A struggling student’s recent exclamation that she UNDERSTOOD a history lesson confirmed to Shara Peters that her new school’s grading policy improves teaching and student achievement by shifting the emphasis from earning a higher grade to achieving mastery.
Principals can use social media to improve communication, provide information during school safety situations, increase collaboration, and enhance professional development. Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn argue, in fact, that social media is a leadership essential today.
Nicki Newton’s comprehensive book guides educators through setting up a Math Workshop, beginning with creating a community of learners in a math-rich classroom. Linda Biondi likes her “practical and specific ways to become the math teacher you always wanted to be.”
Help middle graders take the next step in environmental studies & awareness. Using USDA resource materials, students can join the effort to uncover and eradicate the invasive Asian Longhorned Beetle which threatens 70% of the tree canopy in the United States.
No funding for field trips? Concerns about travel safety? Consider taking your students on a virtual adventure instead. Teacher-authors Billy Krakower, Jerry Blumengarten, and Paula Naugle share four of their favorites and offer plenty of other ideas!
Healthy Teaching / It's Not Easy Being Tween
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 11/29/2015 · Last modified 11/17/2019
Have you been there as a teacher? Overwhelmed, weary, dissatisfied – not taking care of your physical and emotional health – not happy with your professional performance? Cheryl Mizerny got there this fall and shares some of what she’s doing to bounce back.
Thanksgiving is a good time to express our affection for those great and goofy middle grades kids and the special community of educators who relish teaching them. Here are six MiddleWeb posts pinpointing their unique qualities and ways we can support them as they grow.
Co-Teaching & Gratitude / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 11/22/2015 · Last modified 11/06/2023
During a recent November Elizabeth Stein gave thanks for research she’d discovered showing the power of gratitude. No surprise, she shared ideas about using the research to strengthen co-teaching. Further, she invited readers to join her in being thankful for IDEA on its 48th Anniversary.
Do your students know that when they watch docudramas, they’re not watching history as it actually happened? Do they understand movie makers’ “artistic license” for condensing history into 2-hour films? Frank W. Baker suggests media-oriented films and teaching strategies.
If demoralizing teachers worked, then our educational system would already have reached a state of perfection. Instead, says reviewer Jenni Miller, policymakers can find a true roadmap for change in Richard DuFour’s “In Praise of American Educators And How They Can Become Even Better.”
