It’s the last school week of June. Things are still happening at the speed of learning, of course. Final assessments are in the books and reports are printed. Students are buzzing, bristling, and bursting with energy like they’ve been equipped with new solar panels from TESLA to absorb the energy of sunny days. By this month’s end my school will have […]
Learning in a Real Life Context
Emotions, Context and the Reluctant Writer
One of the biggest challenges I face is getting my students to enjoy and take risks with writing. Too often they get bogged down with the fear of not knowing what to write or nervous about experimenting with vocabulary they do not know how to spell. There are two critical approaches I take in helping […]
Allies
The word ally is typically defined as a nation or state cooperating with another for a military purpose. As with most words it of course has been expanded for many uses but retains the meaning of being on your side. So the question I ask you today is, as a teacher who are your potential […]
Express lane to learning
Recently, I was out shopping, and came upon something that’s not usually found for sale on the shelves at local grocers. Insight. Funnily enough, it was probably there all along. I must have blown past a bunch of times while buzzing about my mental list of must buys. But this time, finding insight was meant to be. I’ll explain […]
Student surveys
If you haven’t had your students use google forms, the survey creator on google drive, then you must! Students will have the chance to create online surveys and administer them to anyone they want. We took our data management project to whole new heights when they created a survey for a certain grade to answer. […]
Surveys that matter
Today was a very interesting day for learning that took a different direction than I anticipated. We started off talking about ideas for the holiday assembly when I mentioned to my students that I would like them to survey the grade to find out their interest. It seemed unfair to force a grade of students […]
Self-Guided Professional Learning
As an adult learner, you know what your strengths are as well as what your next steps should be. You understand you current lifestyle, the demands of family and friends as well as the other components that are a part of your busy life. Self-guided professional learning allows you to continue to enhance your classroom […]