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When Every Educator in a Middle School Shadows a Student for a Day

When Every Educator in a Middle School Shadows a Student for a Day

A transformative experience that will inform your approach to teaching

As educators, we take a mental snapshot of our students. We figure the funny seventh grader who goofs off with boys in the hallway has plenty of friends to sit with at lunch. We assume the cynical loner who tries to...
Author: Phyllis Fagell
Number of views (5832)/Comments (0)/
Topics: School Culture/ClimateTeaching
Tags:
Tinkering to Learn: A Reflection on a Promising Practice

Tinkering to Learn: A Reflection on a Promising Practice

Providing students with opportunities to explore, wonder, and discover.

Mini-Course Day As I began teaching a thoughtfully designed lesson on conductors and insulators, I was met with blank stares and compliant students, patiently waiting me out. If they weren't such compliant young...
Author: Heidi Stark
Number of views (6011)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent Motivation
From Reluctant Reader to Ravenous Reader

From Reluctant Reader to Ravenous Reader

How to develop lifelong readers by using choice as a motivator.

I wake up and roll out of bed. What shall I eat? Cereal? Bagel? Breakfast bar? I have choices. No one tells me what to eat; I eat what I want and what I feel I need—limited only by what is available. I go to my...
Author: Lesley Roessing
Number of views (7610)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Language Arts and Literacy
Tags: Reading
Distance Learning: The Wave of the Future

Distance Learning: The Wave of the Future

Students collaborate from afar using online tools.

Geographically, it did not make sense. Middletown and Pocomoke Middle Schools, both located in Maryland, are approximately 200 miles away, and students in both classrooms were discussing the same piece of literature....
Author: Brian Cook, Kristi Schmidt, Katherine Shaffer
Number of views (3866)/Comments (0)/
Topics: TeachingTechnology
Tags: Distance learning
Feedback for Students, by Students

Feedback for Students, by Students

Developing student efficacy and engagement.

Four Ways to Help Students Take a More Active Role in the Feedback Process. Much has been written about feedback in recent years that most educators are acutely aware of the powerful influence it can have on student...
Author: Rachael Williams
Number of views (15132)/Comments (2)/
Topics: Assessment
Tags: Authentic Assessment

Assessments: A Key Ingredient in Our Practice

Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously remarked that "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"—and the same is true for middle level education. No transformative educational meal was ever created based on fear. I...
Author: Dru Tomlin
Number of views (3635)/Comments (1)/
Topics: Assessment
Tags:
Assessing Assessments: Six Useful Strategies

Assessing Assessments: Six Useful Strategies

Diverse ways for students to show their thinking.

The need for effective assessment is an important topic for both school administrators and classroom teachers. Practical ideas and fresh concepts are essential, and meaningful assessments require both of these...
Author: James Davis
Number of views (7291)/Comments (4)/
Topics: Assessment
Tags:
Scaffold for Individual and Group Success

Scaffold for Individual and Group Success

Supporting students' cognitive development.

As a first year teacher in a seventh grade classroom, I had several experiences that made me question my practice, try new strategies, and learn from my students. One particular problem seemed to reappear frequently...
Author: Paige Ferguson
Number of views (6312)/Comments (0)/
Topics: AssessmentTeaching
Tags: Peer Coaching
Providing Leadership and a Structure of Support

Providing Leadership and a Structure of Support

Administrators' advice for districtwide leadership.

When we think of the work that goes into helping schools thrive and be the centers of achievement and support for our students, we often think of the exceptional work of the people with direct, daily contact with...
Author: Derek McCoy, Tina Mashburn
Number of views (4725)/Comments (0)/
Topics: LeadershipSchool Culture/Climate
Tags: Collaboration
Throw Out Your History Textbook

Throw Out Your History Textbook

A case for primary source analysis.

Jay Leno: Debbie, where you from? Debbie: South. South San Francisco. Jay Leno: South San Francisco. OK, and you're a citizen of the United States? Debbie: I sure am. Jay Leno: Born here? Debbie: Sure was. Jay...
Author: Sean Robertson, Vanessa Scanfeld, Chris Cunningham, Vincent Dotoli
Number of views (5906)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Social Studies
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