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I seem to write a lot about questions. The more I look into them, the more I see the massive potential they have to revolutionize the way we teach and the way students learn. In preparing to share some ideas on questions at our faculty meeting, I came across an article about questions. The article… Continue reading Ask Great Questions
These three questions are from the latest Kid President video. His video is a call to action, specifically for support of #socktober, but also just a general call for people everywhere to ask themselves: 1. What am I not ok with? 2. What do I have? 3. What can I do about it? With action… Continue reading 3 Questions That Need Answering
One of the things I “dread” is the report or research project in which students simply regurgitate a website on a tri-fold board or a Keynote filled with (stolen) text. I think the key to avoiding such things, is good questions. And, the better the question, the better the project. As a teacher in a… Continue reading More Conceptual Questions
Note: This post was written by me and was originally posted on all Grade Four class blogs at my school following inappropriate use of WhatsApp group chats by a small group of fourth grade students (outside of school hours but impacting life in the classroom). I chose not to provide a link to the Harvard issue… Continue reading What’s Up With WhatsApp?
Imagine you are a car. Your school year is the journey you are about to embark on. You need fuel in your tank to keep you going. What are you going to choose to fill your tank with? What is going to serve as your fuel? What will drive you on? Seth Godin wrote an… Continue reading Choosing My Fuel
I recently saw this graphic on Twitter. Posted by Bethany Hill , it was retweeted 48 times and liked 71 times, so obviously it was resonating with an audience. I have been thinking a lot about communication and how we communicate. I was also thinking about how we communicate through things like our unit planners and the ideas… Continue reading Needs-Based Planning
I read a great post by Kath Murdoch on Getting Into The Habit Of Inquiry. The post has so much to offer that you should read it in its entirety if you are or aspire to be an inquiry focused teacher. As I read it, I couldn’t help but connect Kath’s ideas with those of… Continue reading Find Your Water
Imagine you are a teacher. The school year is about to begin – it’s the first day for teachers to arrive at school. You walk into your classroom and there is a letter for you. From your students. Dear Teacher, The most important thing you can do for us this year is to teach creativity.… Continue reading Imagine A Teacher
I was speaking with a friend who was helping me out with a project I am working on. After we were finished talking, she asked me how I was doing: staying at home with my two sweet babies. She had seen the bomb site that is our upstairs living room (laundry EVERYWHERE) and the… Continue reading Secure Your Own Mask First
Many schools I have worked in have asked teachers to create with their students Essential Agreements for their classroom. This has spilled over to asking grade level teams to create similar Essential Agreements for collaboration or team meetings. Occassionally (which is a generous use of the word) single subject teachers are also part of this… Continue reading State Your Beliefs
