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A behind the scenes view of what exhibitors were up to while they awaited to welcome more guests to the #TIMEsis

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#TIME2 relax while we await more visitors #TIMEsis #sisrocks #issedu @NathanLill1 @TheLevel5

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#TIME2 relax while we await more visitors #TIMEsis #sisrocks #issedu @NathanLill1 @TheLevel5 https://t.co/wXJ4rdPUKj

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Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.

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#TIME2 relax while we await more visitors #TIMEsis #sisrocks #issedu @NathanLill1 @TheLevel5 pic.twitter.com/wXJ4rdPUKj
— Ceci Gomez-Galvez (she.her.ella) (@cecigomez_g) March 23, 2017

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#TIME2 relax while we await more visitors #TIMEsis #sisrocks #issedu @NathanLill1 @TheLevel5 https://t.co/wXJ4rdPUKj

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#TIME2 relax while we await more visitors #TIMEsis #sisrocks #issedu @NathanLill1 @TheLevel5 https://t.co/wXJ4rdPUKj

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#TIME2 relax while we await more visitors #TIMEsis #sisrocks #issedu @NathanLill1 @TheLevel5

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iCloud Photo Sharing lets you share just the photos you want with just the people you choose.

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洋娃娃DIY科技成果影响展览会！棒棒哒! (视频全纪录）

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洋娃娃DIY科技成果影响展览会！棒棒哒! (视频全纪录）

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Shekou TV News Article about TIME 2016

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The Technological Impact Museum & Exhibit | #SISrocks | #TIMEsis

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At the beginning, I did a great job on researching and collected a sufficient...

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We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in this browser. Please enable JavaScript or switch to a supported browser to continue using twitter.com. You can see a list of supported browsers in our Help Center.
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Video created by @mmruthai

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Technological Impact Museum & Exhibit. "Is Technology Progress?" 8th graders were given a task to categorized, researched and showcased their finds by having an amazing museum for #SISROCKS and the immediate community it impacts every day.

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Student Created Intro to Museum
Video created by @mmruthai

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Facilitators Nathan Lill and Ceci Galvez-Gomez guide 8th-grade students at Shekou International School, by creating a museum around the industrial revolution and its impact on Shenzhen, the city where SIS is located. Students researched, broke down information to craft multimodal installations for each of their sub-exhibits.

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Flipgrid is where social and emotional learning happens! The leading video discussion platform for millions of PreK to PhD educators, students, and families.

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"NY State of Mind"

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another DJ Premier classic instrumental recreated by me on Reason

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"Banana Clipper" Run the Jewels

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Run The Jewels - Banana Clipper (Instrumental)

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Official Studio Instrumental of Banana Clipper. Enjoy and remember to support the artist! Buy the vinyls here: https://www.jbhifionline.com.au/music/pre-order/run-the-jewels-vinyl-12-download-card/694545

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"Meanwhile, soft skills, such as being personable, adaptable, possessing strong digital skills, and adept at time management are being increasingly valued."

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"Meanwhile, soft skills, such as being personable, adaptable, possessing strong digital skills, and adept at time management are being increasingly valued."

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University degrees ‘irrelevant’ to big employers

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BIG employers are going cold on university degrees, leaving students and jobseekers to wonder if their qualifications are worth the investment and extra study.

This week, international publishing house Penguin Random House decided to drop degrees as a requirement for job applicants, following in the footsteps of major consulting firms Ernst and Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The move comes as smaller employers are shifting away from hiring graduates or university students, believing kids are coming out of university with "no real skills" or simply being taught the wrong things.

Penguin hasn't been so harsh, saying the shift in requirements is simply a move "to make publishing far, far more inclusive than it has been to date".

"While graduates remain welcome to apply for jobs, not having been through higher education will no longer preclude anyone from joining," a statement from the publisher confirmed.

"Simply if you're talented and you have potential, we want to hear from you."

But it's still a scary prospect for higher education providers, a welcome relief from stressed out students or those who didn't get the grades for the course they wanted, and a source of endless frustration for over-qualified graduates.

The value of tertiary education has consistently decreased in Australia over the past decade.

Graduate employment is the lowest it's been since the 1992-93 recession.

The 2015 Graduate Careers Australia survey showed more than a quarter of bachelor degree graduates had failed to find work within four months of completing their studies. The money they're being paid is on the slide, too, with university graduate salaries going down.

Meanwhile, soft skills, such as being personable, adaptable, possessing strong digital skills, and adept at time management are being increasingly valued.

Maggie Stilwell, managing partner for talent at Ernst and Young, which did away with academic and education details in its application process, said the new recruiting strategy would "open up opportunities or talented individuals regardless of their background and provide greater access to the profession".

While the growing culture of qualification-ignorant hiring is being spun positively by the companies enforcing it, it's hard not to see it as a slight on universities too.

In an earlier interview with news.com.au Australia Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Kate Carnell said employers found 20-somethings were more qualified than ever before. Graduates were showing up to work with degrees from universities but were "disconnected with the workforce", she said.

"A number of our members consistently tell us they're seeing students come out of university or training programs and they might have the academic or theoretical skills, but no skills to work at all. It makes them really hard to employ," she said.

"General issues are not understanding that a job is about turning up on time every day, not just when you feel like, that it's about taking direction, and basic things like you've got to be well presented and you've got to be pleasant."

Speaking with ABC radio, Deakin University deputy vice-chancellor Beverley Oliver said universities weren't bothered.

"I think it's a good thing. I think credentials are things we all look for; they're signals. We look for experience or a degree completed or a course," she said.

"This message has been loud and clear for some time to higher education providers. I think the sector has made great changes over the last 15 years, particularly making sure the degree is a signifier of a more than just marks and grades."

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BIG employers are going cold on university degrees, leaving students and jobseekers to wonder if their qualifications are worth the investment and extra study. This week, international publishing house Penguin Random House decided to drop degrees as a requirement for job applicants, following in the footsteps of major consulting firms Ernst and Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Reddit sub /r/Futurology

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r/Futurology: Welcome to r/Futurology, a subreddit devoted to the field of Future(s) Studies and speculation about the development of humanity ...

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"I think the biggest productivity tool for any executive is just having a lot of great people around. People who are creative and visionary [can] be chaotic as hell and not very productive—they may be awful at getting work done and scheduling meetings—but every once in a while they’ll come up with something so brilliant that it transcends their daily work habits."

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"I think the biggest productivity tool for any executive is just having a lot of great people around. People who are creative and visionary [can] be chaotic as hell and not very productive—they may be awful at getting work done and scheduling meetings—but every once in a while they’ll come up with something so brilliant that it transcends their daily work habits."

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Why Creativity Trumps Productivity For Siggi’s Dairy Founder, Siggi Hilmarsson

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My days are rarely the same. It's not very regimented. I'm usually where I'm most needed. We go to a lot of health conferences. For me, those events are probably some of the most interesting things I get to do. Not only am I talking about what I'm passionate about-yogurt and the importance of eating less sugar-but I also learn a lot from the people we meet: dietitians and doctors.

I started selling in 2006, and things started to get easier in 2015, so nine years were tough. You can't start a thing like this and expect it to be an overnight success. When you have your own business, some things you may not look forward to doing, but every time you complete a task, it's gratifying.

