Meet Every Learner's Needs E-Book

Robert Barnett

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 391

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Classroom-tested strategies to inspire true student learning

Meet Every Learner's Needs delivers research-backed techniques to transform classrooms into dynamic learning environments in which all students are appropriately challenged—and appropriately supported—every day.

Based on teacher and Modern Classrooms Project cofounder Robert Barnett's experience training thousands of teachers worldwide, this book provides a methodology for K-12 educators to design lessons and courses that respond to individual learners' unique needs and help every learner develop authentic understanding. This approach has empowered educators and students in all grade levels and content areas, everywhere from underperforming inner-city public schools to elite international schools, across all fifty states and over 150 countries.

The book includes highly practical tips and templates, which busy teachers can use to provide better instruction immediately. Throughout the book, readers will learn how to:

• Make direct instruction accessible and engaging to all learners
• Develop strong personal relationships with and between learners
• Create efficient learning experiences that give learners ownership and autonomy
• Share this approach with their colleagues and communities

Meet Every Learner's Needs will leave readers both inspired and empowered to redesign instruction in their classrooms and communities. It will help educators, administrators, and parents take immediate action to create learning experiences that help all students truly succeed.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Praise for Meet Every Learner’s Needs

Title Page

Copyright

Teacher Tips

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Foreword

Learning Objectives

Introduction: The Fundamental Challenge of Teachingintroduction

Part 1: Redesigning Lessons

The Challenge of Lessons

Step 1: Digitize Direct Instruction

My Story: One Small Step

Practice 1.1: Provide Clear, Focused Explanations

Practice 1.2: Make Instruction Feel Personal

Practice 1.3: Plan for Active Engagement

Practice 1.4: Get Your Devices Ready

Takeaways: Technology's Limited Role

Notes

Step 2: Get Learners Working Together

My Story: What Comes Next?

Practice 2.1: Prepare Video‐Aligned Practice

Practice 2.2: Make Practice Collaborative

Practice 2.3: Designate Space for Group Work

Takeaways: Your New Role

Notes

Step 3: Sit Down With Your Students

My Story: Meeting Students Where They Are

Practice 3.1: Use Whole‐Class Time Intentionally

Practice 3.2: Connect With Every Student One‐On‐One

Practice 3.3: Plan Small‐Group Mini‐Lessons

Takeaways: Giving Learners What They Need

Notes

Step 4: Require Mastery

My Story: Flipping the Script

Practice 4.1: Administer Brief, Just‐In‐Time Mastery Checks

Practice 4.2: Require Revision and Reassessment

Practice 4.3: Use Grades to Emphasize Mastery

Takeaways: Seeing the Bigger Picture

Notes

Part 2: Redesigning Courses

The Challenge of Courses

Step 5: Help Learners Set the Pace

My Story: Mind the Gaps

Practice 5.1: Set Appropriate Intervals

Practice 5.2: Prioritize Your Content

Takeaways: A Structure for Self‐Pacing

Notes

Step 6: Develop Sustainable Systems

My Story: A Method to the Madness

Practice 6.1: Simplify Your LMS

Practice 6.2: Optimize Your Classroom Setup

Practice 6.3: Refine Your Routines

Takeaways: Organizing Chaos

Notes

Step 7: Track and Communicate Progress

My Story: A Sense of Where They Are

Practice 7.1: Monitor Each Learner's Progress

Practice 7.2: Give Every Learner a Map

Practice 7.3: Encourage Collaboration With a Whole‐Class Tracker

Takeaways: Giving Students Ownership

Notes

Step 8: Inspire Students to Excel

My Story: Engagement as Behavior Management

Practice 8.1: Embrace the Challenge

Practice 8.2: Invest in Relationships

Practice 8.3: Use Incentives Strategically

Practice 8.4: Foster Growth Through Reflection

Takeaways: Your Real Impact

Notes

Part 3: Redesigning Instruction

The Challenge of Instruction

Step 9: Prepare for Launch

My Story: A Fresh Start

Practice 9.1: Start Small

Practice 9.2: Prepare Students With a Self‐Paced Orientation

Practice 9.3: Keep Your Workload Manageable

Takeaways: Your Journey Begins

Notes

Step 10: Build Buy‐In

My Story: It Takes a Village

Practice 10.1: Emphasize How This Benefits Others

Practice 10.2: Learn From Your Community

Practice 10.3: Prepare for Pushback

Takeaways: You Can Do This

Notes

Step 11: Empower Your Colleagues (Should‐Do)

