Constructivist Thinking / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 11/26/2017 · Last modified 11/29/2019
How do teachers influence students’ opportunities to connect with themselves as learners on a deep level? Coach and NBCT Elizabeth Stein provides tips to shift away from a behaviorist pedagogy and toward strategies that have students actively seeking knowledge and strengthening skills.
Heart of the School / Stress Avoidance
by Rita Platt · Published 11/19/2017 · Last modified 01/31/2024
Teaching truly is a never-ending job. You can’t stop time, but there are simple strategies to help you save time and decrease stress. Rita Platt offers 10 ideas to help put yourself in a teaching sweet spot instead of constantly struggling in a frantic survival zone.
STEM engineering – in class or after school – can come alive when young students encounter the 10 projects in McBride and Gonzales’ Engineer This. Reviewer Linda Biondi expects students will gladly accept their mission to solve interesting problems in creative ways.
Hands-on Science / The Science Lady
by Kathy Renfrew · Published 11/13/2017 · Last modified 11/13/2019
When science coach Kathy Renfrew agreed to fill in as a fourth grade science teacher, she got a centerfield view of the challenges faced by middle grades teachers in self-contained classrooms as they try to offer enriched, engaging, standards-based science lessons.
What’s one of the most fun ways to introduce students to a new science concept, a historical era, or a math idea? A picture book biography! NBCT and media specialist Christina Dorr suggests tying them to standards, using them as read alouds, or for individual student motivation.
Math Homework / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 11/12/2017 · Last modified 11/23/2019
This fall Michelle Russell implemented a new policy of assigning but not checking math homework, and then checking homework understanding with short quizzes. After 15 weeks of school, she’s ready to share the results so far. Learn her “good, bad, and ugly” findings.
Ad Techniques / Close Reading the Media
by Frank Baker · Published 10/31/2017 · Last modified 12/01/2019
In today’s advertising-saturated world, their attention may be the most valuable thing students own. Marketers want it and they’ll grab it anyway they can. It’s the job of educators to make sure kids understand what’s going on, media literacy expert Frank W. Baker says.
Digital student portfolios have tremendous potential, writes author and principal Matt Renwick, from organizing passion projects to promoting student-led assessment. They can be the main method for students to document their own learning and demonstrate what they can do.
Future of History / Historical thinking
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 10/17/2017 · Last modified 11/17/2019
There’s no perfect teaching recipe that balances patriotism and civic responsibility, says middle school history teacher Lauren Brown. But if educators attempt to ignore the low points in America’s past, they’ll insult students’ intelligence and lose their trust.
With slanted news, social media and “reality” TV ceaselessly attracting the attention of young people, literacy consultant Frank W. Baker underscores the importance of Media Literacy Week, urging all educators to teach students how to analyze media “as text.”
