Engineering A Better School
Recently, in my bioengineering course, we were having a lively discussion about “ideation” - thinking of novel, crazy, outside-the-box solutions to problems in the world we saw as urgent. As I watched my students come up with solutions to their problems - a color sensor for burnt toast, a pressure sensor to detect fouls on the soccer field, low-cost motion sensors to detect speeding cars - I was struck with a question: Why don’t we do this type of “engineering design” more of
Small Things That Make a Big Difference in the Classroom
Sometimes the smallest practices and moments can make a huge difference in the classroom and with students. Ask anyone about their best school memories and, chances are, they will have little to do with the lessons or the test scores and much to do with the relationships and connections they formed with their teachers. Here’s a look at small classroom practices that have a mighty impact. Welcoming students at the door There’s so much to do at the start of class, but greeting
Knowing Your Audience
In my second day at graduate school, my education professor gave my class advice that was very simple but memorable. He said, “A great teacher is like a great entertainer, you need to know your audience.” Later that day while I was sitting on the Q train heading home after class, I thought about what my professor said and looked back at my experiences as a NYC public school student; I had several exceptional teachers in elementary and middle school, but when I thought back to
Moving On From The Classroom: Advice for the First-Year Administrator
Start strong in your new leadership role with these tried-and-true pieces of advice. Kudos on your decision to become a building level administrator! A host of exciting opportunities and challenges lie ahead. In your first year as an administrator, you will help to create a positive school community and culture that seeks to provide top-notch learning experiences for students. It takes a dedicated, committed person to be a genuine school leader, and you’re stepping up to the
SHARE: Setting Up Effective Group Work
Truly collaborative group work is complex and messy, so we have a few tips and tools to get students working interdependently. Research supports what we probably already knew about student collaboration: It’s integral to learning. We know that collaboration helps students build their interpersonal and social and emotional skills. We know that students don’t learn facts in a vacuum; social learning helps them build a more meaningful understanding of the world. Everyone loves c
The Activate Learning Project is Coming to EDxEDNYC from Canada!
Check out this AWESOME video about activating learning and fostering executive functions in young learners by EDxEDNYC veteran presenter, Laurie Faith from the University of Toronto of Canada! See Laurie Faith at EDxEDNYC 2018 in a special double-session! Get your tickets here: www.edxednyc.com #activated #learning #lauriefaith #canada #executivefunctions #PhD #learn #theory #classroom #learningstyle #learningstrategy #conference
SHARE: How a Focus on Independent Learning Transformed My Most At-Risk Students
The first time I saw Kevin, he shuffled into my classroom, staring sideways toward the floor. It was the third day of the new school year—he hadn’t made it to my room the first two days. “Hi. You must be Kevin,” I said with a smile. Kevin didn’t look at me. He only grunted a slight noise and looked around for a place to sit. As it turned out, Kevin was mostly non-verbal with emotional and learning disabilities. He was also an apathetic student who lacked the ability and desir
SHARE: Teach Students To Use Social Media (The Right Way) And The Possibilities Are Endless
CJ Marple wanted to teach his young students how quickly information can spread on the Internet. So earlier this year, the third-grade science teacher wrote up a tweet with the help of his students, asking for other users to retweet the message, or even reply to the message with their location. The Kansas teacher says he expected 1,000 or so retweets, but within days the tweet went viral and gained more than 227,000 retweets and 75,000 replies from users all over the world. H
SHARE: Essential Strategies for Managing Trauma in the Classroom
Poverty, violence, hunger, abuse, and an unstable world are causing chronic stress for our nation’s kids. And that sad truth is that prolonged exposure to stress can damage the centers of the brain associated with learning, cause behavioral problems, and increase the cycle of violence. Nearly half of the children in the United States, or almost 35 million kids, have experienced “at least one or more types of serious childhood trauma,” according to a survey by the National Sur