My Story: A Movement Grows at Eastern

Practice 11.1: Invite Your Colleagues In

Practice 11.2: Support Each Other

Takeaways: One Classroom at a Time

Notes

Step 12: Shape the Conversation (Aspire‐to‐Do)

My Story: Taking a Stand

Practice 12.1: Request Time to Learn and Autonomy to Implement

Practice 12.2: Make Mastery the Goal

Practice 12.3: Reconsider Age–Based Promotion

Takeaways: The David–Anna–Troy Test

Notes

Conclusion: Change Starts Every Day

Notes on Research

Notes on Teacher Tips

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Introduction: The Fundamental Challenge of Teachingintroduction

Table I.1 Key Benefits for Teachers

Table I.2 Key Benefits for Students

List of Illustrations

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1 The layout of my classroom at Eastern. Students could work indepe...

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1 A Mastery Check I used for composite functions. It usually took j...

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1 An example of a full self‐paced interval in my classroom, with le...

Chapter 6

Figure 6.1 A sample daily check‐in form. The teacher collects this informati...

Chapter 7

Figure 7.1 A snippet of the “clipboard chart” I used to track learner progre...

Figure 7.2 Part of a checklist students used to track their progress through...

Figure 7.3 An example from my whole‐class progress tracker, which I organize...

Figure 7.4 A sample game board for an entire self‐paced interval. I used the...

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1 A sample weekly reflection form. You can also use an online form,...

Guide

Cover Page

Table of Contents

Praise for Meet Every Learner’s Needs

Title Page

Copyright

Meet Every Learner's Needs

Contents

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Foreword

Learning Objectives

Introduction: The Fundamental Challenge of Teaching

Begin Reading

Conclusion: Change Starts Every Day

Notes on Research

Notes on Teacher Tips

Index

End User License Agreement

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Praise for Meet Every Learner’s Needs

“This is the best book I have ever read on classroom instructional delivery. Every teacher should understand these methods and techniques!”

—Rex Bolinger, EdD, former Indiana High School Principal of the Year and National Milken Educator

“Every parent and educator I know is continuously thinking about how we can modernize classroom instruction and make it more effective and interesting for our students. Robert Barnett's book is a road map toward how we can rethink our classrooms while building a love of teaching and learning. If you are a teacher thinking about ways to make a difference, this book is for you.”

—James Lane, CEO of PDK International

“Whether you're a classroom teacher or a school or system leader, you've been tasked with what can often feel like an impossible mission. Fortunately, Meet Every Learner's Needs equips you with a practical toolkit to transform both what you do and how you do it. You'll discover strategies to maximize your skills, time, and relationships with students, while minimizing frustration—ultimately leading to deeper student engagement and learning.”

—Deborah Gist, former district superintendent and state education commissioner

“The Modern Classrooms Project is a breakthrough education model that leverages the power of technology in the classroom while honoring—and amplifying—the authentic teacher‐student relationship that is always at the heart of both student success and teacher satisfaction. Meet Every Learner's Needs is a remarkable primer on how the Modern Classrooms Project model works to transform classrooms, students, and teachers by focusing on efficacy and equity to ensure all students succeed and by empowering teachers to stay and thrive in the profession. This book should be widely read by both educators looking to meet the learning needs of all of their students and by education policy makers seeking innovations that work and should be replicated nationwide.”

—Michael Brown, co‐founder of City Year and principal of Public Purpose Strategies

“Meeting the needs of every student has been a challenge for teachers forever, and the Modern Classrooms Project approach may finally have a solution that really works. Barnett's practical and inspiring book explains how any teacher, in any school, can redesign instruction to ensure that every student achieves their potential. This method has worked for educators around the world, and with the help of this guide, it can work for you too.”

—Jennifer Gonzalez, editor‐in‐chief of Cult of Pedagogy

“Barnett describes in detail an approach to the Modern Classrooms Project teaching model, which is mind‐blowing but well worth the time of an educator who wants to get better. He explains how to accelerate every student, from wherever they are and at a pace they can handle, a method that has never occurred to me in the 40 years I have been writing about teachers but—startling to me—makes great sense.”

—Jay Mathews, education columnist of the Washington Post

“Fully customizing instruction is a near impossibility in traditional classroom models. Yet with a different instructional design, so much more is possible—for students and educators alike. This book provides an essential blueprint for making that shift at the classroom level. It is essential reading for educators everywhere.”

—Jeff Wetzler, co‐founder of Transcend, former chief learning officer of Teach for America, and author of Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You

“Meet Every Learner's Needs is equal parts inspiration and revelation. It tells the win‐win story of how self‐paced learning turns children onto achieving and helps disenchanted educators rediscover why they were drawn to teaching.”