I think the biggest productivity tool for any executive is just having a lot of great people around. People who are creative and visionary [can] be chaotic as hell and not very productive-they may be awful at getting work done and scheduling meetings-but every once in a while they'll come up with something so brilliant that it transcends their daily work habits. If you solved cold fusion because you had a brilliant idea, that's a pretty productive day. Even if you didn't get the dishes done or go to the gym.

Time he wakes up: "Embarrassingly enough, I wake up around 8, 8:30. I'm a late riser. Even after I wake up, it takes me a while to be fully functional."

First thing he does: "I make coffee, espresso."

Productivity tool: "I'm pretty rigid about using my calendar in my iPhone."

Best habit: "I play a lot of basketball. When you're totally physically worn out, it's much easier to be calm."

Worst habit: "I drink a lot of coffee."

Nightly routine: "I try to read something in hard copy, not on my device."

Time he goes to bed: Late. "I really start thinking about things after dinner."

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Why Creativity Trumps Productivity For Siggi's Dairy Founder, Siggi Hilmarsson

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My days are rarely the same. It's not very regimented. I'm usually where I'm most needed. We go to a lot of health conferences. For me, those events are probably some of the most interesting things I get to do.

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Companies preemptively disrupting to avoid losing out to digital disruptions (advertisement)

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Google and Amazon spend more money on innovation than nearly any other companies. That's for good reason: They're anxious about what's coming next, and they want to create their own futures.

"Tech companies are constantly worried about being disrupted, because technology is moving so fast," says Mathias Herzog, a principal at Strategy&, part of the PwC network. "Disruption is pervasive, cutting across many industries and significantly changing business models."

Disruption comes in many forms, and digital doesn't just mean the latest technology. It extends to new ways of working and using data, and delivering unique experiences. A recent Harvard Business Review survey found that 80% of respondents in 10 major industries-from financial services to nonprofits-believe their industry will be disrupted by digital trends. Forty-seven percent believe their business model will be obsolete by 2020.

To avoid this fate, large companies must use their considerable insights and resources to create their customers' future and get to market faster.

It's easier said than done, of course, but here are three ways to begin.

Start Now, Move Deliberately

Digital disruption is expected to affect virtually every industry over the next 10 to 15 years. Companies that haven't felt much pressure so far, such as banks, commercial transportation, real estate, and grocery stores will need to adapt quickly. The upside? These organizations have an opportunity to rethink their approaches to innovation.

"How can you self-disrupt before you are forced to catch up?" asks Tom Puthiyamadam, global digital services leader at PwC. "You need a destination and time to get there. Create a strategy long before the tipping point and stick with it."

Once a company decides to transform, its people have to learn to work in new ways. It might be uncomfortable initially, but often, changing the status quo produces the best results.

Embrace The New Logic

Most companies feel that they understand what their customers want, but knowing what they will want and need next takes bright people and fresh perspectives. Some organizations try to create their cultures by bringing in inspirational leaders who can cultivate new capabilities and drive the business forward. This frequently means nontraditional hires.

Early last year, for instance, Mattel tapped former Google Americas president Margo Georgiadis to be its new CEO. A tech executive might not seem like the natural choice to run a toy company, but bringing in leaders with different expertise and skill sets can push a company into a new direction. In Mattel's case, Georgiadis was chosen to lead a fast-moving and data-driven business, something the company felt it needed to reimagine decades-old brands such as Barbie and Hot Wheels in the face of declining revenue.

Executives often look to peers in their industry to spot trends and potential disruptions. Herzog and Puthiyamadam encourage them to take a broader view and consider how organizations in different industries than their own are disrupting things. "What can you learn from these businesses?" Herzog asks. "Inspiration may come from the least expected places."

Learn To Play

Having a new vision for a large organization isn't easy, and it can't be rushed. If a company can meet its near-term objectives while leaving room for "play," then voices from across the company-including those of employees, customers, and suppliers-can help leaders discover overlooked assets.

Play requires freedom-the freedom to be curious, to try things, to fail at them, and to dream big. It's what makes startups nimble and disruptive and it's what keeps established companies flexible. Think Google's 20% Time, which allows dedicated time for employees to explore new projects.

One effective way to stoke creativity is to purposefully bring people with different perspectives together. Pair technologists with creatives and marketers to discover solutions to business problems. Create an environment where anyone can suggest a path forward, rather than leaving it all up to the C-suite.

"Many executives fear disruption, but it should be thought of as an opportunity to take charge," says Herzog. "There is always opportunity to succeed if you focus on your company's right to win and aren't afraid to imagine new ways of creating that experience. But you have to be bold, and you have to start now."

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This article was created with and commissioned by PwC Digital Services.

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Self-Disrupt, Or Get Left Behind. Here's How

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Google and Amazon spend more money on innovation than nearly any other companies. That's for good reason: They're anxious about what's coming next, and they want to create their own futures. "Tech companies are constantly worried about being disrupted, because technology is moving so fast," says Mathias Herzog, a principal at Strategy&, part of the PwC network.

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The power of a psychological state of uncertainty

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Cognitive Dissonance is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.

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Wired Magazine

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When I ask people to picture a coder, they usually imagine someone like Mark Zuckerberg: a hoodied college dropout who builds an app in a feverish 72-hour programming jag-with the goal of getting insanely rich and, as they say, "changing the world."

But this Silicon Valley stereotype isn't even geographically accurate. The Valley employs only 8 percent of the nation's coders. All the other millions? They're more like Devon, a programmer I met who helps maintain a security-software service in Portland, Oregon. He isn't going to get fabulously rich, but his job is stable and rewarding: It's 40 hours a week, well paid, and intellectually challenging. "My dad was a blue-collar guy," he tells me-and in many ways, Devon is too.

Politicians routinely bemoan the loss of good blue-collar jobs. Work like that is correctly seen as a pillar of civil middle-class society. And it may yet be again. What if the next big blue-collar job category is already here-and it's programming? What if we regarded code not as a high-stakes, sexy affair, but the equivalent of skilled work at a Chrysler plant?

Among other things, it would change training for programming jobs-and who gets encouraged to pursue them. As my friend Anil Dash, a technology thinker and entrepreneur, notes, teachers and businesses would spend less time urging kids to do expensive four-year computer-science degrees and instead introduce more code at the vocational level in high school. You could learn how to do it at a community college; midcareer folks would attend intense months-long programs like Dev Bootcamp. There'd be less focus on the wunderkinds and more on the proletariat.

These sorts of coders won't have the deep knowledge to craft wild new algorithms for flash trading or neural networks. Why would they need to? That level of expertise is rarely necessary at a job. But any blue-collar coder will be plenty qualified to sling JavaScript for their local bank. That's a solidly middle-class job, and middle-class jobs are growing: The national average salary for IT jobs is about $81,000 (more than double the national average for all jobs), and the field is set to expand by 12 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than most other occupations.

