About the Author: Jenn Breisacher
For the past several years, teachers have been leaving the classroom at an alarming rate. Add in all the complications of the COVID-19 era and you have an entire system that is falling apart at the seams, struggling with both teacher retention and recruitment. While some districts appear to be getting it right, focusing on … Read more
More so now than ever, teachers are wondering how to engage students in the learning process. Classroom engagement seems like it is at an all-time low, leaving teachers not only wondering how to engage students in the learning process but wondering if it’s even possible anymore. Don’t fret; it is still possible, it just may … Read more
Student engagement for young learners can certainly be a challenge. I once heard teaching being correlated to “herding cats” and I couldn’t help but laugh. Add in the element of small children just learning how to interact with one another and what social and societal norms are and you have a recipe for quite the … Read more
If we’ve learned anything since spring 2020, it’s that not only can life change on a dime, but as teachers, we will need to be able to adapt quickly. In that adaptation came virtual learning (or what I like to call “crisis learning” because what we were all expected to execute is not true distance … Read more
Teaching the 95 Theses by Martin Luther can feel daunting at times, though it is such an important part of modern history and explains so much of how we got where we are today in society. Finding creative lesson plans for Martin Luther’s 95 Theses can seem challenging, but it is possible to get your … Read more
When teachers begin searching for a good lesson plan on Civil Rights Movement, so many variables come into play. It is such an important topic in American history that it should be given the appropriate amount of attention, but we all know we are within time constraints of our curriculums and there are only so … Read more
The overwhelm that so many teachers feel in terms of the student centered curriculum model is so completely unnecessary when they are given the tools to be able to succeed. All the data shows that this learning methodology is the most effective for our Generation Z students, yet there isn’t much out there about “how” … Read more
As a form of community in the classroom, we often begin the year with some type of ice breaker activity for the students to get to know one another. While some of these are tried and true, others can be (let’s face it) a bit cringeworthy, especially as our students get a little older. However, … Read more
Chances are, you’ve landed on this page after searching, “what are some examples of student-centered learning?”. I’m glad you did. We know that the “higher-ups” rave about student-centered learning and its benefits (there are too many to list here), but so often, there’s a lack of communication in terms of exactly what that looks like … Read more
Though online education has been around for quite some time, it didn’t become common until the crisis learning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many students (and families) struggled to help their students learn at home, many others found that this way of educating was beneficial to their learning needs. It is important to determine student … Read more
Teachers know the drill: there’s a fancy professional development session or an article gets forwarded in an email about the latest trend in the classroom. So many of these have come and gone over the year that many teachers smile, nod, and go about their business. However, the buzz around learner-centered education isn’t going anywhere, … Read more
If developing a student engagement strategy seems more daunting than helpful, then you’re in the right place. As teachers, we aren’t necessarily taught how to create a student engagement formula that works for us; rather, we are taught that if x, y, or z is “good enough”, engagement will happen on its own. While that … Read more