🧵4/4
As coaches, we can make the biggest impact not by giving teachers everything at once, but by breaking "all things" into manageable steps, focusing only on 1 or 2 areas at a time and providing detailed year, unit, and/or lesson samples.

#SoMuchToLearn #EduSky #EduCoach #EduSkyChat

🧵3/4
This experience has been a powerful reminder: when we coach, we sometimes forget just how many moving parts teachers are juggling, especially when they’re new to a subject or grade.

#EduSky #EduCoach #EduSkyChat

🧵2/4
I have spent my summer immersed in research, resources, and planning. But the sheer amount of “what to know” is overwhelming: curriculum expectations, essential skills, success criteria, quality texts, assessment plans… the list goes on.

#EduSky #EduCoach #EduSkyChat

Sounds lovely

Right. And that is the point I would like to dive deeper into.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to live in a world where grades and marks are not necessary. I am just wondering if, given the current system we have that demands grades, is there a better way to make them work for learning? 🤷‍♀️

Totally hear that. But I wonder what the instructional moves were after the students received the mark. In transparent, iterative systems, could grades land differently? Also, aside from the Gr6 study Boaler cites, is there newer research involving progressive classrooms that explores this nuance?

11/🧵
I don’t know… it’s a morning rant about one of the things I want to explore when I return to the classroom in September
But am super curious about what others in the education world are thinking/doing…!

10/🧵
Unfortunately, grades are a true reality of our current system and society. We need to provide them twice a year and parents and post secondary rely on them. Until the system changes, I am curious if there is a way to use them productively.

9/🧵
So maybe the question isn’t: Should we go gradeless?
Maybe it’s: Should we build transparent, flexible systems where grades inform learning, not end it?

8/🧵
In the traditional model, a grade feels like a black box. Students don’t know how it was calculated or if it’s even changeable. It’s static. Final. That’s the problem.

7/🧵
What if the real issue isn’t the grade itself… but the lack of transparency around it? If students clearly understand:
✅ How they got the grade
✅ What they can do to change it
✅ How it fits into the overall grade
✅ That they can try again
Would that shift the impact?

6/🧵
But in a progressive classroom, where students get multiple opportunities to revisit and grow, does the grade still carry the same weight? Or could it actually support the learning if handled right?

5/🧵
That research often looked at traditional models where a grade = final judgment. One chance. One shot. The mark is a dead end, not a launchpad. That is demotivating.

4/🧵
Now… I know the research. Grades alone don’t drive learning. Feedback without grades? Much more effective. But I wonder… if that research would be different in a more progressive model of instruction

3/🧵
Parents who aren’t educators might not understand what “developing” means. If their child isn’t “proficient” yet, they may not know how to help. Or even realize their child can improve. That’s a big risk.