Teacher Toms Blog

JUNE 19, 2025

The failures of school are taken by most people as proof that education is very costly, very complex, always arcane, and frequently impossible task." Testing was rare and largely inconsequential. The reward is not a grade or a test score, but rather the satisfaction of having asked your own questions and finding you own answers.

Motivation 101

Motivation Testing Failure Grades 101

Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 10, 2017

They all worked for a while and then, maybe when the novelty wore off, I was back to the same Bell curve of successes, failures, and those in between. The success or failure of my students’ learning is about what I do or don’t do. The same could be said of Standards and curricula adopted in my varied teaching gigs. Or not occurring.

Learning 183

Learning Failure Evaluation Feedback 183

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Testing anxiety shows itself in different ways for different students. Some students avoid school on test days, and many suffer from symptoms such as stomachaches or headaches. It’s a common belief that testing anxiety affects only older students, such as those taking high school or college placement exams.

Special Education 363

Special Education Testing Disabilities Failure 363

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

my students informed me, running over after their latest test. “Is Over the last five years, I have worked hard to teach my students that failure is a gift. This isn’t a new idea, but we still struggle with the idea that failure is a necessary component of success. Embracing failure can seem counterintuitive to students.

Failure 217

Failure Testing Beliefs Middle School 217

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Florida school leaders worry schools won’t be able to manage testing requirements. Many Florida superintendents fear their schools won’t be able to manage all the new computer-based testing set to begin next week. Next page: How schools might not be equipped to handle the testing influx.

Testing 225

Testing Failure Exams Schools 225

Edsurge

AUGUST 8, 2017

They would do well on timed tests, just acing timed tests. It isn’t foolproof though, and in a new book Talbert gives a frank look into his classroom experiences, and his tips on how to avoid flipped failure. What are some tips based on your experiences, some ways to avoid flipped failure? They seemed to be engaged.

Failure 143

Failure Lecturing Syllabus Instructors 143

eSchool News

JANUARY 22, 2025

The basic steps of design thinking are empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test (Interaction Design Foundation, 2016). The goal is for students to lead with empathy to identify and define a problem, then develop a realistic solution to that problem that can be tested and refined through feedback. link] Dorland, A. 2016, May 25).

Failure 297

Failure Critical Thinking Essay Feedback 297

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

We still do not have a coherent national approach to rapid-results testing. So again, the failure of national leadership is being visited upon school leaders who face this impossible dilemma. That is incredibly frustrating. If you look across the world, other countries have handled the pandemic very differently. But we have to be safe.

Failure 191

Failure History Schools Internet 191

eSchool News

JANUARY 6, 2025

In a TEDx talk titled The Super Mario Effect–Tricking Your Brain into Learning More , Mark Rober highlighted how video games like Super Mario can motivate people to achieve their goals by viewing failures as learning opportunities. Theyre encouraged to embrace mistakes, stay motivated, and deepen their understanding of the material.

Failure 320

Failure Motivation Gamification Cognitive Development 320

eSchool News

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

However, as policy makers determine what that flexibility looks like, they should consider the consequences of pausing testing for another year. Invest in remote proctoring : It is likely that hybrid learning is here to stay, and educators may not be able to administer tests in the typical classroom setting.

Failure 291

Failure Hybrid Learning Education Testing 291

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

For instance, you could test them with the viral image of the blue dress to teach them about different perspectives, then ask them to ponder the science behind the image. Encourage students to embrace failure as a part of the learning process. This hack is great for promoting independent thinking and increases classroom participation!

STEM 312

STEM Failure Communication Classroom Management 312

eSchool News

JANUARY 29, 2019

Test scores, homework completion, and grades have soared and parents who had never visited their student’s classroom now volunteer regularly. Failure is recognized, encouraged, and embraced as essential to learning as we all strive for personal improvement, academic tenacity, and success. Learning is a community experience.

