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5 Effective Ways to Improve Student Engagement and Behavior
Every teacher has faced it—the moment when a student’s behavior disrupts the flow of the class. But what if we viewed these behaviors not as problems but as opportunities for growth? Student behavior often reflects their skills in communication, emotional regulation, or academics. The key to supporting these behaviors lies not in punishment but in…
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Develop Deeper Relationships with Your Students and Boost Academic and Social Emotional Learning
If you’re like us, meeting the needs of every single student in your classroom is a challenge. Not only do we struggle to find the time and energy to meet their needs, the landscape of good teaching and learning is constantly evolving and it’s hard to keep up. For us, we could see the promise…
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Define Your Classroom Expectations with CHAMPS
Creating a classroom environment that is welcoming, structured, and has an overall positive feel is something all educators strive to achieve. One of the most essential components in creating such a classroom environment is to have identified and defined classroom expectations. Developing truly defined expectations for transitions and classroom activities can be challenging to clarify…
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Differentiation Tricks and Treats: High Impact, Low Stress
I just finished listening to a podcast entitled “Six high-impact, low-burnout strategies to differentiate your lessons for neurodiverget kids with Dr. Laura Fitzpatrick” (on the Truth for Teachers podcast). With Halloween around the corner I thought it would be the perfect time to share Dr. Fitzpatricks tricks for differentiation with all of you! In this…
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Which tech tools are worth your time and money?
Do you find yourself perpetually breaking up with your educational technology tools or not even sure that they are worth the investment? Let me share a perspective that may help you determine which tools are worth your time, money and energy. The Triple E Framework, developed out of University of Michigan by Dr. Liz Kolb,…
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Save Time with Homework Management Tools
Written by Joe Phillips, Design Lab Instructor at Kent ISD If you are one of the many teachers embracing technology and having your students submit paperless writing assignments, perhaps you have experienced this: It’s late at night and you are trying to grade your students’ papers before tomorrow’s class. You search through your e-mail to…
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Supporting New Teachers
Learning Academy Provides Classroom Strategies, Camaraderie by Linda Odette, School News Network Imagine what it would be like to keep up to thirty 5-year-olds under control without a lot of knowledge on how to manage such a group. Then imagine you’re also a new teacher. Enter The Learning Academy, a Kent ISD professional development program started…
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Academic Success of Champions
“If you have a child’s heart, you have his head.”™ – Flip Flippen I remember over ten years ago when I first got a phone call asking about Capturing Kids’ Hearts. I went on the internet and did some research and saw the Flippen Groups website. I thought who is this Flip Flippen guy? Fast…
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How to Achieve Fully Personalized Learning
Personalized learning is currently one of the biggest buzzwords in education, but it is somewhat vague and certainly a massive topic. Before reading further, take a moment to define personalized learning (maybe even write it down). Your answer likely had something to do with student choice, individual pacing, flexible structures, and technology. All of these…
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When We Start with Kids: Personalizing Learning with EDIFY
I will never forget the day my AP Biology teacher wheeled a TV into our classroom and with sheer excitement told us we’d be learning about DNA in a new way. He stepped aside to reveal a brand new piece of technology: the laser disc player! Laugh. I did too. However, as Mr. Demmink carefully…