—Hugh B. Price, former president and CEO of National Urban League and author of Achievement Matters: Getting Your Child the Best Education Possible

Meet Every Learner's Needs

Redesigning Instruction So All Students Can Succeed

Robert Barnett

Foreword by Kareem Farah,

Co‐Founder and CEO of the Modern Classrooms Project

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.

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Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Names: Barnett, Robert, author.Title: Meet every learner’s needs : redesigning instruction so all students can succeed / Robert Barnett.Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Jossey‐Bass, [2025] | Includes index.Identifiers: LCCN 2024036887 (print) | LCCN 2024036888 (ebook) | ISBN 9781394274895 (Paperback) | ISBN 9781394274918 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394274901 (epub)Subjects: LCSH: Effective teaching. | Academic achievement.Classification: LCC LB1025.3 .B3564 2025 (print) | LCC LB1025.3 (ebook) | DDC 371.102—dc23/eng/20240913LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024036887LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024036888

Cover Design: WileyCover Image: © SIBGHA /Adobe Stock

To my sons Joshua and Simon, and my niece Winnie—I've written this book because it describes the kind of educationI hope you, and every member of your generation, will receive.

Teacher Tips

Teaching Is Really Hard: Chris Gupton, High School Science (Tennessee)

Our Students Are Languishing: Torre’ Mills, High School Math (Georgia)

There Is a Better Way: Erin Blaser, K-8 STEM (Washington)

This Starts With You: Marci Rickords, High School ELA (Iowa)

Provide Clear, Focused Explanations: Whitnei Moore, Middle School Special Education (Illinois)

Make Instruction Feel Personal: Jackie Durr, Middle School ELA (Virginia)

Plan for Active Engagement: Laura Suckerman, Fourth Grade (Minnesota)

Get Your Devices Ready: Gabriela Beltramo, Middle School Spanish (Brazil)

Prepare Video-Aligned Practice: Joanna Schindel, High School ELL (Kansas)

Make Practice Collaborative: Liz Rosenberg, Kindergarten (District of Columbia)

Designate Space for Group Work: Rachel Zonshine, Fifth Grade (California)

Use Whole-Class Time Intentionally: Dustin Tatroe, High School ELA (Illinois)

Connect With Every Student One-On-One: Megan Remmel, Middle School ELA (Maryland)

Plan Small-Group Mini-Lessons: Leah Frederick, Fourth Grade (Pennsylvania)

Administer Brief, Just-In-Time Mastery Checks: Devin Winter, Fifth & Sixth Grade (Vermont)

Require Revision and Reassessment: William Bradshaw, High School Career & Technical Education (North Carolina)

Use Grades to Emphasize Mastery: Ellen Gammel, STEM Instructional Coach (Massachusetts)

Set Appropriate Intervals: Erin Boutilier, High School Special Education (Virginia)

Prioritize Your Content: Raquel Garcia, K-5 Special Education (Illinois)

Simplify Your LMS: Mohsina Patel, Principal (Zambia)

Optimize Your Classroom Setup: Amy Azaroff, Middle School Science & Math (Canada)

Refine Your Routines: Lindsey Anderson, High School Social Studies (China)

Monitor Each Learner’s Progress: Laura Domingo, Middle School ELA (Indiana)

Give Every Learner a Map: Jessica Bille, K-5 Special Education (Massachusetts)

Encourage Collaboration With a Whole-Class Tracker: Josey Allen, High School Science (Wyoming)

Embrace the Challenge: Aviva Stern, Middle School English (Israel)

Invest in Relationships: Zach Diamond, Middle School Music (District of Columbia)

Use Incentives Strategically: Khadejah Scott Artis, Middle School Reading (District of Columbia)

Foster Growth Through Reflection: Lydia Crush, High School ELL (Virginia)

Start Small: Lindsay Armbruster, Middle School Health & Physical Education (New York)

Prepare Students With a Self-Paced Orientation: Carol Madruga, Middle School Math (Hawaii)

Keep Your Workload Manageable: Devon McNally, Middle School Math (North Carolina)

Benefits for Students: Victoria Schulman, High School Science (Connecticut)

Benefits for Families: Candi Williams, First Grade (Kentucky)

Benefits for Administrators: Andrea Mahr, Fifth Grade (Wisconsin)

Learn From Your Community: Noah Beigelmacher, High School ELA (New York)

Prepare for Pushback: Rachel Peach, High School Science (Australia)

Invite Your Colleagues In: Araceli Calle Fernandez, K-8 Spanish (Sweden)