Active Learning 278

Active Learning Activities Failure Learning 278

eSchool News

OCTOBER 2, 2024

Have them create their inventions and test them out. Here’s the kicker: if they aren’t able to create a working prototype in the allotted time, don’t see that as a failure. If they don’t work, ask to them to figure out why they don’t work so they can make adjustments. all the iPhone iterations).

Science 316

Science STEM Failure Discussions 316

Edsurge

MAY 10, 2018

Lessons from Forward Failures “Most of today’s schools were designed for a different time and purpose. However, innovating schools and actually putting those calls to practice can get messy, and it appeared that one theme throughout the event was about facing and learning from those failures. Many transferred for sure, but many didn’t.”

Failure 129

Failure Languages Language Elementary School 129

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

We can’t test students on their innovation, but we can encourage them to explore new concepts, look at challenges from all sides, and embrace failures as opportunities to try again with more knowledge. Innovation is more than a buzzword today—it’s something educators strive for in their classrooms, schools, and districts.

Failure 279

Failure Schools Knowledge Testing 279

eSchool News

MARCH 26, 2025

The reality of jagged learning paths Students arent afraid of hard work–theyre afraid of failure without purpose. Creativity, leadership, innovation, and collaboration matter as much as standardized test scores and have a much greater impact on their future careers. Yet, our current system often makes kids feel exactly that way.

Failure 307

Failure Math Achievement Beliefs 307

Catlin Tucker

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

It creates an environment where mistakes are seen not as failures but as opportunities for growth and exploration. We should treat review and practice not as tests of competence or compliance but as stepping stones towards mastery, encouraging a growth mindset in our students.

Evaluation 428

Evaluation Assignments Failure Discussions 428

eSchool News

MARCH 22, 2024

Jump ahead 19 years, and we were experiencing inconsistent startups (30-40 second blackouts before the generator would start and provide power) when power failure events happened. Through collaboration with facilities, we captured multiple data points about what was happening from the point of failure until the generated power was active.

Failure 284

Failure Testing Activities Technology 284

eSchool News

DECEMBER 6, 2018

While older students may pause and analyze success and failure in between solutions, younger children tend to move more quickly from one solution to the next. They get to touch, squish, and test the properties of different items. Engineering design process : For early education, this is three steps: explore, create, improve.

Failure 280

Failure Learning STEM Curriculum Design 280

eSchool News

MARCH 20, 2019

I like to keep parents in the loop at all times, so each day I send out updates about upcoming tests, attach study guides, or include a monthly calendar with upcoming events. A successful relationship between educators and parents requires this sort of constant communication, whether via phone call, email, or even an in-person conversation.

Failure 277

Failure Communication Assignments Study 277

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

At Webb, where about 75 percent of students are on free or reduced lunch, sinking test scores and references to a “failing school” led to low morale among parents and staff. “I want them to fail, but I want them to learn from the failure.” ”

Failure 279

Failure Testing Activities Teachers 279

Edsurge

DECEMBER 3, 2019

And for those who have closely followed the international test, which is delivered to 15-year-olds in developed countries every three years, the top-line results won’t offer many surprises. Compared to the previous test in 2015, the scores stayed flat. The latest PISA scores are out.

Testing 140

Testing Exams Intelligence Failure 140

eSchool News

MARCH 9, 2023

Are students allowed to retake tests on which they did not do well? Some college courses simply provide a curved score for students to lower the failure rate or to stratify student performance. Grading is time consuming, however, and more grading-related questions are popping up in the news these days.

Grades 263

Grades Teachers Instructors Exams 263

eSchool News

JUNE 1, 2018

If I don’t give my students homework in 7th grade, am I setting them up for failure in their future advanced courses? At the beginning of my career in Chicago, I taught 7th- and 8th-grade math in a system where students took a test and applied to get into selective high schools. My homework past.

Assignments 268

Assignments Failure Math Motivation 268

Edsurge

DECEMBER 18, 2018

For years, personalities like Sir Ken Robinson have taken education systems to task for actually testing the creativity out of students. You have to provide physical space, emotional space and time for kids to try things and experience either success or failure.

