Improving Education Today: The Deep Dive

Angela and Davey do a "Deep Dive" discussing shared leadership in schools, and how to avoid staff resentment when they are asked to participate on committees and in school improvement decisions. Based on Dr. Howie Knoff's November 9, 2024 blog post, your Hosts outline a shared leadership school model that involves seven components--each supported by six school-level committees--all to improve stud...

Angela and Davey discuss the importance of the speed of implementation when change processes in districts or schools. Using a blog message posted on October 19, 2024 by Dr. Howie Knoff, your Hosts emphasize that the optimal speed of implementing school reforms depends on a number of factors. They contrast last year's rapid, systemic overhaul led by Superintendent Mike Miles in the Houston Independ...

Angela and Davey discuss the often-present "wall" between general education teachers and special education teachers, and how this impacts students with disabilities. . . who are often more general education students than those with dramatic special needs. Based on an October 5, 2024 blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff, your Hosts address the long-standing conflict between general and special education in...

Davey and Angela discuss the current state of students' mental health across the country, and the challenges that schools face relative to addressing these students' social-emotional needs. Based on a September 21, 2024 Blog by Dr. Howie Knoff, your hosts discuss (a) the characteristics and concerns with social-emotional screening tools; (b) the use of the ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences (scre...

Davey and Angela examine the detrimental effects of adopting ineffective educational fads and programs on school staff and relative to student outcomes. Based on the September 7, 2024 blog by Dr. Howie Knoff, they note how many schools do not sufficiently evaluate new programs or interventions before purchasing and/or implementing them. They especially highlight the lack of rigorous methodology an...

Angela and Davey address the alarming mental health and social-emotional challenges facing U.S. students, citing a CDC report showing significant increases in sadness, hopelessness, violence, and bullying. Building from Dr. Howie Knoff's August 24, 2024 blog, they advocate for a comprehensive, evidence-based social skills program, implemented from preschool through high school, as a foundational e...

Davey and Angela compare the success of the U.S. Women's 2024 gold-winning Olympic Gymnastics team to what schools need to do to attain comprehensive levels of school success.  Using Dr. Howie Knoff's August 10, 2024 blog as a jumping off point, your Hosts emphasize that creating a "winning" school requires teamwork, coordination between staff, and a focus on student well-being. They additional no...

Angela and Davey discuss one of the most concerning topics in education today: Students' school and classroom behavior and interpersonal interactions. Anchored by Dr. Howie Knoff's July 27, 2024 blog, our Hosts analyze a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey revealing widespread student behavioral issues in U.S. schools, including lack of focus, classroom disruptions, disrespect,...

Davey and Angela discuss school improvement, and the "Seven Sure Solutions". . . the evidenced-based components. . . that have been proven to facilitate school success in schools across the country. Guided by Dr. Howie Knoff's July 13, 2024 blog post, your Hosts critique the narrow definition of school success that is solely based on standardized test scores. In doing this, they highlight the sign...

Davey and Angela take on the topic of teaching students social skills in school and how to do this. They do this by critically reviewing the June 22, 2024 blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff. Dr. Howie advocates for a behavioral approach to teaching social skills in schools, particularly to pre-K through 3rd-grade students. Your Hosts echo Dr. Howie noting that current social-emotional learning (SEL) pro...

In today's Program, Angela and Davey summarizes a June 8, 2024 Blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff explaining Title IX's requirements regarding sexual harassment in schools. They highlight the frequent lack of awareness among school officials regarding Title IX's specific procedures and responsibilities--even though it is Federal law. Their discussion details Title IX's definitions of key terms, such as...

Angela and Davey tackle the challenging topic of increasing student engagement. Using Dr. Howie Knoff's May 25, 2024 Blog message as a guide, they advocate for proactive measures to address student disengagement. They also emphasize the importance of planning interventions well in advance of the new school year, beginning even the prior April and May.  They discuss Dr. Howie's suggestions for a mu...

