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Empowering Educators, Inspiring Learning
Teaching is an art and a science. Here, we explore strategies that foster engagement, equity, and student agency. Join the conversation and take your practice to the next level.
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Teaching has always been a demanding profession, but this school year takes the cake! Teachers are navigating substitute teacher shortages, COVID protocols, and record numbers of absent students in addition to the normal demands of this job. It […]
What do teachers find mentally stimulating about their work? What causes teachers to invest their mental energy and time resources in a task? What aspects of a teacher’s work lead them to engage in problem-solving, critical thinking, and […]
We talk a lot about student engagement in education. Most educators got into this profession for the students, and, as a result, we want their experience to be as engaging and positive as possible. There is far less […]
A friend recently asked me, “How do you continue your own learning?” I responded, “I read a lot.” I dedicate time every morning to my professional growth by reading an article or chapter in a book. This 30-minute […]
While coaching teachers this month, several expressed a desire to include review and practice activities in their station rotation lessons to help students prepare for end-of-the-semester assessments. Helping students review for an exam often takes the form of […]
A friend recommended Adam Grant’s podcast “Is it safe to speak up at work?” As I listened to this episode, I was thinking about the concept of psychological safety through my educator lens. My work focuses on supporting […]
The last two years have been mentally and emotionally exhausting for everyone in education. As I work with leadership teams, many struggle to engage their teachers in professional learning this year. Schools invested money in purchasing devices and […]
I have a soft spot for the station rotation model. It was one of the first models, along with the flipped classroom, that I could employ in my low-tech classroom. In the early days of my transition to […]
After reading Catlin Tucker’s blog post, 5 Strategies to Engage Learners Around Flipped Instruction, I was inspired to reflect on and revise a mini-unit I designed focusing on the short film Alike by Daniel Martinez Lara and Rafa […]
Teachers got a crash course in creating video content when schools shifted online. They relied on videos out of necessity to explain concepts and model strategies while students learned from home. As teachers transitioned back into classrooms, many […]
When I work with teachers shifting to blended learning, I strive to establish the WHY driving our work together. I want teachers to understand the purpose and value of the shift to blended learning. Blended learning is not […]
In our book UDL and Blended Learning, Dr. Katie Novak and I encourage teachers to work toward firm, often standards-aligned, goals. We also stress the importance of providing students with flexible means. All students can make progress toward […]