I Stopped Giving Tests. Here’s What I Do Instead

You release students to work on an in-class assignment, and then you walk around the room. A pencil hovers. A conversation stalls. An unexpected idea takes shape. But are you noticing these clues—and do you know what to do with them? In this episode of School of Practice, educator and K-12 district leader Amir Taron Ayres shares his strategies for circulating through the classroom with purpose. We’ll talk through how to spot misconceptions, prepare students to share their thinking, and adjust instruction in real time. Along the way, we’ll explore what your path through the room reveals about who gets your attention—and whose ideas you might be missing. Related resources: Learn more about this episode What Purposefully Circulating Through the Classroom Looks Like Student Engagement as an Aspect of Classroom Management Video: A Versatile Seating Arrangement That Really Works Research: Teachers’ Gaze over Space and Time in a Real-World Classroom

It started with a student writing a joke on a sticky note: “I hope we have no tests this year.”  Five years later, high school teacher Jodie Deinhammer’s science classroom remains test-free—and her students are still learning and retaining the content at a fast clip.  In this episode, host Kristin Leong talks with Jodie about why and how she replaced high-stakes testing with projects, labs, open-note checks, and daily formative assessments. She’ll offer advice on handling this major shift with parents, and explain why she listens closely to her students’  feedback. Plus, she’s got deeply vetted takeaways for teachers who are ready to rethink their approach to grading—while keeping rigor high and stress low. Related resources: Learn more about this episode A Year of No Tests Will Students Engage if there are No Grades? A Review of the Evidence The Proven Benefits of Grading Less The Evidence-Backed Grader Do No Harm: Flexible and Smart Grading Practices Why Teachers Should Grade Less Frequently When  Grading Harms Student Learning

Have you ever had a lesson get derailed by a power struggle with a student? Or is there a student in your class who you got off on the wrong foot with, and you’re not sure of the best way to repair the relationship? In this episode of School of Practice, ELA teacher Tyler Rablin shares some of his favorite classroom management strategies—and they’re ones that you probably didn’t learn in teacher prep. From a simple change involving a squat, to three magic words that aren’t the ones you’d expect, Tyler breaks down how to shift a chaotic classroom to a calm one. And the good news? These strategies work across grade levels and subjects. And you can start using them tomorrow—no extensive prep or fancy incentives required. Related resources: Learn more about this episode 11 Classroom Management Tweaks You Don’t Learn in Teacher Prep How Novice and Expert Teachers Approach Classroom Management Differently 7 Classroom Management Mistakes—and the Research on How to Fix Them Video: 4 Subtle Shifts for Better Classroom Management Research: Cultivating Positive Teacher–Student Relationships: Preliminary Evaluation of the Establish–Maintain–Restore (EMR) Method Research: Foundations for Proactive & Respectful Practice in Elementary Classrooms Literature Review: I’ve Got the Power: The Effects of Physical Positioning in the K-12 Classroom on Power Dynamics

Did you know that drawing can be a learning superpower—even for students who claim they’re not good at it?  Research shows that when kids attentively sketch something they’re learning about, they tap into the visual, kinesthetic, and linguistic parts of their brains. This generates rich connections across the brain’s neural network and encodes learning more deeply compared to passive learning tasks like reading or listening to a lecture.  We revisit our 2025 conversation with science educator Selim Tlili to uncover how drawing to learn works across grade levels and subjects. Plus, he’s got special tips for engaging even the most reluctant sketch artists. Related resources: Learn more about this episode How Sketching Supports Learning in Science  Using Drawing as a Powerful Learning Tool  The Science of Drawing and Memory  Research: The Surprisingly Powerful Influence of Drawing on Memory  5 Popular Education Beliefs That Aren’t Backed by Research  Sketching for Science 

Everyone makes mistakes—including teachers. While educators are quick to reframe student mistakes through a growth mindset lens, they’re less forgiving when it comes to their own slipups. But teacher errors often follow familiar patterns and can be a source of exceptional personal and professional growth. In this episode of School of Practice, ELA teacher and instructional specialist Miriam Plotinsky digs into the most common teacher mistakes and identifies key strategies for quick, effective resets that get learning back on track. We’ll also hear from a few classroom teachers about their own missteps, and examine the research about how students benefit when teachers address their own mistakes head-on. Related resources: Learn more about this episode 6 Common Teacher Mistakes—And How To Avoid Them Teachers’ Intellectual Humility Benefits Adolescents’ Interest and Learning PEW: How K-12 Teachers Manage Their Workload A Simple Way to Self-Monitor for Bias 5 Steps to Leveraging Background Knowledge in Lessons  Using Formative Assessment to Measure Student Progress How to Engage Students the Moment They Enter the Classroom 29 High-Impact Formative Assessment Strategies How to Avoid Rushing—a Pitfall for Even the Most Experienced Teachers

