I presented an hour and fifteen minute conference session today at the 2008 Annual Education Conference in Portsmouth, NH. The session was titled, “Differentiating Instruction within Tier 1 and Tier II RTI Guidelines”. That's a HUGE topic in and of itself yet, there's a demand for information about [...]
I'm a huge advocate for using individual white boards for participation. I just worked with a teacher who added one more option to this strategy: Sheet protectors. Cover the whiteboard with a sheet protector with two sides cut so it easily slips over the board. Then students can work out math proble [...]
I was working with an elementary school in New Hampshire today and walked into a classroom with an incredibly calming environment. I immediately noticed that the teacher had turned off the florescent lights. Instead, she had four floor lamps and a table lamp strategically placed around the room. There were no cords visible. She had the cords tucked away so that students would not trip on them. She, also, had calming classical music playing in the background. The difference between that classroom and the hall was striking. Students were on task and happily going about their work.
The latest research on the brain, the media’s effect on the brain and emotional intelligence, compels us to go beyond zero tolerance discipline policies and superficial solutions if we want to truly make a difference in the next generation of youth coming through our school systems.