Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
Advice is available everywhere you look, and some of it is very good. But a lot of those tips won’t work if you fail to follow this one essential rule.
. . Critical Thinking AND Proactive Thinking a MUST in Modern-EDU! WHY!? Looks to me as WE will live THE same as in 50’s-60’s with “James DEAN”, Living on the edge Youth &am…
What they don't teach us in education courses is just how freaking much students talk, and how hard it can be to quiet them down. Help is on the way.
Want your students to have rich, complex conversations about the texts they read? This method leads to the kinds of classroom discussions you thought only happened in college.
Focus your planning by getting clear on just three things: the WHAT, the HOW, and the WHY.
When I observe teachers, I see this problem more than anything else. If they fixed it, they would notice an instant difference in how well their classes go.
If your non-English speaking students aren't ready to do the regular class work, what should you have them do instead? This handy tool can help.
To stand before children is a rare privilege. In every minute we spend together, they will learn something. Whatever it is we put before them, they will learn from it.
Are your worksheets contributing to meaningful learning, or just keeping students busy?
How can you adjust your voice, posture and other nonverbals to give yourself more presence and confidence in the classroom?
Planning time rarely gets more than a mention when we talk education reform, but lack of time is a significant part of what's pushing teachers out of schools.
Let's teach students how to approach those deer-in-headlights moments more constructively.
I share these stories because I suspect you have also had moments you’re not proud of, stories you’ve never told anyone; I want you to know you’re not alone.
Does staying out of the education reform debate make you out of touch, a peacekeeper, or a self-serving a-hole?
Are any of these ineffective teaching methods still part of your practice? Time to reconsider.
In a self-paced classroom, each student is given an appropriate level of challenge and grows at a steady pace throughout the school year. Here's how it works.
A summary of 8 best practices in note-taking, straight from the research.
It can feel unnatural at first, but once you've given validation a try, some of your most difficult conversations are going to get a whole lot better.
Even if you've been teaching a while, you might still experience moments when all of your classroom management tools stop working. This one cheap, quick strategy, using a simple blank notebook, can help you regain control in under a minute.
We talk a lot these days about pedagogy, but what do we actually mean? Obviously, we know what the dictionary definition is: the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept, but I think we're far more concerned about methodology than we are about practice. I just came across this list of questions
Your new favorite teaching strategy: This pared-down version of learning stations keeps the movement, interactivity and variety while minimizing the prep work.
HyperDocs have become one of my favorite tools for creating lessons that promote the 4 C’s. If you are unfamiliar with HyperDocs, I highly encourage you to visit the HyperDoc website for thei…
Your students probably already use these tools to write papers or create presentations, but they could be doing other projects you may not have thought of.
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Work smarter, not harder: A collection of ideas you can mix and match to get control of the paper load.
This model and template will help college, high school, and middle school teachers put together a syllabus that sets you and your students up for a great year.
The practice of using single point rubrics is slowly but surely catching on. Try one for yourself and let us see it!
HyperDocs make room for more interactive, personalized, and student-directed learning. Let's look at how they work.
Whole class novels are still an important part of an English curriculum. Check out this blog post about Teaching Whole Class Novels.
To do the work of a teacher and stick with it long enough to get good at it, you need a level of emotional resilience most other jobs will never require.
A digital curation project is a fast way to engage critical thinking in any content area. Here's how it works.
In too many classrooms, students aren't really thinking. It's time to try something different.
The practice of using single point rubrics is slowly but surely catching on. Try one for yourself and let us see it!
The solutions to many of our education challenges are things we could start doing tomorrow. Here are 9 ideas you can try right away.
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
As part of our twilight INSET programme this year I am delivering a CPD session on marking. It’s a great opportunity to bring together lots of ideas from lots of superb bloggers, teachers and…
Check these practical and research-based classroom motivation strategies!
These 50+ strategies to jumpstart your teaching brain include literacy strategies, approaches to assessment, and grouping strategies.