Support Each Other: Laurie Hutchinson, High School ELA (Texas)

Request Time to Learn and Autonomy to Implement: Aimee Yocom, Middle School Social Studies (California)

Make Mastery the Goal: Perla Lujan, High School ELA & Social Studies (Mexico)

Reconsider Age-Based Promotion: Isaac Mureithi, University Professor (Kenya)

Modernize an Upcoming Lesson: Lisa DeWitt, Middle School Math & Science (Michigan)

Modernize Your Course(s): Sumala Paidi, K-5 STEM (Texas)

Modernize Instruction: Katie Fatiga, Middle School Social Studies (Virginia)

Acknowledgments

I knew writing a book would be hard work for me. I didn't realize how much others would contribute!

Amanda von Moos, Jay Mathews, and Michael Brown encouraged me to go for it. Ashante Thomas saw the potential in the book and—more importantly—saw the process the whole way through. Felipe Martinez, Kris Subhash, Megan McGregor, Paul Magnuson, Sarah Burkett, Sean Hamidi, Shant'l Olovson, and Torre' Mills read messy drafts and shared clear feedback. Kim Wimpsett provided keen insight, detailed edits, and much‐needed reassurance. Jasmine Brooks helped make the cover beautiful. If you ever need advice on a book deal, ask Ian Polonsky.

This book represents my life's work to date, and writing it has given me a lens to reflect on both. Life first: as with everything good in my world, Melinda Kuritzky's love and support made writing this book possible—and reading it (I hope) reasonably interesting. I asked for her advice often, and she was almost always right. I wrote most of this book early in the mornings, before my sons Joshua and Simon woke up, and I always knew that no matter how well or poorly the morning's writing had gone, I'd be glad when they did. They are all the inspiration I could ever need.

Luckily, I have other sources too. My parents Iris and Phil inspire me to read, write, and do good, then believe in me every step of the way. My sister Nora is an amazing educator and my sister Eve an amazing editor: I aspire to be like each of them in countless ways. My grandparents, in‐laws, uncles, and aunts—including Kitty who offered me her writer's ear and Rena who shared her designer's eye—make me feel like I can do anything. My friends are always there for me. And we've all had a lot of fun over the years.

Like many educators, I went into teaching because of the many wonderful people who taught me. From my first day of pre‐kindergarten to my last semester of graduate school, I was lucky to learn from teachers who challenged me, supported me, and above all cared about the person I would become. They passed up easier and higher‐paying jobs to help me and my classmates grow. The highest compliment I can pay them is that I decided to become a teacher too.

When I did—first at Aki Kurose Middle School in Seattle, then at Maret School and Eastern Senior High School in Washington, DC, and finally at Leysin American School and École CREA Genève in Switzerland—I was surrounded by extraordinary peers. I pestered them with questions, and they responded with wisdom and compassion. I succeeded as a teacher because of the example they set, and still count many of them as role models, mentors, and friends.

And when I considered leaving the classroom, Shane Donovan showed me that a better way was possible. Nick Bennett and Matt Kennedy helped me figure out how. Rachel Skerritt, Sah Brown, and Marc Ott trusted me to do my thing. Déson Hall and Lucas Cooke pushed me to work through the kinks. Justin Sybenga guided me to find my voice.

I loved teaching. My colleague Kareem Farah did too. But he convinced me that the approach we had developed—an instructional model that meets every learner's needs—was worth sharing with the world, and I will forever be grateful that he did. We co‐founded the Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) in 2018 and have empowered many thousands of teachers together in the years since. Kareem's charisma, vision, and tenacity power everything that MCP does. I feel fortunate to know him, and to work alongside him in service of learners and educators everywhere.

I also feel fortunate to work alongside my colleagues at MCP. Joining a young, scrappy nonprofit requires a leap of faith, and MCP in its current form exists only because so many incredibly talented people have taken that leap. It is an honor to wake up every day and watch our diverse, devoted, and diligent team make this world a better place, one classroom at a time. Our staff members—past, present, and future—propel our movement forward, and I can't wait to see where they lead us next.

That future, in turn, depends on a vast network of generous individuals whose contributions give MCP life. Our donors give us their hard‐earned money. Our advisors give us their insight and wisdom. Our school and district partners give us the opportunity to support their teachers, and those teachers give us their precious time. I hope every person who has invested their energy or resources in MCP knows how grateful I am. And despite everything we have achieved together, I still feel like we're just getting started.

