Search Results for: student engagement

I remember standing in front of my first class of 9th graders back in 2007, absolutely convinced I had everything figured out. My carefully color-coded classroom rules were posted prominently on the wall. My reward system was ready. I’d read all the blog posts, attended the professional development sessions, and taken copious notes during student … Read more

I walked into my first classroom in 2007, and if there’s one piece of advice I now give to new teachers during their first week of professional development, it’s this: your classroom walls are not your décor; they are your co-teacher. For a long time, I fell into the trap of treating my bulletin boards … Read more

At any level, teachers are always trying to figure out what actually works for their students. But preschool is its own thing entirely. Preschool children are often in a group learning setting for the very first time, and nobody has handed them a manual on how this whole “school” thing works. Early childhood educators have … Read more

Once I mastered student-led learning, I always had colleagues asking me about my style of classroom management. There was often the appearance that my students were loud, off-task, and learning was nonexistent. I would often invite those colleagues into my classroom to chat with my students, who would blow them away with their explanations of … Read more

The phrase “classroom management” often makes high school teachers, especially new teachers, cringe, conjuring images of rigid control and constant discipline battles. However, the reality is that effective classroom management is the cornerstone of a positive learning environment where student learning and academic achievement can flourish. High school students are young adults with diverse individual … Read more

I remember my first year of teaching like it was yesterday, but the truth is, I walked into that classroom in 2007 with a history degree, a stack of lesson plans I’d spent all summer perfecting, and absolutely no idea how to actually manage a room full of teenagers. I taught at a nationally ranked academic school … Read more

Drafting a philosophy for classroom management can feel overwhelming because it asks you to answer a deceptively simple question: What kind of teacher do you want to be? The answer isn’t found in a single set of classroom rules or a pre-packaged behavior chart. It’s a living document, shaped by your core beliefs about how … Read more

Click above to listen to podcast episode 58: “Classroom Management Skills Necessary for Success“ A simple Google search for “classroom management skills” reveals a landscape that is not only plentiful but overwhelmingly complex. For educators at any grade level, from high school to the purview of university teachers, the quest to find a system that … Read more

If we can agree on anything, it’s that COVID-19 made its mark on education. Good, bad, and indifferent, our classrooms were thrown for a loop and are still settling into what the “new normal” actually means. I’ve spent the past several years training K-12 teachers across the country, and the question I hear more than … Read more

As another vacation slips away from us, it is hard to realize that we are already at the point to welcome to back to school all our students for another year of learning and fun. I hope all of you had a good, safe summer with plenty of time to relax, enjoy friends and loved … Read more