TBALL and a Hat

UCB and UCLA played on the same team between 2003-2009—perhaps a first!

Of course this was the TBALL team (Technology Based Assessment of Language and Literacy).

With many flights up and down the coast of California (and one nixed suggestion of meeting half way at The Cattleman’s Ranch in King City)—we got to know David and Mia – Abeer (Alwan), Elaine (Anderson), Patti (Price), Shri (Narayanan), Margaret (Heritage) and I.… Read the rest

Remembering a Common Legacy

It has been extremely difficult for me to match specific works of mine with specific works of David’s (I have attached a few), not because he has had a limited impact on my work but because from his earliest publications and talks his work has had such a deep impact on the field, and therefore on me, that much of it has reshaped how we think about such issues as comprehension, instruction and assessment.… Read the rest

Life in the Radical Middle

I first met David in the late 90’s at a national meeting where—on the side—I had a chance to show him a couple videos of interviews with 9th grade students that my colleague Cyndy Greenleaf had conducted as part of a 2-year teacher research project we were doing in SFUSD schools.… Read the rest

How I became a teacher

In 1963, Mary Alyce and I did the same 3 things as all our close friends. We graduated from UC Berkeley (Cal in those days), got married, and moved on to a new life—Mary Alyce as a grad student in a post-baccalaureate MA credential program at Stanford and I as a newly minted member of the management training cadre within Macy’s San Francisco.… Read the rest

Keep Your Eye On The Flag

I entered the profession in 1964 during another period, not unlike several more recent cycles, in which we were so desperate for teachers that states would credential folks on a provisional basis if (a) they had a degree in anything and (b) were breathing.… Read the rest

Where the P in “P David” comes from

This is the second installment of the name saga…

Fast forward from Grade 1 to my sophomore year in high school. 16th birthday coming up in April of 1957. In the 1950s, turning 16 is a triple witching hour of sorts—have to get a driver’s license, register for Social Security, AND register for Selective Service (the draft for those of you born after 1980).… Read the rest