The beginning of the school year is probably right around the corner for you. You might be thinking about how you want to decorate your classroom, looking for back-to-school activities and getting-to-know-you ideas, and making copies of your syllabus. You may meet with your school and/or department prior to that first day, and then proceed […]
assessment
Why now is the time to ramp up your grit and MAKE your students work
On a sleepy Monday morning, I pause at my desk to quickly input attendance. After two clicks, I slowly walk toward the room while peeking at different students’ journal responses. The class, collectively hunched over their desks and silently crafting their response, doesn’t notice as I weave through the groups to where Eric sits. He […]
How to grade LESS while improving student outcomes
Whenever someone learn that I’m a teacher, I get asked about the endless stream of grading. I also get looks of pity whenever I tell someone what grade level I teach (Oh wow!), and then the subject (Oh you poor thing!). It’s common knowledge that when you sign up to be a teacher (especially an […]
7 reasons why your students won’t do their assignment
Picture this: you’ve planned out the perfect unit, and today is when students really need to buckle down and get down to work. You disseminate the assignment, give the students directions, and send them off to learning land. While 30 sets of heads hover over their worksheet, you notice one looking out the window. Another […]
Digging into data: identifying the needs of struggling students
This is my final installment of my Digging into Data series, so I’m going to give an example of how this data has helped me identify struggling students, and how it helps me differentiate for all of students. If you haven’t already read the other posts in the series, I encourage you to do so, […]
Grading your gradebook: reconsidering grading methods to improve student outcomes
For many teachers, summer has commenced, while for others such as myself, the beginning of a school year is right around the corner. I’ve seen so many teachers on various social media sites using their summer to plan for new and exciting things they want to do the next school year – new labels, bulletin […]
How to give comprehensive and fast feedback
In the past, I’ve tried using screen casting as a way to give feedback. However, it was very labor-intensive, however, I was able to personalize my feedback by recording myself commenting out loud on every student’s essay in one of my class periods. For my other classes, I decided to try out a different but […]
Maximize the effectiveness of your educational technology to promote learning
I clearly remember all of my amazing plans when my students first received their iPads. They were all going to use Evernote to keep digital binders, use a PDF annotator to complete worksheets, and do all of their writing on the iPad. I was going to try to use the iPad to do EVERYTHING in […]
