This post is now quite old! Check out my newer posts, my workshops, and my podcast. We've talked before about how to give your class back to your students. Today, I want to look at a similar idea of how we can create a shared learning environment where the teacher and students are partners in … Continue reading 5 Easy Ways to Share Learning Experiences with Students
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 … Continue reading How Teachers Can Prioritize Building Confidence and Risk-Taking
A Different Kind of Student-Led Conference
Student-led conferences are all the rage right now, and rightfully so. They provide another opportunity for students to take control of their learning. The thing is, before public, shared, nonlinear digital portfolios, it made a ton of sense to bring parents into the classroom just so they could flip through the pages of their child's … Continue reading A Different Kind of Student-Led Conference
“The What” vs. “The How” of Education
After reading the above tweet, I've been thinking a lot about this idea that we may very well spend too much time talking about what we should teach rather than how we should teach. And the more I think about it, the more I crave conversations that concern the how of education. Learning-focused conversation is learner and … Continue reading “The What” vs. “The How” of Education
How to Set Up a Week of Free Inquiry for Anywhere, Anytime Learning
When I was just a first year teacher, I placed a lot of value on my ability to control student behaviors. While students were quiet and well-behaved to the passing observer, I could sense that I was not facilitating the kind of learning experiences that I wanted from my teachers during my own education. The … Continue reading How to Set Up a Week of Free Inquiry for Anywhere, Anytime Learning
A Letter to My Student About Goal Setting, Body Image, and Healthy Living
I've talked about goal-setting before on educationrickshaw.com, including the SMART model. As my school nears Student Led Conferences, using Seesaw as our digital portfolio, my students have all set goals to achieve during the remainder of their time under my care. While most of my students chose goals centered on improving in a particular academic … Continue reading A Letter to My Student About Goal Setting, Body Image, and Healthy Living
Kids should read a book and build a freaking fort
Motivating kids to become lifelong readers is every teacher's goal, but I'll be the first to admit to having to resort to crummy prizes and rewards, including candy and toys, to get kids to read a book. In this short post, I want to offer a fun alternative: The blanket fort. Set a goal with … Continue reading Kids should read a book and build a freaking fort
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 … Continue reading Can a Class Teddy Bear Raise Achievement?
5 Ways to Give Your Class Back to Your Students
Like many new teachers, I used to be uncomfortable giving up control. I saw a well functioning class as largely teacher-directed, and that if you gave students too many choices they would end up choosing poorly for themselves. How wrong I was. The following tips are some strategies that I use to make my classroom … Continue reading 5 Ways to Give Your Class Back to Your Students
How to Gamify Your Class by Turning it into the “Survivor” Reality Show
I'm a big fan of the reality show, Survivor, which has a group of adults competing in a variety of challenges on an isolated beach. The drama of every episode ending with a vote and an eliminated contestant intrigued me to the point of wanting to bring it to the classroom. It was so successful … Continue reading How to Gamify Your Class by Turning it into the “Survivor” Reality Show
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