Posts Tagged ‘education’
Look Me in the Eyes
“Listen with your eyes for feelings.” -Stephen Covey I have often heard people say that the eyes are the window to the soul. These ocular tools deliver important nonverbal messages and are natural transmitters of emotion. Most educators develop their “teacher look” early in their career. You know, that look that we shoot across the…
Read MoreWho's Bad?
From the desk Alice… I cannot remember how I came across the link but in an era of visual clutter on social media, this one stuck with me. I made a mental note to watch it and even tried to find it on cable so I could DVR the next episode. After a little more…
Read MoreWhat They Really Love
It’s February so the ERG blog theme is one of love, of course. This sounded like a great idea when we were mapping out the year but my deadline for writing came and went and I was totally uninspired. I could give you a litany of reasons, but at the end of the day my…
Read MoreThe Arts – A Great "How"
“If our goal is for children to become knowledgeable, critical thinkers who are good at solving problems, we need to pay attention to the ‘how’ of teaching.” – Linda Crawford I want my students to thrive! I want them to soak up their learning experiences, remember, recall, and apply their knowledge at school – and…
Read MoreSecrets That Are Not So Secret
I love a list. And I really love a countdown list so you can imagine how much fun I have this time of year when there are endless things to count down for the year. I have seen lists for books, movies, music, food, sports, and I recently saw a list on social media called…
Read MoreBagging It
“Into the brown paper bag of my heart, he slipped a smile.” – David James Duncan Ready to slip a smile on the faces of your students during these last few days of school? Try constructing paper bag challenges. Exciting engineering projects can be created with simple materials like tape, paper, and string placed inside…
Read MoreFeedback – The Language of Growth
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” – Ken Blanchard Years of research show that feedback is one of the most powerful influences on achievement. Daily we strive to provide quality feedback to our students, but we also must take the time to provide quality feedback to our colleagues. Feedback is the language of growth. It is…
Read MoreDialogue Not Monologue
Mind Frame 5: Teachers engage in dialogue, not monologue – John Hattie Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning Research has shown that teachers talk between 70 and 80% of classroom time. Traditionally a monologue flows from the teacher and then the students are asked to complete a task to demonstrate their understanding. From…
Read More5 for 5 – Take Five for a Brain Break
Brain research has shown that movement in the classroom improves our students’ focus, memory, concentration, and creates better overall attitudes. When you see your students getting a little restless – try one of these quick brain break activities to stimulate your team of young learners. Take five for a brain break! Copy My Pattern – The…
Read MoreQuick Ways to Assess in Math
Assessment is a vital part of teaching. Without feedback teachers don’t have the information they need to see if a child “gets it” or not. However, most educators think of assessment in terms of tests such as those from the state, district, or school. In math daily quick assessments can be easily done without much…
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