Walt Smith

EASD Director of pupil services looking to join in effective education reform efforts and facilitate authentic learning opportunities. Tweets are mine.

[Matthew Burns @burnsmk1]

Excited to be part of the FREE Global Math Intervention Summit (Aug. 6–8, 2026). My session, “Math Facts & Incremental Rehearsal,” discusses an easy EBI for students w/ difficulties retaining math facts. Register here:
https://t.co/xpVlo5XzPb
@TheNCII @CECMembership @nasponline

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

To everyone complaining about Gen Z, let's take a look at the evidence:

Young adults today are more empathetic, less narcissistic, more open-minded, more inclusive, and more patient than their predecessors. Bullying and drug use are also down.

The kids might be all right.

[Etown Bears Athletics @EASDAthletics]

Congratulations to Josiah Erb who finished his career with 700 saves for the boys lacrosse team! This establishes a new Etown record.

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

Most MTSS challenges aren’t about interventions.

They’re about systems.

Just joined the International MTSS Association - their focus on aligning research, practice, and policy is something we don’t see enough of in this space. (plus it's free...)
#MTSS @mtssassociation

[Brian Poncy @brian_poncy]

Many teachers are told that timed practice is ineffective at best with many harmful side effects (research says otherwise but i digress). Read about a teachers journey using timed retrieval practice for her 3rd grade students and take a look at her classroom data and qualitative reports of the effects in her classroom. She does a great job describing how timed fact practice is a small, but essential, component of her overall math instruction but points out the enormous breadth of impact 4 min/day can have on teaching her kids math...both in terms of skill development, teaching efficiency, and student math identify.

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

Thought provoking article #anxiety #specedchat #MentalHealthAwareness

Schools Are Accommodating Student Anxiety - and Making It Worse https://t.co/ORzIi5Q1aM

[Alvaro Santos Pereira @santospereira_a]

The OECD just published an important report on the impact of AI on education. This should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in the topic.

According to this report, Gen AI has huge potential to help both teachers and students, improving their creativity, productivity and performance. Gen AI has also the potential to enhance tutoring and teaching quality, support collaborative learning, as well as improve student pass rates.
Thus, AI has truly the potential to dramatically change education and our education systems.

However, there are also several risks that we should be aware.
For instance, in one randomized experience mentioned by the report, access to Gen AI tools improved performance in maths by about 48%, but students performed 17% worse once access was removed (graph below).

In other words, while Gen AI can be a great education tool, it is essential that we develop purpose-built tools for education that make students and teachers active participants and not passive consumers.

As the OECD, rightly emphasizes, “the challenge for policymakers is to ensure that GenAI is a learning partner and not a learning shortcut.”
A must read.

https://t.co/5DKQBL5fH8

@OECDEduSkills @oecd @SchleicherOECD

[MU Weather Center @MUweather]

Wow! It's not often you see this much of the country covered in winter-weather related advisories and warnings. Things are about to get WILD!

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

Great read!

Navigating the literacy cliff https://t.co/NLr2zC7J1T

[Melissa & Lori Love Literacy Podcast @literacypodcast]

Why do students forget what they learned… even after a great lesson? Here are 3 evidence-based practices that help learning last: Retrieval Practice, Interleaving, & Checking for Understanding. 🌟

Listen 🎙️ https://t.co/BtRW9Cr5sI

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

Early specialization is overrated. Generalists excel over time.

Data on >34k stars in sports, music, science, and chess: Focusing on a single field predicts a faster rise, but cross-training foreshadows a higher peak.

The most successful adults start off as well-rounded kids.

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

Happy New Year - grateful for the year behind us and focused on the year ahead!

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

https://t.co/vUFxnW8UU8

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

Happy Thanksgiving - here’s to rest, reflection, and whatever comes next.

[American Psychological Association @APA]

Some of the same tricks keep showing up in #misinformation, no matter the topic.

Social psych professor @Sander_vdLinden shares four tactics to watch out for.

Learn more: https://t.co/T6HiJDhwjA

[Daniel Pink @DanielPink]

Want deeper trust and faster promotions at work?

Research shows it might start outside the office.

[Amanda VanDerHeyden @amandavande1]

Thank you, Kansas Association of School Psychologists! Check out the https://t.co/e3Wt0rLKom. Outstanding work on K-12 math.

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

Great wisdom shared from the always inspiring and knowledgeable @Sci_Rem

[Walt Smith @mistersmith731]

I love this resource and wish I had when I was still in the classroom @ed_tomorrow
https://t.co/srh6heJnEF