The Learning Hub Blog

Most teachers know that students learn best when they feel safe, supported, and respected. But belonging and esteem ask us to go one step further.

A student may feel physically safe in a classroom an...

Every teacher has at least one classroom procedure that never seems to stick.

No matter how many times you've explained it, someone still asks what to do when they're finished. Another student heads ...

Most teachers know what it feels like when the classroom is technically functioning but still not working as well as it should. Students may be busy, but too much of the teacher’s energy is spent answ...

Teachers often recognize when the classroom environment is beginning to work against learning. It may not be dramatic. Students are not necessarily misbehaving in obvious ways. They are not refusing t...

Most teachers have experienced a lesson that appears to be going well but still feels a little flat.

Students are completing the work, but very few are asking questions. Directions are being followed...

Most teachers recognize the moment when learners are still physically present but no longer intellectually with us. They may not be confused. They may not be tired. They may not be refusing to partici...

Most teachers can sense when something feels "off" in a lesson. The signs are usually familiar: the room gets quieter. Responses become slower. Students who were participating thirty minutes ago now s...

In the Marzano Academies instructional model, Design Area VI focuses on engagement: helping students pay attention and feel energized and intrigued. Within that design area, Elements VIc, VId, and VIe...

Every teacher knows the feeling.

You are halfway through a lesson, and something changes in the room.

The energy drops just enough to notice. A few students stop writing. One group shifts from discu...

In a competency-based classroom, engagement is not a luxury. It is part of the learning system. Students may be working on different tasks, at different levels of a proficiency scale, and with differe...

One reality teachers face in every classroom is that students learn and progress at variable rates. That said, if students are progressing at different rates, necessitating different types of support,...

From Groups to Growth: Why Grouping and Regrouping Matter in a Competency-Based Classroom

As we saw in the blog for Design Area IV, responsive instruction begins when teachers use evidence to decide ...