In a new book, Zaretta Hammond (@Ready4rigor) likens the role of teachers to that of athletic trainers building students' academic muscle. #EWOpinion @LarryFerlazzo

#HispanicHeritageMonth is a time to honor the threads of culture that shape community. Chávez’s words calls us to justice in #edu: Culture is not extra credit, it’s entry to deeper learning and respecting identity sets students up for the productive struggle that fuels it. 🧠.

And that’s what my new book Rebuilding Students’ Learning Power is all about. It gives #teachers a road map for coaching students to grow their own learning power & reclaim the cognitive capital too often left underdeveloped. You can get it here! https://t.co/TYFAtX9fzn #edu

Here, I sit down w/ @LarryFerlazzo in an @EducationWeek Classroom Q&A to talk about what it will take to change that. We dug into the sci of learning, how to disrupt “cognitive redlining,” and why helping students move from compliance to curiosity is key:

When schools closed in 2020, it exposed what was already true: too many students hadn’t learned how to without excessive scaffolding. Without skills to be cognitively independent, unfinished learning became what the World Bank calls learning poverty, and inequities only deepened.

Grateful to talk with @Larryferlazzo in this new EdWeek column about the big idea behind my new book with @CorwinPress, Rebuilding Students’ Learning Power. Check out the link below. 👇🏾

These are the kinds of practical moves I break down every month in the Ready4Rigor 🧠 newsletter. If you want resources that make coaching for #edu equity doable, come join the community:

💡Tip 3: Practice noticing and naming. Be specific. Point out where a student took a risk or pushed through. The brain is wired to remember mistakes. We have to help it linger on wins long enough to change the narrative.

💡Tip 2: Help them rewrite their explanatory story.  When a student says “I’m not a math person,” don’t let it stick. Guide them to reframe: “I can learn math in my own way.” The story they tell themselves drives what they believe is possible.

💡Tip 1: Watch your words. Every comment shapes how students see themselves. “Good job” is vague. Try, “I saw how you stretched your thinking there.” That kind of feedback links effort and strategy to their learner identity.

The start of school isn’t just about routines. It’s when students are shaping their learner identity. That’s the story they tell themselves about what kind of learner they are. Coaches & teachers have real influence on that story. Here’s my advice:

Building trust with students isn’t fluff. It’s strategy.  On IG (@Ready4Rigor), I’m breaking down how to humanize classrooms & strengthen learning partnerships with bite-sized tips and strategies. Come through for the convo on #edu equity and teaching!

Compliance led instruction gets in the way of learning! Student agency, productive struggle, along w/ knowing and understanding the learner promotes learning! Another great conversation w/ ⁦@Ready4rigor⁩ 😍 #MorningWalk #ListenToLearn

It’s International #LiteracyDay. There’s still nothing like picking up a good book and getting lost in its story. But #reading has always been more than words on a page. It fuels imagination, builds empathy, strengthens health & connects us across difference.

Join me on 9/4 at 4:30 PM CT for Literacy for Liberation: Leveraging Translanguage for Belonging and Cognition. A free webinar with 3 practical strategies grounded in my Ignite-Chunk-Chew-Review framework. Register: https://t.co/zPpfBIcXQ2 #edchat #belonging

That is where translanguaging comes in. It is not a trick but a way of being. It leverages the full spectrum of students’ linguistic assets as the bridge between community and cognition.

While the grills may cool post Labor Day, we cannot afford to cool down literacy instruction. From day one, belonging and literacy must walk together. Too often we treat them as separate. They are not. #edchat #edu

Literacy opens doors. But too many students in grades 5-9 are still left outside. In my six-session #Ready4Rigor Masterclass, we’ll blend the science of reading + the science of learning to close gaps for secondary students. Register today! https://t.co/SBkCgqNfSQ #edu #edchat

As we start the new year it’s important to remember every teacher is a reading teacher. Thanks @bwileducate for sharing! Give it a listen if you haven’t already.

Literally listened to this episode 6 times, shared it with my colleagues, and marked it as a favorite! 😍 😍 😍 ⁦⁦⁦@Ready4rigor⁩ Pedagogy of possibilities, word wealth and apprentices are now part of my lexicon! #morningwalk #listentolearn 💡