Blended learning utilizes your virtual learning environment to create a blend of traditional, in person teaching methods and online learning through videos, slide decks, and more. The idea behind blended learning is that teachers are able to utilize more of their face time with students to actually coach and question…
Our Elusive Memory A student is reading an assigned chapter from their Language Arts class as preparation for the next day’s lesson on adjectives. The student reads the content, eats dinner, watches some television with the family, brushes their teeth, and then goes to bed. The next day, while on…
Mastery Based Grading is an approach to gathering data that reflects what students know, rather than the scores students have received on assignments. In other words, Mastery Based Grading is about what the score represents, rather than just the score itself! Here are five reasons you should give this a…
In the past, students had paper folders follow them from grade to grade, with samples of their writing. With today’s technology, we can allow students to compile a digital portfolio full of all sorts of skills that THEY want to highlight. The flexibility and ease of digital portfolios allow for…
Project Based Learning provides an immersive learning experience in which students learn THROUGH a project, instead of learning before completing a project. This isn’t your typical space unit with a mobile at the end! Here’s how it works: Students work on a project for an extended amount of time that…
A Learning Management System is easily defined by breaking down the term. An LMS is simply a system that allows instructors to manage student learning. What differentiates one LMS from another is only a matter of how well they do this. Converge LMS is a learning management system that…
Part 1 of a 3 Part Implementation Blog Series In today’s society, students must know how to collaborate with others. There are few professions in which people are able to sit quietly at their desk and not communicate or collaborate with anyone. So, why would we want our students doing…
GRANT WRITING 101 State funds for education have been steadily slipping away from school districts, with a recent uptick in this detrimental trend for several states. With fewer financial and physical resources available to our educators, we are still expected to perform above and beyond the state assessment goals developed…
Bloom’s Taxonomy, the learning hierarchy that consists of understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating, has hit classrooms by storm over the past few decades, many of which are focused on school turn-around. As much as it streamlined my lesson planning because I could easily determine the rigor of the lesson, it also…
Teaching in my classroom was not easy. I was made for the profession, but there were plenty of challenges. However, I was still able to manage behavior, produce an effective lesson (most days), maintain strong relationships, and look for new technology to increase engagement and productivity in the classroom. Although…