Earlier in the EDTC program, I blogged about Future Ready Schools which is an initiative aimed at evaluating a district’s current progress in terms of meeting 21st-century learning goals. The feedback I received from my peers was that it seemed like an interesting program, but left little support for teachers wishing to independently identify their […]
Inquiry is a powerful tool used by teachers to foster curiosity and independence within students. Instead of spoon-feeding content, students reach their own conclusions. Popular options for incorporating inquiry in the classroom are 20-Time or Genius Hour where students explore a topic of their own choosing. Inquiry is about more than just student-driven projects; it’s […]
Mention the word ‘data’ in a staff meeting and you’ll see teachers stifle eye rolls and sighs. Because we know what’s coming next…graphs and charts depicting test scores from the prior school year or quarter showing us all the ways in which our students didn’t meet the districts’ lofty goals. This isn’t the kind of […]
This week’s post was inspired by a Standards-Based Grading system I observed while subbing in a middle school math class recently. In the class, students were using the Schoology LMS (Learning Management System) to view the math goals (dubbed proficiencies) they had not yet reached for the quarter. They then took that information and sought […]
Throughout this quarter in the Digital Education Leadership MEd program, I’ve been working on a unit plan that encompasses the Understanding by Design teaching model, Common Core English Language Arts Writing standard 8 which deals with research skills, and ISTE Student Standard 2c which asks students to consider the rights and obligations of using others’ […]
When tasked with exploring computational thinking skills, I must admit that my first reaction was to question the practical application for those of us not teaching computer science. What role can computational thinking play when teaching history or English? It turns out that computational thinking can support problem-solving in a variety of subjects. We use […]
