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What is Quality Professional Development?
What is Quality Professional Development? For me, it’s learning from and with peers in ways that get me excited about teaching. This summer a group of teachers, administrators and fellow specialists,...
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Essential Questions – 9/11
I just wanted to pass along a few 9/11 resources that were shared with me. As a side note, my husband is a lieutenant on the Chicago Fire Department. He was deeply impacted by the event. He visited...
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Critical Thinking and U.S. History Texts
Teaching and learning about American Indians can be challenging, especially because of the many misconceptions about the American Indian culture and the lack of a balanced perspective on the...
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Character as a Predictor of Academic Success
I came across the article “What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?” (Paul Tough, NYT, September 14, 2011) and was intrigued by the approach of two schools in integrating character education into...
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School 2.0
What will schools look like in the future? Some interesting perspectives on what teaching and learning will look like over the next 10 years. 21 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020 Envision the...
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Reading & Professional Development Opportunities for History Teachers
Chicago, IL American Historical Association, What We’re Reading. A great resource for historical perspective on current events. My favorite link, The Jackie Kennedy Tapes (September 15, 2011). 126th...
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Why is Critical Literacy Important?
As I look at the Common Core Standards, one skill set that stands out to me as a media specialist (although not specifically named) is Critical Literacy. And, one analytical facet of Critical Literacy...
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Teaching Research Skills: Is Daily Integration Possible?
In my work of supporting our staff towards an increased focus on research in the curriculum, it’s been important to me to take the time to understand their concerns with the research process. I’ve...
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Deprogramming Math Students
When I came across Dan Meyer’s Ted Talk, I almost passed it over. Why? Meyer is a high school math teacher. I really enjoyed math as a student–made it through precalculus–but retained very little of...
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Reflections on Planning Authentic Teaching & Learning in Geography Class
Last week I met with my colleagues to work on developing a collaborative geography unit that focuses on authentic learning. The majority of our 3 hour meeting was spent on discussing the overarching...
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