Every teacher is told that they must teach to all learning styles, that they must follow 504 plans and Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and that they are responsible for differentiating assignments so that all students can learn equally. What if a teacher does all of these things, but a student simply won’t learn? Believe it […]
High School
Posted inHigh School
Project Archaeology Leadership Academy
Summer is not only a time for reading and gardening. It’s a time for professional development. This week, I have been attending a program called Project Archaeology Leadership Academy (PALA). Project Archaeology is a national educational organization that is run in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Montana State University. Educators, museum […]
Posted inHigh School
Curbing Student Failure
Students facing failure is one aspect of teaching that we are familiar with. The term “failure” can take on many meanings depending upon the age of the student, course, and whether we mean earning a poor grade or not making satisfactory progress required to meet the class expectations. There are many signs that a teacher […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The STEM Revolution in Higher Education
I just got back from a fascinating conference about the state of STEM in U.S. schools, sponsored by U.S. News and World Report! I was compelled by the idea of a STEM revolution in higher education; as a middle school teacher, it really didn’t occur to me that colleges would be reacting in a similar […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching the Environment in the Social Studies and Humanities (and Everywhere Else)
When we get close to the end of the year I like to leave my students with a bit of reflection for the future. In a matter-of-fact and “non-preachy” way, I tell them that the most crucial issue that their generation will inherit is the environment. In fact, despite what students hear from many political […]
Posted inHigh School
13 Reasons Why: Conflicting Reviews
Jay Asher’s 13 Reason Why was the first young adult novel I read during my student teaching. When the librarian spoke to my freshmen about novels for a choice project, I was drawn to the premise of the story: Before completing suicide, a sixteen-year-old girl (Hannah) records the reasons for her choice on audiotapes and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Mathematical Conversations Aid Problem Solving
Mathematical conversations are among the most important connections that make math about solving problems instead of just calculating answers. They include discussions of how a problem was solved and whether or not the answer makes sense. Often teachers shy away from mathematical conversations thinking they will lead to students talking instead of working. In this second […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teaching Black Consciousness and White Privilege
One matter we have gotten over very quickly as a country is the notion, beginning in 2008 and carried throughout the Obama presidency, that we now live in a “post-racial” society. The fact that an African American was twice-elected to the nation’s highest office gave rise to the idea that racial discord can now be […]