Reflecting on Reflection

by | Mar 12, 2013 | The Teaching Life, Voices

It’s like John Dewey told us. Positive professional growth and positive student growth will not happen without learning and practicing the art of reflection, says Rachel Small. It’s a process we must trust. It’s time we must invest.

Teaching Poetry the Connected Way

by | May 1, 2012 | Less Teacher, More Student, Passion Based Learning, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning

Students use Google Docs to write their poems. They use the GDocs sharing function to share their poem documents with me and some of their classmates (if they choose). I read their poems (from anywhere at anytime), give them one specific comment, and offer one constructive suggestion to improve their poem that I hope also adds to their poetry writing repertoire. Then we share in VoiceThread to a public audience.

Making Writing about Fiction "Authentic"

by | Apr 2, 2012 | Less Teacher, More Student, Making The Shift, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices

To me, authentic literacy learning has two goals: to help students develop a passion for reading and writing, and to help them learn to implement the strategies that adult readers and writers utilize for genuine purposes. I’ve been searching for ways to do this, in a climate of high stakes testing and a commanding curriculum. Involving my kids in virtual book clubs with students in other schools is my latest discovery.