Dear New Teacher, Congratulations on your new job and commitment to the future of the world...a bit dramatic, but whatever. I want to give you a list of advice for your first year at the helm of your classroom. This isn’t your usual list...its purpose is to be completely honest; from one educator to another. …
Learning Myths vs. Learning Facts
*The following article originally posted on the American Psychological Association's Psych Learning Curve website on July 17, 2017: http://psychlearningcurve.org/learning-myths-vs-learning-facts/ Unless you’ve been under a rock, avoiding the most infamous jargon of education, you’ve heard the term ‘learning styles’. It has become quite the buzzword in the last decade or so and is almost said with …
The Value of Simplicity in the Classroom
One of the most flattering compliments I’ve ever received, in reference to my teaching, came in December of 2006. I was a member of a lovely cohort, finishing up our third and final semester of our Master’s of Education degree. During our last meetings together, one of the professors who instructed us along the way, …
Inspiring Student Buy-In with Retrieval Practice or Channelling Your Inner Knowledge Warrior
Disclaimer: I am not asserting the brain should be worked out like other muscles of the body. Thank you. When discussing retrieval practice, it is easy to focus on the ‘retrieval’ aspect of the learning strategy. It is much more interesting, I believe, to consider the neurological and biological side of the topic in relation to …
Back to the Future of Education
I try to make it a habit to participate in edchats whenever possible for two reasons: It helps me to stay ‘plugged in’. Most of the time, I genuinely enjoy the chat. Even if I don’t agree with most of what’s being said, the vibe of it all has a nice energy. Although, I believe …
Cultivating Compassion in the Classroom…and Everywhere Else
I’m not going to lie, I’m hesitant to write this article. Why? Well...I don’t really follow the fads of teaching. As a general rule, I believe the flashier the professional development, the more unneeded or gilded it probably is. I consider myself an educator whose classroom is driven by researched or evidence-based strategies. Ideas of …
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In Defense of the Curator
In the not too distant past, on Edutwitter, there was a discussion of ResearchEd. Of course, like all things education, there were supporters and detractors. One particular thread centered on the topic of researchers versus curators in the world of education. In my best estimation, researchers were defined as those actually conducting the studies...pretty straight …
