List of Articles

Featured Leadership Articles

• Ten Years Later

  Before his career in educational leadership at Kagan, Dr. Vern Minor was a superintendent at Hesston USD for 12 years. During his tenure, the district embraced Kagan Cooperative Learning and went from good to great. Ten years later, despite a complete turnover in administration, the district is still going strong with Kagan. How did they become great, and more importantly, how did they institutionalize change? Vern reflects on his return home. Read Article

• Becoming Exemplary with Kagan

  Based on the success of his school, Mr. Winters is named a Rodel Exemplary Principal. Michael describes how he improved test scores and reduced discipline problems using Kagan. Read Article

• Earning A Grades with Kagan

  Principal Michael Winters made dramatic academic gains at his elementary school using Kagan. He was confident he could duplicate his success at another high poverty, diverse population school. Spoiler alert: He had even greater success with Kagan at his second school. Read Article

• Making It Happen: The Complex Task of Supporting Implementation

  I don’t understand. I sent teachers to training, and they came back excited. However, here we are four months later, and things pretty much look the same as they did before anyone went to training. How can a group of educators see relevancy and value in a training but not successfully transfer what they learned to the classroom? The answer to this has nothing to do with whether or not the educators in question are ethical people or quality educators; the answer lies in how well teachers are supported. Read Article

• Top 10 Things to Know About Kagan Coaching

  Whether you have a Kagan Coach coming to observe your class, or you just want to learn more about Kagan’s Coaching model, this article has the top 10 most helpful things to know. Read Article

Administrator Tips

• Are Our Children in Jeopardy?

  Tune into Alex Trebek, er… I mean Vern Minor for a round of Jeopardy. Find out what the achievement gap is, why it has persisted, and, most importantly, what we can do about it. Read Article

• “But What About…?”

  Encouraging student interaction and cooperation in the classroom can seem daunting to some teachers. They may resist change or have legitimate questions or concerns. Here are talking points for administrators faced with the question, “But what about... ?” Read Article

• Be What You Want to See!

  What leaders do is more important than what they say. If you expect teachers to make classroom learning more engaging, model more engagement in your own staff meetings. Vern offers some easy activities you can use to infuse your meetings with teacher engagement. Read Article

• Because I Said So!

  Administrators are the agents of change at their school or district. Change is more effective when it is a democratic and participative process than when it is mandated from above. Vern shares how administrators can make this change. Read Article

• Do as I Do, Not as I Say

  Words are important for leading a staff. But as the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words!” The best leaders take action. The best leaders model by example. Read Article

• Flawed Feedback: Encouragement, Evaluation, or Education?

  Offering feedback to teachers is a challenging task for a principal. Do principals offer encouragement, evaluation, or education? Vern shares how principals can systematically improve teachers' instructional strategies. Read Article

• It Ain’t Happening in Our Offices

  In education, the classroom is where the rubber meets the road. The classroom is where the real action happens. If administrators want to be true educational leaders, they must visit teachers' classrooms. Dr. Minor shares the rationale for classroom visits and outlines two approaches for administrators to make the most of their time visiting classrooms. Read Article

• Lead with Action Verbs Not Linking Verbs

  Linking verbs describe a state of being. Action verbs describe actions leaders can take to steer the ship in the right direction. Take a more active approach to leadership with a more active mindset. Read Article

• Lots of Talk—Little Dialogue

  Too many leaders are still using techniques to engage staff in conversations that are ineffective. To improve teaching, we need to move away from appraisal and toward a true professional learning community. Read Article

• Resistance is Not Futile!

  For administrators, teachers' resistance to reform may be frustrating. However, initial resistance should not only be tolerated, but welcomed. Understand where resistance comes from and learn to embrace it for a more thoughtful approach to change. Read Article

• Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?

  In our attempts to improve education, we take on too many initiatives. Dr. Minor puts forward a basic premise: we would better serve our students by more fully implementing high-leverage initiatives. Less is more. Read Article

• You’re Creeping Me Out

  The "creep" that Vern's talking about in this article is Scope Creep—when so many things creep into the scope of a project that it becomes unwieldy or untenable. Avoid scope creep with your teachers. Keep focused on the little things that make the biggest difference for students. Read Article

• You’re Not the Boss of Me

  Within organizations, someone is in charge. Administrators fill those roles within schools and districts. An administrator may act as boss or as leader. There is a very stark difference between these two roles. Vern enumerates the differences between being a boss and a leader and encourages administrators to become educational leaders, not bosses. Read Article

Leadership Articles

• A Teacher and Principal's Perspective of Kagan Structures

  Teachers and administrators have very different roles and responsibilities. But they also have some very important things in common: They love to see meaningful learning in action and they love Kagan Structures. Hear their unique perspectives on this unique approach to teaching and learning. Read Article

• Becoming Exemplary with Kagan

  Based on the success of his school, Mr. Winters is named a Rodel Exemplary Principal. Michael describes how he improved test scores and reduced discipline problems using Kagan. Read Article

