Selected Readings
- Learners Need Purposeful and Systematic Instruction (This article highlights some important fundamentals about how we scaffold instruction for our students through modeling, guided instruction, collaborative learning, and independent learning.)
- Men for Others (In this seminal 1973 address, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., former Superior General of the Society of Jesus, challenges Jesuit alumni to re-think the mission of Jesuit education.)
- Orchestrating the Media Collage (This Educational Leadership article addresses what it means to be "literate" in a digital age, and lists eight guidelines for teachers.)
- Rigor Redefined (This article from Educational Leadership asserts that "even our 'best' schools are failing to prepare students for 21st-century careers and citizenship.")
- Teaching 21st Century Skills: What Does It Look Like in Practice? (This short article from Harvard Ed Letter describes and provides examples of 21st century teaching.)
- Adolescent Literacy – A Policy Research Brief from NCTE (Summarizes what we know about adolescent literacy, including "common myths" and research-based recommendations for instruction)
- Check It Out! Using Checklists to Support Student Learning (Well-designed checklists identify steps for completing complex tasks while scaffolding students' metacognitive development)
- The Gray Areas of Grading (Addresses those "gray areas" of grading within the context of a particular definition of "accountability")
- "Cool" engagements with YouTube: Part 1 & Part 2 (Explores the highly participatory nature and pedagogical potential of YouTube)
- The Case For and Against Homework (Makes the case that homework shouldn't be abandoned, just improved)
- Learning in the Digital Age (Understanding our students as "digital natives")
- Professional Learning Communities (As described by Richard Dufour)
- Cooperative Learning Overview (Definitions and principles from Johnson & Johnson)
- Building Better Instruction (How technology supports nine research-proven strategies)
- 10 Critical Qualities of Student Work (As defined by Phillip Schlechty)
- Skills We Must teach our Graduates (As summarized in The New Divison of Labor)
- Inflexible & Flexible Knowledge (Knowing the difference has implications for how we teach)
- Religion in High Schools (Excellent overview)
- Flat Earth summary by Tom Friedman (Important to math and science education in America)
- Bishop's Statement: Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millenium, June, 2005