eSchool News

MAY 16, 2025

Navigating a clear path forward means equipping educators with solutions to integrate AI in ways that preserve critical thinking skills, and prepare students for the demands of an AI-driven future. What are you using AI for in your school/classroom?

Education 292

Education Critical Thinking Ethics Students 292

Catlin Tucker

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

When I facilitate workshops on this model, I describe it as a sequence of learning activities designed to move students toward a specific learning goal or objective. What learning activities will help them make meaning or progress toward learning objectives? You can learn more here or request a quote for your coaching team here !

Blended Learning 542

Blended Learning Coaching Feedback Knowledge 542

k12 Digest

MAY 19, 2025

Her career spans roles as an elementary teacher, instructional coach, mentor, special education administrator, and elementary school principal. This is because brain-based strategies allow students to analyze, synthesize, and apply information actively during lessons, increasing the transfer of that knowledge to long-term memory.

Science 246

Science Education Motivation Lecturing 246

Catlin Tucker

DECEMBER 9, 2021

As teachers navigate another challenging school year, it is critical that teachers, coaches, and school leaders understand teacher engagement and take proactive steps to re-engage teachers who are mentally and emotionally exhausted. I’ll be opening registration for cohort 2 of my Blended Learning Coaching Course in January!

Blended Learning 533

Blended Learning Teachers Coaching Learning 533

eSchool News

MARCH 4, 2025

Given the coach was the only one responsible for overseeing the funds, by the time anyone realized the money was stolen, it was too late to get it back. Historically, student activity funds have posed serious issues for school districts, despite their low monetary value relative to the total budget.

Activities 204

Activities Coaching Schools Students 204

Catlin Tucker

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

While reading Adam Grant’s new book, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things , I was struck by his distinction between teaching and coaching. But it’s coaching others that elevates our confidence.” The students in the study assumed the role of a peer coach.

Coaching 195

Coaching Motivation Writing Study 195

eSchool News

APRIL 30, 2025

By the fall of 2024, 67 percent of low-poverty districts reported having provided training for teachers on AI use, compared to 42 percent of middle-poverty districts and 39 percent of high-poverty districts. What are you using AI for in your school/classroom?

Teachers 298

Teachers Coaching Attention Activities 298

Catlin Tucker

MAY 11, 2020

It is also true that engaging students in learning activities online will require (at least initially) that teachers onboard students to those technology tools and support them in learning how to navigate online tasks. My suggestion when coaching teachers is to think about their online lessons through the lens of these building blocks.

Distance Learning 546

Distance Learning Assignments Coaching Activities 546

Catlin Tucker

MARCH 17, 2020

I began by drafting the schedule below to ensure my two children were alternating between different types of activities during their days at home. I look forward to leveraging the strategies and tools I use in my work as a blended learning coach to engage my kids in hands-on learning activities at home.

Blended Learning 523

Blended Learning Coaching History Assignments 523

Catlin Tucker

OCTOBER 7, 2020

In a coaching session last week, it became clear that teachers could use basic templates to help them conceptualize how to take strategies they have used in the past to create lessons that will work in a concurrent classroom (or in an online learning scenario). admitting students into a video conferencing session and taking attendance).

Blended Learning 546

Blended Learning Coaching Feedback Discussions 546

Catlin Tucker

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Several of the teachers I coach have asked about strategies they can use to engage students during the asynchronous time, so I wanted to share some reading resources I developed. My books have transported me through time and space in a year when I have barely left my home. Reading provides a beautiful escape from reality.

Reading 545

Reading Coaching English Art 545

Edsurge

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

In my role as a technology specialist — or tech coach — at an elementary school, I support teachers of students in pre-K through second grade and I often hear comments like these. When I became a school-based tech coach six years ago, I faced these same struggles. “I don't have time to use technology with my littles.” It makes sense.

Coaching 196

Coaching Teachers Teaching Methods Knowledge 196

eSchool News

APRIL 25, 2025

CPS uses NotebookLM for clear communication and understanding around the district’s guidance and policies, ensuring they’re following district mandates. What are you using AI for in your school/classroom?