Of course, neither my career nor MCP would have evolved in the first place without the grace, adaptability, and honesty of my students. They tolerated my experiments, trusted me enough to follow my lead, and told me in no uncertain terms when something didn't work. I think of them every single day. I hope this book does justice to both their infinite potential and their infinitely diverse needs.

If there's a theme here, it's that I have many more people to thank—teachers, colleagues, contributors, students—than I can possibly name here. What an immense privilege that is.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly—because now you can join our band of pragmatic idealists, and help us advance this vital work—I want to thank you for reading this book.

I hope it helps you succeed.

About the Author

Robert Barnett lives with his wife and children in his hometown of Washington, DC, close to family and lifelong friends. He taught math, computer science, English, social studies, and law, from the middle‐school to university levels, at public and private schools in the United States and Switzerland, and co‐founded the Modern Classrooms Project with Kareem Farah in 2018. He speaks English, French, and Spanish; served as a City Year corps member; and enjoys riddles and silly jokes.

You can learn more about Robert and his work at rsbarnett.com.

Foreword

In August 2016, I began my fourth year teaching. I was in a new school in a new district, and I was struggling.

Like many educators, I had a tortured relationship with my career. Part of me was enamored with teaching. It was an exciting and dynamic profession that filled me with purpose. But it was challenging. In fact, it was the most challenging thing I have ever done. I took the right steps, and I put in the work, but I still felt like I was fighting a battle I could never win.

If you are a current or former educator reading this, you know what I am talking about. If you have never led a classroom, just know that the task at hand feels unconquerable. You walk into the building and receive a classroom, a daily schedule, a rigorous curriculum to follow, a detailed pacing calendar that tells you what to teach every day, and a roster of students whose needs are incredibly diverse. In each of my Algebra 2 classes that year, I had students testing at a third‐grade level in math and students testing at a college level. Those students sat right beside each other as I delivered my lessons.

A few months into the school year, I began to reach a breaking point. I was teaching like I had been taught to teach: I stood at the front of the room and explained something new, gave my students an assignment to work on, assessed them at the end of each class, and moved on to the next thing the next day. This wasn't working. My assessments revealed that a small fraction of students actually understood my content, but I had to move on anyway. (Or so I thought.) I wasn't meeting my students' needs, and they were growing increasingly frustrated.

I didn't know how much longer I could continue doing something that felt so ineffective. It was likely going to be my last year in the classroom.

Things all changed when I met Rob Barnett. It was an ordinary weekday, and the math teachers at Eastern Senior High School gathered for our weekly meeting before classes started. I was burning out, and already eager for the day to end, when I noticed Rob sitting at a desk, alarmingly calm, working on a math problem. I had a sense at the time that he had figured something out, that he had found a pathway to teaching that didn't leave him perpetually stressed but instead allowed him to feel true joy for the profession.

I was right. Rob did figure something out. He had built his version of what we now call the Modern Classroom instructional model, and it was having a transformative impact.

Shortly after that meeting, Rob invited me to his classroom. What I saw there was magical. He had fundamentally restructured how learning happened, so that his and his students' time would be optimized. Students led the learning process, and Rob was a facilitator. Students were collaborating with each other and mastering content. Nobody seemed stressed.

What was so fascinating was that Rob did this with the same tools and materials I had. To do what Rob was doing, I didn't need to invest in a bunch of new stuff—I just needed to rethink how I used my existing resources. That meant I could go home that night and begin my own journey of transforming my classroom.

Rob also had—and still has—a generous spirit. He genuinely wanted to help me find a better way to teach. He gave me his time and resources, then welcomed me into his classroom so I could see his ideas in action and adapt them into my own. It was my first real example of authentic collaboration. We shared feedback and advice freely, with an understanding that we had one common goal: to improve our students' learning experiences. It reinvigorated my passion for teaching.

I get filled with joy knowing that you will soon experience what I did years ago, when I first met Rob: an endless flow of inspirational ideas woven into a practical framework that can lead to immediate change. He will push you to challenge some of the most basic constraints that shape schooling today, but will always pair that with actionable techniques that you can deploy tomorrow. In a system full of problems and barriers, Rob will introduce you to real solutions that give you hope. Just be careful, because it might change how you think about learning for the rest of your life. It certainly did for me.

Kareem FarahCo‐Founder and CEOModern Classrooms ProjectSeptember 2024

Learning Objectives

By the end of this book, you will be able to:

Explain why traditional instruction fails to meet many learners' needs.

Use research‐backed teaching practices to keep every student appropriately challenged—and appropriately supported—every day.

Lead other educators in creating classrooms where all students can succeed.

