Catlin Tucker

APRIL 25, 2017

In my last blog post titled, “ Stop Taking Grading Home ,” I explained how I use the Station Rotation Model to provide students with real-time feedback as they work instead of taking grading home. I had one teacher ask me what I do when a student arrives at my teacher-led station and has not done the work required.

Essay 420

Essay Students Assignments Feedback 420

Catlin Tucker

MAY 25, 2020

As the year comes to a close, I encourage teachers to take a moment and collect feedback from students about their experiences learning online in the last few months. I think it’s likely that schools will begin the year online or adopt a blended learning model that allows for fewer students on campus at one time.

Evaluation 546

Evaluation Online Learning Distance Learning Learning 546

eSchool News

MAY 5, 2025

Having conducted well over a thousand observations of K-12 teachers over the last 15 years, I have noticed there is one piece of feedback I have given more than any other–and it involves a seemingly minor word change. Multiple times in any class period, teachers call on students to contribute to the lesson of the day.

Culture 266

Culture Feedback Languages Language 266

eSchool News

APRIL 27, 2021

Classes became virtual, as did most everything else, and administrators, teachers, and students alike received a crash course on the finer points of digital learning technology. Teachers are turning to voice apps like Mote to give students richer and more meaningful feedback on homework assignments.

Student Engagement 359

Student Engagement Feedback Social Studies Assignments 359

Catlin Tucker

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

Why should teachers use rubrics to assess student work? Rubrics identify specific criteria relevant to the assignment, along with corresponding levels of performance that allow for more precise grading. How does using rubrics benefit students? It helps students understand what is expected and how they will be evaluated.

Fairness 545

Fairness Assignments Feedback Evaluation 545

Ask a Tech Teacher

JULY 9, 2024

I didn’t think PDF annotation grading tools would work, not even a little but, so when my colleague, George, introduced them in his online history class, I watched amazed at how seamlessly George could highlight key points, strike through errors, and add personalized feedback on student assignments. x Interested?

Assignments 167

Assignments Grades Feedback Evaluation 167

Catlin Tucker

NOVEMBER 29, 2020

So, it makes sense that teachers are frustrated when they feel like students are not engaging. The pandemic is presenting new barriers to student engagement, most obviously the lack of physical proximity. These spaces provide an avenue for students to learn from and with each other. Zoom or Google Meet Breakout Rooms.

Learning Spaces 545

Learning Spaces Student Engagement Learning Students 545

Edsurge

MARCH 15, 2024

This fall, after a restless night overthinking an assignment for my upcoming class and drinking three cups of not-strong-enough coffee, I added the final touch on my latest assignment for students in my World History II class. A core part of that is preparing students to write out in the real world. To what end?

Assignments 205

Assignments Essay History Social Studies 205

Catlin Tucker

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Teachers all over the country are being asked to teach “concurrent classrooms” in which some students attend class in person and others attend virtually. The teacher in a concurrent classroom attempts to meet the needs of the students in class and online simultaneously. instruction, scaffolds, practice, assignments).

Blended Learning 545

Blended Learning Teaching Learning Students 545

Catlin Tucker

MARCH 11, 2018

” I want them to pause and rephrase the question, “How can students?” Unfortunately, that mentality robs students of opportunities to learn. Below is an example of what it looks like to shift the work from the teacher to the student with the goal of placing students at the center of learning.

Blended Learning 419

Blended Learning Learning Students Feedback 419

Catlin Tucker

MAY 18, 2021

So, students should do the heavy cognitive lift of making meaning and applying their learning. Blended learning is “active, engaged learning online combined with active, engaged learning offline to give students more control over time, place, pace, and/or path of their learning.”

Blended Learning 521

Blended Learning Feedback Learning Beliefs 521

Catlin Tucker

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

“If I don’t grade it, students won’t do it.” ” This reasoning leaves teachers with piles of work to grade, but I wonder how much of that time spent assigning points to student work results in improved student performance. Feedback on a finished product is not useful to students.

