Meaningful Math / Productive Struggle
by Michelle Russell · Published 03/02/2020 · Last modified 10/19/2022
Michelle Russell realized her students were falling into a rut. They expected her to provide the steps and jump in to help instead of figuring some things out for themselves. Learn what she did to increase engagement and deepen thinking during a challenging unit.
In Team Makers Laura Robb and Evan Robb examine the power of collaboration and the visioning that can empower educators to move away from tired practices and embrace new ideas that help transform schools into active learning centers, says principal and NBCT Rita Platt.
Bridging the gap between “real STEM study” and how school stakeholders may understand it is a doable task for teachers, says expert Anne Jolly. She offers some elevator-speech essentials to get you started (and perhaps avoid that virtual lab that could be in your future).
Respectful, fruitful collaboration among students is not “nice” for kids to master before they make their own way in the world – it is absolutely necessary. It’s especially needed when problems arise. Dina Strasser suggests co-creating norms that serve the whole child.
It’s true. Teachers in K-6 need to prepare students for STEM and engineering careers that don’t exist yet. The solution? Focus on gifting our younger students with a broad range of inquiry experiences and collaborative know-how, writes STEM education expert Anne Jolly.
Articles / Games & Learning / Wide Open Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 04/29/2018 · Last modified 09/13/2023
End of year is an ideal time to try something new. Teachers and students have a lot of material to review, but also need to be engaged and energized. Why not stage a breakout game? Teacher Megan Kelly shares tips and says breakouts also make good school year starters!
Dyslexia / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 04/17/2018 · Last modified 11/24/2019
What is the one thing that you would say challenges you the most as a teacher in an inclusive setting? Teaching coach Elizabeth Stein says her own experience with teachers and students this year brought dyslexia to the forefront. Learn how to meet the dyslexia challenge.
Math students retain more and gain confidence when they understand why a process works. But some are more interested than others in learning about the Why. Michelle Russell considers how she can best include the Why as students learn the How of problem solving.
Math teacher Michelle Russell has come to believe that having students working at the whiteboard is a good teaching practice. Even so, she’s been busy exploring advantages and disadvantages via online and student research, striving to make a good practice even better.
Imagine an intentional, coordinated schoolwide work ethics program that’s consistent across subjects and grade levels. What a difference that could make now and in the future, says STEM expert Anne Jolly, who shares the key traits and how to begin to grow them.
