As the school year ends, it’s easy for students to lose their momentum. One way to help ease students into summer mode, but still sneak in some math review, is to find engaging activities. Kathleen Palmieri shares favorites from Jo Boaler that can also be saved for fall warm-ups.
When teachers create a welcoming, safe, inclusive learning environment with their students, the chances increase that students will have a sense of belonging and “calm increase,” freeing them to learn. NBCT Elizabeth Stein shares ways to use restorative practices and UDL.
Grammatical concepts don’t just exist in textbooks and on worksheets. They are part of life beyond the classroom. Sean Ruday shows how – by taking an inquiry-based approach to grammar instruction – we can help our students prioritize their authentic experiences with language.
Education professor and researcher Julie Hasson has spent years interviewing people about their memorable teachers. Read what three former middle school students told her about the teachers whose actions and interactions in the classroom made a lasting impact on their lives.
Whether school leaders network using traditional methods like books and conferences or virtual solutions using social media tools and platforms, it’s vital to be a learner and to model learning in your organization. Ron Williamson and Barb Blackburn explore the PLN option.
It pays to be strategic when managing time, writes teacher Kelly Owens. Without compromising good practice, educators can learn to ditch time drainers and invest those precious minutes in time savers. Reduce, reuse and recycle to work more efficiently and effectively.
We cannot make students be intrinsically motivated, writes teaching coach Barbara Blackburn. But we can create a classroom culture that focuses on the building blocks of value and success. When we do, students are more likely to grow resilient and take chances on learning.
Laurie Miller Hornik describes what happened when English department colleagues got together to improve their responses to student writing. The collaboration produced a feedback protocol for reading, coaching and evaluating assignments that’s still in use five years later.
Teachers Samantha Layne and Susanne Croasdaile introduce a new UDL-friendly tool to promote higher thinking, using a model-building strategy. TPRY helps students break down visual content, analyze it, and even build their own visual texts. See a food web modeling example.
In math class students can be challenged to build both their character and their math proficiency if we adopt the roles of cultivator and guide. Mona Iehl calls on teachers to follow the principles of ECHO and help each student embrace a leadership role in the learning journey.
