Teachers: Modern-Day Superheroes As veteran teachers, we originate from the first dry-erase boards, textbooks that were outdated the moment they were assigned to students, and collegial advice like “Don’t smile until Christmas” and “Shut your door and teach your...
"The Blender Interactive Learning Structure: The Right Ingredient for Engaged Learning" Originally Published on GettingSmart on 10.19.19. I strongly believe that opportunity is the main ingredient needed for students to express their creativity. Let’s face it....
“A Good Class Discussion Is Just a Phone Call Away/The Smartphone and the Seismograph” (originally published here on GettingSmart on 11.19.2014) A Pessimistic Colleague: So, what ya got goin' on in class today, tech guy? Me: Oh, just facilitating an awesome,...
“The Perimeter, the Players, and the Offering” (originally published here on GettingSmart on 1.14.2014) I can easily remember being a teenager and watching Don Mattingly execute a flawless swing to produce a one-hop double off the right-center field wall in Yankee...
“The Literary Revolver” (originally published here on GettingSmart on 10.11.2014) Frankly speaking, interactive learning structures work. By merging standards-based prompts, random selectivity, a backchannel, improvisational acting, and overall creativity, Studio...
“Bringing Literature to Life Can Be Square” (originally published here on GettingSmart on 12.17.2014) Literature is meant to be brought to life. Without musical, artistic, acting, and verbal connections, many students view literature as an endless flipping of pages...
“90-Second Summary/Literature on a Football Field” (originally published here on GettingSmart on 8.24.2016)I’ve always been fascinated by behind-the-scenes documentaries. Whether it’s a captivating musician on VH1’s Behind the Music, an eternal sport with Ken Burns’...
“Drop the Syllabus for a No Dis Day on Day One” (first published here on GettingSmart on 7.27.2016) You know what I am talking about. That “hand-out-the-syllabus, set-the-tone, and establish-all-rules” practice that more than likely catapults students into a coma-like...
“The Front Porch” (first published here on GettingSmart on 9.10.2015) There is so much about a comfortable front porch that is absolutely irresistible. The smooth, back-and-forth creaking of wooden rocking chairs. The rhythmic and melodic squeaks of a hanging porch...