Grades 420

Grades Feedback Assignments Motivation 420

Catlin Tucker

DECEMBER 31, 2020

My research made it clear that two of the most significant factors impacting teacher engagement was the depth of our relationships with students and our relationships with our colleagues. Teachers have found it challenging to connect with their students when a screen mediates those interactions. ” I hear this a lot. I disagree.

Learning 544

Learning Blended Learning Assignments Feedback 544

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 11, 2019

In a Twitter chat this month, I mentioned student-designed units. My favorite unit each year is the unit my students’ design. I strive to release responsibility of the learning to students gradually. I provide a list of texts students can choose from for the final unit. We spend the entire year building up to it.

Students 420

Students Discussions Reading Feedback 420

Catlin Tucker

DECEMBER 28, 2017

I encouraged teachers to stop taking grading home for two simple reasons: Grading in isolation robs us of the opportunity to have conversations with students as we assess their work and, ultimately, makes feedback one-sided and less effective. In that model, students hit four stations over the course of two days.

Grades 420

Grades Blended Learning Essay Feedback 420

eSchool News

JULY 23, 2021

During the pandemic, side-by-side student collaboration took a back seat to online learning and distanced in-person or hybrid learning. But student collaboration is a cornerstone of 21st-century skill-building, teaching students how to listen to others, build off of ideas that aren’t their own, compromise, and work as a team.

Hybrid Learning 312

Hybrid Learning Students Assignments Feedback 312

Catlin Tucker

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

“I wish I could just focus on one group of students at a time.” As I’ve said in previous blog posts, teaching in a concurrent classroom is the most challenging teaching assignment I can imagine. Despite their best efforts, teachers feel like they cannot be successful in teaching and reaching all students.

Evaluation 546

Evaluation Feedback Writing Assignments 546

k12 Digest

MAY 15, 2025

The implications stretch far beyond convenience or novelty- they represent a fundamental shift in how knowledge transfers from source to student. These AI-powered assistants serve as perpetually available guides, providing instant feedback, adaptive challenges, and personalised pathways through educational content.

Education 167

Education Learning Knowledge Feedback 167

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 22, 2024

As students move through a lesson, some acquire information and skills more quickly than others. Some students will need additional support, scaffolds, feedback, or reteaching to understand key concepts and apply specific strategies, processes, or skills. Check for understanding. Identify misconceptions or gaps.

Feedback 431

Feedback Quizzes Coaching Discussions 431

Catlin Tucker

JULY 2, 2019

I encourage teachers to think about the purpose of the work students are doing and evaluate whether it makes sense for them to invest their time and energy grading that work. It’s not realistic to expect that teachers will grade the majority of the work their students produce. For what purpose?

Grades 419

Grades Assignments Evaluation Coaching 419

Catlin Tucker

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

We also stress the importance of providing students with flexible means. All students can make progress toward firm goals, but they may need to take different paths to get there. Some students will move more slowly and benefit from additional support, scaffolds, and signage to get to the desired destination.

Blended Learning 521

Blended Learning Essay Feedback Writing 521

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 232

Math Participation Feedback High School 232

eSchool News

AUGUST 13, 2024

experiments, manipulatives, and real-world problem-solving tasks) require logical thinking and reasoning, which helps students grasp complex concepts. Group work fosters collaborative learning through projects and discussions, thereby encouraging students to consider different viewpoints and ideas. Hands-on activities (i.e.,

Cognitive Development 300

Cognitive Development Students Secondary Education Assignments 300

eSchool News

SEPTEMBER 4, 2024

Typically, information presented to students is either qualitative or too broad, such as during parent-teacher conferences or through course grades. These forms of feedback often focus on assignments and homework prior to college, where feedback becomes scarce.

Multiple Choice Questions 276

Multiple Choice Questions Feedback Students History 276

eSchool News

DECEMBER 3, 2021

In fact, the switch to hybrid and fully virtual learning during the pandemic highlighted how students can become distracted and lose motivation when they are seemingly hiding behind a screen, causing many frustrated parents and teachers to loathe the use of technology in learning. My teenage students love technology.