Education 227

Education Quizzes Coaching Special Education 227

Catlin Tucker

JANUARY 13, 2020

I get asked this question frequently as a blended learning coach. Each station rotation is designed to provide a balance of online, offline and teacher-led activities. My online learning activities typically involve the use of short videos, online discussions, student research, podcasts, and various formative assessments.

Blended Learning 546

Blended Learning Learning History Social Studies 546

Edsurge

APRIL 17, 2024

Referred to as AI-powered reading coaches, assistants or tutors, these tools use generative AI to provide learners with personalized reading practice, stories, feedback and support. Contrary to these findings, AI-powered reading coaches seem designed to prioritize encouraging external motivation.

Coaching 201

Coaching Reading Motivation Feedback 201

Catlin Tucker

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

While coaching teachers this month, several expressed a desire to include review and practice activities in their station rotation lessons to help students prepare for end-of-the-semester assessments. questions that the teacher can use to create a variety of review activities. I thought it was a brilliant idea!

Blended Learning 522

Blended Learning Students Exams Study 522

Catlin Tucker

AUGUST 19, 2019

It can be easily adapted to facilitate fun icebreaker activities at the start of the school year. I use Google Slides for this activity because students can answer the questions a combination of text, images, and videos. When I coach teachers, I encourage them to create an example to share with students. FunwithFrayer.

Coaching 405

Coaching Activities Questions Teachers 405

eSchool News

APRIL 25, 2022

I coach an award-winning robotics team, Retro5ive, that is equally balanced between girls and boys, nearly all of whom are students of color. Boy: “Where’s the coach?”. Girls: “She’s the coach.”. Boy: “ You’re the coach? This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

STEM 362

STEM Coaching Science Achievement 362

Catlin Tucker

JANUARY 20, 2020

I’ve coached math teachers who struggle to imagine designing their lessons using this model because the curriculum is so linear. When I design my station rotation lessons, I include a kinesthetic station that requires the students to work with their hands and utilize tools to actively engage with math concepts.

Math 545

Math Blended Learning Questions Coaching 545

Catlin Tucker

JUNE 5, 2017

I see my primary role as two-fold: 1) I’m an architect of learning experiences designing engaging activities and projects so my students can discover and create, and 2) I’m a coach providing regular, real-time feedback as they work. This perception of what a teacher should do and what I actually do are very different.

Teaching 420

Teaching Learning Coaching Blended Learning 420

Catlin Tucker

MAY 18, 2021

I host a podcast called The Balance and wrote a book titled Balance with Blended Learning because I see teachers struggling with balance in every coaching and training session I facilitate. They are not passive consumers but rather active participants. That’s why the theme of balance has permeated my work for years.

Blended Learning 521

Blended Learning Feedback Learning Beliefs 521

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 17, 2018

When I lead blended learning workshops or work as a 1:1 blended learning coach, I field a lot of questions about the design of station rotation lessons. The teacher works with one side of the room, and the other side of the room is engaged in a collaborative small group activity or individual practice online. That is not the case.

Blended Learning 419

Blended Learning Coaching Questions Activities 419

EdTech Magazine

MAY 12, 2023

April Coats never envisioned herself as an esports coach, but when her EAST students used their project-based learning assignment to research and advocate for a team at Northside High School, she knew she had to step in.

Coaching 167

Coaching High School High School Schools 167

Catlin Tucker

JANUARY 6, 2020

As a blended learning coach, I spend a lot of time in classrooms observing lessons. I cannot count the number of coaching sessions that have begun with a teacher explaining that they don’t have time to try a new strategy, technology tool, or instructional model. I am a creature of habit and love my routines.

Coaching 453

Coaching Blended Learning Activities Questions 453

Catlin Tucker

MAY 3, 2021

In my previous books, I’ve defined blended learning as the combination of active, engaged learning online with active, engaged learning offline to give learners more control of the time, place, pace, and path of their learning.