Across the country, people are seizing this opportunity, particularly in states hit hardest by deindustrialization. In Kentucky, mining veteran Rusty Justice decided that code could replace coal. He cofounded Bit Source, a code shop that builds its workforce by retraining coal miners as programmers. Enthusiasm is sky high: Justice got 950 applications for his first 11 positions. Miners, it turns out, are accustomed to deep focus, team play, and working with complex engineering tech. "Coal miners are really technology workers who get dirty," Justice says.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee nonprofit CodeTN is trying to nudge high school kids into coding programs at community colleges. Some students (and teachers) worry that the kids don't fit the Zuckerbergian cliché. That's a cultural albatross, CodeTN cofounder Caleb Fristoe says. "We need to get more employers saying, 'Yeah, we just need someone to manage the login page,'" he says. "You don't have to be a superstar."

Now, to be sure, society does need some superstars! Serious innovators, at companies and in academia, are the ones who create new fields like machine learning. But that doesn't preclude a new mainstream vision of what most programming work actually* is*. For decades, pop culture (and, frankly, writers like me) have overpromoted the "lone genius" coder. We've cooed over the billionaire programmers of The Social Network and the Anonymized, emo, leather-clad hackers of Mr. Robot. But the real heroes are people who go to work every day and turn out good stuff-whether it's cars, coal, or code.

*This article appears in the December 2016 issue. Subscribe now.

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When I ask people to picture a coder, they usually imagine someone like Mark Zuckerberg: a hoodied college dropout who builds an app in a feverish 72-hour programming jag-with the goal of getting insanely rich and, as they say, "changing the world." But this Silicon Valley stereotype isn't even geographically accurate.

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Notable quotes from "The Fourth Industrial Revolution

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution Quotes by Klaus Schwab

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41 quotes from The Fourth Industrial Revolution: 'when two people are talking, the mere presence of a phone on the table between them or in their periphe...

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PBL Blog

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Project Based Learning for all. We build the capacity of teachers and school leaders to design and facilitate quality Project Based Learning.

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Visual Notes on Luke Williams Disruptive Thinking

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Visual Notes on Luke Williams Disruptive Thinking

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by Rachel Smith @ninmah

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TEDTalk

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Presentation at the L2 Innovation Forum 2010, Morgan Library, New York (Video courtesy of ForaTV). www.disruptive-thinking.com

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“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”

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“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”

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IB teachers are moving beyond traditional approaches to homework to maximize student potential and increase engagement, as they share with IB World in the second article in the series

While evidence suggests homework has no impact on student performance when it comes to elementary-school-aged children, research shows that it leads to greater academic achievement for students aged 11 and up.

But the traditional 'memorize and regurgitate facts' approach to homework has had its day. Many educators are wising up to the idea that this can have the opposite and unintended effect of disengaging students. Workloads have also been brought into question - excessive homework is recognized as a contributor to student stress and a "thief" of valuable family time.

IB World Schools are making a stand, and scrapping traditional homework in favour of student-led learning and exploration.

The 'minimal-homework' rule

Sturgis Charter Public School, in Massachusetts, US, developed a 'minimal homework' guideline for Standard Level (SL) IB Diploma Programme (DP) courses to address rising student stress levels.

Normally, SL subjects meet a minimum of 150 teaching hours, while Higher Level (HL) comprise of 240 hours. However, at Sturgis both courses are the same length of hours - SL has an extra 90 teaching hours. This allows students to complete work - that they would have done at home - in class with the support of their teacher.

Former Executive Director Eric Hieser, who was instrumental in the move to the 'minimal SL homework' idea, explains: "The more work teachers load on to students, the more stress students will feel and disengage from the learning process. It's a way of trying to make a reasonable approach to the DP for all students."

This strategy was instrumental in a grassroots movement in the US that aims to make the DP accessible to all students, including those with special needs. Sturgis calls this "IB for All".

We developed a wide range of principles, guidelines, policies, procedures, and support systems​ in order to enable all students to realize success in the DP," explains Hieser.

"The 'minimal homework for SL classes' was one of many initiatives and approaches that resulted in student success, and in the school becoming quite popular with students and parents in southeastern Massachusetts."

Hieser adds: "The school's emphasis is on maximizing each student's and encouraging all students to achieve the highest scores possible for them. All students can be successful, if they are given the appropriate time and support.

We have tried to build a culture of students believing that as long as they do their very best, then whatever DP score they get is fine. It's been a successful approach. The vision is to lift everyone up."

As for HL courses, Sturgis' guidelines suggest that students should be spending between 30 minutes and an hour per night on homework. Educators provide the necessary support to ensure students are not overwhelmed.

Homework does prepare students for university, so it's essential for students to learn healthy study skills during their school years, adds Hieser.

"The important part is developing life-long habits rather than remembering facts and figures. It's about deeply understanding topics and learning skills, strategies and habits of mind, which are transferable across a whole range of disciplines."

Let students choose their assignments

For schools that are not ready to abandon homework, give students the opportunity to choose their own homework assignments and marks, like an IB World School in France.

It is an effective way to increase engagement and promote independent learning, according to Russel Tarr, Head of History at the International School of Toulouse.

"By giving the class an open-ended opportunity to reflect on what they need and want to learn about, and then to choose the most effective way to demonstrate their learning, students are able to take more ownership of their studies and teachers are able to cover more material in a more diverse manner."

Tarr's approach is based on Ross M. McGill's theory of Takeaway Homework, and Mark Creasy's book Unhomework: How to get the most out of homework, without really setting it

The simplest way to get started with the " choose your own homework " approach is to allow students the freedom to choose their topic of study, but teachers should specify the outcome, advises Tarr. "This way, there is flexibility in terms of content, but the teacher will be able to measure some distinct skills through the work that is produced."

Students need to be given a framework - that isn't too constrictive - to help guide them towards the most appropriate tasks.

The process of feedback and assessment will also need to be reconsidered. After students at the International School of Toulouse have chosen their assignments, they design their own mark schemes.

Standardized mark schemes cannot be applied to what will likely be a clutch of widely different homework outcomes ranging from video projects and re-enactments to essays and flowcharts," adds Tarr.

Students choose an outcome, based on IB Learner Profile attributes, and award marks for how well they have demonstrated these qualities. By deciding on what attributes they want to focus on from the outset, students develop different skills.

Teachers judge whether the marking is fair, and adjust if necessary.

Letting students select their own grades is a tactic that author and lecturer Alfie Kohn wants all schools to adopt. Similar to the case against traditional homework, Kohn argues that standardized grades are detrimental to learning. They lead to disengagement, complacency and, in extreme cases, stress, according to his research.

Shift to home learning

Jeffrey Lile, a DP Teacher at Pan-American School, in Costa Rica, agrees that homework can be turned into an enjoyable experience when students are given the opportunity to guide their own learning process. But, students need to feel motivated, he says.

"Learning requires reflective practice - which calls for strong intrinsic motivation. However, homework is rarely a reflective practice. Learners are hardly ever motivated other than attempting to get a grade or pass the class. The motivation that supports learning comes from alignment of an activity with personal values combined with the belief that they will succeed. This motivation flows from student choice."

Homework should be replaced with home learning, believes Lile. This needs to be based on the natural process of exploration, and encourage learners to experiment with activities they value.

"The teacher's role is to guide this practice and connect it to the curriculum," he says. "Students should choose opportunities for home learning and not just work. They can be given the chance to be not just students, but well-rounded individuals."

