Teaching Tips

If you want to know how to reach, engage, and best teach your students, ask them. Here are example questions and tips on how to ask them.

As you are beginning to think about returning to school, I have a suggestion that can drastically impact your year (and it's simple): brainstorm questions to ask your students.

For many students, the process of learning new material can feel like swimming in an ocean with fish moving in many different directions. Additionally, the information itself can feel like fish swimming in the minds of students overwhelming them, causing anxiety, uncertainty and even fear. They can feel as if what they're trying to learn has no order, especially when context is lacking.

Class discussions work best when everyone participates, and these strategies for grades 6 to 12 help ensure that happens.

Calm down, you’re okay! What does that really mean?  If I would have told my three-year-old that in the middle of Target while she was screaming and melting down…. would she have known what I meant?

Gratitude involves both feeling and expressing our thankfulness; it means we show our appreciation for others. According to the Harvard Healthbeat, “Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” For a five-year-old, gratitude looks like consistently saying “thank you” to others, making thank you cards, and identifying things that make them feel thankful, such as a favorite toy or a visit from grandma.

Middle and high school students love interacting with social media, but how can they know if what they’re seeing and sharing is accurate?

In education, we often talk about how to challenge our students—but what about ourselves as teachers? In a teaching career, it’s normal to find yourself in a rut or recognize a need to make changes—the skill is knowing how. Here are 20 ways to challenge yourself and your teaching.