Zach Groshell – Page 47

The couch-potato approach to educational technology

Don't wait for your school to develop your tech skills. Settle into your couch and educate yourself! I've talked before about how teachers need to be given the opportunity to play around with edtech tools in order to be able to envision how they could be used in a classroom. The same goes with students. This could…

April 22, 2017 8Comments

How teachers can prioritize building confidence and risk-taking

Growing up, I was painfully shy. If I ever dared to raise my hand (or got called on without doing so) all of the other students would immediately ask me, “Why is your face so red?” This created a vicious cycle of not wanting to raise my hand because I didn’t want my face to…

April 8, 2017 9Comments

“The what” vs. “The how” of education

Welcome! This post was published some time ago. Since then, I’ve written many new articles and recorded numerous podcast episodes. For my latest thinking and most up-to-date content, be sure to explore the newer posts and podcasts on the site. After reading the above tweet, I've been thinking a lot about this idea that we may…

April 6, 2017 5Comments

5 reasons to drop math worksheets and use “smart” online programs

To learn a new math skill well, we know that students need to get adequate practice with it – successfully answering a number of problems before considering the skill mastered. Traditionally, students have gotten this practice with photocopied worksheets or a textbook. However, with the technology we now have, online “smart” programs like IXL do…

April 1, 2017 3Comments

Kids should read a book and build a freaking fort

Welcome! This post was published some time ago. Since then, I’ve written many new articles and recorded numerous podcast episodes. For my latest thinking and most up-to-date content, be sure to explore the newer posts and podcasts on the site. Motivating kids to become lifelong readers is every teacher's goal, but I'll be the first to…

March 15, 2017 5Comments

5 books to start a book club for teachers

There is something special about book clubs that you don't get from other forms of teacher PD. I love the feeling of finally being able to share what I've read with a group of likeminded individuals, all of whom have a different perspective on the same source material. In book clubs, everyone comes in as…

February 16, 2017 7Comments

Can a class teddy bear raise achievement?

A few months ago I attended a fantastic session on how teachers can do their own Action Research at an AISA conference. In the session, I decided that I wanted to see if teaching my 2nd grade students specific strategies for what to do when they get stuck would help raise their achievement. To make…

February 4, 2017 6Comments

Easiest elementary school hack for increasing motivation

I love making learning happen through fun, inquiry-based experiences. However, as we all know, there are some things that students just have to memorize (math facts, letter sounds and vocabulary words to name a few). Try as we might to make them fun, they still take some grit. Introducing the Master’s Charts When a student of mine…

January 31, 2017 6Comments