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.
Feb 13
Public schools exist to ensure that everyone has an opportunity for an education. An education is supposed to be the equalizer that prepares everyone to achieve their American Dream. Whether your dream is to open your own business, be a doctor, a lawyer, a football star, a baseball star, an actor, a famous musician, or …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/02/13/school-accountability/
Jan 30
It all started when I read on Twitter about Dan Pink’s Fedex Day post for fostering innovation. This sparked something in many educators. Josh Stumpenhorst initiated an innovation day at his school after another teacher, Matt Langes, tried it. Josh’s innovation day even hit the news and Dan Pink himself contacted Josh! The idea of …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/01/30/innovation-passion-engagement/
Jan 09
Our WA STEM grant work is coming to an end. My Math and Science middle and high school PLC team has been immersing themselves in the world of social networking by blogging and tweeting for the past year. For some it’s been toe dipping that is becoming a walk up to the hip while other …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/01/09/blogging-tweeting-wa-stem/
Jan 08
Sometimes, when faced with a tough decision, I choose one that leaves me feeling bad for a long time. I can justify the decision and do so over and over. The reason I have to justify my decision is because it’s one where kids miss out. Every year for the past ten years I’ve been …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/01/08/tough-decisions/
Jan 06
As teachers, we hope to do more than just teach kids information they need to pass tests and score well on end-of-grade exams. We hope to teach information such that the kids remember it five, ten, and even twenty years later. We hope to imbue students with useful facts and figures and to teach critical …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/01/06/guest-post-science-that-sticks/
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/01/03/wa-stem-1-5-12-agenda/
Jan 02
It’s that time of year again. Where people look back and reflect on their top posts. I was reading Pernille Ripp’s top blog post and she made a great point. Instead of listing the posts that got the most hits list the ones that mean the most to you! I love it. And actually I …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/01/02/my-fave-11-of-2011/
Jan 02
This year my Science PLC is focusing on using learning progressions. We’ve worked for years on eliciting evidence so we moved on to a new focus, namely sharing learning expectations. [Disclaimer: I’ve read some bloggers who raise some great points about sharing learning expectations and using rubrics with our students so I’d like to note …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/01/02/learning-about-cells/
Dec 28
When I began teaching in 1991 I brought in my Tandy laptop to have my students word process their writings. Then I’d print them out to put on our bulletin board. My next year I got a grant to purchase a Mac LC 520. With that Mac I used my AOL account to bring the …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2011/12/28/evolution-of-1to1/
Dec 21
This is a guest post by Elaine Hirsch. Movements for change and reform in the US educational system challenge nearly every aspect of the student’s experience, and grading systems are certainly not exempt from this. In an ongoing struggle to best measure the effectiveness of our education system, traditional and alternative grading systems have been …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2011/12/21/comparing-traditional-and-alternative-grading-schemes/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023, 2024, and 2025!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