For example, if a student has an interest in bike-riding, then the mathematics teacher could assign a task that requires the student to keep track of their distance and time, and create a graph that will allow them to evaluate their progress. Or in a history class, for example, the student could research bicycles in the late 19th century.

"This allows students to experiment and explore their interests and, at the end of the learning experience, still have time to spend with family and friends, developing important social and emotional skills," says Lile.

Replacing homework with home learning creates significant learning experiences that allow students to develop holistically and apply the curriculum to what they value."

Students will require critical thinking skills in the future, which cannot be developed through a traditional approach to homework, according to research. Now is the time for educators to get creative, challenge students and re-think their approach to homework. This will create valuable, lifelong learning experiences for future generations. "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think," as Albert Einstein said.

Read the the first part in the series on homework: Is homework an unnecessary burden?

Look out for the third and final article where parents share their thoughts on this topic.

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"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think."

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IB teachers are moving beyond traditional approaches to homework to maximize student potential and increase engagement, as they share with IB World in the second article in the series While evidence suggests homework has no impact on student performance when it comes to elementary-school-aged children, research shows that it leads to greater academic achievement for students aged 11 and up.

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TEDTalk by Daniel Pink @DanielPink

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The puzzle of motivation | Dan Pink | TED

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What's going on inside the brain of a curious child?

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What's going on inside the brain of a curious child?

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by Maanvi Singh @maanvisings

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How does a sunset work? We love to look at them, but Jolanda Blackwell wanted her 8th graders to really think about them, to wonder and question.

So Blackwell, who teaches science at Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High in Davis, Calif., had her students watch a video of a sunset on YouTube as part of a physics lesson on motion.

"I asked them: 'So what's moving? And why?'" Blackwell says. The students had a lot of ideas. Some thought the sun was moving, others, of course, knew that a sunset is the result of the earth spinning around on its axis.

Once she got the discussion going, the questions came rapid-fire. "My biggest challenge usually is trying to keep them patient," she says. "They just have so many burning questions."

'Curiosity really is one of the very intense and very basic impulses in humans. We should base education on this behavior.'

Students asking questions and then exploring the answers. That's something any good teacher lives for. And at the heart of it all is curiosity.

Blackwell, like many others teachers, understands that when kids are curious, they're much more likely to stay engaged.

But why? What, exactly, is curiosity and how does it work? A study published in the October issue of the journal Neuron, suggests that the brain's chemistry changes when we become curious, helping us better learn and retain information.
Our Brains On Curiosity
"In any given day, we encounter a barrage of new information," says Charan Ranganath, a psychologist at the University of California, Davis, and one of the researchers behind the study. "But even people with really good memory will remember only a small fraction of what happened two days ago."

Ranganath was curious to know why we retain some information and forget other things.

So he and his colleagues rounded up 19 volunteers and asked them to review more than 100 trivia questions. Questions such as, "What does the term 'dinosaur' actually mean?" and "What Beatles single lasted longest on the charts, at 19 weeks?"

Participants rated each question in terms of how curious they were about the answer.

Next, everyone reviewed the questions - and their answers - while the researchers monitored their brain activity using an MRI machine. When the participants' curiosity was piqued, the parts of their brains that regulate pleasure and reward lit up. Curious minds also showed increased activity in the hippocampus, which is involved in the creation of memories.

"There's this basic circuit in the brain that energizes people to go out and get things that are intrinsically rewarding," Ranganath explains. This circuit lights up when we get money, or candy. It also lights up when we're curious.

When the circuit is activated, our brains release a chemical called dopamine which gives us a high. "The dopamine also seems to play a role in enhancing the connections between cells that are involved in learning."

Indeed, when the researchers later tested participants on what they learned, those who were more curious were more likely to remember the right answers.
Curiosity Helps Us Learn Boring Stuff, Too
There was one more twist in Ranganath's study: Throughout the experiment, the researchers flashed photos of random faces, without giving the participants any explanation as to why.

Those whose curiosity was already piqued were also the best at remembering these faces.

The researchers were surprised to learn that curious brains are better at learning not only about the subject at hand, but also other stuff - even incidental, boring information.

"Say you're watching the Breaking Bad finale," Ranganath explains. If you're a huge fan of the show, you're certainly really curious to know what happens to its main character, Walter White.

"You'll undoubtedly remember what happens in the finale," he says, but you might also remember what you ate before watching the episode, and what you did right after.

This is a phenomenon teachers can use to their advantage in the classroom, says Evie Malaia, an assistant professor at the Southwest Center for Mind, Brain and Education at the University of Texas at Arlington.

"Say a kid wants to be an astronaut," she says. "Well, how do you link that goal with learning multiplication tables?" A teacher may choose to ask her class an interesting word problem that involves space exploration, Malaia says.

At the end of the class, students may remember the answer to the word problem, but they'll also remember how they found the answer through multiplication.

"This way kids basically get into the driver's seat," Malaia says. "They feel especially good if they discover something, if they construct knowledge themselves."

Teachers have been using this technique instinctively for years, she adds, and now the science is backing that up. "Curiosity really is one of the very intense and very basic impulses in humans. We should base education on this behavior."
What We Still Don't Know
There's a lot scientists still don't understand about curiosity. "There's only a handful of studies on curiosity," Ranganath says. "It's very hard to study."

Researchers don't know, for example, why exactly we get such a high off of learning, through Ranganath says it makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. "We might have a basic drive in our brain to fight uncertainty," he says. The more we know about the world, the more likely we are to survive its many perils.

Scientists are also trying to figure out how long the effects of curiosity last - if a kid's curiosity is piqued at the beginning of the school day, will she be good at absorbing knowledge all day long? Or will she lose interest?

What Ranganath wants to know most is why some people seem naturally more curious than others. Lots of factors, including stress, aging and certain drugs can affect dopamine processing in the brain, he says. Genetic factors may also influence how inquisitive we are.

"If we could figure these things out, it would have a huge impact. We could help those who may just seem bored." Ranganath says.

Blackwell, the science teacher in California, says she doesn't have to deal with that problem too often.

She says her students love exploring the mysterious unknowns in science: What happens when a car crashes? Why does one car get more beat up than the other? Why do some people look more like their aunt than their mom? How do rainbows work?

"I tell my kids there's no dumb questions," Blackwell says. "That's science: Asking questions and seeking answers."

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What's Going on Inside the Brain Of A Curious Child?

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How does a sunset work? We love to look at them, but Jolanda Blackwell wanted her 8th graders to really think about them, to wonder and question. So Blackwell, who teaches science at Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High in Davis, Calif., had her students watch a video of a sunset on YouTube as part of a physics lesson on motion.

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by David Culberhouse @DCulberhouse

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"When people look to authorities for easy answers to adaptive challenges, they end up with dysfunction. They expect the person in charge to know what to do, and under the weight of that responsibility, those in authority frequently end up faking it or disappointing people, or they get spit out of the system in...

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Taking The Fear Out of Jumping Into Inquiry

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Taking The Fear Out of Jumping Into Inquiry

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by Harvey 'Smokey' Daniels @smokeylit

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Let's face it, the idea of jumping into student-directed inquiry can be overwhelming. Fears over releasing control to students-and visions of students losing control-can seem like too much to handle to even consider dipping one's toe into the waters of inquiry. But the truth is, successful student-directed inquiry is a highly structured, adaptable framework that honors kids questions about the world and fits any curriculum. There is no need for it to be scary.

