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 o

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 fi

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 f

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 desp