Jul 07
In both my reading of ROLE Reversal and learning how to use the 3D GameLab interface to gamify my classes the concept of student autonomy and choice is very important to create a student-centered experience. Kids need multiple pathways for learning and for demonstrating their learning. That needs to be balanced by the need for …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/07/whole-class-vs-individual-vs-small-group/
Jul 03
With regards to the 8 characteristics of Game-Based Learning (GBL) [CORRECTION: this should be Quest-Based Learning (QBL) as GBL is something different entirely] mentioned in 3DGL: Choice (Autonomy) Failure Progress Bars Multiple long & short aims Reward ALL successful efforts (XP points) Prompt, meaningful feedback Elements of uncertainty/awards Socialization schools need to embrace these, probably …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/03/characteristics-of-gbl/
Feb 01
So I am continuing to survey my students. It’s our midterm and halfway through our school year so I wanted to check in and see how they’re all doing. After the positive exit slip experience I had last week I thought this week’s survey would be cool. It was cool but not so easy to …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/02/01/change-is-hard/
Jan 14
I wrote Shift Happens just a bit too soon. I was celebrating the fact that we started our year without achievement awards or student of the month awards. Then I noticed that PBIS was on the agenda of our upcoming faculty meeting. When the topic came up it was mentioned that nearly half the year …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/01/14/i-celebrated-too-soon/
May 21
This week, May 21 to May 25, 8th grade teachers at my school will be taking over 85 8th graders along with 20 HS counselors to Camp David, Jr. on gorgeous Lake Crescent for an Olympic Odyssey outdoor education experience. One aspect of this trip that stresses out a bunch of our students, including yours …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/21/week-long-field-trip/
May 02
I struggle with reading. It’s not that I can’t decode or that I am dyslexic or anything like that. It’s not even that my first language was Spanish and now I’m fluent in English (I can barely get out a complete thought in Spanish without having to switch to English, so English is my dominant …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/02/reading-ability/
Mar 31
Thursday, March 29, 2012 my advisory class hosted our school’s March assembly. The theme was the Month of the Young Adolescent. It was the first assembly I’ve attended at my school where there were no monthly or student of the month awards given to students. That’s the first out of the 132 monthly assemblies that …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/03/31/assembly-sans-awards/
Mar 06
Why collaborate? That is the question. Let me focus in a bit on a more specific question. If you, in a middle and a high school, were given the opportunity to meet regularly with your peers why would you want to? What could all the Science teachers in grades 6 through 12 meet about if …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/03/06/why-collaborate/
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/
Dec 18
It’s nice to celebrate the small successes, it keeps us sane. 🙂 In my post about microorganisms I shared some of, what I thought, were wonderful critters. A bunch of students in both of my 8th grade classes were right there with me, finding great critters, identifying them and drawing them. Maybe it was because …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/12/18/small-successes/
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