TL;DR: Explore your cultural iceberg. What are the visible and less visible bits of your culture? What does culture mean to you and how can you address it in the classroom? Take a global perspective when teaching about cultures. “Equity and Inclusion Just Got Better” Blog Reflection Questions: What does culture mean? How is culture embedded into the curriculum we … Read More
Science Better: Using Models
TL;DR: Models are a great way to determine student understanding of content. Use exemplars to inspire students to do great things. Encourage students to let their passions fuel their creativity, and give them lots of loose parts to experiment with. Provide expectations, but let students determine how they rise to those expectations. Student Designed Models I am big on student … Read More
Engagement and Equitability with Easy-to-Use Canvas Quizzes (VIDEO)
TL;DR: Canvas has an auto-grading feature to use for quizzes. These quizzes can be used at the end of lectures and encourage students to take good notes. If you offer enough quizzes, this can improve equity by allowing students to fail or miss quizzes and still be successful in class. The quiz auto-grading feature of Canvas can be used to … Read More
Building Connections with EL Students
TL;DR: Build an “EL Family Wall” in your classroom. Build connections between your students. Create a bond and feeling of belonging in the classroom. Building Connections with EL Students Each day, I meet with 10 groups of EL students from grades 1-8. One of their favorite weekly activities occurs every Tuesday: Voting Day! We have three whiteboard “zones”: Zone 1, … Read More
Providing Better Feedback
TL;DR: Providing feedback to students is one of the most crucial aspects of our job. In this post, you will find five simple steps to incorporate effective and timely feedback to your students. (1) Classroom environment – establish norms and expectations for giving and receiving feedback. (2) Streamline grading practices – use the same grading rubric. (3) Use online tools … Read More