Terri Eichholz has 29 years of classroom experience from K-12. M.A. in Teaching. She specializes in Gifted and Talented Education, Maker Education, Ed Tech Integration, and STEAM. She’s worked for SAISD and NEISD in San Antonio, Texas, and currently consults, conducts professional development, and writes articles about education. I enjoy engaging all students, including adults, with hands-on, student-centered learning.
Trenches story: in 29 yrs has been there many x’s. First was 7 yrs into career. Had been at same school teaching same grade level. Felt like she wanted to quit teaching. Was searching for jobs outside profession. Teacher @ school became her mentor. This t taught G/T. They worked w/ some of same students. Suggested Terri become a pull-out G/T teacher. Terri didn’t feel qualified. Highly competitive. Had to take $300 course. She was going to recommend Terri for a position that was opening up. Terri went to interview. Dressed in jeans/t-shirt cause she found out last minute. Didn’t feel like anything would come if it. Got the job, had the training over the summer. Changed her teaching career- taught 21 more years. Pivoted to a new school-refound her love for teaching.
Talk about your Consulting with companies regarding educational technology. Does w/ edtech companies, local school districts, presented a TX computer edu conference. Has done G/T PD for a region in AR. Has revised curriculum for an online course. This grew organically. Had shared on her blog posts about resources she’d found. Got involved on Twitter. Was contacted about piloting a new app, being involved on Twitter chats. Also presented at district mtg. on G/T. When she decided to retire, was unsure what to do. Then was invited to present. Had built reputation of sharing resources on blog.
region in AR. Has revised curriculum for an online course. This grew organically. Had shared on her blog posts about resources she’d found. Got involved on Twitter. Was contacted about piloting a new app, being involved on Twitter chats. Also presented at district mtg. on G/T. When she decided to retire, was unsure what to do. Then was invited to present. Had built reputation of sharing resources on blog.
Developing educational content and curriculum, conducting professional development– one of the ones that has become popular is “Harnessing Hexagons” presentation. Can involve any student at any level in Hexagonal thinking. Encourages students to discuss & be comfortable in speaking. Open-ended. St’s talk about where to place the hexagons. She also does presentations of visible thinking strategies. Was recognized early on for genius hour. Used it as she moved on to be master teacher grades 4-12. Classes were then larger. Was able to cater to multiple abilities.
Writing blogs and advocate for exciting and equitable education for all. Mostly blogs on her website, she has done articles for Edutopia in the past. Highlight a recent blog post. Her goal w/ one is to get a genuine, unbiased sharing of a resource. Sometimes companies will send her something to check out for her blog. Not all t’s have the time to glean the internet-has t’s who have emailed her about how they’ve used the tool. She has a folder where she keeps these kudos. She does “Gifts for the Gifted” series. Fun learning gift for st’s. Everyone gets to try a piece.
Out of everything: in career, she knew what was best, yet wasn’t ready to listen to what ppl had to say. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Show students you’re trying something new. It helps develop a growth mindset. We have a tendency to help students a lot, we can learn alongside sometimes, so they’re becoming better problem solvers.
Where can ppl find you online? Twitter @terrieichholz www.engagetheirminds.com tons of resources, free downloads, Wakelet activities for all times of the year. Alot of resources are aimed at anyone. All levels. View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PAq_o9OTquE
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