I have been reflecting on what makes for a successful first day of school. As we consider this, it is vital that we take into account the students themselves. For a student, the first day of school in a new classroom can cause excitement or anxiety, inspiration or boredom. What do you want your students […]
At a department meeting this spring, our supervisor asked our team of educational leaders an important question. “How do you define success in your role?” We often ask similar questions regarding our students, “What will success look like in our content area? How will we determine mastery of learning goals?” But how often do we […]
The Challenge of Variability A few years ago, I ended the school year teaching kindergarten and moved to a second grade classroom for the following year. I was eager to expand my skills and welcomed the challenge of learning additional state standards for a group of students at a different developmental level than that with […]
Educators sometimes mistakenly assume that silence equals listening. Whether they are in the front of a classroom or leading a staff meeting, learning facilitators scan the room and smile if the learners sitting in the room are quiet and compliant. But how do we know that our message was heard? As a student, I became […]
A few years ago, I often accompanied my son Dillon to his baseball pitching lessons. As an educator, I am always intrigued as to the strategies used by sports coaches, as they have similar goals to teachers in the classroom. Ultimately, we are looking for growth and improvement from those with whom we work. When […]
Educators, researchers, parents, and politicians often spew rhetoric regarding the negative aspects of technological devices on growing brains. It is said that smartphones and on-demand video streaming services have caused students to be unable to focus on tasks in the classroom, that their constant attention to devices distracts them from learning content, that constant access […]
As an educator, my favorite brain network to activate was the strategic networks, allowing students multiple means of action and expression. I loved going “beyond choice boards” to encourage students themselves to ideate as to the best way to demonstrate their understanding of academic content. Once I left the classroom and began conducting professional development […]
I have always been fascinated by neuroscience, by the way the brain accesses, processes, and responds to stimuli. As an educator, the more I know about the science behind the mind, the better I am able to design effective learning experiences for my students. The same is true when we develop professional development (PD) for […]
Why UDL? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) celebrates variability and calls upon teachers to take a proactive approach to designing experiences accessible for ALL students. But what about our adult learners? Can we UDL our PD? UDL is based on neuroscience regarding how we learn. As we embed UDL strategies into the professional learning we […]
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