In the following video, author Harvey "Smokey" Daniels talks about how doing inquiry correctly can turn that trepidation into fulfillment and fun for both teachers and students alike.

In The Curious Classroom, Smokey explains in great detail how to get started doing inquiry work with even the youngest learners.

♦ ♦ ♦

You can learn more in The Curious Classroom: 10 Structures for Teaching with Student-Directed Inquiry. To download a free sample chapter from the book, visit Heinemann.com.

Harvey "Smokey" Daniels has been a city and suburban classroom teacher and a college professor, and now works as a national consultant and author on literacy education. In language arts, Smokey is known for his pioneering work on student book clubs, as recounted in Minilessons for Literature Circles. His latest bestselling books on content-area literacy are Upstanders, Subjects Matter, Second Edition; Texts and Lessons for Teaching Literature; Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading; Comprehension & Collaboration; and Texts and Lessons for Content Area Writing. He is also coauthor of Best Practice, Fourth Edition, and The Best Practice Video Companionas well as editor of Comprehension Going Forward.

Smokey works with elementary and secondary teachers throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, offering demonstration lessons, workshops, and consulting, with a special focus on creating, sustaining, and renewing student-centered inquiries and discussions of all kinds. Smokey shows colleagues how to simultaneously build students' reading strategies, enhance their collaboration skills, and get them citizen-ready for an era of challenge and change.

Connect with Smokey @smokeylit.

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Taking the Fear Out of Jumping Into Inquiry - Heinemann Blog

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Let's face it, the idea of jumping into student-directed inquiry can be overwhelming. Fears over releasing control to students-and visions of students losing control-can seem like too much to handle to even consider dipping one's toe into the waters of inquiry. But the truth is, successful student-directed inquiry is a highly structured, adaptable framework that ...

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Be the kind of teacher that...

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The kind of teacher you will become is directly related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of the spirit of the teacher #HipHopEd

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The kind of teacher you will become is directly related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of the spirit of the teacher #HipHopEd

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The kind of teacher you will become is directly related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of the spirit of the teacher #HipHopEd
— Christopher Emdin (@chrisemdin) December 27, 2017

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The kind of teacher you will become is directly related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of the spirit of the teacher #HipHopEd

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The kind of teacher you will become is directly related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of the spirit of the teacher #HipHopEd

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The kind of teacher you will become is directly related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of the spirit of the teacher #HipHopEd

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Instructional Strategies List for Teachers

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Instructional Strategies List for Teachers

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A BIG List of Instructional Strategies for Teachers

I've decided to create an instructional strategies list for teachers. There are plenty of teaching textbooks meant to provide instructional strategies for teachers. There are also huge lists of definitions available. This site strives to be more. I am updating this page regularly to keep it a constantly growing resource for teachers, homeschooling parents, student teachers, and anyone else with an interest in teaching children. (Doing this helps me to keep my own teaching skills sharp.) It can be hard keeping up with the latest trends in teaching. Should you Ditch That Textbook or Teach Like a Pirate? (Full disclosure... Those are links to some popular books about how to teach this generation of learners. If you decide to buy one of those books through my link, I could make a small commission.)

The list below is a curated collection of links to resources, informative videos, and basic pedagogical definitions that I've spent weeks (so far) putting together. Much of what you find here can be put to use in your classroom immediately. All I ask is that you please share it with other educators (use the social buttons above or link to this page if you have a teaching website or page of your own). The comments section at the bottom is the perfect place to share your own tips and expertise with other teachers around the world! Thanks, and please share!

The Big List

3-2-1 This is an activating strategy similar to a KWL chart. Students give three things they believe they already know about a subject, two things they would like to learn more about, and finally, one question that is related to the overall concept you will be learning about. Get more details and a free generic printable version here.

ABC Summarize This game is used as a tool during brainstorming sessions. Given a main topic, students try to come up with related words representing all 26 letters of the alphabet.

Ability Grouping This type of grouping is also sometimes referred to as tracking. Students working at similar levels are grouped together for instruction. Some, but not all, experts use this term interchangeably with tracking. Although there has been research done on the effectiveness of ability grouping, there is still quite a bit of disagreement about whether or not it helps or hurts student achievement. You may want to read this synthesis of the research.

Academic Games Games designed to encourage and support a variety of academic skills. These can be used in the classroom, but are also sometimes organized into larger competitions between schools. See the most popular academic games on Amazon.

Accredited Online Teacher Certification Programs Courses of study that allow an individual to earn teacher certification through online classes. Different programs of study will have different requirements and will offer different certifications and/or degrees upon completion.

Achievement Motivation Humans respond to different types of motivation. Achievement motivation focuses on our desire to reach new levels of achievement or goals. This has implications for educators looking for ways to inspire less than enthusiastic students. Read more about theories of motivation.

Activating Strategies The aim of these types of teaching methods is to get students using their prior knowledge as they take on new learning tasks. These approaches engage students and help them to anchor the new things they are learning to what they already know. Many of these will be mentioned in this list of pedagogical strategies. Some examples include KWL charts, think-pair-write, cloze activities, and quick writes. I found a large list of these on Slideshare.

Active Learning A method of teaching that involves more than just "book learning". Students actively engage in problem solving, writing, or other activities. This approach encourages evaluation, synthesis and analysis instead of just searching a book for the "right" answer.

Active Participation Get the students involved in their learning. Ask them questions. Give them small projects. Have them do surveys, talk to each other and share. Start a real class discussion. If you have shy kids, let them write down some comments to initiate discussion. Create puzzles. Stop talking and discuss what was just taught for a few minutes. Brainstorm ideas about the topic of the day... Not many people learn well when they are just sitting there listening to a lecture. Seriously, how many details do you remember from your last three in-service meetings? Sometimes one of the best teaching techniques is to let the students take the lead and then adapt you teaching methods and strategies to fit the moment. Read more about how to get students involved in class.

Activity Centers Get some of these set up. I always thought they would be a major hassle when my school started moving toward a differentiated approach to learning, but once these are set up, the students quickly catch on to the concept of moving from station to station. If you have a co-teacher or aide available, these are even easier to manage. You may want to check out these Common Core based activity centers.

ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder It is estimated that over five million children in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD. Symptoms include impulsivity, being inattentive, and hyperactivity. These can show up in various combinations. Learn more at healthline.com

Advance Organizers These are "frameworks" for learning. Actually, they just give the class a heads up as to what they'll be learning that day. You basically introduce the topic and tie it to prior lessons and knowledge. I always write the day's objective on the board and refer to it within the first few minutes of class. It also gives learners something to aim for during the lesson. That is, they know what they should be learning in the next 40 minutes or so. (See anticipatory set below.)

Advantages vs. Disadvantages A simple class exercise where two columns are used to compare the advantages and disadvantages of a given topic.

Agreement Circles This a tool used for helping students as they develop critical evaluation skills. It is a simple activity that starts out by providing a statement and asking students whether or not they agree with it. After that...