I used the practices I'll describe, which I call the Modern Classroom instructional model, in my own classroom. I've seen educators around the world adopt the same practices, then feel happier and more capable as a result. I want my children to learn in Modern Classrooms too.

You can implement these practices in any grade level or content area, in any school, anywhere in the world. You can and should adapt these practices to make them your own. And you can get started, with simple next steps that will save you time and stress, right away.

Thousands of teachers, in all fifty states and countries from Australia to Zambia, have taken these steps already. You'll find tips from them throughout this book. One day I hope you'll share your Modern Classroom story too.

And if there's something here that you don't think will work for you or your students, you're probably right. So take what you like and forget the rest. You know what your students need, and I trust your judgment.

But if the young people you serve need different things, and you want all of them to succeed, then I think this book can help.

Introduction: The Fundamental Challenge of Teaching

Do you ever struggle to…

Challenge the most advanced learners in your class?

Support learners with below‐grade‐level skills?

Help chronically absent students catch up?

When I taught in the way I was trained to teach—delivering a single new lesson to all of my students every day—I struggled to do any of these things well. I spent hours preparing my lessons, then did my best to deliver them. But most of the time, my advanced students seemed bored. My students who lacked grade‐level skills seemed lost. And my students who were absent missed out altogether. I was working as hard as I could, but it always felt like there were students I just couldn't reach.

This was exhausting—and disheartening. My job was to help every learner succeed. Every day, I fell short.

No matter what I did, my lessons always seemed too easy for some students and too hard for others. I tried desperately to keep my students engaged, but they all needed different things—and there was just one of me. Each day that I failed to challenge the students who were ahead, or to support those who had fallen behind, felt like a precious day wasted. And I had no idea what to do about the learners who weren't there. I loved my students, but I was miserable. I often wanted to quit.

If I was going to make it as a teacher—and help my students achieve their full potential—I needed a new approach.

So I redesigned my lessons. Rather than delivering the same content at the same time to all of my students, whether they were prepared for it or not, I explained my content using short instructional videos, then gave each learner the time they actually needed to master each new skill. That kept every student appropriately challenged—and therefore engaged—every day. It freed me up to spend class time working closely with my students. And it was fun!

Next I redesigned my courses. I let my students learn at their own paces for days at a time, and required that each student master foundational skills before accessing more advanced content. I sat down with my students, got to know them as human beings, and marveled as I saw each of them, no matter their prior knowledge, take ownership and pride in their learning.

Finally I shared this approach—now called the Modern Classroom instructional model—with my colleagues. I showed Kareem Farah, who taught downstairs from me, and we founded the Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) in order to show others. Today there are thousands of educators, all over the world, leading their own Modern Classrooms in every subject you can imagine, from kindergarten to college and beyond.

Research shows that these teachers feel happier and more effective, while their students feel more engaged and more capable. I want you to experience these benefits too, so I've written this book to share the Modern Classroom model with you. In reading it you'll discover evidence‐based practices you can use right away, as well as insights from educators who use this approach in their classrooms every day.

Before you start redesigning instruction, however, there are four realities you should understand.

Reality #1: Teaching Is Really Hard

I didn't realize how hard teaching could be until my first week at Eastern Senior High School.

The week started off well enough. I had a few years of teaching experience by that point—I had worked as a classroom aide and taught at a small independent school—so I felt comfortable in front of a class. I found my new students intelligent, curious, and eager to succeed. I loved my content, loved working with young people, and felt excited to work in a comprehensive public high school in my hometown of Washington, DC. Teaching at Eastern was a dream.

Once I began my lessons, however, it became a nightmare. My job was to teach precalculus. Yet in every one of my classes, I had students who excelled in math, students who struggled with basic concepts like exponents and fractions, and students who rarely showed up at all. In my first‐period class, for instance, I taught:

David

, who loved math and wanted to become an engineer. He knew he would study calculus in college, and he wanted to be prepared.

Anna

, whose math skills were many years below grade level—and who dreaded math as a result. Anna had failed every standardized math test she had ever taken, but she was in my class anyway. All Anna wanted was to make it through the year.

Troy

, who often missed class or showed up late. I didn't know why Troy was absent so often, but I knew he had challenges at home. Even when he was in class, Troy often seemed distracted.

I realized that if I tried to push David, I'd lose Anna. If I slowed down to support Anna, I'd bore David. And when Troy showed up after missing class, he'd inevitably be confused. I had no idea how to deliver a single lesson that could meaningfully engage these three learners at the same time—let alone the other twenty students in the class! So I stood at the board, feeling helpless.

