“Centering Teacher Learning in Professional Development” Time and time again, when I have been a teacher on the receiving end of teacher professional development, I have been concerned that the direction was being set without me or my students in mind.
Using the Silence to Inspire Participation: The Classroom Gallery Walk. An administrator knocked on my door because she thought the silent classroom was empty.
What she found was a group of twenty-eight fifth-grade students quietly walking around the classroom, looking at one another’s resolutions to a math problem. Some students were taking notes while others were reading intently, nodding or shrugging. Get Out There!: Connecting to the Community – Human Restoration Project. Authentic work is at the heart of any great classroom.
When empowered, students will change the world — they just need the opportunity to do so. Although many teachers are capable of fantastic projects and dialogue, the community beckons young people to innovate and serve. 200 Years of Frankenstein: Mary Shelley’s Masterpiece as a Lens on Today’s Most Pressing Questions of Science, Ethics, and Human Creativity. 4 Essential Quick-Reads For Teachers. The 5 Minute Lesson Plan – success story by @Dani41189. Critical Thinking Questions: The Big List for Your Classroom. We’re always looking for ways to get our kids to think more deeply.
Critical thinking skills are really important. So, we’ve rounded up all of the best critical thinking questions to help you get your students to the next level. Critical Thinking Questions That Start With Who. What Is the Point of a Makerspace? What Happens When Students Design Their Own Assessments? 8 Essay-Free Ways to Share Student Research. By Angie Miller Essays are necessary undertakings that help our students fluently build, develop, and expand on their ideas.
Writing with clear focus and purpose, I would argue, is a critical academic skill that needs to be carried into their academic, professional, and personal lives. But in the real world, not every research process ends in a full-blown essay. Our visual media is a thriving environment, bursting with sound, color, and image. Student Blogging. Design to Make Thinking Visible & Visual – Andrea Khambalia. How did I make student thinking visible and visual during our study of 19th century European Imperialism in Africa?
There were two components in the unit, a mini-project and a final project. The mini-project focused on concepts related to 19th century European Imperialism in Africa. The outcome was an individual minimalist poster with video commentary. The final project focused on the driving force, the connection between industrialisation and imperialism and finally, the impact today for one African country. How did I launch the unit visually? Scaffolding Student Thinking in Projects. Venturing into Project Based Learning. I’ve been reading about Project Based Learning for some time now, and I struggled trying to find a way to integrate this kind of pedagogy into my regular classroom practice.
I think I do a fairly good job of challenging my students and getting them to think beyond the obvious, but my English classes do tend to follow what would be perceived as traditional structure. This last term we studied Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We did make a decision early on to plan the unit using the principles of Understanding by Design (Wiggins & Tighe) and this meant we had a driving question to help us focus.
Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding. What strategy can double student learning gains?
According to 250 empirical studies, the answer is formative assessment, defined by Bill Younglove as “the frequent, interactive checking of student progress and understanding in order to identify learning needs and adjust teaching appropriately.” Unlike summative assessment, which evaluates student learning according to a benchmark, formative assessment monitors student understanding so that kids are always aware of their academic strengths and learning gaps. It also helps teachers improve the effectiveness of their instruction. 5 Easy Accommodations for Special Ed or Struggling Learners. Differentiation, universal design for learning, accommodations, and modifications are huge buzzwords in teaching right now.
Many districts are moving away from special education classes and putting their special education students into general education classrooms. This can leave general education teachers with a diverse group of learners who all have different needs. Often this shift does not come with more prep time. How is an already overworked teacher supposed to meet the needs of their struggling learners? A Guide to the SCAMPER Technique for Creative Thinking. Creative thinking and problem-solving are essential parts of the design process to turn ideas into innovation and break the barriers against creativity.
One of the successful methods used in creative thinking is the SCAMPER technique. While there are different creative thinking and problem-solving techniques such as reversed brainstorming, Hurson’s thinking model, the six hats of critical thinking and Lego Serious Play, SCAMPER is considered one of the easiest and most direct methods. The SCAMPER technique is based very simply on the idea that what is new is actually a modification of existing old things around us. “There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know.” – Ambrose Bierce SCAMPER was first introduced by Bob Eberle to address targeted questions that help solve problems or ignite creativity during brainstorming meetings. Travel - The tiny US island with a British accent.