Embracing Technology / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 02/19/2014 · Last modified 02/20/2014
“It’s hard to come to terms with the digital dinosaur in myself,” writes 5th grade teacher Mary Tarashuk, who’s been asked to help create online courses. “Technology benchmarks are a bit vague for this novice traveler on the Information Superhighway.”
Reviewer and middle grades teacher Judi Holst strongly recommends Troy Hicks’ Crafting Digital Writing to any teacher who uses writing in their classroom and is ready to more deeply engage today’s digital-savvy students. It’s easy to read and full of ideas, she says.
Closing the Achievement Gap / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 01/27/2014 · Last modified 11/23/2019
Current policies & practices supported by education reformers do not assure that students with disabilities can achieve Common Core standards, says special educator Elizabeth Stein. Inclusion students and teachers are trapped in a tangled web.
Our chief guideline is the same for articles, book reviews and interviews: Tell our visitors what YOU would want to know if you were the reader, not the writer, and you are looking for ideas, practical tips, inspiration and collegiality.
From her position as a STEM curriculum developer for an NSF-funded program and close watcher of developments in STEM learning nationwide, science educator Anne Jolly offers five predictions about the path STEM education will follow in 2014.
What better way to start a New Year than with a good read? Our MiddleWeb reviewer/educators have a stack of professional books reviewed and ready for your selection. You’ll find content area titles, teaching strategies, leadership tips – and, of course, the Core.
Book Reviews / Student Driven Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 12/10/2013 · Last modified 11/17/2019
Reviewer Elisa Waingort highly recommends Student-Driven Learning to those who want to move toward a classroom where students are in the driver’s seat. The authors show how teachers can analyze current practice and begin leading students on hops, drives, and journeys toward ownership of learning.
Too many manic, even eruptive meetings? Reviewer Lyn Hilt recommends the preventatives and interventions crafted by these authors to promote productivity.
This is a must-read book for teacher leaders, says our reviewer, offering the stories of 8 educators who seek a new kind of teacher role in America’s schools.
If you are interested in transforming your classroom, engaging students and becoming an outrageously effective teacher, read and apply Teach Like a PIRATE right now, says our reviewer Laura Von Staden. “I took the risk at the beginning of this school year,” she writes. “I have to say, it went phenomenally well. I am committed to a pirate’s life.”
