As a student with a learning disability, confidence has always been half the battle. It has proven time and time again to be the difference between success and failure. I’ve seen my fair share of both. Most times, this confidence …
One of the challenges I face as an English teacher is teaching critical thinking skills to my students, as opposed to merely assessing for comprehension. Ultimately, texts are understood through a reader’s interpretation of the larger organization structures signaled by …
Editor’s Note: Occasionally, teachers offer us lesson plans that they are using within their classrooms to post and share with other educators. This lesson plan comes from Diana Mackiewicz, who has used it in her Global Perspectives class. Global …
Three days ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled, “My Teacher is an App” by Stephanie Banchero and Stephanie Simon. The basic premise is that education as we know it is undergoing a radical change that …
Last week we encountered a highly unusual situation; in fact, it was one that I had not anticipated whatsoever: a week-long power outage. As a teacher at a boarding school, one thing you must know is that the show must …
MIT OpenCourse Ware recently launched 5 new courses specifically designed for independent learners who have few additional resources available to them. This is a significant new approach to sharing educational resources with a mission reminiscent of Kahn Academy. These …
Dr. James Paul Gee is a leading expert on literacy with a special interest in the potential of educational games. In the following video he talks about a revolutionary approach to learning that would seem to have significant advantages over …
The Kahn Academy website provides a free online library of over 2100 educational videos in the fields of mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, finance, economics, astronomy, and history as well as 100 automated self-paced exercises (mostly in math) with continuous assessment.…
Social justice is the belief that all individuals are invaluable members of our society, that all people can contribute to the betterment of our society. Social justice means resources are distributed equitably, social power and privilege are non-existent, and mutual …
Alright, it might not be the most in-depth presentation of scholarly material, but it sure is catchy. Check out these info-packed music videos created by talented teachers Amy Burvall and Herb Mahelona spoofing popular hits. You’ll find spin-offs of everything …
Yet another study suggests that testing may be useful not only for evaluation but for learning. An earlier post on LearningDiversity.org pointed out other research that bashed the conventional wisdom about what makes for effective studying, including mention of earlier …
A recent study examining the potency of self-affirmation in addressing the gender gap has shown some startling results that could be easily applied in any classroom. Women are often outperformed by men on test scores in many of the hard …
Back in the late 1980’s when I was a rookie student teacher, an experienced teacher told me, “You will learn to teach something after you have taught it.” At the time, those words did not help me, but as I …
As educators I think we all struggle from time to time with finding a balance between laying out strict requirements and letting our students take the initiative. Each approach has obvious benefits. Structure facilitates clear communication, including the imparting of …
This intriguing video was a project of Dr. Michael Wesch and a working group at Kansas State University. It is a compelling message about the educational experiences of contemporary students.
From the website:
“… the basic idea is to …
The main purpose of Global Perspectives, an eighth grade class, is to search out and understand the vast multicultural differences and similarities, past, present, and inherent in the world today. Then the knowledge learned is disseminated in an art or …
Congratulations, Mr. Neil Diamond on your induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Time to dust off the sequins for what is sure to be a bombastic induction ceremony! Today my students have one foot into the holiday …
You may be familiar with the rash of new cell-phone apps designed to collect data from users. This kind of data collection can be very useful in conducting studies of human behavior. For example this new study used information gathered …
During this year’s faculty training week the question of challenge was a hot topic. It is often a fine line that divides whether or not a student will remain engaged: if tasks are too easy students will be bored; …
As a teacher it’s so easy to spend the majority of our time lesson planning, correcting homework or trying to come up with a somewhat intelligent and quick comeback to “Miss….WHY do we have to learn algebra?” or “Have you ever…?” It’s so easy to fall into a rut…week 3 of term 2 – do this unit…use that worksheet…prepare for test…come up with some interesting activity that corresponds with said test. The problem with ruts is that they are utterly brain numbing and they’re difficult to get out of. A numb brain is not congruent to the development innovative lesson plans and quite frankly is a major downer for all involved.
Solution?…
Learning Diversity