Having students participate in a peer review can be an extremely rewarding endeavor, but English teachers often run into issues during the process. Students may not feel comfortable or confident enough to provide feedback. Sometimes students are overwhelmed because their partners’ work has too many problems. Whatever the case, there are ways to make the
DOES IT PAY TO HAVE A STUDENT REVIEW ANOTHER STUDENT’S WORK? Read More »
Group work is a mode of learning I’ve struggled with for much of my teaching career. The concept of students working together to learn is valuable for many reasons, but creating a group activity where all students are engaged in the collective work can be challenging. Recently, I tried a group essay writing activity that
HOW GROUP WORK HELPS YOU ACHIEVE REAL GROWTH IN WRITING ABILITY Read More »
STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) encourages investigation, hands-on learning, and creativity and incorporates interdisciplinary learning. I often say that STEAM education happens the most in early childhood, and has been for decades: Young students often gather for circle time and begin their day with songs that focus on academic content. Walls
Preserving the Early Excitement of STEAM Read More »
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education plays a critical role in preparing our youth for the future and their roles in our economy. Through STEM, they engage in experiences in which they learn from and with other people, and because of that, are encouraged to think critically, innovatively, and creatively. As we continue to
Making STEM Accessible to All! Read More »
As a second-year English teacher, I had a problem: I wanted to teach my sixth-grade students the wonders of English via a robust, recurring series of highly engaging grammar lessons designed to ensure that they would never conflate “their” with “they’re,” but their skill levels were in vastly different places. To be effective, my lessons needed
Personalized Learning at Its Best Read More »
When Kiran Bir Sethi set out to start a new school in Ahmedabad, India, almost two decades ago, she didn’t have an education background, a teaching staff, or the backing of investors: She just wanted to provide a better education for her young son, whose creativity and independence, she felt, were squashed by rigid schooling.
WHEN STUDENTS DESIGN THEIR EDUCATION Read More »
Some students struggle with completing Math and English assignments, submitting homework on time, and staying focus in class. However, these struggles may be a part of a greater problem that is not clearly seen by parents, guardians, and educators. Most challenges students face in school are poverty, homeless families, child abuse and neglect, bullying (including
CHALLENGES STUDENTS FACE THAT AFFECTS THEIR EDUCATION Read More »
Many classrooms today consist of teachers correcting students in an attempt to teach them the “right” answer. Whether it’s fill-in-the-blank multiplication tables or multiple choice tests, the focus is simply on getting answers correct. But when teachers focus on students’ wrong answers, and the logic that the students applied to arrive at those answers, the
BEING WRONG CAN BE RIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE LEARNING TOO Read More »
With continued budget cuts, a greater focus on math and reading education, and an enduring emphasis on standardized testing, the future for art education in public schools around the U.S. may seem bleak. However, the growth of technology and software over the same period can provide educators with novel and inexpensive options for new art
RESURRECTING THE ART CULTURE WITH TECHNOLOGY Read More »
Cutting edge classroom technology from 2000 was decidedly less advanced than what the average student can expect today. Educational videos were often shown on video tapes with a TV and VCR that were wheeled into the room. Overhead projectors and floppy disks were classroom staples, and blackboards were still to the go-to teaching tool. In
CLASSROOM TECH THAT ARE BECOMING OBSOLETE Read More »