I was driving home last night and I noticed that the stars were especially bright. When I looked out, I found the Big Dipper, one of the only constellation I remember from my 5th grade science class, but it was on its tip. I can’t remember ever seeing it straight up and down. Now I …
As a middle school history and technology teacher, I found a huge disconnect between what my student were expected to do as readers and what they could do. I don’t mean that they were lazy. If anything my 5th graders were going above and beyond what I was asking them to do, so what happened? …
I was perusing the SC Common Core Standards and I was shocked to see that they were set up exactly like the SC State Standards with a standard and then indicators that fall under those standards. Maybe the Common Core Standards only have two subject areas and maybe there are less overall or they span more grade …
The most powerful case for change in schools is the story of teachers who have changed and have seen students succeed: More recently, I have tried to not only simulate the real world, but give students opportunities in the real world. I often describe it in simple terms as moving to real-real, instead of fake-real (mock trials, case …
I read a lot of blogs. A lot. When I was starting out, that’s really how I started with reading and reading and reading. After I got in the habit of reading, there was something in me that wanted a place, a space to record my thoughts about what I was reading. I didn’t start …
If you are wondering whether mobile devices have a place in your classroom, consider GoSoapBox: I think most people would say that the Confusion Barometer is the most innovative feature. Students can indicate when they are confused with the click of a button, and the teacher sees a graphical representation, showing the trend in the …
GoSoapBox: A way for quiet students to speak up? Read More »
Paul Thomas makes an excellent point here. Paulo Freire makes a distinction between “authoritarian” (“Do as I say, not as I do” and “Do as I say although I have never done it”) and “authoritative” (Let me guide you to becoming a writer because I am a writer”). And this is where I now see why authority …
Students learn differently. Adults learn differently. This is not surprising news and actually isn’t news. We are all aware that how we learn doesn’t look the same as the person beside us and may not look the same from day to day. Sometimes a conversation increases our understanding. Sometimes an article challenges an idea. Sometimes …
Are we teaching students to learn or take a test? Read More »
The word teacher is a weighted term. Inevitably, when I tell people that I am a teacher, their minds surf through the line of teachers that they have had in their lives. Some settle on the good. Some settle on the bad. Add to that the experiences that their children are having in school and …
The students. This article is a great reminder of why we do what we do. And what better time to be reminded about why we do what we do in the midst of long after school meetings that “train” us to give a test that most of us don’t think show what our students know. …
