Give Your Student a Pencil – Ultimate Guide Why We Give Pencils, One Tweet at a Time
If you are reading edutwitter, I’m sure to bet that you have seen a slow-burning debate over pencils or even this article from tolerace.org. More precisely, “Should teachers unconditionally give a student a pencil in class?” I have collected more than 100 Tweets and have curated the conversation with some amazing responses for you to enjoy. First of all, we must reside in two camps, … Continue reading Give Your Student a Pencil – Ultimate Guide Why We Give Pencils, One Tweet at a Time
Jim Ellis – By the Numbers (40)
I turn 40 years old today. I’ve lived in three countries and visited 27 countries. I’ve taught six different subjects in middle school; Math, History, EAL, Science, Technology, Reading. My mate and I have had 12 years together, so far. Hospitalized twice, both while 18 years old. Thrown more than 800 bowls on a pottery wheel. In the United States, I’ve lived in only a … Continue reading Jim Ellis – By the Numbers (40)
The “Too Many Good Ideas” Problem
Educators and schools are awash in too many good ideas flowing in at all times and it is hard to be in a position to know what good ideas to choose. Not every good idea will work in every classroom or school Too many good ideas being implemented will fragment a school program, a faculty and fragments student participating in a course or school, “a … Continue reading The “Too Many Good Ideas” Problem
That Terrible Gamification Problem
An old and very bad idea I had was the gamification of the overland trails and something called the Indian Removal Act. Yes, I made the same mistake 20 years ago and is what John Meehan is selling today in his new book, “EDrenaline Rush.” Yes, it is actually called Edrenaline Rush and this picture is from his Twitter Profile. And yes, you guessed it, … Continue reading That Terrible Gamification Problem
Set Meaningful Goals With Students
Goals help focus all of this data presented to the student as a way to put it all into action. Most importantly, they can create a perfect opportunity for reflection about their achievements. Now that students have two graphs to reflect on and their own pretest it’s now time for them to make goals based on that information. Some goal topics that students might chose … Continue reading Set Meaningful Goals With Students
Use of Data with Your Whole Class – Super Effectively
I first clued into the power of what simple data can do to a class my first year teaching. One day I tallied up the scores to a test and wrote onto the whiteboard how many students received an: A, B, C, D, F or below. This suddenly took each section of science I was teaching to near silence. This was uncommon in my class … Continue reading Use of Data with Your Whole Class – Super Effectively
The Basic Components of Team Building – Facilitation Planning
The planning of a quality lesson should include thinking through the components to be discussed and picking an activity. No more than 20 minutes should be used to plan an activity. Once done, you should be able to use a successful lesson plan for many years! The first step is to pick a skill that you wish to isolate. We will isolate leadership, as it … Continue reading The Basic Components of Team Building – Facilitation Planning
