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
So many people in education find themselves hearing about new techniques and then truly wondering, which is better teacher centered or student centered instruction. When most of us think back about our time in school, it was a very teacher-centric model of instruction. The teacher told us what we needed to know, we digested that … Read more
We all have our favorite ways to engage students in the classroom, but there is always room to find more in classroom activities that will get your students excited about learning. Whether you are a new or experienced teacher, there is no replacement for finding activities that your students will be excited to participate in. … Read more
At any level, teachers are always striving to find the best classroom management strategy for their students. However, classroom management for preschool is its own category as these students often are in a school setting for the first time and don’t have a regulated concept of the social norms of group learning yet. Teachers … 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
Student online learning is nothing new, but certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic thrust this concept into the mainstream. Now, almost everyone is talking about online learning in one form or another. Some are hand-wringing about the future of education, while others are writing love songs to this online revolution. The thing is, not everyone has the … 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
I would argue that there’s nothing more frustrating as a teacher than having the perfect lesson or activity ready to go, only to find out that there are students absent or that they did not bring the work that they needed to proceed. After switching to a student-centered model and then having these roadblocks hit … Read more
Teenage “angst” is something that secondary teachers are all too familiar with. I shared a video on Instagram that highlighted all the different kinds of secondary student personalities (I believe it was focused on middle school, but as a former high school teacher, I can promise you it’s accurate) and one thing is for sure: … Read more
We all know the bread and butter of a well-oiled classroom isn’t the content material or the depth of a lesson plan. Heck, it can be argued that it’s not even the dynamic of the students or the strength of the teacher (stick with me here). Yes, all of this is important, but without classroom … Read more