• Cabot Middle School North Earns Top Award

  Principal Tanya Spillane sent Kagan a newspaper article, lauding her school for earning a national award for excellence—again! Cabot adopted Kagan's engaging approach to teaching and learning and has been distinguished as one of only five Diamond Schools in the entire state of Arkansas. Read Article

• Creating School Community

  As we move toward professional learning communities, schools are looking for ways to build staff bonds. Here's a great staffbuilding activity that's easy to do and pays off all year long. Read Article

• Earning A Grades with Kagan

  Principal Michael Winters made dramatic academic gains at his elementary school using Kagan. He was confident he could duplicate his success at another high poverty, diverse population school. Spoiler alert: He had even greater success with Kagan at his second school. Read Article

• Edgewood Academy Then and Now: The Kagan Difference

  Edgewood Academy has fully embraced Kagan. Kagan is now deeply rooted in the culture of the school. Hear their journey. Watch a brief video of Edgewood's principal and vice principal describing how they have supported their teachers along the way. Read Article

• Flexible Seating

  Can we improve student engagement by ditching the desks? Will the move to make the classroom look more like a Starbucks lounge or a Google office space promote student learning? Read on to see if alternative seating is really the answer. Read Article

• Kagan On TV

  Principal and Kagan Trainer David Jones shares Kagan's vision for classroom engagement with a live studio audience of award-winning teachers on the TV show, Teacher Talk. Read Article

• Mills Hill School—A Journey Towards Success

  Darran Lee Mills Hill School in the UK went from the top 30% of schools to the top 6% after implementing Kagan. Article details their journey and the resulting boost in achievement scores, the improvement of assessments by national examiners, and the decrease in disciplinary issues. Read Article

• My Teachers Attended Training: Now What?

  Carol was a former principal who had her teachers trained in Kagan, and was then faced with the question: Now what? She found her answer. Now, as a Kagan Trainer, Carol has visited with hundreds of schools and has encountered leaders with the same question. This is Carol's Top 5 List for advice of what to do next to sustain school implementation. Read Article

• Student Engagement Made Super Simple

  Watch the brief video posted by Graham Ebbrell of The Fallibroome Academy in England. The video shows students engaged in a simple RallyRobin. Watch how easy it is to engage ALL students with this simple Kagan Structure. Watch Video

• Ten Years Later

  Before his career in educational leadership at Kagan, Dr. Vern Minor was a superintendent at Hesston USD for 12 years. During his tenure, the district embraced Kagan Cooperative Learning and went from good to great. Ten years later, despite a complete turnover in administration, the district is still going strong with Kagan. How did they become great, and more importantly, how did they institutionalize change? Vern reflects on his return home. Read Article

• We’re Here to Support You!

  If you are charged with leading the student engagement or Kagan initiative at your school or district, don't go it alone. Kagan has many free and also fee-based services to support you as you chart the path forward for your organization. Take advantage of Kagan's vast knowledge and experience! We're here to support you. Read Article

Kagan Connections

• Kagan Connections—AVID

  AVID and Kagan Structures are aligned philosophically. They both strive for greater educational equity—to improve outcomes for traditionally disadvantaged students. In this article, the authors show how Kagan Structures can be infused into AVID activities to create even greater engagement, collaboration, and learning. Read Article

• Kagan Connections—Balanced Literacy

  Balanced Literacy is a way to teach language arts that balances different language arts components including: comprehension, word study, fluency, and writing. Balanced Literacy is even more powerful when delivered using interactive instructional methods. Read how to integrate Kagan to get greater engagement with Balanced Literacy. Read Article

• Kagan Connections—Common Core State Standards

  Learn about five major connections between Kagan and the Common Core. Kagan Structures enable educators to more effective meet the demands of the Common Core. Read Article

• Kagan Connections—Differentiated Instruction

  What are the connections between Kagan and differentiated instruction? Learn how Kagan dovetails with the philosophical tenets of differentiated instruction. All kids can learn. Read Article

• Kagan Connections—Teacher Appraisal Models

  There has been an unprecedented momentum to develop and adopt new teacher evaluation systems. Learn about two of the most recognized systems and the Kagan connections with each. Read Article

• Kagan Connections—Visible Learning

  Principal Michael Winters made dramatic academic gains at his elementary school using Kagan. He was confident he could duplicate his success at another high poverty, diverse population school. Spoiler alert: He had even greater success with Kagan at his second school. Read Article

• Kagan Connections—Project Based Learning

  What is Project Based Learning? What are the challenges? What are the connections to Kagan? Read this article and your questions will be answered. Read Article

• The Rigor/Relevance Framework

  Whether you've heard the educational buzzwords, "Rigor and Relevance" and want to learn what it is or are implementing this framework as a school and want to know where Kagan fits in—this article is for you. The article recommends Kagan Structures to make learning more rigorous and more relevant for students. Read Article