Inviting students to analyze fact-based data about topics that interest them will not only lead to greater engagement, it will grow their ability to investigate first and then draw conclusions that are well reasoned and supported. Teacher educator Curtis Chandler shares tips.
Amid pandemic learning, we must address virtual PD experiences for teachers, write experts Barbara Blackburn and Ron Williamson. By considering our purpose, the content, and the appropriate platforms to engage teachers, leaders can assure effective professional learning.
Articles / Questioning / remote learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 11/02/2020 · Last modified 11/29/2020
Effective questioning during remote learning doesn’t require new strategies. Consultant Barbara Blackburn suggests building questions with higher order thinking models; including questioning stems; adding cubing for student choice; and having students source their answers.
Writing workshop can be an exciting part of the day for students in the middle, writes author and workshop expert Lynne Dorfman. Even when middle level schedules aren’t a great fit for extended workshop writing, teachers can nurture “writerly” attitudes with daily quickwrites.
It took the pandemic to convince Lauren Brown to finally check out Edpuzzle as a teaching tool. She’s quickly become a fan. Whether you are teaching live, online or in a hybrid model, Edpuzzle can be a helpful way to engage students in video content that you select or create.
For those with positive stories, social-emotional learning helps reinforce the skills they need to succeed. For those with stories of trauma, SEL can help balance negative experiences with positive ones. Author-educator Marilee Sprenger shows how brain research can help.
Positive phone calls and texts to students’ families are powerful, writes principal and NBCT Rita Platt. Parents and caregivers enjoy hearing good things and will be more responsive when you get in touch with less happy news. Rita includes several starter scripts and scheduling ideas.
Media Literacy is a new elective course at Jeremy Hyler’s middle school this year, and he’s excited to be teaching it. “Could there be a more urgent time?” Hyler shares some of his 7th grade course design, includes his key resources, and reports on the first five weeks.
With the topsy-turvy world of the Covid pandemic crowding all of us this fall, we have to be mindful of how teachers new to the classroom are experiencing their unique first year. Assistant Principal DeAnna Miller shares some ways she is working to provide extra support.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Pandemic Teaching
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 09/30/2020 · Last modified 10/01/2020
Millions of teachers are facing multiple professional and health challenges. Cheryl Mizerny reflects on the existential threat of Covid-19, the pedagogic and personal demands of sustaining hybrid classrooms, and how administrators, parents, and society can reduce the stress.
