Effective group work sparks student engagement and builds communication skills for the future. But how do teachers structure teamwork activities so kids are cooperative and everyone learns? Instructional expert Barbara Blackburn offers a step-by-step blueprint.
Meaningful academic conversation makes for sticky learning, but most students don’t bring a high proficiency in the needed skills to the classroom. Expert Jackie Walsh describes a step-by-step process that can help teachers cultivate deep student discussions.
Research Projects / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 03/06/2016 · Last modified 12/03/2019
Text sets can help kids enrich their studies in any content area. MS teacher Kevin Hodgson tells how teachers are using Library of Congress primary resources to create engaging text sets that help students contextualize the present by exploring the past.
STEM By Design / STEM Teacher Development
by Anne Jolly · Published 02/28/2016 · Last modified 12/01/2019
How should the next generation of STEM teachers be prepared? Anne Jolly reports on the innovative UABTeach program at the University of Alabama Birmingham where undergrads can earn full teacher certification plus a math, science or engineering degree. What’s your superpower?
Book Reviews / Student Driven Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 02/25/2016 · Last modified 11/29/2019
Every time Elisa Waingort opens Leaders of Their Own Learning, she finds another simple but brilliant suggestion to improve her teaching and the learning of her students. She recommends repeated reading of this fully resourced guide to student-driven learning and assessment.
Rubrics are important tools, says author and veteran MS educator Elyse Scott, but teachers need a more whole-student approach to formative assessment and feedback — one that attends “to that most basic need of young adolescents: one-on-one communication.”
4th grade teacher and NFL fan Mary Tarashuk has been watching lots of football lately, prepping for the Super Bowl. Given her love of metaphors, it’s no surprise she finds some analogies between quarterbacks and teachers running plays in their classroom arenas.
Frank Buck is back with Part Two in his series for school leaders on developing a digital productivity suite. Keeping up with plans on a digital calendar or a smartphone Notes app is frustrating. Buck outlines what a full featured task app needs to do and suggests a free option.
Articles / Writing across Content Areas
by MiddleWeb · Published 01/25/2016 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Four educators explain how the Western Massachusetts Writing Project joined forces with the National Park Service to help middle school teachers and students explore and write about a major history resource right in their backyard – the Springfield Armory museum. DIY tips included!
In “Standing in the Gap” Lisa Dabbs and Nicol R. Howard encourage all educators, especially new teachers, to find support by connecting on social media, using internet resources in class, and facilitating e-communication with parents. A must read, says educator/writer Mary Langer Thompson.
