I never saw great value in being formally observed by an administrator or peer-evaluator, receiving some feedback and never hearing from them again. As an elementary teacher, that just didn’t feel like the best approach.

Sure, I received direct feedback and benefited from having an outside person “objectively” observe my teaching practices—but it felt flat, like something was missing. What was missing, in my opinion, was the coaching aspect. Someone to work alongside me, to guide me...

I often believe we are academically restricting students on a daily basis. In our efforts to make learning gains and boost test scores, we have narrowed our view of learning and understanding, and thus, severely restricted the ways students can demonstrate learning.

Think about it. How often our students given a paper-and-pencil test (in this highly digital age)? How many essays or written response exams do students take each school year? Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with...

Even if the make-up of your classroom and school isn’t particularly diverse, it’s still so important to share a variety of diverse chapter books with our students that reflect our students and the overall population. My favorite moments in my classroom are always the times when I look around the room and all of my students have their nose in a different book. When I see each of my students engaged in reading (and I’m...

Check out my latest article, "Art for the Sea", in the current issue of Highlights for Children. All of Angela Pozzi's amazing art sculptures were created from plastics that washed ashore...