I faced the fundamental challenge of teaching: every learner has different needs. David needed a challenge; Anna needed support; Troy needed to get back on track. Until I figured out how to meet all their needs at once, none of these young people could achieve their full potential. Nor, for that matter, could I.

This challenge may seem unique to math, or to large public schools like Eastern. It isn't. Knowledge in every discipline builds upon itself, so students who lack foundational skills in any subject will inevitably struggle to access grade‐level content. In every school some students will inevitably learn faster than their peers; others will inevitably be late or absent. The learners in any given class, therefore, will inevitably need different things.

So I faced this challenge again at Leysin American School in Switzerland, the elite international boarding school where I taught both math and social studies after leaving Eastern. I see this challenge at play in my own children's classrooms today. In fact, I encounter the fundamental challenge of teaching everywhere I go: students like David need to be pushed, while students like Anna and Troy need help catching up. It's inevitable.

So when I speak with teachers—at least before they adopt the Modern Classroom model—I often hear the same things. No matter where or what they teach, educators tell me:

“I don't have time to challenge my advanced students.”

“I struggle to support students whose skills are below grade level.”

“I can't teach students who aren't in class.”

“I'm doing the best I can, but it's never enough.”

Maybe you've felt these things as well.

If you have, it's not your fault. Nor is it a reflection of your commitment or belief in your students. Helping every student succeed, in the limited amount of time you have together, is really hard! It's the fundamental challenge of teaching. And if you don't have a practical way to meet every learner's needs, it can make your job feel downright impossible.

Teacher Tip

Chris Gupton, High School Science Teacher (Franklin, Tennessee)

“I came to teaching from a career in the Army, where if you worked hard enough and you planned well enough, training would go smoothly. But teaching is different. No matter how hard you plan your lesson or how hard you work on setting up your room, the students have a vote in how that’s going to go. And if you haven’t taken into account their needs and their interests, then working hard and being smart isn’t enough.

“The Modern Classroom model really helped me respond to each of my students’ needs and interests, which made teaching and learning more effective and fun for all of us.”

Reality #2: Our Students Are Languishing

Let's be clear about the stakes here. Teaching is a tough job, but what students learn in school shapes the courses of their lives.

Unfortunately, our school system fails to provide many learners the instruction they need. Consider David, whose education often failed to challenge him. Consider Anna, whose education often failed to support her. Or consider Troy, who often missed out altogether. When these students' classes are consistently too easy, or too hard, or inaccessible, none of them can truly succeed.

So our young people languish. They are bored, or they are lost, or they simply don't know where to begin. They spend years of their lives in classes that fail to engage them, then leave school lacking essential skills as a result. Consider that, in 2022:

Only 36% of American fourth‐graders were considered proficient in math, and just 33% were considered proficient in reading.

1

By eighth grade, only 26% of American students were considered proficient in math, and just 31% were considered proficient in reading.

2

Only 22% of American high‐school graduates were considered ready for college.

3

28% of American students were considered chronically absent.

4

These statistics were influenced by the COVID‐19 pandemic, but data before COVID tells the same story. A significant majority of American students have been considered below proficient for decades, and on any given day a large percentage aren't in class at all.5

National statistics don't say much about any individual classroom: proficiency rates vary between communities and, sadly, across predictable demographic lines. But no matter what or where you teach, I bet you know students like David, Anna, and Troy.

Every single one of those young people deserves instruction that meets their needs.

Teacher Tip

Torre' Mills, High School Math Teacher (Blakely, Georgia)

“Even with my best efforts, I never felt like I could reach all of my students each year. So many of my students come to me with large gaps in their understanding, and I could never fully close those gaps in our time together. As an educator, that was extremely challenging for me to accept.

“Teaching in a Modern Classroom, however, has given me a renewed sense of hope and courage. I can now spend more time directly serving each student. I can clarify misconceptions, resolve confusion, and help more of my kids. I am also teaching my kids to be more independent and self‐directed learners. I’m now able to close those gaps and teach valuable life skills at the same time.”

Reality #3: There Is a Better Way

What teachers and students both require is a method of teaching that responds to every learner's needs. We need an instructional approach that can challenge David, support Anna, and help Troy catch up—all at the same time, and all in the same classroom.

I am happy to report that an approach like this exists. I used it myself! As I'll explain throughout this book, this approach transformed my classroom and saved my career. And I've now seen thousands of other educators, from kindergarten teachers to university professors, in all content areas and all around the globe, implement it too. At this very moment, this approach is helping young people somewhere in the world understand something new.

