I teach 5th and 6th grade STEM in the lovely Pacific Northwest in a small, rural town called Chimacum. My goal is to help students discover that all learning is life-long and that 21st century tools can be used for work as well as fun.
Sep 07
Our first week was four days long because of Labor Day and we got off to a great start! I had been teaching all three 6th grade Science classes and two of the three 8th grade Science classes but this year I only have all three 6th grade Science classes plus a 6th grade exploratory …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/09/07/great-1st-week/
Aug 29
One of the math teachers and I attended a BER Conference on differentiation to meet the common core. We got some really great ideas for helping all our learners engage with our curricula. We presented the first part of our three or four part training with ideas for offering more student choice. Here’s the Prezi …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/08/29/differentiation-training/
Aug 28
Our school was chosen as one of 45 schools added to a WA STEM innovative PD program! I will be sharing our professional development model soon. Here’s the official press release: Chimacum middle school to participate in Initiative to fuel professional development FOR TEACHERS in STEM education For Immediate Release (#wastem) August 26, 2014 Chimacum …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/08/28/innovative-pd-grant/
Aug 28
There are some factors that we need to take into account when we face teachers who resist change, specifically the changes that are possible by integrating technology for 21st century learning. One big reason teachers resist change is that our identity is being a teacher, often being a SUPER TEACHER. Add to that the way …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/08/28/why-do-teachers-resist-change/
Aug 18
I’ve been getting questions about where to begin if you want to gamify your classes and I thought I’d share some of what has worked for me here. To begin I just want to say that gamification can happen without spending any money. I think the most important aspect of gamification be a change in …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/08/18/gamification-where-to-begin/
Aug 14
I will start off by saying that I have been having an enjoyable summer. Even after spraining both my ankles and being laid out (sprained one and healed it enough to go to the WA state Zombie Run where I sprained the other one on a night run – at least I made it through …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/08/14/getting-ready-for-school/
Aug 11
I’ve been drawn to the song Am I Wrong? by Nico & Vinz. If you haven’t heard it check it out (here’s the link in case the video doesn’t play): I thought it had to do with true love until I watched Vinz and Nico explain what the song is all about (here’s the link …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/08/11/one-road-or-many-paths/
Aug 02
Source: TopDegreesOnline.org I didn’t know what to think about the above infographic. I was thinking it was strange how Google and Apple are making changes to education and not the those in the trenches, namely teachers and students. But that seems to be the way it is for education, those with the most money and …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/08/02/apple-and-google-changing-education/
Jul 27
There’s a lot of discussion around grading and specifically how traditional grading falls short of informing how well students are doing in a class. Letter grades and percentages do not inform students and their parents as to how well they are learning the material. That one final letter or final percentage includes way too much …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/07/27/grading-to-inform/
Jul 26
In the Marzano Research Laboratory online course I’m taking on Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading a distinction was made between Rubrics and what are known as Proficiency Scales. I have to admit that I’m having a difficult time understanding the difference between the two. Honestly, they both seem like rubrics to me! This blog post …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/07/26/proficiency-scales-vs-rubrics/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023 and 2024!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
