Month: May 2026

Crosswalk with "Look Right ->" painted by the curb.

Weekly Review 202607

May 25, 2026 / Troy / 2 Comments

Vacation

We took time to visit Scotland and Ireland. It is always terrific to travel.

We took advantage of the planning through CIE Tours – specifically, we chose the Scottish & Irish Sampler. We added a day at the beginning, and at the end, of the trip. This allowed us to get a chance to get our bearings. The trip includes a five hour time shift. We left at around 10:00 a.m. (our time) and arrived at 8:00 a.m. Edinburgh time.

The trip involved a bus, two airplanes, and a taxi. However, we arrived safely and ready to go. It’s also interesting as to how much time one needs to adjust.

I booked The World Famous Underground Ghost Tour for a first night activity. Sorry to say that this didn’t live up to the billing. There was a good bit of history, and a little bit of mention of ghosts, but much more history than ghosts.

The trip was quite nice and enjoyable. We visited several castles, and a few pubs.

Our bus driver, David Martin, is an accomplished tenor. It was quite a treat to hear him sing in a small room of the CrossKeys Pub. This was an experience that will last a lifetime. (He was also a good bus driver and human.) He took time to show us additional spots. For example, he took us to additional parts of Belfast to show us the dividing point between the Protestant and Catholic portions.

Highlights

As mentioned above, the experience at the CrossKeys Pub was definitely a highlight.

The Inn is a stone built cottage which was once a coaching stop on the route between Belfast and Derry. The building until recently was thought to have dated back to the 1740’s. In 2010 Queens University Belfast completed the dating process of dendrochronology and confirmed that the building was actually much older and in fact dated back to pre-1654.

Edinburgh

The Royal Mile was interesting. Definitely a tourist area, but still fun. We found a good bakery. Some of the buildings were really cool. The Royal Mile also has lots of “Close”‘s, which are kind of like alleys leading off the Royal Mile. The World’s End was a great spot to visit as well.

The World’s End is a pub bursting with history, with its exterior walls forming part of the Flodden Wall, a 16th-century fort that protected Edinburgh’s historic old town. Once upon a time, the people of Edinburgh thought the world outside this wall was no longer theirs, which gave us our name.

Bowes

David suggested Bowes Pub. This was another great experience. A pub with no TV’s. Just a smaller, wood paneled bar with lots of conversation going on around us. They also had a good selection of beers and whiskeys.

Just off Fleet Street, Bowes is the real deal. No gimmicks, no blaring TVs — just a proper Dublin pub that’s been pouring pints and serving up serious whiskey since the 1800s.
Known as one of the city’s top whiskey bars, we stock shelves with everything from local legends to rare bottles you won’t find elsewhere. Whether you’re here to talk shop over a single malt or just escape the chaos for a quiet pint, Bowes delivers — straight up.

Leith Distillery

A nice little excursion to Leith Distillery. Naturally, a whisky tasting was part of the program.

Belfast

Seeing the remnants of the division of Belfast, and hearing the stories of what it was like, was another highlight.

Giant’s Causeway

This was an interesting natural phenomena to see. It was a nice walk with great views (plus Rm found some cows).

Dublin

There were several highlights in Dublin. Just walking around and seeing the city is always good for me. George’s Street Arcade was neat.

Castles

The castles are naturally a neat highlight. Just seeing the buildings and hearing the stories of what used to be is interesting. Some of the architecture is just incredible.

Observation

Apple Maps dies a better job of getting us around than the local app. The local bus application was a bit confusing, but Apple Maps was explicit.

Also on:

website

Worksheets: Still Talking About Them

May 8, 2026 / Troy / 2 Comments

I’ve been in education for over 35 years. One constant has been the “move away from worksheets”. I found the graphic (see below) about using AI as a mirror instead of a slot machine.

AI as a Mirror, Not a Vending Machine. "Make me a worksheet" vs "ask me questions until I know what worksheet I actually need to make".

*Image from: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/phillipalcock_if-you-use-ai-with-purpose-it-stops-being-activity-7456689277100535808-B556/

This has caused me to reflect on education. I thought to myself, “Self, we’ve been talking about moving away from worksheets since you were a young pup”. Now, first of all, there is nothing wrong with worksheets. Worksheets have their place. However, worksheets frequently become the go to, overused, and misused. In many cases, educators would be hard pressed to explain why a worksheet is being distributed.

Here are a few of the “movements” that I’ve lived through that were designed to move us away from worksheets.

Project-based learning

Project-based learning (PBL) was one movement that was designed to move away from the worksheet. Project based was heralded as a way to teach that aligns with how students learn. The Buck Institute is probably the most famous support for PBL. The Buck Institute had tons of resources that I’ve used in the classroom.

Designing project-based learning opportunities can be challenging. There is a lot of background work necessary. The educator really needs to be well versed in curriculum (not just curriculum resources), pedagogy, and knowing the students.

Understanding by Design (UbD)

While Understanding by Design (UbD) isn’t specifically targeted at worksheets, it is focused on “authentic performance”. UbD is sometimes called “Beginning with the End in Mind”. Essentially, UbD focuses on clearly identifying the end result (desired learning), developing assessment evidence, and then planning instruction.

UbD sounds easy enough. However, it requires a good bit of work. UbD means that there is a really clear, concrete expression of what is to be learned. This is much harder than most people think. It seems like it should be obvious, but I’ll point out that standards and benchmarks are contested and debated by the most expert curriculum experts.

Assessment is always tricky as well. Our gold standard right now is the multiple choice test (which is a very close relative to the worksheet). With multiple choice answers, you can have one definitely “correct” answer. The real world is frequently NOT a multiple choice answer. In fact, what can seem correct at one point may change as society changes. In school, assessment can be contentious. Writing good assessment is a skilled that has be be developed.

Problem-based learning

Problem-based learning (confusingly also known as PBL) is a process where students work in groups to solve open-ended problems. While this definitely leads away from worksheets, it comes with many challenges of it’s own.

Real World Learning

Real World Learning (RWL) means basing learning in real world situations and experiences. Much of this work is related to experiential learning. While this also moves away from worksheets, it can also be difficult to develop and implement. Frequently, RWL needs to be supplemented by other strategies, as it can be extremely limited in scope.

Technology

Someday, maybe, I’ll write a ton about technology in education. Let’s look at worksheets though. Frequently, technology is used to “replace” worksheets with, well, worksheets. Instead of a paper worksheet, the student completes a worksheet on the computer. If you follow the SAMR model, this is an example of Substitution. Naturally, this can be more complex. Teachers could add differentiation into the mix. This is a start to something more powerful. However, in talking and working with teachers around the country, it is clear that many teachers are still at the Substitution level.

Education is hard. There is no one strategy, no one skill that will reach every student the same way. There is nothing wrong with worksheets if those worksheets are intentional, well thought out, and used to help students. The problem lies when worksheets become time-fillers or “well, the book provider gave me a worksheet”, or is an AI generated resource with no understanding by the teacher why it is being used.

Educators work extremely hard. The work that they do is powerful and helps so many students succeed. The United States as a whole has invested very little in Professional Development and support.