Gamification of Education: How to Bring it into Your Classroom General by Kelly Smith - August 4, 2016August 3, 20160 If only students loved attending class as much as they loved playing video games. Sometimes, the issue is that the benefits and achievements of education just aren’t as tangible or immediate as the rewards of leveling up in a video game. Video games are fun, and attending school is compulsory. What if you could restructure your classroom to function like a video game? It’s a novel idea, but a surprising amount of educators have taken this approach – and it’s starting to catch on!  Leveling Up In school, you slowly build your intellectual strength. In a game, you level up. It’s a clear promotion, and the recognition you receive for achieving the next level is extremely rewarding. In most games, higher levels
5 Great Books About The Science Behind Growth Mindset General by Joel Wagner - August 3, 2016August 5, 20163 Rigor Grit The "10,000 Hour Rule" Growth Mindset We hear these buzzwords thrown around a lot in educational circles these days. Why? Because they're catchy! But what do they mean? The concepts are interrelated, and they stem from a series of recent research projects. Today we'll look at a few new books about the science behind growth mindsets. Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool This is the book that initially resparked my interest in this subject. Anders Ericsson was the researcher who studied "deliberate practice" back in the 80s and early 90s. Some of the those studies centered on violin students in a German music conservatory. The analysis concluded that the students who performed the best at the University level, and who would eventually
10 Ways to Integrate Social Media into Everyday Class Lessons Blogging & Technology by Amy K. Williams - August 2, 2016August 1, 20163 In recent years, many schools have cautiously begun to let up the reins on electronic device usage. Countless teachers each year find themselves in hot water over inappropriate use of social media. I know teachers on both the pro and con side of using social media. Today, Amy K. Williams explores some of the potential benefits that you can have if you decide to integrate social media into your teaching. 10 Ways To Integrate Social Media In The Classroom Far too often, we hear about all the negative aspects of social media and how it is harming our youth. It’s easy to dismiss social media as a resource in the classroom due to the tales of cyberbullying, online predators, and sexting. However, we need to
July 2016 On SYWTT Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - August 1, 20160 July 2016 was a great month as I continue getting back into the blogging groove of things. Below are some highlights. I discovered Pinterest and began to see that many of the articles on my site don't look so great on there. As a result, I began making images to go along with my new articles. Additionally, I have begun going back through the archives to create images for some of the more popular older articles. As time progresses, I will get to more and more of them. Along with that, I continue going back and adjusting formatting of old articles, as web standards have changed quite a bit since 2007. I have also started work on curating some of the articles by creating resource
New Teacher Resources New Teachers by Joel Wagner - August 1, 2016August 6, 20177 So you got that elusive first teaching job. Congratulations. If you experience is anything like mine has been, you now get to spend a few days learning district policies, and then get thrown into the classroom with minimal further instructions. Over the last decade or so, I have been very interested in helping new teachers navigate the difficulties of their first few years, and have written extensively on the topic. This Resource Post contains links to these articles. The Foundation 10 Mistakes New Teachers Make (And How To Avoid Them) 10 Things To Do Before The First Day Of School 10 Things I Wish Someone Had Explained Before My First Teaching Job 10 Things A First Year Teacher Should Do Learning New
Things High School Students Can Do Right Now To Go To College Debt-Free General by Rachael Everly - July 30, 2016July 30, 20160 Tuition is a major concern for anyone who has plans to attend university, whether that be for undergraduate study or graduate programs. As teachers, we want to guide our students in ways that will help them have the best chances for success later on in life. Today, Rachael Everly brings us some suggestions that we can offer to the future college students in our lives that will reduce costs and even allow them to attend college debt-free. Heading to college fills you with a liberating feeling and will give you a lot of freedom from all aspects, whether it is about social independence, financial liberty or educational solidarity. This feeling is accompanied by a sense of intimidation and petrification from parents or financial personnel. Student loans
Professional Email Etiquette For Teachers New Teachers by Vera Marie Reed - July 29, 2016July 28, 20162 As an educator you know that in this increasingly digital world, email is a primary source of communication between colleagues as well as with students. Communication through email is no longer a luxury but a necessity for working. We often create and respond to emails without considering the appropriate etiquette involved with professional emails. Being familiar with the professional email etiquette is necessary not only for your professional relationships as a teacher but is also useful for teaching to your students. Many students do not consider their emailing etiquette especially when communicating with their teachers. Teaching students the correct forms of email etiquette can help them carry over these habit into their own professional lives. Whether you are communicating with a
10 Things To Do Before The First Day of School New Teachers by Joel Wagner - July 28, 2016August 9, 20160 As the new school year approaches, many new teachers find themselves entering the ranks of professional educators for the first time. Maybe that's you. Or maybe you're a college student beginning your student teaching process. Or a new teacher who experienced a bit of frustration last year. Whatever the case may be, the new school year brings with it a certain sense of excitement and nervousness. This article explores 10 things to do before the first day of school. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail Any experienced educator can tell you that the best school years are those that start off on the right foot. And those same people have just as many horror stories of problems that stem from poor planning. As