Davey and Angela outline Dr. Howie Knoff's May 11, 2024 Blog and his critique of ineffective Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) practices in education. Dr. Howie argues that many companies market MTSS services without sufficient evidence of their effectiveness, comparing this to medical malpractice. Your Hosts describe the Blog's MTSS "First Things First" protocol, emphasizing the comprehensiv...

Angela and Davey reflect on Dr. Howie Knoff's April 27, 2024 Blog that uses the parable of the Sword of Damocles to illustrate the potentially devastating consequences of uncontrolled social media use. They discuss how Dr. Howie details a colleague's public relations disaster stemming from an ill-advised social media post, highlighting the importance of humility, self-control, and thoughtful commu...

Dr. Howie Knoff's April 13, 2024 blog post  details a day in his life as an educational consultant, reflecting on observations from a laundromat revealing the complex lives of students and their families. He also discusses his work as an expert witness in special education cases, highlighting the challenges of supporting students with autism. Listen to Angela and Davey as they reflect on the perva...

Davey and Angela reflect on Dr. Howie Knoff's March 30, 2024 blog post (from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions) exploring how cognitive biases influence perceptions and decisions within educational settings. Your hosts define cognitive biases and their relationship to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination--providing examples of eight common biases. These biases are categorized by when the...

Davey and Angela use Dr. Howie Knoff's March 16, 2024 Blog to address the challenges schools face in selecting and implementing evidence-based programs. They highlight five common mistakes educators make when evaluating programs, emphasizing the need to move beyond simplistic metrics like effect sizes and to critically examine the research methodology. They also advocates for replacing the terms "...

Based on Dr. Howie Knoff's February 24, 2024 Blog, Davey and Angela examine the importance of media and product literacy for educators, drawing parallels between Super Bowl commercials' persuasive techniques and the marketing of educational products. They emphasize the need to critically evaluate marketing claims, particularly the terms "scientifically-based," "evidence-based," and "research-based...

On February 6, 2024, Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter for allowing her son to bring a gun to school where he killed four and injured seven others. Facing up to 60 years in prison, Davey and Angela discuss Dr. Howie's Blog on this situation, analyzing the case and asking: Will this decision move the pendulum toward greater parental accountability when sc...

Many challenging, controversial, and emotional social issues have impacted the climate and interactions across students, staff, and schools. To ensure that discussions around these issues are safe and productive, staff need to be trained to teach and guide students in the necessary discussion expectations, ground rules, and conflict prevention and resolution strategies. Davey and Angela unpack Dr....

Davey and Angela analyze Dr. Howie's first Blog of 2024. The Blog reviews a major study demonstrating that high school grades across the country have been inflated from 2010 through 2022. At the same time, it emphasizes that grades are less important than the mastery of specific academic skills when predicting success in the next course, the next level of education, or a graduate’s performance onc...

Davey and Angela end this year (and Volume) by reviewing the critical issues that highlighted the 2023 calendar year. Guided by Dr. Howie Knoff's year-end Blog--summarizing all of his 2023 Blog posts-- your Hosts tackle the persistent challenges faced by virtually every educator.  Five key themes are examined: (a) Hiring, Supervising, Supporting, and Retaining School Staff; (b) Encouraging Effecti...

Angela and Davey discuss the essence of Dr. Howie Knoff's December 9, 2023 blog which critiques the oversimplification of educational solutions to address students' complex mental health issues. Knoff argues that diluting sophisticated interventions within the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) undermines their effectiveness, delays appropriate help for students, and may actually make the orig...

Davey and Angela talk about the importance of teaching students how to control their emotions, and yet many schools are teaching these emotional self-control or self-regulation skills in ways that ignore the neurobehavioral and psychological research-to-practice. Their discussion is anchored by a Blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff on effective social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools. This post--and y...

Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's recent blog post, discussing twelve elements that are essential for continuous school improvement. They highlight a current trend in education where school leaders focus more on motivating staff and students that identifying and addressing systemic deficits in curriculum, instruction, and support services. Three school-specific case studies illustrate wha...