December brings colder weather and a much-needed break to spend some time with our families before the turn of the year. As we look ahead to 2023, many of us may be reflecting on the successes and challenges of 2022 to help inform our vision for a strong new year. We hope this month's newsletter provides some fodder for your reflection.

Our Instructional Corner this month encourages teachers to spend some time thinking about student goal-setting to support both their performance as well as their direct learning about self-regulation and self-evaluation. Our Leadership Corner invites educators to reflect on how to develop the courage to lead for equity and the improvement of instruction.

Open Courses: We have an in-person Studying Skillful Teaching course beginning in January that still has a few spaces left. Register today to secure your spot!

As we head into 2023, many of us may be thinking of setting some personal goals.  We encourage you to also take a moment to consider the power of getting your students involved in their own academic goal setting - a powerful, but largely underutilized Motivational Principle of Learning.

If we devoted just a little time and energy to guiding students through a meaningful goal-setting process, we might see big payoffs in student performance and in students’ direct learning about self-regulation and self-evaluation.

RBT would like to recognize and share the outstanding work of teachers across the country who are working hard to put into practice the skills from The Skillful Teacher in order to provide their students with better teaching every day. 

If you want to showcase your skillful teaching or that of a colleague, submit a video for a chance to win a visit with Jon Saphier.

This is an excerpt from Jon Saphier's forthcoming book on High Expertise Teaching and how to get more of it in more places, more of the time. Due out in 2023. Learn More

How do we strengthen our courage and conviction against the forces of resistance when we try to change fundamental aspects of a flawed system?

This chapter is both for individual leaders who face these issues, but also for leaders of leaders in central offices whose actions can either obstruct or be a tremendous support for actions that are both judicious and courageous. I listed courage as a topic for training leaders in the previous chapter on Leadership Programs because, as this chapter will put forth, improving calcified systems takes courage, and courage can be learned. But the topic invites the question: courage for what?  

In this interview with RBT Founder, Jon Saphier, Jeff Howard, the originator of "Smart Is Something You Can Get", shares his insight into fighting the myth of the bell curve, how effective effort is the key to improvement, and how to deal with those who resist change.

Dr. Jeff Howard is the founder and President of The Efficacy Institute, Inc. He also founded J. Howard and Associates, a corporate training and consulting firm that is now part of the Novations Group. He was appointed by the Governor to the Massachusetts State Board of Elementary & Secondary Education and served from 2008-2012. Dr. Howard has more than 30 years of experience as a staff developer and consultant to school and community leaders on systemic education reform and as a consultant to corporate executives and senior managers of Fortune 500 companies. His work is based on the idea that intelligence can be developed, challenging the still prevalent notion that intelligence is fixed and immutable.

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