Let’s face it, school provides students with two invaluable benefits: academic growth and socialization. With students thrust into learning from home in spring 2020, both of those expected outcomes of school suffered. Now we have to face a new reality. On the days when students are in school: Teachers expect to “teach” their students all […]
The shift to hybrid learning environments brings with it some different responsibilities for teachers. Whereas when all the students are in the room, you can “swoop in” to clarify or redirect, you can “go with the flow” and adjust your plans on the spot, and you don’t have to anticipate as much as react . […]
While there is certainly a place in your learning environment for whole-group instruction, a large part of a student’s day needs to involve engaging in tackling instructional activities. For the greatest results, start with thinking through how we learn and selecting activities to support that. Consider the learning progression (from the brain’s-eye view): Ah, to […]
revised 11/26/23 We all learn best when we are motivated to learn, and the intrinsic motivation of interest, pride, and “felt need” works much better than the extrinsic motivation of rewards, peer pressure, and fear! How do you build an intrinsic motivation to learn? Anchor the learning to some bigger problem or challenge that motivates […]
Fall 2020 promises to bring some challenges to schools in terms of social distancing. Most likely, students will attend school with a staggered schedule that has them both learning at home and learning online. Even if social distancing ends, the chances of another virus-related school closing are high. It’s time to stop thinking of schools […]