TL;DR: Develop a quality curriculum by identifying desired outcomes, unpacking the standards, identifying transfer goals, and prioritizing curriculum development. A quality curriculum can become the constant in schools, rather than a variable determined by each teacher. When school districts commit to clarifying the curriculum, each student will have a greater chance of success as he/she enters the next grade level. … Read More
The Future of Education Post-Pandemic
TL;DR: The ending of this school year will bring up many questions about the future of education post-pandemic. Consider what you would like to leave in the past from pre-pandemic times. Reflect on what you’ve learned through teaching in the pandemic. Then, use these reflections to decide what you’d like to continue doing in a post-pandemic world. As you read … Read More
If You Teach ELA, Prepare to Also Teach History
TL;DR: To effectively teach English, it is important that educators also teach history. Language arts gives us the opportunity to add dimension to our students’ understanding of a specific event, idea, or person. Use historical texts to create experiences. Our students’ futures are contingent on events happening now. They can use the skills they’ve built upon as readers and writers, … Read More
Why Design Lessons
TL;DR: As an educator, it is important to continue learning and to always work towards improvement. Design Lessons is a podcast to help teachers learn about instructional strategies and design creative learning opportunities for students. I have been on a journey to improve, expand, and grow as a teacher and a writer. I believe it’s important to remain current in … Read More
Social (Justice) Studies as Experiential Learning
TL;DR: It is critical that we realign the lens of experiential learning to include the domains of social (justice) studies. This will help to truly engage students in their worlds. Experiential learning in the classroom needs to make space for areas in social studies and the world in which we live. It takes those issues on from a lens of … Read More