Lovat and Clement (2016) examined multiple meta-analyses regarding values pedagogy, a type of pedagogy characterized by teaching and learning opportunities that encourage community involvement while providing students service opportunities within the greater community (Lovat, Dally, Clement, & Toomer, 2011), and the potential for values pedagogy to enhance all aspects of the learning environment. Empirical findings from the Australian Values Education Program suggested that one of the most powerful aspects of values pedagogy is in service learning. In addition to broad educational benefits of implementing values pedagogy such as personal, moral, social, and civic development with service lea

This is the first installment of a series sharing the story of a talented, passionate teacher with a young family who left the classroom to further her schooling only to find that the bureaucracy of education is preventing her from returning to teaching our children. Her story, unfortunately, is not unique. For those of you who have searched to find where you belong, what you are called to, this is a story for you. We’d already gone over this on my first day. Today was the first day of week two, but still, someone asked, “Are you really a doctor?” “Yes, I’m really a Dr.” “So if I have a heart att—“ “She’s not that kind of a doctor, pendejo.” “We don’t call one another pendejo.” “But for real

The gaps in college enrollment between affluent students and students of poverty, and between White students and students of color, are gargantuan. In my role at a high-poverty, minority-segregated public high school (94% economically disadvantaged; 98% Latino), I have seen this gap play out starkly, leading me to wonder about the barriers to college access. Welton and Martinez (2014) break down college access into three components: college aspiration, academic preparation for college, and application for college. It is the former two of these categories that schools often do not push systematically. In two Texas schools, where the authors interviewed seniors, they found that college-leve

Formative assessment is a process in which evidence of students’ achievement is elicited, interpreted, and used to make next step instructional decisions that are likely to enhance learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998; 2009). It is not a distinct activity like interim tests, questioning, or feedback that engage students. Educators generally agree on the possible gains in learning resulting from formative assessment despite disparities in the definition. Teachers’ challenge in implementing formative assessment is mostly due to poor knowledge. In teaching formative assessment to pre-service teachers I employ a systems approach that engages students in exploring possible elements, their interactions,

This cross-posted blog story from Dr. Paul Michalec also appears on his blog IN:SIGHT REFLECTIONS ON EDUCATION. This blog, hosted by the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education, features posts that explore the concepts of transformation through education, inviting the readers to engage with the ideas or concepts presented. We are excited to partner with Dr. Michalec in sharing his writing on our platform. We believe you will greatly appreciate his musings. Frederick Buechner famously described a professional calling as “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet”. Most teachers when asked why they teach will provide an answer similar to Buechner’s defi