When teachers ditch "productive struggle" for evidence, student performance improves
Anecdotal, yes, but look at this data
Hey there, Bell Ringers! It’s June, and I know you’re relaxing—but don’t forget summer school launches next week.
It’s six weeks of reporting, analysis and resources on writing—what the evidence says about teaching writing, what schools are actually doing when it comes to writing, and why schools must be the lighthouses cultivating the teaching and learning of deep reading and writing. Human-centered reading and writing are on the menu, so to speak, which is why I called this year’s intensive “Will schools save writing?”
We’ve got a book club focused on writing, too: Writing Fitness: From Beginner to 5k, by David Didau and Rikki Cole. This book is all about evidence-based writing practices and how to explicitly teach writing. The central metaphor compares learning to write to running a 5k—if you’ve been totally sedentary, running a marathon just isn’t going to happen. You’ve got to build students up, step by step, and that’s what the book shows readers how to do. I’m really excited about getting to read this book together with you all, so let’s get cracking.
What you get with the Book Club:
Complete book guide with chapter summaries
Background, extra resources and research
2-3 virtual meetups to talk about the book (all recorded and shared)
Book chat in the Substack chat
Live virtual Q&A with co-author David Didau (recorded and shared)
Fun with curious educators, leaders and parents from around the world
What you need to join:
The book (order it here!)
A notebook and pen (optional)
A Bell Ringer Pro subscription
We start June 16. All the info and the links will be sent through the newsletter, very easy. Order your copy today and join Bell Ringer Pro to get full access.
News
More elementary teachers are ditching productive struggle for explicit instruction in math, no matter what their curriculum recommends—as I reported recently. Now they’re showing me their data, and I think you should see it, too.
