School of Practice

Can your students spot what’s real and what’s AI-generated on TikTok and Instagram?  How about when they’re researching topics for humanities classes, gathering sources in social studies, and preparing for math assessments?  In this super-engaging lesson developed by science teacher Katie Coppens and researcher and former STEM teacher Andy Zucker, students become digital detectives, analyzing a set of videos and websites to determine what’s real, what’s been altered, and what’s just pure misinformation. ⁠ The catch? They can’t just guess. They have to be able to defend their conclusions with evidence. ⁠ Join us for this unmissable episode of School of Practice, we’ll walk through detailed lesson instructions, explore the best strategies for zeroing in on digital misinformation, and share all the resources you’ll need to teach this 60-minute lesson in your own classroom.  Related resources: Learn more about this episode Real, Fake, or Deepfake? This Lesson Helps Students Decide 5 Ways to Build Critical Literacy in the Age of AI What Fact-Checkers Know About Media Literacy—and Students Should, Too Teaching Students to Evaluate Websites Helping Students Find the Truth in Social Media Teaching Students to Analyze Fake News Giving Students the Skills to Spot Fake News (video) Evaluating Primary Sources Through a See, Think, Wonder (video) New Perspectives on Combating Misinformation Research: People are More Susceptible to Misinformation with Realistic AI-Synthesized Images that Provide Strong Evidence to Headlines (2025) Research: Lateral Reading on the Open Internet: A District-Wide Field Study in High School Government Classes (2022) Research: Students’ Civic Online Reasoning: A National Portrait (2021) www.katiecoppens.com  Improvethengss.org  Video clip: Bobsled and Snowboarder Video clip: Deepfake Newscasters Video clip: Waterskiing Squirrel

Jo Boaler, Stanford math education researcher and author focused on equitable, high-quality math instruction. She discusses rich tasks that spark reasoning and collaboration. She shows how to adapt mandated curriculum, invite visual proofs, and create space for deep group work and productive struggle. Practical tweaks that shift students into mathematical thinking are highlighted.

Getting scaffolding right—amid the messy reality of teaching 30+ students at different skill levels—is one of the toughest challenges in teaching.  Done well, it looks like tactical magic: teachers seamlessly know how and when to support kids, then step back at just the right moment, building independence by removing the training wheels.  In this episode of School of Practice, we get into it with Beck Alber, a former high school ELA teacher and UCLA School of Education instructor. She unpacks the evidence-based essentials of smart, timely scaffolding—both for new teachers, as well as classroom veterans (have you changed up your routines lately? No? Alber’s got suggestions for that). We’ll chat about how to determine if your scaffolds are working, what to do if they’re not, and what a strong scaffolding toolbox looks like.  Related resources: Learn more about this episode 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students Empowering Middle School Students to Create Their Own Scaffolds Scaffolding Like a Pro: Powerful Ways to Support Learning 6 Foundational Ways to Scaffold Student Learning Frayer Model (downloadable) Fishbowl Method (downloadable) 60-Second Strategy: Fishbowl Discussion (video) Choosing Words to Teach Research: Benefits of Interactive Graphic Organizers in Online Learning: Evidence for Generative Learning Theory (2021) Research: The Early History of the Scaffolding Metaphor: Bernstein, Luria, Vygotsky, and Before (2019)

Nina Parrish, a former K–12 special educator turned middle school counselor and literacy specialist, shares evidence-based ways to boost comprehension. She covers pre-reading vocabulary moves, building classroom word walls, activating background knowledge, visualizing texts, annotation habits with post-its, reciprocal teaching roles, and teaching students to self-question while reading.

Have you ever been shocked when your students bomb a unit test after weeks of seemingly locked-in learning?  Veteran educator Jay McTighe has the ultimate research-backed solution: formative assessment. In the best-case scenario, it’s frequent, quick, and highly attuned to the content and your students.  “You don’t want to wait till the end to find out, ‘Gosh, I didn’t realize the kids never understood this concept or had this continued skill error,’” says McTighe, an author and assessment expert. “Whatever you’re teaching, you should always be doing very quick checks to see how it’s working.” Frequent pulse checks midstream are “potentially one of a classroom educator’s most powerful tools to enhance student learning,” according to David Marzano, a leading researcher. They’re also important tools for students to gauge their own progress. The key to getting the best outcomes is *how* you deploy them. In this episode of School of Practice, we chat with McTighe about how to get the most out of formative assessments, how to choose the right technique for your content and students, how to insert them seamlessly into the flow of instruction, and whether or not they should be graded. Plus, Jay shares his “Vagoo Rule,” a mysterious yet very important tip that you won’t want to miss. Related resources: 8 Quick Checks for Understanding  Building SEL Skills Through Formative Assessment 7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment 13 Super-Quick Formative Assessments  Research: The Impact of Formative Assessment on K-12 Learning: A Meta-Analysis  Assessing Student Learning by Design: Principles and Practices for Teachers and School Leaders  Research: The Effectiveness and Features of Formative Assessment in US K-12 Education: A Systematic Review  Seven Keys to Effective Feedback Research: Formative Assessment Is an Essential Component of Classroom Work and Can Raise Student Achievement  Hacking Student Motivation  The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

