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 …
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Students and School Design Ideas
Each year my Lights Academy seniors take on the challenge of identifying design issues within the school and making proposals for addressing those issues in a positive manner. They do the research, share their ideas as a class, and then they pursue the proposals they choose. Two weeks ago my student Bri (pictured in the …
Brain Breaks
The research has been clear for some time: Our students (and ourselves as well) need brain breaks in order to learn and produce at peak efficiency. For those of you not familiar with the research or the process, this article from Edutopia provides a great primer about the neuroscience behind brain breaks, as well as …
Classroom Compromises
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 …
Shared Again: #FirstDay Ideas
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 …
Thoughts on a School Theme Verse
If you are not a fan of the Chicago Cubs, PLEASE do not discard this post simply because there are Cubs reference. There are important faith points to which these references relate, so hang in there with me. Each year most Lutheran schools select a school theme. This theme may be a specific Bible verse …
My Daughters and Their Blogs
I am thankful that my daughters have become such excellent writers. I cannot claim any credit for this. They are all voracious readers and they have had excellent teachers to guide them in their writing, particularly in high school. They also are bloggers, and if you have any interest in their subject matter, I encourage …
Lights Academy Seniors
Tuesday was my last class period with my Lights Academy seniors. I have worked with these thirteen students intently over the past two years in our project-based learning environment. This post is simply a tribute to them. Thanks to each of them for..... Taking a chance on Lights Academy, something that is still a challenge …
When Digital Tools Disappear
We are entering a period of turbulence in the educational technology world. Of course, perhaps this environment has always been turbulent, but events past couple weeks have caught my attention more completely. Two services that I have used to support learning and professional development are disappearing this summer. TodaysMeet, a tool for backchannel conversations, is …
Lights Academy Ranks the Presidents
My Lights Academy students, as part of their Government standards, collaboratively studied, analyzed, and ranked the presidents of the United States in order of effectiveness. Their work may be viewed on this site they created. Please note that they have created a response mechanism on the site for feedback for their choices. They would love …
