Educational Readings

Welcome back from Thanksgiving Break!!

It was extremely restful, long weekend for me. It's always good to spend time with family and friends.

After gorging myself on Thanksgiving dinner, I came across a timely post from A.J. Juliani (co-author of Launch) about what we feed our brains as educators. I can appreciate his approach to reading and writing as it applies to the goal setting strategies many teachers discuss with our students. He reads "at least 25 words a day" which allows him to finish a book a week. The idea of setting small goals resonates with me. I can easily read 25 words a day, and this practice will hopefully push me to read more than that most days.

Also, he provides several ways to find books to read, blogs to follow, and podcasts to listen to. It's a great list if you're not sure where to start when finding materials to learn more about the profession of teaching.

Student Feedback

This school year, I'm focusing (we call it our Personal Growth Plan) on providing students with feedback within each lesson, every day. It's a daunting task, so I'm working to collect as many resources as possible to assist me in creating a plan for feedback.

So far, I've listened to a recent episode of the TeacherCast podcast. Within the episode, Jeff Bradbury, Sam Patterson, Jennifer Judkins, and Matt Buchanan discuss:

1) Using Google Apps, specifically, Google Classroom and Google Docs to provide meaningful feedback with the writing process.  These could really be used in any subject area but they focus on writing.

2) Using the Google Add-On, Orange Slice, to create interactive rubrics that can be easily scored.


What other resources are teachers using to provide students with feedback?

Genius Hour

TeachThought has recently jumped on board with the Genius Hour imitative, basically a way for students to complete an inquiry-based project around something they're passionate about. TeachThought provides 2 podcasts on providing ways for students to create higher level questions. Also, you can sign up for a workshop on creating a Genius Hour project for your students.

Ditching the Textbook

Here's an interesting podcast on TeacherCast. It helps teachers move away from textbooks to using an online format. As a school, we've been looking into cutting out paper bill and moving homework online to save money, resources, and time for teachers.

Inquiry Based Learning

I recently listened to TeachThought's Podcast (Epsiode 37) about strategies to effectively implement inquiry into your everyday classroom routines. Kimberly Mitchell spoke about the 5 strategies she helped to create involving inquiry based learning and her website: Inquiry Partners. The podcast was an excellent introduction into her 5 strategies:

1) Personal/Emotional Connections
2) Ask higher level questions, talk less
3) Encourage students to use evidence
4) Maintain neutrality during class discussions - be a facilitator
5) Increase student thinking time

Also, the Inquiry Partners website includes videos of each inquiry strategy being effectively implemented into a classroom environment.

Differentiation Podcast

Here's a podcast I recently listened to (mostly, it's a little long): http://inservice.ascd.org/differentiated-instruction-works-how-and-why-to-do-di/
Key points: You need the right environment (growth mindset, supports, access, etc.), quality curriculum (clear learning goals), and formative assessments to establish a starting point to differentiate your lessons.

Best Educational Podcasts

According to Edutopia, here are some of the 7 Best Educational Podcasts. They have their podcasts listed according to teaching strategies, PLN's, educational technology, professional development, and leadership. I've heard great things about Moving at the Speed of Creativity.