The month of April in general shines the spotlight on Autism, but what about the other 335 days of the year? Will teachers, parents, principals, doctors, politicians, and organizations continue to spread awareness about Autism? I sure hope so and this article is my way of keeping the blue light shining bright so that we […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Reverse Poetry
I stumbled upon “Mirror Mirror” and “Follow Follow” in the Scholastic book order this past month. Being a lover of fairy tales I added them to my cart. I was happily surprised and amazed as I read these reversible verse poems. We had viewed one in church, but I did not realize it was a […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Interviews, Mathematics
All Mathematics is Political: Post Session with Rochelle Gutierrez
Following an emotionally stimulating conference session presented by Dr. Rochelle Gutierrez, I was intent on waiting in a line behind dozens of people for the opportunity to sit and talk with her. She began her talk with an engaging moment where she asked audience participants to “Stand Up” for the reasons they entered the teaching […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Instruction & Curriculum, Social Studies
Rise from Failure: Lessons From Epic Leaders
“Why must I learn this?” is a common question asked by students. I’m never fully convinced that I answer this to the satisfaction of the class but I do try to provide both guiding questions and reasons for our global studies in a Modern World History course. It shocked me to discover a generation of […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
Demistifying the Great Lesson
Cross Posted from Chalkbeat, TN, April 21st, 2014 You walk into a classroom. You see students are excitedly conversing with each other, taking notes on their papers and drawing models. The teacher rotates around, speaking very little, but when he does, he typically leans down, examines a student’s paper and then asks a simple question. […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, School Improvement, Social Studies
Teacher Education Programs Through the Lens of History Educators
On Sunday, April 13th, I attended the final session time of the Organization of American Historians Conference in Atlanta. Sunday is very quiet with many attendees heading home. I decided to attend the Educating Future History Teachers session. I wanted to see what was being done to prepare teacher candidates now compared to my program […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics
The Case for Using Calculators
There are a multitude of opinions on the topic of calculators, ranging from: “I learned math without a calculator” to “what happens if children are dependent on calculators and there isn’t one around” to “children should not move on to higher level math until they can do basic computations mentally.” I am going to explain why […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics
Top five reasons to go to the 2015 NCTM Annual Conference
I have attended the past eight NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) conferences. The event has become an annual highlight in both my academic and professional careers. For me, the conference has always been about learning. There were some years when I savored a walk through the exhibit hall to discover the newest software […]