Like many of you, this past week was my first week of moving to an all-online format for teaching. It was definitely a week of both blessings and challenges. As I follow education folks on Twitter, it does seem like those of us who teach in high schools have an advantage over elementary and middle …
Continue reading What I Learned This Week With Online Teaching
Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to watch multi-grade project based learning (PBL) in action at Astoria Lutheran School in Queens, NY. It was a wonderful day of affirming their school model and helping identify next steps with the faculty of the school. As I observed PBL in action in preparation for afternoon conversations with …
Yesterday I had the privilege in participating at the Lutheran Schools Association conference, held at Long Island Lutheran High School and Middle School. In the two sessions we reviewed and discussed with participants the topics of formative assessment and faith integration in the classroom. As is my pattern, resources and session notes for the two …
As I have grown in my chosen profession I have learned to regularly ask my students about their experience in my classroom, providing them a chance to reflect on what they have learned and the process of learning. We are about a month and a half into the 2018-2019, so this week seemed like a …
Any classroom is a place where a series of compromises have been made. We typically make decisions based on the needs of the larger group. The classroom arrangement is a compromise. The method(s) of instruction is a compromise. Classroom management strategies are a compromise. In recent years we have been conditioned to think of compromise …
Last year I shared a couple posts with some ideas for the first day of school. Since we are at or near the first day for most of us, I thought I would share those posts again so that some helpful ideas for starting the year might be identified. Remember to follow the #FirstDay hashtag …
It is August 1st, and thus my thoughts, and the thoughts of educators around the nation, move to the new school year -- one that has both new challenges and possibilities. One new opportunity that has arisen for me is the move to a newly constructed classroom for Lights Academy, the personalized, project-based learning experience …
I am no doubt behind the times, but over the past month I have become very interested in the remarkable story of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for education and woman's rights who was shot in the head by the Taliban at age 15, survived, and continues her crusade today. With her father as her …
Continue reading Malala and Helping Students Find Their Voice
I have participated in a number of Twitter education chats over the past few days where the skill of student questioning has been discussed. Those of you who have read my posts in the past know that I am an advocate for getting student to ask really good questions and then giving them permission to …
As I was reading a professional book today, the following conversation took place in my mind: Why are IEPs for only a subset of students? Because they are a legal requirement for providing proper support for those students that qualify for and receive special education services. IEP stands for "Individualized Education Program", right? Yup So …
