Jason To is chillin’ on BlueSky (@mrjasonto.com)

Bye X - I’m outta here until these hurtful tariffs are gone. And even then, I don’t know if I’m coming back - this place is definitely not what it used to be. Catch me on BlueSky (@mrjasonto.com) if you’d like to connect ✌🏽 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Using mini whiteboards is a great way to carry out quick formative assessments as seen here with our math partner teacher @tdsb_DSS & allows for students to think-pair-share. @Jason_To @LizBHolder @ldilworth1 @mervisalo

A really important question; how often do students need to encounter something to remember it? I first encountered this idea through Graham Nuthall's work and his estimation based on close examination of students thinking processes that students learn concepts when they encounter it three times (see passage) but it wasn't until I read the literature around varied retrieval, spacing and interleaving that I understood what was going on. Basically it's not so much the amount of times you retrieve something as the ways in which you retrieve it. So what we want is not so much rote repetition 3 times (although this has its place for certain things) so much as a kind of variation in how students retrieve knowledge. We want students to have to retrieve something in a range of different ways, across a range of different times and to apply it in a range of new ways. So when planning retrieval, the key things are: 1. Structuring learning so concepts are revisited through different activities and assessment types. 2. Ensuring retrieval occurs across distributed time intervals. 3. Creating opportunities for students to apply knowledge in novel contexts. 4. Designing assessments that require different forms of processing the same material. There is a broad consensus that varied retrieval practice enhances long-term retention significantly more than simple repetition or rereading. When students encounter material through different modalities and contexts, they develop multiple retrieval pathways to access that information.

The Ontario government must increase education funding & improve working conditions to address chronic staff shortages. Overcrowded classrooms without consistent teachers do not improve outcomes. We need to do better. policyalternatives.ca/news-research/… peopleforeducation.ca/our-work/staff…

@nhl94dotcom @tickenest Dirty.

Jags being Jags! Via @tickenest

[New Podcast] This is our last episode of the season where we asked all of our guests "What advice would you give your 1st year teacher self?". Featuring @TheMathGuru @joboaler @NatBanting @LLB_315 @sig225 &more Listen here: talks.oame.on.ca/season-7 #MathChat #MTBoS #iTeachMath

Since 2015, the TDSB has proudly celebrated Greek Heritage Month every March. Join us in marking this milestone: tdsb.on.ca/home/ctl/Detai…

Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim community! May this holy month bring you peace, blessings and joy.

Another study which finds that differences within groups can be just as large as those between them. This one finds significant differences within high-achieving students in mathematics. Key findings: - Not all are highly motivated. - Not all have exceptional cognitive abilities. - Some may have relative weaknesses in specific skills like arithmetic fluency. Basically high-achieving students are not a uniform group. sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Zelensky has thanked Trump, Congress, and the American people many times. But let's be clear: when Trump and Vance said that THEY are trying to help Ukraine right now, and need to be thanked for the work personally, there are reasons to wonder. 1/ THREAD

We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion.

Everyone needs to watch Zelenskyy's Fox News interview. He is a true statesman, a war leader, and he doesn't need to wear a suit to do it. foxnews.com/media/zelensky…

As the sun sets tonight, Muslims in Canada and across the world mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.   I’m sending my best wishes to all who are reflecting, praying, and enjoying iftar surrounded by cherished friends and family.   Ramadan Mubarak!

What has happened to the United States of America?

Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.

Great first day for the @TDSBmath departments new Multiplication PD! Thank you so much for all the amazing schools teams who joined us for a day of learning together 😀 @ldilworth1 @mervisalo @shawnabrozek @SeanTierney70

This one is surprising - a new article (in press) challenges aspects of cognitive load theory by examining the effectiveness of different instructional sequences (explicit instruction before problem-solving vs. problem-solving before instruction). HEre's the really odd thing: it suggests that problem-solving first benefits novices, while explicit instruction first benefits more advanced students. 🤯 So I think this is a solid study by @Logan_Fiorella conducted in an authentic classroom setting with a relatively large sample size for this kind of research (n = 367). However, a major limitation for me is that instruction was delivered via asynchronous videos - (how engaged were the students?) A more controlled, in-class environment might have produced different results. Either way, always good to look at well designed evidence that challenges assumptions researchgate.net/profile/Logan-…

Gr. 3’s @TDSB_MalvernJPS had fun practicing Counting On and Making 10 with games found on our new TDSB site to support Building Foundational Math Skills in the Early Years. @Jason_To @LizBHolder @mervisalo @TDSBmath

Some say teaching is simple. Just tell them what they need to know and they'll succeed and be motivated by that success. Others know that teaching is more complex and that success and motivation involve a variety of factors that often differ between students.

After analyzing students’ exit ticket, we grouped students based on the needs. Next day, we took those groups and used small group instruction for targeted instruction to highlight concepts while other students worked on CYU qs. @Jason_To @LizBHolder @ldilworth1 @mervisalo