Viewing: tween
ADVICE FOR A TWEEN PARENT (ME) FROM A TWEEN TEACHER (ALSO ME)
My kid is now deep into his 11th year on this planet, and as such, will begin middle school tomorrow. Now, with my area of expertise, you’d expect me to find some relief in this fact; after all, up until
Middle School Nuts and Bolts: Intro to Time Management
A tween is all about distraction. Their brain is just going through so many changes that focus can be an issue under the best of circumstances. They are trying to settle on an identity, their cast of friends changes from
Peter Walsh, OfficeMax, and me, Oh My!
So earlier this week, I was flown to Chicago to participate in a Webcast helping parents to organize their students for back to school. Sponsored by OfficeMax and hosted by Peter Walsh (of TLC’s Clean Sweep and Oprah fame), the
Book Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
You know the old commercial: “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter! Well, you got your peanut butter in my chocolate!” And just like a Peanut Butter cup, it seems that Jane Austin and Zombies go great together. Pride
Student-Designed Schools
This year, my 8th graders all produced a multi-genre project during 4th Quarter that focused on possible careers of their choice. But I went a step further with my 8th grade Honors class. They not only had to research a
5 Things Teachers can do to Improve Teaching
We all know there are many problems in education and not one bullet to solve any one of them. We as teachers can’t do a lot about many of the factors that have huge influence on student success: parental involvement,
Twitter as Think Aloud
I was reading through my Digg headlines this weekend, and I happened on this article of the top 10 most extraordinary Twitter updates. I also did some digging (no pun intended) and found articles that range in claiming that there
Fictional Crushes
OK, don’t tell my husband, but I have a fictional crush. That is, I have a crush based on a fictitious character. I think I’ve always had one, but the object of my literary love has always changed with my
Obama’s “Race to the Top”
So US News is reporting that President Obama and the educator leaning out of the sidecar, Arne Duncan, have created “a $5 billion ‘Race to the Top’ fund for states that have made progress on the following fronts: 1) improving
Where the Wild Things Are: Part II
So I recited the book and showed the movie trailer to the students on my Interactive Whiteboard, just as I mused about in my last post. From there, I read an old version of the “Three Little Pigs” and asked
Teaching Secrets: Finding a Job That You Love
Know a teacher who got a pink slip? Maybe my newest post at Teacher Magazine can help. Click here for the article. It’s Step 1 of my Top Secret New Teacher Handbook. Hope it creates some shortcuts, a machete even,
A teacher’s duty?
So by now I assume we’ve all heard of the sanctioned “cage fighting” in a Dallas, TX school. As AP reports, school officials apparently condoned the use of a steel cage in which students could bare-knuckle fight their way towards
Extreme Makeover: Classroom Edition
There’s been so much talk lately of deep-needed reforms for education, but we neglect just how powerful a simple makeover can be. I’m lucky to currently work at a school that has a patch of green, which fixes the broken
How to be an Ed Tech Advocate
OK, guys. So I got it from the horse’s mouth at CUE. According to the ISTE Director of Governmental Affairs, No Child Left Behind is not going away. In the weeks leading up to the election, the Obama administration
The Importance of The Classroom Library
I believe a classroom library is the heartbeat of a teacher’s environment. It is the window into their own personality, and it reflects the importance of literacy in the classroom. I believe every teacher, no matter the subject taught, should
Teacher Magazine: Test Prep Magic
Check out my article in yesterday’s Teacher Magazine outlining 5 little-thought-about strategies in teaching test prep. Hope it helps you during your own Test Prep season. -Tweenteacher
DARPA to create metacognitively aware robots
The Register reports that DARPA (Defense Advance Research Projects Agency) is currently researching how to create robots that are “like some self-aware computer systems capable of “meta-reasoning” and “introspection…” Their goal is to “Provide machines with an ability to reason
Starting from scratch in teacher training
I recently heard Judy Willis (of “syn-naps” fame) speak at a conference. In her pre-teaching life, she was a neurologist and she brings her knowledge to the classroom and to her lectures. (See my recently published article in Teacher Magazine, “My
Test Prep-Bubbling Power
So I looked at my 8th grade students’ scores after they took the MMA and sighed. Their scores sucked.
Is EdTech changing how students think or is it addressing the changes in student thinking?
Science Daily is reporting that there has been a shift in how students are thinking as a result of their use of technology. They believe it possibly lowers critical thinking skills and analysis. Additionally, they wonder just how much schools
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