ALEM (Adaptive Learning Environments Model)

Anticipatory Set This is done at the beginning of class. You hook your students' interest, focus their attention, and get them engaged in the lesson. This could be a lot of things. Some people like to start with "bell ringers" or questions related to the previous lesson. It could also be something as simple as taking a minute to choose a homework question the would feel comfortable answering. If you'd like a refresher about how to apply these in your lesson plans, check this site. Here are some more ideas you can try right away:

Engage the whole group with a great question

Let the students do some freewriting which they will then share in class.

Project an interesting visual related to the lesson with an overhead or projector.

Write a question on the board and have students write a short answer.

Role play

Do a quick review of what was taught the previous day.

Brainstorming activities related to the day's lesson.

Author's Chair This activity is used as part of learning the writing process. A student shares his written work with the class. Obviously, this should be done toward the end of the writing process after the author has already cleaned up his or her rough draft. Feedback should be primarily positive, but constructive criticism is a good thing here. I've found that the other students often ask questions that can help the author to recognize details they might have left out of their work up to that point. You can find some great video demonstrations of author's chair . They'll probably make you smile too.

Balanced Literacy This approach to language arts learning emphasizes mastering both oral and written methods of communicating. Student learning occurs both in and out of the classroom and involves writing, reading, viewing, speaking, and listening. It is a model that integrates writing and reading for students and it involves both direct and indirect teaching methods. A variety of instructional methods for teaching reading comprehension, phonics, and writing skills may be applied. Learn more...

Behavior Management Like it or not, keeping things under control in your classroom is part of the job. Don't worry though. We've got some behavior management tips for you.

Benchmark Testing This type of testing is done to determine where a student is starting out and how much progress has been made over a designated period of time. This is a method of monitoring student progress. To maintain consistency, standardized benchmark tests are often used. The time between tests may vary, but every three to six weeks is usually considered acceptable. The goal of benchmark test taking is to see how much academic progress is being made as the school year goes along. Many textbook series today include benchmark tests. Read more about benchmark testing here.

Best Teaching Practices There are so many ways to approach teaching. Finding the best way to engage students and actually get them to learn takes some practice. Here are some thoughts on what really gets through to students.

Book Talks I suppose you might think of these as the modern, more in-depth equivalent of the traditional book report. It is a way to encourage students to get more involved with reading. Students make a book recommendation to their peers in an organized way that includes a bit of personal reflection on what they enjoyed about the book. These fit well when introducing a book fair or even a newly acquired classroom book. Check out some elementary book talk videos.

Brainstorming Most teachers have probably experienced brainstorming first hand. Students are given a topic to focus on and then are encouraged to use their creativity as well as prior knowledge to create a list of ideas that can then be used as a starting point for new learning. Brainstorming should be done in an environment that encourages open sharing and discourages judging and criticism. Get some more tips on facilitating brainstorming in the classroom.

Case Studies This instructional strategy gives students the task of examining real life scenarios and applying the knowledge they have acquired in class. It encourages abstract thinking, so it is best suited to students who have reached that level of cognitive development. This is generally after elementary school age, but you can adapt this to your elementary classroom if the students seem to have a solid understanding and interest in the topic being discussed. Check out examples of case studies in science to get some ideas for your own classroom.

Categorizing Students can start putting their thoughts (and physical objects) into categories as early as the beginning of elementary school. Teachers can facilitate this process by first suggesting appropriate categories to get the ball rolling. This is a good way to encourage students to examine how things a alike and different. This obviously can lead later to compare and contrast exercises. For older students, apps like flipagram can be used in class as a categorizing tool. Here is a link to a webinar describing just how to do that.

Causal Mapping This is a form of concept mapping. The emphasis is on cause and effect relationships. Intel has developed something called the Seeing Reason Tool that you should check out for creating causal maps.

Cause and Effect Exploring what happened (the effect) and why it happened (the cause) in various situations.

Checking for Understanding The strategies involved here can range from very simple (thumbs up or down) to much more complex (group activities that can involve sharing in an organized manner). I usually go for the fastest method that is appropriate. One thing I have definitely learned though, is that you can't expect most kids to voluntarily raise their hands and announce that they need a deeper explanation. If you don't check for understanding, you risk having a classroom of lost and disinterested learners as you continue teaching. This usually ends badly with frustrated students and low test scores. The time spent checking for understanding pays off later because even if students do get "lost", you don't have to backtrack nearly as far to get everyone back up to speed. Formative assessments are a great way to do a quick check for understanding. Here is a list of 53 ways to check for understanding.

Choral Reading Generally, in choral reading, the teacher reads a selection aloud to the class. At that point, a whole class discussion is held about what was read. From here, the whole class, or a selected group of students reads the selection aloud. Students who are less confident in their reading ability are able to join in with more fluent readers. Any kind of text can be read in this manner. It can be a great way to introduce poetry.

Choral Response At first glance you might think that having students shout out their responses would lead to class disruption, but in choral response, students are expected to answer in a controlled way (not with wild screaming). The theory here is that getting students to respond frequently during a lesson will keep them more involved and lead to more students actually remembering and understanding what has been taught.

Chunking This is the process of grouping or organizing bits of information into groups that are easier to remember together. Students learn to organize and to look for patterns. Chunking is a great way to work around the short term memory's limitations. This isn't just useful for students. Take a look at this post on Lifehacker.com.

CIRC (Cooperative Integrated Reading & Composition)

Circles of Knowledge An activating strategy similar to a KWL chart, but using circles. Students write down what they already know, what they want answered, and finally, the answers to their questions. This is easily made into a worksheet simply by drawing 3 circles and labeling each as above. If you would like a closer look, or a printable sheet, check this page from NASA.

Class Publications These are usually collaborative efforts by the class. They could include class newspapers, newsletters, maps, yearbooks, or anything that allows for the class to organize and combine their efforts in a published form.

Classification Students use categories to group things based on how they are alike. A common example in elementary is classifying plants and animals in science class. In math class, they may classify types of angles or triangles. Here is an example for math (geometry) practice.

Classroom Conversations When I was in high school, I had a social studies teacher that would guide us toward class conversations about once ever two weeks or so. The class was always very responsive, and at the time, we just assumed that he was giving us a day off. Looking back now, I see that these discussions were expertly guided toward the teacher's chosen topic of the day. He was pretty good at what he did! Conversations in the classroom can be a great way to get more people involved and to gauge how much everyone understands. Depending on the class and the topic, teachers an decide how much guidance is needed as the lesson begins and progresses. Check out what Frederick Erickson had to say about this approach.

Classroom Mailboxes Obviously, these can be used as a place to sort student work, but they are also quite useful for organizing worksheets for different subjects or classes. Secondary teachers may want to consider them for this purpose. You can make your own, but you might want to consider just checking these out. They don't cost that much, and you can re-use them from year to year.

Classroom Management Strategies One of the biggest challenges for teachers is knowing how to manage the behaviors in their classroom. Classroom management is all about making your high expectations very clear and knowing how to handle challenges to the standards you've set. These challenges are often behavioral. This short video has some good tips for keeping things under control.

Classroom Meetings

Classroom Organization

Classroom Posters

Classroom Routines Having a routine in your classroom can seem like a hassle at first. You have to take time out of your already overloaded schedule to teach students simple procedures. In the long run though, having routines in place can be a great time saver. Classroom routines can be established for everything from sharpening pencils and turning in homework to knowing how the class should operate in the event that an unprepared substitute shows up. Don't underestimate the power here. Establishing good routines can be as important as having solid lesson plans. Routines should be a part of your overall classroom management plan.

