I discuss here, I am a big fan of a standalone retrieval, Do Now, whose content is disconnected from the rest of the lesson. Blake shares five reasons why his Do Nows follow a similar format.

3. Working Memory Overload by Dylan Kane

Thanks to the work of Dan Willingham, and others, working memory is a term in most teachers’ parlance. Here, Dylan gives an efficient overview, a nice demonstration of working memory limitations, and examines the implications for the classroom.

If you found this edition of 3-Read Friday useful, feel free to share it with colleagues. Also, you can check out all the back issues of my Eedi newsletter and Tips for Teachers newsletter here. But, most importantly of all, have a great weekend.

Craig