Student learning is no accident!
The view from down here. “It all falls on the classroom teacher, it always does” she reminded me. This was my mother. A retired elementary school teacher, who had made it the long haul. In the classroom for her entire career, advocating for kids, mentoring new teachers- reminding me when I express frustration in the system that, I shouldn’t be… Read More
I decided early this year that I have a responsibility to improve the quality of online discussions. As a teacher, I often feel responsible to improve the world I live in. Knowing each year, that I will spend so many hours every day with so many impressionable, mold-able citizens of the future- can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure…. Read More
What a productive week it has been… in terms of my thinking. I feel like I have made incredible progress, even though nothing tangible has happened… yet! I knew before this school year began that I wanted to get my students blogging. I also knew I was in love with the idea of Genius Hour. Here it is, January- and… Read More
After hearing/ reading the unrelenting enthusiasm of my colleagues who have attended ‘edcamps’ and ‘unconferences,’ I determined I needed to experience this phenomenon for myself. Could it really be that everyone who attended these events got exactly what they wanted and more? People who had experienced unconference-style events reported feeling professionally satisfied, respected and invigorated. My attitude is generally pretty… Read More
Dear Teachers, Thanks for wanting to jump back in with us as we dig into Assessment in Instruction! This is the last of the 4 challenges- and I know you’ll finish strong! To get started, think about which level you feel most accurately describes your daily teaching experiences… Level 1: There is little or no assessment or monitoring of student… Read More
I’ve been following the release of each week’s #yearatMH video clip since hearing Sam Chaltain speak at this year’s NTC Symposium. These clips are a prime example of the value of respectful relationships within, around and between members of a school community. If you haven’t watched one yet, make today the day. [embedplusvideo height=”356″ width=”584″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/9Efoj38lp2w?fs=1&hd=1″ vars=”ytid=9Efoj38lp2w&width=584&height=356&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep2092″ /] I… Read More
Love #2!!Building relationships with kids is more than being nice to them. Here are some ways we can go deeper.
#teachergoals #HackingSchoolDiscipline
Here’s my favorite grouping hack for teachers... I learned this from my favorite math coach at least 10 years ago, and I’ve been using it and sharing it with teachers ever since.
👑1- It looks pretty cool when kids get up to find their group members! They do it silently in my room- like a “silent sort.”
📁2- I drop colored folders on desks around the room so red dots meet in this area, green over here etc.
🤸🏻♀️3- I use this often so students are pros!
🧠Pro Tip- I never put kids into collaborative arrangements until they’ve had time to struggle and think about the material independently. For example, students spend 5minutes jotting notes in the margin of this discussion sheet BEFORE getting into groups. This way, I know everyone has something to share. No one feels on the spot to process the demand of the task, get to know a group and take a risk to share all in the same moment.
🌈Mix it up! I keep students guessing by sometimes asking them to get into rainbow groups instead. This means they need to silently sort into groups with one of each color!
Student learning is NO accident! Teachers do amazing things to create the conditions for students to have AHA moments every day.
👩🏼🔧How do you engineer success during collaborative group work?
Have you laughed REALLY hard lately?? If not, it’s time to call that friend who makes you laugh until you cry! Every. Time. You. Hang. Out. Tag that friend!
😂🤣🤣🤣
6 year olds get it! Set yourself some 6 year old goals and bring back joy.
Help someone else today by making them laugh.
Laugh with some kids. Let them show you how it’s done!
Write Solutions added a button to help you learn more about them.
