As a Latin teacher, I struggle with creating authentic learning experiences. Most authentic Roman cultural experiences would get me reprimanded or fired. Authentic Latin literature? I teach beginning Latin to middle school students. Yesterday a student put verb endings on a noun. I am, however, an authentic teacher. If I am to be truly authentic
Read More… from Authenticity, Duplicity, and the Philadelphia 76ers
COVID-19 has challenged us to re-envision education. Every aspect of “best practice” is currently up for re-examination and debate, from current academic practices to recommendations on how to best develop meaningful curriculum to how to cultivate meaningful relationships with students/families. In the process, we have also discovered that it is not enough to make education
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Young adolescence is recognized as the developmental period our students undergo between the ages of 10-15. This is the age where students develop the ability to expand their concrete knowledge to a more abstract way of thinking. The connections in the brain are occurring often, and the skills learned become hard-wired. Because there is so
Read More… from Leveraging the Science Behind the Middle School Brain in your Teaching Strategies
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Using a simple checklist can help educators design quality assessments When Ken O’Connor’s daughter was in 7th grade, she was given an assignment that included a detailed rubric. He spent time with her unpacking the rubric so that she understood the expectations. After much hard work, she produced what he thought to be an excellent
Read More… from Assessing with Instructional Integrity Before, During and After the Pandemic
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Middle school can be a difficult period for students, especially as they explore social media and the digital world. For children and adults alike, it is so easy to keep our eyes glued to our devices. Before we know it, several hours have passed by while we scrolled through Facebook or Instagram. Using social media
Read More… from Digital Wellness in the Classroom: 5 Technology Habits to Support Mental Health
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Revisiting the value of informal teaching beyond planned instruction. Wayside teaching was first introduced in the May 1987 “As I See It” column in the Middle School Journal—30 years ago. Here is a slightly modified version of it, particularly for all those educators who came to the middle school more recently. Formal, organized instruction is
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Read More... from Reimagining School – What should it look like and who is it for?
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