Promoting Student Engagement and Collaboration using Breakouts

Teach Better TeamBlog, Innovation, Lesson Planning, Student Engagement

TL;DR: An introduction the many ways breakouts can be used in your classroom. A “how to” for planning and implementing a breakout in your classroom. As a middle school teacher, I’m always looking for fun new ways to engage my students.  Their current favorite? Breakouts!  Planning a breakout can seem overwhelming, time consuming, and daunting.  I’m here to help walk … Read More

The Power of Place Based Education

Kathleen DeckerBlog, Differentiation, Innovation, Lesson Planning, Student Engagement

TL;DR: Helping children to truly learn about their community and to engage in their own learning. Leveraging partnerships within the community to create these learning experiences can transform learning and can yield higher levels of learning for students. How do you create authentic learning experiences in schools? There are several ways to help students experience learning beyond the classroom. At … Read More

Management with the Grid: How to Keep Kids Motivated

Andrea KalchbennerBlog, Classroom Management, Differentiation, Leadership, Mastery Learning, Personalized Learning, Student Engagement

TL;DR: The Grid method can seem like a huge change, but there are some consistencies with a traditional approach. A teacher shares some strategies for management and engagement with the Grid. “How do you keep kids motivated?!” This question pops up over and over again for educators.  It does not matter whether you teach elementary or high school, or if … Read More

Next Level Hyperdocs with Google Sites

Teach Better TeamBlog, Edtech, Innovation, Student Engagement

TL;DR: A quick overview of Hyperdocs. Video explanation of an integration between Google sites and Hyperdocs. One of the best ways I’ve found to help students access content is by collecting and storing resources and activities in one central location.  Many of us do this through systems like Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom. We mainly link resources through the assignments. … Read More

Inquiry Focused Classrooms

Chad OstrowskiBlog, Innovation, Lesson Planning, Student Engagement

TL;DR: An introduction to inquiry-focused classrooms. 3 simple questions educators can ask to determine the inquiry level in their classroom. Quick suggestions to increase inquiry in the classroom. What’s an Inquiry-Focused Classroom? While the term “inquiry” is pretty popular in education, I think sometimes it gets a bit overcomplicated. Inquiry learning can be a powerful tool that supports many other … Read More