152 Search results

For the term "Barbara Blackburn".

Learning Portraits Help Differentiate Teaching

Want to differentiate instruction while assuring rigor? Create a 3-D portrait of each of your students using a mix of formal and informal strategies. Teaching expert Barbara Blackburn has tips for gathering insights about background knowledge, culture, and growth mindset.

Leadership: Listening to Others in Volatile Times

Active listening is a key skill for school leaders, especially when faced with the need to mediate complex or volatile issues. Consultants Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn describe 5 barriers to effective listening and 10 tips to help every leader become more successful.

15 of Our Most-Read Articles During 2021

Co-editors John Norton and Susan Curtis highlight 15 of MiddleWeb’s most popular posts for middle level educators during the past 12 months. You’ll find articles that were new in 2021 or rediscovered and shared widely in this second “weirdest year ever.”

7 Teacher Supports During Stressful Times

Educators are exhausted and under attack, and faculty and staff need school leaders to take their frontline challenges seriously, write Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn. The leadership authors detail seven steps principals can take to offer real help and support.

Rigor Helps Kids with Special Needs Succeed

We may believe our students who are struggling – whether they have special needs, are English learners or are otherwise challenged – simply cannot learn at high levels. By exploring the meaning of educational “rigor,” Barbara Blackburn and Bradley Witzel show how they can.

13 of Our Most Helpful Pandemic Posts

Blended teaching? Hybrid teaching? Remote teaching? We don’t know for sure when teaching “pandemic-style” will go away, but with a look over the last year, here are 13 insightful MiddleWeb articles about surviving the “blend” and hanging on to some strategies that were long overdue.

10 Actions Help Navigate Challenge and Dissent

Community dissent is rising and schools are not immune. The dilemma for principals: conflicting demands from different groups of parents and other influencers. Ron Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn offer 10 leadership strategies that can help lessen the impact of conflict.

MiddleWeb’s Latest Back to School Posts

At MiddleWeb central in North Carolina, late summer means fresh back-to-school ideas from our bloggers and guest writers. Discover the wealth of teacher wisdom highlighted in one, easy-to-access post. We’ll add more posts as they arrive.

‘Draft Alongs’ Help Kids Grow Olympic Mindsets

Kelly Owens saw that polished texts didn’t model the struggles writers go through. “It was like showing kids an elite Olympian’s performance and asking them to replicate it.” With her ‘Draft Along’ activity, students now experience the wrinkly reality of the writing process.