During a recent round of seminars, a couple of participants left me with some new classroom storage ideas for keeping things organized in their classrooms. Olivia Valencic uses a small tackle box to store markers, highlighters, sticky notes, etc. Just put it on the table and everything is right wher [...]
Studies have proven that reciprocal teaching greatly influences student comprehension skills.
Research shows that teaching each other, or peer teaching, is one of the most powerful ways to learn. After teaching for seven to ten minutes, give students one to three minutes to share with each other. Talking it out with a partner lets students correct misconceptions and reinforces the material by keeping it in working memory long enough to make an impact.
When dealing with creativity, remember that there are no wrong answers! Helping our students develop problem solving and listening skills increases their self-confidence and promotes creative thinking in the classroom.
There is an argument for the exam as the final assessment: if students don't have the knowledge by the time they're tested, that's unfortunate, but it's time to move on - there's only so much time to teach the material. "What about a surgeon? Do they 'test' their learning on a genuine patient?" Guskey asked. "Or do they get to check their learning on a cadaver to make sure they've got it worked out?" You wouldn't show a surgeon a heart bypass in a textbook and then send him or her straight into the operating room!