Teaching is more challenging than ever, and maintaining teacher self confidence and self-belief is crucial. Often, teachers are their own worst critics and the person they listen to the least. This can lead to negative effects in both professional and personal lives. Building confidence is essential for becoming a more confident teacher and fostering a … Read more
Voki is an innovative educational tool that brings the magic of animated avatars into your classroom instruction. It offers a collection of customizable speaking avatars, known as Voki characters, that can be used in a variety of educational settings. These avatars allow students to express themselves using their own voice or a text-to-speech feature, making … Read more
In the ever-evolving landscape of education, especially given the current student apathy crisis, the continuous introduction of innovative top edTech tools plays a crucial role in shaping the learning journey for students across different grade levels. Educators are increasingly integrating cutting-edge technologies into their lesson plans to foster engagement and collaborative learning, meeting the diverse … Read more
Many school districts have implemented the Marzano observation model of teacher evaluation. The Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model was one of the first formal observations to be implemented in schools across the country. It was created to address concerns with teacher evaluations and provide specific criteria for what should be observed during an evaluation. The … Read more
There are specific elements to keep in mind when preparing for a NIET Observation. The NIET Teaching Standards Rubric, based on research-based criteria, makes it easy to give feedback regarding a teacher’s instruction and encourages collaboration around a shared goal that corresponds with student performance. NIET Observation criteria aim to produce a concise, accurate, and … Read more
Click above to listen to Episode 37 of the Student-Centered World Podcast: Simplifying Classroom Differentiation (Transcript at the bottom of this page) Differentiation of instruction shouldn’t be the bane of a teacher’s existence. Though there are many ideas for differentiated instruction out there, it seems overwhelming to attempt to do this for every single one … Read more
In our last post in our Ultimate Guide to Brain Break Activities series, we took a look at calming brain breaks in the classroom. These particular brain breaks help students achieve a sense of regularity amongst themselves and help bring down an unnecessarily high energy level in the classroom. What about when students need a little pick-me-up? Just as … Read more
We know as teachers that we are teaching students much more than just the curriculum. In addition to fostering a love of student learning, we are also helping them become well-rounded individuals that are ready to meet this world head-on. We are just one piece to the puzzle (it certainly takes a village), but this leads … Read more
One of the biggest struggles that teachers are seeing in the classroom right now is the lack of student motivation. Though this has been a growing problem for years, the pandemic exacerbated the issue. There are so many ideas out there that explain how to motivate students, but so many of them include rewards. This … Read more
We know that our classrooms are not one size fits all. It doesn’t take a special education teacher to interact on a daily basis with neurodivergent students. However, it does take a little extra effort to be proactive and understand how best to support these students. Unfortunately, many general education teachers are not extensively trained … Read more
Sometimes, quiet and independent work is necessary for the classroom. This could be for any number of reasons, but searching for quiet independent classroom activities is a good start to finding options that will work for your students. The key here is finding activities that will work for your students. This means they buy into … 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