How To Avoid Arguing With Students Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - July 21, 2016July 21, 20160 Many students like to argue. It's a fact of life. And arguing is normal, isn't it? Or is it? This article explores some ways to avoid arguing with students. Great teachers don't have arguers Have you ever noticed how you can walk into a classroom and hear the teacher talking, and the students being quiet? They are given directions, and nobody challenges the assignment. What is it that makes that happen? Below are a few things that set great teachers apart and help them avoid arguing with students. 1. Great teachers don't accept excuses Excuses are often a student's way of asking for help. When we accept an excuse, we enable students to remain helpless. As a general rule, I don't give away easy answers. "What's the
101 Ways To Make Students Hate Your Class Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - July 20, 20161 We've all had our share of students whose purpose in life seems to be making our own life miserable. If you haven't, well you're in luck. Here is a list of ways to make students hate your class. 101 Ways To Make Students Hate Your Class Be boring Be mean Be inconsiderate Be confrontational Be negative Be consistently sarcastic Be impatient Be satisfied with good enough Argue with students Yell at students Threaten students Pick favorites Don't learn names Misspell names Don't try to pronounce names correctly Discourage students Focus on insecurities Compare students unfavorably with their siblings Compare students with other students Don't allow students to use the restroom in obvious emergencies Haphazardly allow a "revolving door restroom policy" Makes lots
5 Ways To Make Your College Application Stand Out Beyond The Essay General by Vera Marie Reed - July 13, 2016July 14, 20160 As we approach the beginning of the new school year, high school teachers will undoubtedly be approached by seniors for help with college applications. What do you tell them? How can you help? Writing a great essay is a good start, but there are other ways to make any college application stand out, and the best time to begin addressing that is now. In today's article, Vera Reed explores some other ways we can guide our students toward making their college application stand out. Going above and beyond the call to duty is simply one of the things that great teachers do. So while you technically don’t have to help your students with their college applications, going the extra mile to do so will
35 Inspiring Quotes About the Power of Music Music Education by Joel Wagner - July 12, 2016July 12, 20161 As music educators, we often focus our advocacy attention on the curricular benefits of music and gloss over many of the aesthetic benefits. The power of music is tremendous. Music inspires. Music comforts. Just last week, Darryl McDaniels (DMC from the group Run-DMC) spoke about how Sarah McLachlan's music helped bring him back from the brink of suicide. In our fights over what is curricular, extra-curricular, co-curricular we too easily forget that the emotional element is a large part of why so many students stay involved in school music programs around the world. I collected a 35 Inspiring Quotes About the Power of Music and made a series of images. I have a couple of authors, traditional classical, jazz, classic rock, and modern musicians represented and ordered them by
3 Ways Classroom Tech Can Boost Education Results Blogging & Technology by Jason Phillips - July 11, 2016July 10, 20161 As we advance further into the 21st century, increasingly more educational institutions are realizing that advanced technology can be put good use in the classroom; rather than ignore its potential, teachers should welcome and embrace it but use it wisely for students to reap the benefits. Laptops and iPads are slowly but steady replacing the conventional textbooks, not to mention that the internet is a pool of information. Students can gain access to online libraries, dictionaries and encyclopedias with just a click of a button. But then again, we have some drawbacks. Many believe that social media and full access to online data is doing more harm than good. Some experts believe that technology is preventing students from reading actual books. And
Curiosity May Kill Cats, But Conformity Kills Creativity General by Joel Wagner - July 9, 2016July 10, 20160 In the recent blog post 10 Habits of People Who Always Have Great Ideas, Ideapod author Lachlan Brown highlights 10 characteristics of creative people. I encourage you to go read the article. As I was reading through the list, I was struck by two thoughts: "Hey, those are all habits I cultivate in my life!" and "Wow, wouldn't it be great to have students like that in my class?" This article explores how I nurture creativity in my life as well as in my students.. How do I cultivate these habits in my life? Daydreaming I am constantly considering new ideas and looking for new sources of inspiration. Sources of inspiration include listening to a podcast (my current favorites are Revisionist History and DCI's Fieldpass), reading a book (I'm
The Many Benefits of Music Education [Infographic] Music Education by Joel Wagner - July 8, 2016July 7, 20162 Research abounds regarding the incredible benefits of music education. The University of Florida has put together an infographic called "Why Music? The Many Benefits of a Musical Education."Among the benefits listed Benefits to the brain and general learning skills The benefits listed include verbal intelligence, reading skills, fine motor skills, abstract thinking, vocabulary acquisition, and memory. Benefits to academic achievement These include better listening ability, higher SAT scores, higher academic grades, better science skills, greater percentage of extracurricular participation, higher GPA, greater likelihood of enrollment in moderately- and highly-selective universities, much lower dropout rates, and these gains are more pronounced in low-income students. Benefits to life skills and personal enrichment These include helping students become more employable, participate in the political process, volunteer and engage their community, have higher self-confidence,