Universal Design 545

Universal Design Blended Learning Learning Motivation 545

Catlin Tucker

DECEMBER 3, 2022

The station rotation model is a popular K-12 blended learning model that rotates students through a series of stations or learning activities. When I facilitate workshops on this model or coach teachers using this model, I get a lot of questions. That doesn’t work since different groups of students are starting at each station.

Blended Learning 420

Blended Learning Coaching Activities Writing 420

Catlin Tucker

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Most of the teachers I coach at the elementary level are using the Station Rotation Model during their English language block. This allowed students to self-pace through the various activities. Students rotate through a series of online and offline stations designed to develop their reading skills. ElemBookClubDirections.

Coaching 403

Coaching English Participation Assignments 403

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 24, 2019

One way to create a collaborative challenge that feels more like a game than work is to use Google Forms to create a lockbox activity. When coaching a group of teachers this month, we created a transitional language lockbox challenge. Here’s how the activity worked. Separate each question onto a separate section.

Exams 407

Exams Languages Language Coaching 407

Catlin Tucker

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Teachers can use this data to design subsequent lessons to ensure individual students get exactly what they need in terms of follow up instruction, coaching, scaffolds, and personalized practice. Teachers can design a follow-up activity in which students post comments to each other’s Padlet Wall images, videos, or explanations.

Coaching 419

Coaching Learning Students Knowledge 419

eSchool News

JUNE 14, 2022

Physically active children are often happier children. Ideally, sports provide a fun activity for children to move their bodies and release some stress. In the past few years, we’ve seen a few examples of youth who have reached out to coaches when they struggled with mental health issues.

Coaching 300

Coaching Ethics Culture Attention 300

eSchool News

APRIL 24, 2025

Key points: AI’s instant feedback may help students from feeling lost during instruction Most teachers agree AI is a time-saver With AI coaching, a math platform helps students tackle tough concepts For more news on AI and instruction, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub This press release originally appeared online.

Math 257

Math Participation Feedback High School 257

Catlin Tucker

NOVEMBER 7, 2020

The playlist model presents a strategy teachers can use to structure learning experiences that are more personalized to the needs of specific learners, provide students with more agency, and frees the teacher to spend time connecting with and coaching learners as they progress through the playlist.

Blended Learning 420

Blended Learning Learning Coaching Discussions 420

Catlin Tucker

JUNE 13, 2023

As a speaker, trainer, and coach, I have had the privilege of working with thousands of teachers. In my experience leading the shift to blended learning, the only way to truly engage students in learning is to allow them to actively lead the process, make decisions, and pursue learning through a lens of interest.

Technology 435

Technology Blended Learning Students Coaching 435

eSchool News

MAY 8, 2023

With the need for systemic support for educators in mind, here are some ways to support educators in playing an active role in the development and implementation of RJ programs. Provide educators with training, coaching, and resources to recognize their roles within their school.

Coaching 345

Coaching Education Activities Teachers 345

Catlin Tucker

JANUARY 22, 2018

I blend a mix of online and offline work that allows students opportunities to self-pace through activities, work collaboratively with their peers, and make key decisions about how they learn. There are even “brain break” activities, like a matching game, and a drawing feature to keep kids interested and engaged.

Blended Learning 400

Blended Learning Coaching Classroom Management Questions 400

Catlin Tucker

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

My work focuses on supporting leaders, coaches, and teachers in transitioning from traditional teaching practices to blended learning. Blended learning is the combination of active, engaged learning online and offline. Students may lose points on homework assignments or practice activities because they answered questions incorrectly.

Blended Learning 506

Blended Learning Feedback Coaching Achievement 506

Catlin Tucker

MARCH 23, 2022

I often compare the teacher’s role as facilitator to the work of a coach. Coaches watch players as they practice and provide specific, actionable feedback to support their development. A more strategic approach to instruction frees teachers to invest more time and energy in their role as facilitators of learning.

Blended Learning 498

Blended Learning Feedback Learning Instructors 498