Testing 168

Testing Schools Art Feedback 168

eSchool News

JANUARY 30, 2019

The middle of the year is cold, the holidays are over, and we are looking at the high-pressure demands of preparing students for standardized testing. If it didn’t work, we would bury it in the worst failures of the Mike Gaskell Graveyard. This can feel overwhelming and make the most positive teacher feel less enthusiastic.

Failure 249

Failure Beliefs Fairness Middle School 249

eSchool News

JUNE 14, 2021

Reading difficulties such as dyslexia are generally diagnosed in second or third grade, after repeated failure to learn to read and after the most effective intervention window,” said Carla Small, co-founder and CEO of EarlyBird Education.

Education 255

Education Failure Reading Testing 255

eSchool News

SEPTEMBER 5, 2022

Growing up, an unsteady family life meant that I frequently moved from school to school, and such an upbringing left me with no desire to focus on schoolwork, feeling like a failure because I lacked the foundation a consistent education would have given me. In that moment, I began forging my own educational path.

Failure 246

Failure Exams Teachers English 246

eSchool News

JUNE 3, 2015

The early warning system must include the following indicators: attendance below 90 percent, suspensions, and course failure or a Level 1 score on state tests in English language arts or mathematics.

Failure 208

Failure English Art Languages 208

eSchool News

APRIL 2, 2025

The issue is not just that K-12 education lacks challenging work; its that the system actively discourages failure. This wasnt a sign of failure; it was an essential part of learning. I cant recall a single homework assignment that was easier than a test question. It was assumed that students would struggle.

Failure 170

Failure Assignments Education Secondary Education 170

eSchool News

MAY 10, 2016

This perception of intellectual “haves” and “have nots” is one that Lang Chen, a postdoctoral fellow in cognitive psychology and neuroscience at Stanford University, recently tested.

Failure 275

Failure Beliefs Math Intelligence 275

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

According to National Assessment of Educational Progress test results, roughly two decades of academic progress has been lost during the pandemic. Drawing on scientific knowledge, learners brainstorm designs, and then build, test, and analyze them iteratively to generate original solutions.

Science 260

Science STEM Failure Ethics 260

eSchool News

DECEMBER 31, 2018

As schools are adopting and using more digital tools, they are looking for solutions that not only consolidate functions to reduce the risks of privacy or security failure, avoid confusion among teachers and parents, and also better connect and engage school communities. Dr. Carolyn Brown, president and co-founder, Foundations in Learning. •

Failure 280

Failure Learning Outcomes Communication Activities 280

eSchool News

APRIL 3, 2025

The material feels irrelevant or unvaluable to students One of the primary reasons students cheat is that they dont perceive the material being tested as valuable or relevant to their lives. This anxiety can lead students to seek out AI tools as a quick and easy solution to avoid failure or mitigate their stress.

Academic Integrity 199

Academic Integrity Failure Students Culture 199

eSchool News

AUGUST 12, 2024

Here is one way teachers can use AI tools to curate an entire class’s flow, its study materials, and practice tests without the aid of an army of teaching assistants. A disclaimer for all educators: During my testing, ChatGPT, Claude, Le Chat, and other AI tools would routinely generate rudimentary questions in response to my prompts.

Quizzes 287

Quizzes Lecturing Ethics Exams 287

eSchool News

APRIL 3, 2019

For students with anxiety, the fear of the unknown, of potential judgement, and/or of failure is so intense that the solution is often to pull the pendulum as far back in the opposite direction as possible. If perfection is not a possibility, then a student with anxiety doesn’t see the risk as worth taking.

Failure 261

Failure Education Students English 261

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

With robots in general, and especially with virtual robots, students are more likely to try stuff without fear of failure because it’s just a robot—or, in our case, it’s just a collection of click-and-drag images. They don’t need a solution from me, and I don’t have to be a robotics or programming expert.

Teaching 289

Teaching STEM Middle School Middle School 289