Like a lot of other educators, Nicholas Ferroni is trying to find his way back to a time before technology was the default classroom mode. He thinks he was a better teacher back then—and kids acted more like kids. Last year, Nick published a viral Instagram post in which he pledged to go back to basics in his teaching, back to “more paper, more writing, more eye contact, more conversations.” In this episode, Nick tells us how he turned the clock back, what he thinks his students have gained from less tech time, and why he’s not giving up on classroom tech completely. Related resources: Learn more about this episode Should Laptops Really Go the Way of Cell Phones? Tech-Free January What Happened When Our School Went Tech-Free for the Day? 7 Tech Routines for Balanced Usage

Before there’s curriculum or calendars or lesson plans, there’s the classroom space itself, stripped of last year’s posters and anchor charts. Where should teachers begin? We’ve got the answers. In this back-to-school episode, editors Youki Terada and Steve Merrill review over 30 high-quality studies on classroom design and boil them down to five big takeaways, from how to use wall decoration to maximize student attention to why potted plants can alter student perceptions of the classroom—and the teacher, too! Related resources: Learn more about this episode The Science of Classroom Design Flexible Classrooms: Research Is Scarce but Promising Designing the Ideal Classroom Space The Impact of Classroom Design on Pupils’ Learning: Final Results of a Holistic, Multi-level Analysis  The Sweet Spot for Classroom Decorations Telling the Story of Learning In Displays of Student Work Making the Most of Your Classroom Walls

How do you lay the foundation for real community in your classroom? Teachers know (and the research supports this) that when kids feel safe and connected in school, they’re better equipped to focus on learning. The start of a new school year is a crucial time for this type of work – and it goes beyond icebreakers.  In this episode of School of Practice, we’ll hear from three educators who’ve developed powerful activities for building robust classroom cultures, including a strategy for co-creating classroom norms, an exercise that gets students discovering what they have in common, and a memorable 60-second trust-building activity. Together, these activities go beyond typical icebreakers – and set the stage for a classroom where students feel they belong. Related resources: Learn more about this episode Building Classroom Community Through Daily Dedications (video) A Daily Ritual That Builds Trust and Community Among Students Establishing Connections in a New Classroom Community (video) Fostering Belonging With Classroom Norms (video) Research: Impact of School-Based Interventions for Building School Belonging in Adolescence: a Systematic Review Research: Teacher–Student Relationships and Student Outcomes: A Systematic Second-Order Meta-Analytic Review. Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom Child’s Play in Action WMPG’s Blunt Youth Radio

Do you want to build a vibrant classroom community this year, but you’re not sure where to start? Research shows it’s well worth the effort—and the first week of school is the perfect time to lay that foundation. When students feel a strong sense of belonging at school, they tend to be more motivated to learn and achieve higher academic outcomes.   In this first back-to-school episode from School of Practice, teacher Marcus Luther shares a simple activity that helps him get to know his students from day one, and sets the tone for the year ahead. Then, he shares two easy strategies for keeping that feedback practice going, so you can continue to build belonging and engagement all year long. Related resources: Learn more about this episode A First-Week Survey That Fits on an Index Card Collecting and Using Student Feedback Throughout the Year Monthly Pulse-Check Template: Ask Your Students How Class is Going Creating a Cycle of Student Feedback Making Schoolwide Use of Student Surveys The Value of Soliciting Student Feedback Improving Teaching with Expert Feedback – From Students Research: Strengthening School Connectedness to Increase Student Success Research: The relationships between school belonging and students’ motivational, social-emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes in secondary education: a meta-analytic review

Teaching is hard (often draining) work, and educators’ instincts about what will bring relief are frequently wrong—just as they are for most people.  That’s because our minds deceive us, says cognitive scientist and Yale professor Laurie Santos, one of the world’s leading researchers on well-being and happiness. “One of the most annoying features of the mind is the fact that we all have these intuitions about the kinds of things we should be doing to feel better. But the research shows that many of those intuitions are just incorrect.” In this episode of School of Practice, Dr. Santos joins host Kristin Leong to debunk some of the most popular and persistent myths about happiness—more money *mostly* doesn’t buy more happiness, for example, and a values mismatch at work may be more consequential for burnout than you think—and shares a set of evidence-based tools teachers can begin to apply right away to reclaim a sense of balance.  Related resources: Learn more about this episode The Research on Protecting Teacher Well-Being  Coursera: The Science of Well-Being The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos Yale’s Happiness Professor Says Anxiety Is Destroying Her Students What a New Survey Says About Teachers’ Plans to Leave Their Jobs  The Burnout Challenge No, You Don’t Always Have to Confront Your Feelings Right Away Ross Gay on Finding Everyday Delights Research: Exploring the Ripple Effect of ‘Always On’ Digital Work Culture in Secondary Education Settings (2021) Research: Time Confetti and the Broken Promise of Leisure (2020) Research: Buying Time Promotes Happiness (2017) Research: Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself (2015) Research: High Income Improves Evaluation of Life but Not Emotional Well-Being (2010) Research: Toward a Durable Happiness (2008) Research: Achieving Sustainable Gains in Happiness: Change Your Actions, not Your Circumstances (2006) Research: Counting Blessings versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life (2003)