Motivation 328

Motivation Students Communication Feedback 328

Catlin Tucker

JANUARY 25, 2019

The Station Rotation Model is particularly popular because teachers do not need a device for every student to make it work. Instead, students rotate between offline and online stations. Begin your station with a challenge or problem and allow pairs of students to work together to solve it. 4 Real-Time Feedback.

Teachers 420

Teachers Essay Feedback Quizzes 420

Catlin Tucker

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Blended learning prioritizes student agency, striving to give them a high degree of control over the learning activities and environment. The fundamental shift in control from teacher to learner demands that classrooms be spaces where students feel comfortable sharing their ideas, taking risks, and making mistakes.

Blended Learning 506

Blended Learning Feedback Coaching Achievement 506

Catlin Tucker

MARCH 25, 2024

A playlist is a sequence of learning activities designed to move students toward a desired result. Most playlists culminate in a performance task or artifact intended to demonstrate students’ ability to transfer or apply what they learned working through the playlist.

Teachers 481

Teachers Art Feedback Writing 481

eSchool News

APRIL 10, 2025

According to a recent study, over 60 percent of educators believe traditional assessments fail to fully measure student understanding. With the rise of digital tools, teachers now have innovative ways to assess learning that provide deeper insights and engage students more meaningfully.

Evaluation 266

Evaluation Quizzes Critical Thinking Feedback 266

Catlin Tucker

OCTOBER 24, 2021

At first, I worried that my students might not fully grasp the film’s deeper meaning, but I was pleasantly surprised that they did. Students who generally struggle to read at grade level could engage with this assignment in ways equal to their classmates who read at or above grade level. The goal is to enjoy the film.

Blended Learning 397

Blended Learning Multiple Choice Questions Learning Discussions 397

eSchool News

AUGUST 19, 2022

million students on the Paper platform just in time for the 2022-2023 school year. Over the last several months, Paper worked with students and other stakeholder focus groups to understand how to improve its ESS and find better methods to engage with today’s students and their preferred ways to interact and learn.

Essay 258

Essay Feedback Math Assignments 258

Catlin Tucker

OCTOBER 14, 2020

And a growing number of teachers who began the year online are now shifting to the concurrent classroom where they are juggling the demands of teaching students both in class and online simultaneously. Yet, teachers and students need those touchpoints now more than ever. Students must select at least one activity from each column.

Learning 546

Learning Assignments Universal Design Feedback 546

Catlin Tucker

JANUARY 28, 2020

This book was inspired by the following… I want students to develop confidence in themselves and their abilities. I want students to understand that their grades are a reflection of their skills, and they are capable of improving those skills at any time. Four years ago, I made two important decisions.

Blended Learning 343

Blended Learning Feedback Learning Communication 343

Catlin Tucker

MAY 20, 2023

How can formative assessment data help students to develop their metacognitive skills? These informal assessments provide information to the teacher about students’ understanding of the material being covered and the skills being introduced. However, formative assessment data can be useful for teachers and students.

Metacognitive Skills 482

Metacognitive Skills Universal Design Blended Learning Evaluation 482

eSchool News

DECEMBER 4, 2023

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for many years, but the introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022 has generated many discussions of how this technology can impact education – both how students learn and how educators teach. Students may know how to use some technology, but not all. Most of the time, this is not true.

Collaborative Learning 317

Collaborative Learning Gamification Teachers Teaching Methods 317

eSchool News

DECEMBER 5, 2024

AI encourages cheating A common fear is that students will use AI to bypass learning. Instead of banning AI, educators can design assignments that leverage these tools. For instance, students must evaluate the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated information, distinguishing between helpful insights and misleading content.

Ethics 332

Ethics Critical Thinking Essay Students 332

eSchool News

MARCH 5, 2024

But while generative AI tools like ChatGPT have dominated conversations for the past year, there are many classroom tools that have quietly used AI to deliver personalized and targeted learning to students. This includes on-demand tutoring along with AI tools that offer feedback on written work.

Feedback 333

Feedback Essay Writing Learning Styles 333