Did you know there’s a strong connection between the hand and the neural circuitry of the brain?  As students learn to write letters by hand, they also learn to recognize them more fluently. This letter recognition leads to greater letter-writing fluency, which leads to stronger overall reading development. Handwriting, the research reveals, is in fact a foundational tool for literacy. And as kids get older, the benefits continue, deepening how they process new material and encode learning. Meanwhile, good handwriting instruction doesn’t require a huge time investment: Brief instructional lessons followed by frequent modeling and feedback for students can slip into all areas of the curriculum throughout the school day, says Brooke MacKenzie, a former elementary teacher and certified reading specialist. “Handwriting practice can and should be quick and dirty,” she says. “It’s not like you need a 20-minute lesson on how to hold your pencil.” In this episode of School of Practice, MacKenzie chats with us about four fundamental handwriting skills. Plus, she shares her top instructional secrets—from using cursive to help students struggling with print to why Kindergarteners should “talk to their pencils.” Related resources: How to Teach Handwriting—and Why It Matters  The Power of Multimodal Learning (in 5 Charts) Neuroscientists Say Don’t Write Off Handwriting The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025 Research: The Impact of Handwriting and Typing Practice in Children’s Letter and Word Learning: Implications for Literacy Development (2025) Research: Handwriting But Not Typewriting Leads to Widespread Brain Connectivity: A High-Density EEG Study with Implications for the Classroom (2024) Research: The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults (2020) Research: The Effects of Handwriting Experience on Functional Brain Development in Pre-literate Children (2012) Ghost Games (2022)

Join Jeremiah Kim, an enthusiastic teacher with nearly a decade of experience, and Daniel Valrath, a veteran special education consultant, as they tackle the delicate topic of learning accommodations. They share practical tips for initiating age-appropriate conversations without singling anyone out. Discover effective strategies like proactive classroom discussions, protecting student privacy, and utilizing team-building activities to normalize differences. Plus, hear about the importance of tracking accommodations and the risks of ignoring these vital conversations.

Are you curious what the latest research reveals about everything from brain breaks to groundbreaking research on AI, cell phones, and handwriting in the classroom? Then you won’t want to miss this special year-end bonus episode based on one of our most popular feature articles of the year.  In the latest episode of School of Practice, Edutopia’s research editor Youki Terada and editor-in-chief Stephen Merrill walk us through the latest research on the impact of cell phone bans on classroom learning, why more recess time is critical for learning, how adept problem solvers tackle thorny math word problems, and how microbreaks powerfully impact focus and attention. Plus, we’ll share practical tips for bringing these findings right into classrooms today.  Related resources: The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025 Sustaining Student Concentration: The Effectiveness of Micro-Breaks in a Classroom Setting (2025)  Highlight, Write, Elaborate: Note-Taking Strategies to Master Reality-Based Mathematical Tasks (2025)  The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida (2025)  Removing Phones from Classrooms Improves Academic Performance (2025)  Ill Communication: Technology, distraction & student performance (2016) The Impact of Recess on Chronic Stress Levels in Elementary School Children (2025)  The Impact of Handwriting and Typing Practice in Children’s Letter and Word Learning: Implications for Literacy Development (2025)  Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task (2025)  Generative AI Can Harm Learning (2024) IEPs in the Age of AI: Examining IEP Goals Written with and Without ChatGPT (2025)

Benjamin Barber, a dedicated high school history and government teacher, reveals his innovative three-step note-taking system: Write, Read, Use. He discusses the common pitfalls in student notes and the importance of handwritten notes for better learning. Barber shares how he transforms disordered notes into learning moments and emphasizes the benefits of self-testing and flashcards. Moreover, his 'test average' method incentivizes students by averaging scores from two attempts, highlighting the need to teach note-taking as a critical skill.

Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University and former K-12 teacher, shares strategies to engage fast finishers in the classroom. He emphasizes meaningful activities over mere busywork, advocating for a rotating menu of low-prep tasks. Topics include using comic strips for literacy, the benefits of media projects, and coding platforms for creativity. Finley also discusses the significance of valuing different paces, the importance of downtime, and reflective reporting on career exploration, encouraging teachers to celebrate all learners.