Matt Bury, MA Online & Distance Ed & AppLing 🇪🇸 retweeted
Replying to @PCSnow1604
That's why I think opportunity cost is the single most important idea in school improvement. Every hour our teachers—and our students—spend on one thing is an hour they don't have to spend on something else. And this matters most of all for students who find learning hardest...
Anthropic CEO claims that, "AI models could potentially infiltrate internet-connected devices, such as smart ovens or Android TV boxes, and use their computing power to run themselves and spread to other devices, without relying on expensive data centers."
This means that there is no limit to the fines & custodial sentences that the UK's Crown Prosecution Service & courts could impose on Anthropic & the people convicted under this law.
Re: Dedicating time to learning a foreign language…
Continue reading: matbury.com/wordpress/index.…
A bold prediction:
Telling students to teach themselves through the use of GPT-LLMs, which is currently in fashion, will result in poor learning outcomes.
Students aren't teachers. That's why they need us.
Matt Bury, MA Online & Distance Ed & AppLing 🇪🇸 retweeted
This part is like a glass of fresh water. Critical thinking is the *outcome* of secure domain knowledge, not its replacement.
I'm really, really tempted to put in a proposal for the next IATEFL conference based on this infographic just to see if it gets accepted 😂
Image attribution: Tom Bennett
Matt Bury, MA Online & Distance Ed & AppLing 🇪🇸 retweeted
Replying to @PCSnow1604 @TradamWest
Project Follow Through numbers show direct instruction made a difference.
nifdi.org/what-is-di/project…
Mississippi is making a difference with low SES and minority students, scores for those students have grown from the bottom to the top since adopting phonics.
My low SES elementary school taught everyone to read with the I See Sam phonics program, everyone in my high school could read.
The district has switched to balanced literacy decades ago, all feeder schools are balanced literacy. The high school scores a 2 on Great Schools now, would have been an 8 or maybe 9 when I graduated.
I have been a volunteer literacy tutor for 32 years. I have taught formerly homeless students, students in Title 1 schools, students from all walks of life. They can succeed when taught with good methods. They get excited about it, too! My lessons go to 12th grade level, they get so excited when they read "difficult" words from Greek and Latin and 5 to 8 syllable words from Webster's speller.
It can be done.
It should be done.
Matt Bury, MA Online & Distance Ed & AppLing 🇪🇸 retweeted
Public service announcement: Do not use the term "zone of proximal development" unless—like Vygotsky—you are making a distinction between development and learning. Otherwise, it's just stuff the student doesn't know how to do yet, but is within reach; i.e., good teaching.
What? I'm shocked! A chatbot designed primarily to be sycophantic isn't very good at questioning techniques that are assertive & critical?! 🙄
Good to have this confirmed with evidence though.
Minimally guided instruction doesn't work with AI tutors either. One thing we are finding out is that Socratic questioning models are very frustrating for students when they withhold the explicit guidance novice learners actually need.
arxiv.org/abs/2609.29995
Matt Bury, MA Online & Distance Ed & AppLing 🇪🇸 retweeted
Minimally guided instruction doesn't work with AI tutors either. One thing we are finding out is that Socratic questioning models are very frustrating for students when they withhold the explicit guidance novice learners actually need.
arxiv.org/abs/2609.29995
Matt Bury, MA Online & Distance Ed & AppLing 🇪🇸 retweeted
Yet another empirical investigation concludes no validity to VAK learning styles. psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d…
Just ordered Robertson, B. (2026). Power Up Your Curriculum: A practical guide for teachers, teams, schools and parents (1st edn). John Catt. hachettelearning.com/teachin…
It has great reviews from all the right people. Let's see what they're so agreeable about! :D
Matt Bury, MA Online & Distance Ed & AppLing 🇪🇸 retweeted
I know things like this are meant to inspire teachers and come from a good place. But as my own perspective on what we should be spending our time, money, and resources on continues to evolve, I increasingly find myself viewing this kind of messaging as performative and harmful. There’s a constant push for teachers to do more and more and more for students, and for schools to take on more and more responsibilities that extend well beyond their primary purpose.
My job is not to change the way a student walks into a room. My job is not to change lives. My job is not to build relationships with students. My job is to teach my content and curriculum as effectively as I can so that as many students as possible learn as much as possible.
That doesn’t mean relationships, student well-being, or the broader impact of education are unimportant. It means we need to be clear about what should be at the center of our work. If teachers and school leaders focused more of this same time, energy, money, and resources on improving teaching and learning, many of these other positive outcomes would follow. There’s an opportunity cost here as there is with anything.
Instead of continually adding more expectations to teachers’ roles and responsibilities, let’s spend our time, money, and resources giving teachers the training, tools, and support they need to do their actual job: teach their content and curriculum as effectively as possible, helping as many students as possible learn as much as they can.
It only takes ONE teacher to change the trajectory of a child’s life. ❤️
Not a title. Not a degree. Not an award.
Just ONE teacher who chooses to show up, believe in a kid, and make a difference.
Be THAT teacher. The impact you make today could last a lifetime.
#schoolofengagement



















