Writing a decade ago, Jody Passanisi and Shara Peters wondered if online learning could replace physical school. Now as they evaluate the costs to students of pandemic driven education, the teachers turned school leaders have their answer: Content in a human vacuum can’t sustain itself.
Last Days of Math Class / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 05/16/2022 · Last modified 04/26/2024
Covid or not, ending school is always hard. To quell the stress and fatigue felt by her math students and herself, Michelle Russell is taking more time for quick fun activities. Students have enjoyed documenting the year, preparing tips for next year’s students, and playing math games.
Every school leader needs a focused, intentional process to move a school from what it is to what it can become, writes veteran principal Frank Hagen. Robyn Jackson offers a “new way of thinking” through the phases of her Buildership Model and its 90-day iterative blueprints.
In Teaching Self-Regulation, teacher educators Amy Erickson and Patricia Noonan show us how to combine explicit instruction and authentic deliberative practice with constructive feedback prompts to build students’ self-reflection and growth. Consultant Helene Alalouf is impressed.
Some students may not have school work high on their priority list after two years of watching their normal adolescent world fall apart. Right now they may be focused on surviving, writes school psychologist Katelyn Oellerich. “We need to be focused on helping them do that.”
The more students interact with the rubric, the more ownership they take over it, writes Megan Kelly. Once they feel empowered by the rubric, they can use it as a tool to accomplish their goals rather than a means of judgment, putting them on the same team as the teacher.
In Katie Durkin’s ELA classroom, seventh graders pass along what they’ve learned to future classes via this Inheritance Box project, part of a literacy plus history unit that also teaches collaboration and promotes student choice. Katie takes us through it step by step.
Geraldine Woods led independent study at her school for more than 25 years. She’s convinced some version will work in most subjects and for most middle school students if three basic principles are present: student choice, adult guidance, and students teaching students.
Middle grades teacher Kathleen Palmieri uses a time-saving digital tool to create quick and concise visual instructions. Show students how to share a document, use an add-on, find an online resource and much more. Kathie outlines the basics and recommends a good YouTube how-to video.
The many Aha! moments in Chris Hall’s The Writer’s Mindset will lead the reader to reexamine classroom practices – from reimagining revision to building student self-awareness and much more. Literacy consultant Anne Anderson appreciates the activities that pack the book.
