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24/7 World
Disclaimer: I do not know the answer. I cannot predict how this will play out. I only know that it is important to think about. When I was in school thirty some years ago, I did my homework, more like...
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Thematic US History: Part III – Build the Context
“I want to learn more about the experience of Native Americans and how Manifest Destiny and the Removal Act affected them?” “I wonder what smaller, less studied events happened that led to major events...
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The Simplest Questions
Which events should we place on the class timeline? It was an incredibly basic lesson plan – one question posed to the class. While decidedly simple in design, I was not sure what I would get. Would...
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Thematic US History: Part IV – The Trenches?
I was so excited to launch into the first thematic unit of the year – American Immigration. I started with the essential question that will be the final question my students answer at the end of the...
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Thematic US History: Part V – Immigration Inquiry-Style
I have finished the first truly thematic unit of this year in our freshly revised US history curriculum. The theme was American Immigration. We began with the essential question which would drive the...
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Documenting Life: Dangers of a Digital Age
While I was listening to my sister talk at my mom’s funeral about all of the things my mother had saved through the years, it made me sad. Of course, I was sad about the loss of my mother, but I was...
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Inquiring Minds
Can you go back to teacher-centered lecture/discussion once you have introduced students to inquiry-based work, student-centered work? I am not sure. I started class today by asking students what they...
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Dear Students
This is what I want you to know: I do not define you by the most common grade on your report card. I do have high expectations for you. You deserve nothing less. I want you to leave my class thinking...
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Building Blocks of the Modern World
“Can’t we learn about the world today?” “Yes, you should, but I also think you ought to know about the changes in the world that made today’s world possible.” If only everyone could double up on...
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Relationships + Empathy = Learning Community?
I just finished reading John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, one of the many books students have written on a whiteboard in my room devoted to suggestions for reading. It is the fourth book on the...
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Thematic US History:New Year’s Resolution
Just before Winter Break we completed the third unit in our US history course, the research paper, so coming back from break has meant new year and new theme. We are starting to look at US foreign...
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Thematic US History: Pick Your Path through US Foreign Policy
Moving ahead with the theme of foreign policy in US history, we decided to allow students to choose their own path. They could opt for a more structured, chronological approach where the work would be...
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Living EduCon: Part I – Living Rubrics
There is no way to say it except that last weekend, EduCon was a transformative professional development experience. My job now is to close the gap between what is current and what is possible. So much...
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Openness and Transparency: Sharing EduCon, Living EduCon
I am on the agenda for this afternoon’s faculty meeting. I am tasked with sharing my EduCon experience with my colleagues. This is unexpectedly challenging for me. I want to share my passion and my...
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Teaching in 2014: More than what meets the eye
I work harder than ever and yet the appearance is that I am hardly working much of the time. Student-centered and inquiry-based curriculum can be viewed skeptically as a way for teachers to do less...
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Thematic US History: Content + Confidence + Community = Success
9/11 – Was there a common story that united Americans? Iran Hostage Crisis – Did the students accomplish their goals? Navajo Code Talkers – Why would they volunteer for WWII when they had been treated...
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When Professional Development is a PLUSS
I look forward to the first Wednesday of each month in the school year, now known as PLUSS days. On these days, students arrive at 10:00 but teachers come in at 7:45. Teachers use the time to...
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Thematic US History: wrapping up foreign policy
After two months of the foreign policy unit, we wrapped up the unit with a class roundtable discussion about foreign policy. The idea was to revisit the essential questions we had identified at the...
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Collaboration 2.0: Adding Student Voice
Our Modern World History and US History courses are taught by collaborative teams. Four years ago we shifted from an autonomous teaching model where everyone did his or her own thing based on common...
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What if…
What if students chose problems – real world or philosophical to work on instead of courses? What if each student assembled the team of teachers best suited to help him or her tackle the problem? What...
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