In the bustling world of special education, where every day presents a new puzzle to solve and a fresh opportunity to empower young minds, innovation is the name of the game. As a devoted educator navigating the intricacies of an autism classroom, I’ve always been on the lookout for ways to make learning not just […]
Why Teacher Prep Programs MUST tap into the MAGIC that is Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary is the gift that keeps on giving to teacher prep programs because it highlights and emphasizes the intangibles that far transcend coursework around content, pedagogy, or lesson planning. Instead, the television series introduces the challenges, the cultivation, the productive struggle, and, most importantly, the JOY found on ‘Abbott Elementary campuses across the country. […]
10 Books for celebrating Pi Day with Students
Every year on March 14, schools celebrate Pi Day (Greek letter “π”), the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant—the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter—which is approximately 3.14159. Pi Day is an annual opportunity for math enthusiasts to recite the infinite digits of Pi, talk to their friends about […]
My relationship with AI…It’s complicated!
It has been over 2 years since ChatGPT launched, arguably bringing artificial intelligence (AI) into the mainstream. AI has rapidly evolved into a large collection of tools that address almost every aspect of teaching and learning. They can grade papers or provide individualized feedback, correct grammar, generate ideas for lessons, write standards-based assessments at every […]
Teaching and Basketball: Five key takeaways from the Women’s SEC Basketball Tournament that teachers must understand to cultivate successful students
If you watched the Women’s SEC Basketball Tournament this past weekend, you saw some of the league’s best female players engage in amazingly electrifying basketball in pursuit of the coveted SEC Championship title. Each team, regardless of seeding, showed up prepared to achieve one of the goals that have been on their vision boards since […]
Understanding Ramadan: A Classroom Teacher’s Guide
This year in mid-March, approximately 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide will be observing the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, which begins the morning after sighting the last sliver of a crescent moon before a new moon and lasts for 30 days. The observance of Ramadan is deeply […]
Home Visits: Building a classroom family in Room 18
Last summer, I attended an educators’ conference focused on building a positive climate and culture in schools. The conference offered a variety of break-out sessions addressing topics such as engagement, retention, cultural competency, and relationship-building. What are home visits? I quickly noticed “home visits” as a commonly discussed practice at the conference: educators visiting the […]
Innovative charter schools arrive in Montana, but not without a fight
In January of 2024, the Montana Board of Public Education approved the creation of nineteen public charter schools. These schools address a variety of needs, from multilingual students in Bozeman to teacher recruitment and retention in my district in Great Falls. HB 549, which was sponsored by former school administrator turned legislator Dr. Fred Anderson, […]