Classroom Rules

Cloze Procedure A cloze procedure is used to check for understanding of context in a reading task. The student is expected to replace missing words with appropriate vocabulary in a given passage using context clues and their own understanding of the subject they have been reading about.

Clustering This is a method used for organizing information when preparing to write. Unlike most linear methods of organization, this is based more on mapping what you are going to write about. It is sometimes compared to brainstorming, but it is a more organized approach. It helps students to focus on what comes to mind when they choose one particular topic to write about.

Cognitive Strategy Instruction

Cold Call This is an instructional strategy that is dreaded by students who tend to drift off and daydream during class. The teacher calls on students during the course of the lesson and subsequent discussion without really considering who is volunteering to answer. That means that even students who don't have their hands raised might get called on at any time. This isn't meant to be used as a tool for "catching" people who are not paying attention. Rather, you would hope that students in a class where cold calls are used would enter the room ready to pay attention and contribute. When used correctly, this approach can solicit input from students who otherwise would probably not have offered their valuable insights on the lesson of the day.

Collaborative Learning In collaborative learning, students work with each other to discuss a given "problem" and come up with possible solutions. This can be done in pairs or in small groups. Advantages include students taking more ownership for their learning, improved social interactions, and built in peer tutoring opportunities.

Common Core

Compare and Contrast In my own experience, this method is used quite a bit in reading and language arts instruction. Charts are often created to show how two things are alike or different. Comparisons show how things are alike, while contrasts focus on differences.

Computer Assisted Instruction As the name implies, this is instruction that uses the computer as a tool for instructing students. This can be a good way of connecting with learners who enjoy spending time on the computer, but it is meant to be a tool, not a replacement for the teacher.

Concept Attainment This strategy is an example of indirect instruction. This approach ties in well with contrasting and comparing given items. Students learn to oranize and categorize as they look for the common attributes of a given group. They also look for ways to identify things that do not belong in a given category.

Concept Mapping Some people learn better by seeing a visual representation of what is being taught. Concept maps help students to start with a main idea and then branch out to important key concepts. This is done by using shapes like circles or squares that are connected by lines that branch out to related ideas. This type of graphic organizer is often used by teachers to illustrate new ideas, but it can also be used to assess how well students understand what they have been taught. To do this, students are shown examples of concept maps and are then given the opportunity to construct their own map illustrating their understanding of the subject.

Conducting Experiments Most students love exploring and learning science concepts through inquiry. Hands on experimenting (with the guidance of the teacher) can be a great way to get students thinking at a higher level. In my experience, it is very important for the teacher to help the students to understand the connection between the experiments they are performing and the objective of the lesson. Some "science in a box" type modules provide very little content knowledge for students. Students enjoy the hands on activities, but they will not always "get" what is being taught unless the connection is made with the help of the teacher.

Conferencing with Students Many teachers miss out on a golden opportunity to connect with students and to understand what and how they are thinking. You conference with students while they are working during class. This is a simple process that can reap major rewards. Start by asking the student how they are doing with the problem they are working on at the moment. Ask about what they are learning and what is giving them problems. You guide them by offering tips and by specifically asking what they need help with to keep them moving forward. Ask about strategies they are using and offer new ones for them to try out. This is a much better use of in class work time than just walking around the room watching to make sure that students are working.

Connecting to Prior Knowledge Sometimes it's easy to forget that some students might not have much, if any, prior knowledge about what is being taught. Use questioning and tools like brainstorming and KWL charts to assess what your students know and where they are lacking. Look for ways to connect what is being taught to their everyday life. This might be things they do, things they've seen, things they've read about, or something that seems totally unrelated. Get the class talking about a topic and keep your ears open for something you can use to make a connection. Students often don't realize that activating prior knowledge can help them to better understand new material. Help them to make this connection and they might just surprise you with how interested they become.

Constructivism

Cooperative Learning

Co-teaching

Cognitive Thinking

Critical Listening

Critical Literacy

Critical Reading

Critical Thinking Activities

Data Analysis

Defining

Descriptions

Differentiated Instruction When you differentiate instruction, you place an emphasis on what your students already know and how they do their best learning. Here are some ideas for putting together effective differentiated instruction lesson plans for your classroom.

Directive Model

Discussion Groups

Educational Technology

Emotional Support

Entrance tickets (also called Admission tickets)

Flipping Your Classroom In a flipped classroom, students are expected to watch a prepared video on their own time (at home) before coming to class. The video is prepared by the teacher or a third party. The idea is that students will already have a base knowledge when they enter the classroom. Class time can be spent focusing more on the students instead of a lecturing teacher.

Frayer Model

Give One / Get One

Grab Bag

Group Based Instruction

Group Work Students working together toward some common learning objective. This is often a class project. Working in groups is also used as a way to teach students about cooperating with others and sharing responsibilities.

Group Writing

Information Technology

Instructional Scaffolding

Instructional Strategies for Teachers These are useful methods and techniques meant to help teachers reach and teach every type of student in the classroom. Being familiar with a wide variety of instructional strategies is quite helpful when differentiating instruction.

KWL charts

Learning Logs Students keep track of their own learning. They write about how they responded to learning challenges given by the teacher.

Learning Support

Math Multiplication Games Games designed to help students to learn and use multiplication facts.

Metacognition Thinking about your own thinking processes. In education, this relates to how a student thinks about their own thinking and learning.

Phonics Connecting sounds with specific letters or groups of letters. This skill is used for teaching people how to read.

Questioning This is a skill that is learned over time. An experienced teacher uses questions to direct the class, dig deeper into relevant issues, and to encourage higher level thinking in his or her students. New educators should make it a priority to learn the best questioning techniques for teachers. Here is a question that is meant to get you thinking: What is teaching? (Feel free to answer that one in the comments!!!)

Questions to the Teacher Students submit questions to the teacher related to a specific topic that will be discussed in class (see the link above about questioning techniques).

Quick Talk

Quick Writes

Read and Say Something

Reading Comprehension

Reciprocal Teaching

Sentence Starters

Snowball Fights

Special Education

STEAM Science, Technology, Engineering, ART, and Math. Take a peek at some instructional strategies for teaching science.

STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

Sticky Notes

Teaching Strategies We all need a plan, right? These are strategies for getting the point of your lessons across to your students as painlessly as possible. You will need to adjust your approach depending on the audience you are teaching. Here are some strategies for teaching high school students.

Think-Pair-Write

Think-Write-Share

Transformed Text

Whole Brain Teaching

Word Splash A collection of words related to a given topic is presented in a "splash" style to get students thinking about and discussing the topic.

Worksheets

Writer's Workshop

Written Conversations

Writing Prompts

Writing Strategies

Always More to Come!

I wanted to include an infographic about Marzano's 9 instructional strategies for teachers. Why? Because some people think that this short list is all there is when it comes to planning instruction, and that's what they're looking for right now. Here's his list, but I invite you to keep on reading after you check it out. There is SOOO much more here, and it is all meant to help teachers and students to achieve new levels of success!

Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

A Resource for Teachers

I want this site to be one of the best online resources for teachers. As a teacher, becoming familiar with a variety of techniques for teaching is essential if you want to keep students interested in their own education and actively learning in your class. These strategies and methods of teaching are the tools of your trade. Taking the time to learn about them will help both you and your students. In addition, adding some variety to your teaching is a great way to prevent yourself from burning out.
Establishing and Breaking Routines
Routine is nice up to a point, but there is a very real danger of falling victim to a creeping complacency that can lead to boredom and disinterest for both teacher and student. Don't let that happen! Above, you will find a list of instructional strategies for teaching that can give a new spark to your teaching style. Feel free to print it out and then check off different strategies as you use them. As this site grows, more strategies, definitions (help with all of the academic jargon) and specific methods used by teachers will become available. Even without step by step instructions though, just looking through this list of ideas should help to get you out of any teaching rut you may have fallen into over your years of teaching. You'll no doubt notice that I like to write in bullet points. What can I say? That's just my style and I never intended to create another purely academic site.

New Ideas for Teaching
If you are a new teacher with at least nine weeks of classroom experience, you have no doubt learned by now that there are a lot of different ideas and teaching strategies that trickle down from the powers above you. You will often be introduced to these ideas during a half day in-service presentation, and then be expected to implement them in your classroom based on a plastic 3 ring binder filled with Xeroxed copies that someone brought back to your district from yet another in-service meeting that was held specifically for administrators. (Wouldn't you love to speak at one of those meetings one day?) These binders, and the often confusing instructions they contain, can sometimes induce spontaneous panic attacks in teachers. Another purpose of this site is to make these surprise packages a little bit less scary and to help us all to become the best teachers that we can be.

Becoming a Better Teacher

Do you remember your time in school? I remember a lot of fun moments and a lot of time spent playing with other kids during recess. In my later years in school, I remember a lot of the time spent between classes as I talked with friends, but in the learning environment, I remember only the moments when our teacher went above and beyond to teach us. Day to day activities certainly are the back bone of good teaching but without any special application, many of these lessons were not striking or memorable to me. Now, as a teacher, I sometimes reflect on my own experiences as a student and try to adjust my teaching so that it becomes more "sticky" for my students. I also sometimes consider my own teaching methods when I'm sitting in an interminable in-service presentation. As I sit listening to one person after another reading from PowerPoint slides, I always vow silently to myself that I'll never do anything like that to a classroom full of students again.

What are These Strategies for Instruction?

Make up as many names and acronyms as you like, but instructional strategies are really just the methods you use to teach your students. Teachers have been looking for the best ways to get their message across for years. They try things, see if they work, and adjust when necessary.

Don't Get Buried in Academic Jargon

The field of education has quite a bit of jargon. Most of the teachers I know are very busy teaching a classroom full of students. There is a chance that they missed the latest article on the best practices in education. They're too busy grading papers, preparing lessons, filling out weekly progress reports, and dealing with actual student issues. The teachers who taught me used many of the same methods that are presented on this, and similar, sites. They just didn't have as many fancy names for what they did. That is part of the reason why I decided to start this site. I believe that keeping things as simple as possible is a good idea. This page gives very brief summaries of some of today's popular teaching methods. Some will look very familiar to veteran teachers, and you may even know them by some other name. I hope that these teachers will chime in with comments to share what they have learned through their years of experience. There really isn't that much new stuff under the sun, but knowing when and how to use various strategies is something that comes with experience. Newer teachers will find ideas to help them with "real life" situations that they cannot prepare you for in college. Basically, I hope this site will present effective strategies for teaching that might help all of us to become the best teachers we can possibly be.

Becoming an Effective Teacher for Your Students

It takes a special person to really make a lasting impression on kids, but it's not impossible. If you want to make a lesson effective, it takes a bit of planning and preparation and a wide variety of teaching approaches for the classroom. I hope that this site will introduce you to some effective teaching methods. Implementing them isn't all that hard either, if you plan them out in advance, and in most cases its worth implementing a few strategies at a time so that kids that learn in different ways all have a chance to really connect to the material (differentiation). For me I always did learn best when implementation was involved. When we read books I really enjoyed projects where we would take the material in the book and create something tangible to demonstrate our comprehension of the material. I remember making a picture depicting the entire storyline of James and the Giant Peach once when I was nine or ten. Not only did I read the book, but my drawing was a simple way for me to demonstrate my understanding of the story and share it with other students around me.

Practical Application and Differentiating Instruction

In my math classes I always responded better to practical application. It wasn't enough for me to learn what sign and cosign was, I needed to understand how these functions were applicable to the real world. As teachers, we are tasked with connecting with lots of different kids in lots of different classes. Not all kids respond the way I did to hands on application, and not all kids learn the same way either. It can be difficult to really reach everyone, but by incorporating a variety of delivery strategies into your repertoire it becomes easier to reach more kids in a meaningful way.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Group work is an area that lots of people including children connect with. Although it's not particularly helpful for every kid, there are those that thrive on it. Independent study is another technique that is beneficial to some kids while not as great for others. By identifying the students in your classes that seem to do well with one method over another, it becomes easy to start building your curriculum around all forms of teaching and learning. Some types of teaching strategies may include things as simple as introducing books on CD to kids instead of only having them read from the text. Although many students have no trouble with comprehension of text, some kids can better learn to comprehend material when isolated from the actual reading of text. One other technique to help teach kids how to comprehend reading is to use acting in the classroom. Again, not all kids will respond to this, but some will. It's all about covering different methods of learning.
To Group or Not to Group
For mathematics I remember our teacher separated us by skill level. Kids that were able to do more advanced math worked in one area of the class while kids at a lower level worked on lower level math together. This is sometimes called accelerated or individualized math. Others may call it a form of ability grouping. It is an effective way of keeping advanced kids interested and motivated while not discouraging kids at a lower level.

Spiraling of previously learned material is another way to ingrain important material into the minds of kids who need repetition to really learn something important. By introducing concepts and then summarizing those same concepts every day, while building upon them in different ways, a teacher can easily emphasize what's most important. That teacher can then properly prepare their students for advanced material that is based off the foundational concepts which are repeated daily.
Remembering What You've Learned
Another very common strategy for driving learning in any course is to use Mnemonics. These are the simple association techniques sometimes that can help describe a process in one's brain. Many common mnemonics stick with kids well into adulthood - "I" before "E" except after "C". You probably still use that one to this day. The takeaway here is this. There are many different learning and teaching strategies that can be implemented in the classroom independent of student age or skill level. The trick in implementing them effectively is to choose a variety of techniques that support your material and present the information to your classroom using them all. Some kids are simply going to respond to certain teaching strategies better than others. It's your job as a teacher to cycle through various teaching methods in an attempt to reach all kids in the class.

Please share your favorite instructional strategies below in the comments!

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Instructional Strategies List for Teachers - Instructional Strategies List

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A BIG List of Instructional Strategies for Teachers I've decided to create an instructional strategies list for teachers. There are plenty of teaching textbooks meant to provide instructional strategies for teachers. There are also huge lists of definitions available. This site strives to be more. I am updating this page...

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The surprising thing Google learned about its employees — and what it means for today’s students

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The surprising thing Google learned about its employees — and what it means for today’s students

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by Valerie Strauss @valeriestrauss