After trying without success to teach students how to decode word problems, Michelle Russell turned to research. A math journal article pointed to an ELA strategy: visualizing, retelling, making connections, and asking questions. Learn about her promising first experiment.
We all know “that” student who arrives late, avoids homework, ignores class. School psychologist Katelyn Oellerich shares why rote punishment doesn’t solve the problem or help students learn. Instead, she recommends, apply logical consequences that students will understand.
Discover the ‘language’ of digital storytelling – imagery, music, sound, words – in Brett Pierce’s “Expanding Literacy.” In addition to describing the skills students can gain by developing stories digitally, Pierce offers excellent activities and projects, says Anne Anderson.
If students develop executive function skills – focus, planning and organizing, self-monitoring – classrooms will run more smoothly, there will be fewer interruptions and repetitions, and teachers will have successfully bridged the SEL/academics gap, writes Marilee Sprenger.
Having volunteered for her district’s PBIS Tier I committee, Dina Strasser looks into the current viability of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports with help from a new federally funded meta-study. She finds lots that hasn’t worked but also some potential.
While there are many unknowns about the long-term impacts of ChatGPT on education, middle school teacher leader Kasey Short dives deep into the AI software’s potential for expanding teachers’ options and supporting student learning through prompts, writing, feedback, SEL and more.
If you are teaching in a low-performing, high-poverty school, Eric Jensen’s Teaching with Poverty and Equity in Mind is a must read, writes Anne Anderson. Jensen begins with the process of teachers adopting an equity mindset and offers proven tools to support all students.
Working together in small groups using a book club model has helped sixth graders in Sara Kugler’s K-6 school shift from passive and disinterested to engaged and self-reliant. They’re eager to read and ready to “talk books,” writes the literacy coach and co-teacher.
Even if middle school students have no idea what careers they want to pursue, computer science helps them acquire skills they’ll need to be successful. Learn how 7th and 8th grade CS teacher Crystal Kistler uses coding and project learning to broaden their knowledge base.
To make sure that kids, teachers, and families have what they need to be successful and joyful, Stephanie Farley details how assistant principals can show up, listen deeply, and chill out. To start, spend time with students during lunch and find ways to do some teaching.
