By Guest Writer Melissa Kandido Melissa Kandido teaches IB Art, IB History, IB English, & IB Geography for middle and upper grades at the Windhoek International School in Windhoek, Namibia. She is sharing with us her experiences and adventures this year as an international educator and IB teacher. The synthesis work I gave to my IBDP12 (International […]
Middle School
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Middle School
Placing Highly Qualified Teachers
Every child deserves excellent teachers. For this reason I and a large number of my colleagues stayed together in a large urban middle school. All of us were not only properly certified and experts in our fields but we were involved in continuing education as well as being teacher leaders within our school and at […]
Posted inHigh School, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Middle School, Professional Development
The Chronicles of a Professional Development Day
What emotions do the words “Professional Development Day” conjure up in your mind? Fear, love, joy, hatred, anger, dread? The day is meant to be one of enlightenment and wonder, but often times we walk away feeling like it could’ve been used more productively elsewhere. What does a great PD day look like? Does it exist? […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Middle School
Teaching in the Winter: The Best Time of Year
By Guest Writer Jeffrey Benson [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] It’s the middle of winter in the U.S. Northeast. I wake in the dark, there’s snow and ice to scrape off my windshield, and all the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Middle School, Social Studies, The Traveling Teacher
The New Teacher in a New Country, and Year 9 in IB Geography
By Guest Writer Melissa Kandido Melissa Kandido teaches IB Art, IB History, IB English, & IB Geography for middle and upper grades at the Windhoek International School in Windhoek, Namibia. She is sharing with us her experiences and adventures this year as an international educator and IB teacher. Joining a school community from a point […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Teaching with Controversial Topics
The purpose of an education is to create functioning members of society. It is not about what the author meant when he said this, or what degree of angle is this if the other two are this and that. It is about being able to identify a problem and solve it. Sometimes problems can be […]
Posted inFeatured
Questions on Co-Teaching
Co-Teaching was introduced to me three years ago when I was asked to attend a seminar by my principal. It was presented to me in the format of two teachers with equal degrees in the same subject, sharing the classroom teaching equally. Since then, it seems that co-teaching has evolved to the more common scenario of a regular ed teacher […]
Posted inFeatured, Instructional Strategies, Middle School, Social Studies, Technology
STEAM Ahead- Social Studies Lesson- Part 2
It is two days before the winter holiday break as I wind down with students and their LED light projects. I entered this study with no experience in circuit design or understanding of how lights operate, I given up the security of time tested lessons for STEAM (Science, Technology Engineering, Art, Math). There was no need for […]