Excitement! Anxiety! Hope! These were just a few of the many emotions I felt when I stood in front of a high school classroom for the first time as the teacher. I was the one writing on the chalkboard and overhead projector. I was also the only one expected to design, plan, and teach every […]
Research
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Research Bites: Research round-up for evidence- based practices
Each month, grab your highlighters and pour some extra coffee, because this isn’t your average research digest. Each month, we break down the brainy stuff into bite-sized brilliance so you can digest evidence-based magic into your classroom without needing a PhD in educational jargon. From decoding dyslexia to unlocking the secrets of student brains, we’ve […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Study Unveils a Key Barrier to Reading Proficiency in Older Students: The Decoding Threshold
Despite the expectation that students master basic reading skills by third grade, a significant number of older students continue to face reading challenges. A recent study by the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF) reveals that nearly half of grade 3–8 teachers report their students frequently struggle to read instructional materials. The findings, released […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Talk Shop Tuesdays: Ingrained Professional Development For Teachers and By Teachers
It’s a Tuesday in March 2023; twelve “staffulty” (faculty and staff, including administrators, counselors, or technology) are gathered in a classroom for professional development. The book club leader, an English teacher, looks around at us and asks, “How much do you like to be confronted? It’s maybe a 2 for me, but I think I […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Research Paper Alternatives That Will Still Increase Research Skills
I love teaching research writing. No seriously, I do. Look, I know that for a lot of teachers, the mere suggestion of teaching any kind of research writing triggers a whole host of bad memories. Piles of notecards, copies of multiple articles, large encyclopedias open to a single page with tiny print, hours spent trying […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Genius Hour: A Perfect Way to Make Virtual Learning BURST!
In the beginning … On this particular day in my classroom, you would have found a service dog standing faithfully by their owner as she explained how her dog detected her insulin levels. Or you might notice a laptop flashing intricate patterns of code while a robot zoomed up to you carrying a piece of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
For the love of God, let the students sleep…start school later!
There are many aspects adults can agree on about teenagers. The most crucial acknowledgment is that they are a tired group. The research, the data, and the science all confirm that sleep matters. Bottom line: we need to start schools later — no earlier than 8:30 am. The AMA, AAP, and the CDC agree with the benefits of […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Copying the Nation’s Founding Documents by Hand
There are different ways to become familiar with our nation’s founding documents: reading, memorizing, studying, reciting are a few. But in our keyboard- swipe-click-centered world, rewriting by hand is not one that immediately comes to mind. A story featured in the NYTimes The Constitution, By Hand (6/30/17) written by Morgan O’Hara explained her process for […]