This approach, which I call the Modern Classroom instructional model, works like this:

A teacher delivers new content through short, focused videos.

Each student learns from these videos at their own pace, in school or at home.

Students work together, with support from their teacher, to apply what they've learned.

When each student is ready, they attempt to demonstrate mastery of the content or skills in question. If they show mastery, they advance to the next lesson; if not, they go back and revise until they are ready to try again.

Learning in a Modern Classroom is self‐paced: within defined intervals, students take the time they need to master each lesson. Teachers, freed from the task of explaining new content from the front of the room, spend class time working closely with students, either one‐on‐one or in small groups. Every student is appropriately challenged—and appropriately supported—every day.

A few things to note here:

This approach uses technology in a limited and purposeful way.

Videos replace a small part of each lesson—the teacher's delivery of new content—and students spend most of class collaborating with their classmates and teachers off‐screen. And while having one Internet‐connected device per student makes this model easier to implement, it isn't necessary. I'll explain how you can make this model work with whatever technology you have.

This approach enhances equity and human connection.

While there are other instructional methods that incorporate technology, the Modern Classroom model improves upon these approaches in ways that make teaching and learning more personal, more accessible, and more engaging.

Compared to fully asynchronous online courses, in which students spend hours in front of screens, Modern Classroom educators keep their videos brief so that students can spend most of class working together, face to face. In fact, the primary purpose of video instruction is to free up teacher and student time for high‐quality human interaction.

Compared to “flipped” classrooms, in which students watch videos at home and work together in class, Modern Classrooms don't require students to access videos at home, or to advance through content at the same pace as their peers. Students in Modern Classrooms use videos, in and/or outside of school, to achieve mastery at their own paces.

While the Modern Classroom model works well for remote learning—one educator calls it “pandemic‐proof”

6

—it is designed for in‐person learning. In fact, the vast majority of teachers who implement it teach in traditional school settings. These educators, however, appreciate the flexibility and accessibility that this approach allows when either they or their students can't make it to class.

If anything, the Modern Classroom model is most similar to the pedagogy of the pre‐industrial one‐room schoolhouse: it creates learning environments in which teachers work closely with diverse groups of students, tailoring their instruction to meet every learner's actual needs.7 Modern technology is just a tool that makes this fundamentally human pedagogy possible at scale. And the teacher is, now as then, at the heart of it all.

This approach makes teaching easier.

Running a Modern Classroom may sound like a lot of work. And it can be, especially at first: it often takes longer to find or record concise instructional videos than it does to lecture live, and developing systems to support self‐paced learning requires patience and commitment.

In the long run, however, teaching in a Modern Classroom can save you a tremendous amount of time and effort. Once you have a good video, for instance, you never need to repeat that explanation again. And once you've stopped lecturing, you can review students' work and meet with individual learners during class, rather than waiting until after school. By my second year using this approach, teaching felt easy: I already had all my videos and systems in place, so I just showed up every day and helped my students learn.

This approach empowers teachers, supports students, and makes school more enjoyable for both. And don't just take my word for it! For three years, MCP worked with researchers at Johns Hopkins University to evaluate Modern Classrooms' impacts on both students and teachers. My analysis of the data they collected shows that Modern Classrooms help educators feel more capable and more effective (see Table I.1), while their learners feel happier and more successful (see Table I.2).8

Table I.1 Key Benefits for Teachers

Statement

% Agreement in Traditional Classrooms

% Agreement in Modern Classrooms

I am able to work closely with each of my students during class.

19%

86%

I feel I am able to effectively serve students at all levels of understanding.

44%

89%

I can easily help students who have missed class to catch up.

11%

100%

I'll share some of these teachers' experiences and insights, along with additional evidence of Modern Classrooms' impacts, throughout this book.

Table I.2 Key Benefits for Students

Statement

% Agreement in Traditional Classrooms

% Agreement in Modern Classrooms

I am capable of learning anything.

73%

80%

I like the way my teacher teaches this class.

76%

84%

I enjoy learning.

59%

70%

Most importantly, this is an approach that you can actually use—in any grade level or content area, anywhere in the world. And if you follow the guidance in this book, as thousands of other teachers have, you can start meeting every learner's needs tomorrow.

Teacher Tip

Erin Blaser, K‐8 STEM Teacher (Seattle, Washington)

“I love creating videos because they are authentic (it’s me on the videos!) and available to students whenever they are ready for it, whether that’s during the unit or even after we’re done. It puts the focus on understanding, so students don’t rush ahead, skip through, or copy each other’s work. Teaching this way has honestly changed the way I’ll teach forever.