Shifting the Learning Paradigm
Written by bblack
Think back to your favourite memories of high school; what do you see? What do you remember? Who do you remember? I suspect in those moments you’re envisioning time with friends in the cafeteria, after-school practices with your team on the court or field, co-curricular clubs where you were able to meet new people, that […]
Written by bblack
After coming home overwhelmed and exhausted yet again, one of countless times since the start of September, I thought to myself, “What are the biggest issues you’re currently facing as an educator?”. I reflected on this question briefly as many ideas raced to mind. I had a lot to consider and, likely unsurprising to those […]
Written by bblack
Sitting in a crowded conference room, chairs lined row to row only a couple of inches apart, I listened to Educelebrity Dave Stuart Jr. speak about finding balance as a teacher. He referred to a term that was foreign to me up until that moment: satisficing. “Essentially,” he said, “satisficing is the combination of both […]
Written by bblack
This 35-step overview will inform you of the daily processes that take place when teaching during a pandemic. Note that steps may vary pending your institution of employment. Be aware that results, too, will vary as will the level of your sanity. Realize that the pandemic is going to last MUCH longer than you originally […]
Written by bblack
It’s been almost 7 months since my last blog and my last Twitter post: 7 months of what seems like perpetual loss. If you haven’t been paying attention, let me give you a rundown of what has happened since that time. A global pandemic has rocked the world that forced countries into quarantine and changed […]
Written by bblack
I want you to do something for me. It’ll only take three minutes, I promise. I want you to get a pen and a piece of paper. Once you’ve done so, set a timer for three minutes. Then, using the prompt below, I’d like you to write until the timer expires. Before you start, don’t […]
Written by bblack
I first heard about the idea of modelling skills for students almost a year ago on a cold Saskatoon morning in March of 2019. I was attending a Penny Kittle conference and, among being blown away by other eye-opening pedagogical practices, Kittle introduced the notion of modelling. In doing so, she tasked us, the audience, […]
Written by bblack
“Today, we’re going to respond to a character in our novels, then we’ll discuss with the person next to us. From there, we’ll get to know the characters better by exploring elements of characterization within our texts. But before we do any of that, let’s start with a little bit of reading.” Most classes, I’ll […]
Written by bblack
Quickly, name five books from your classroom library. If you can’t, maybe it’s time to do away with those old, dusty books that were last picked up from before the dotcom boom. If you don’t have a classroom library, here’s why you should: The luxury of a classroom library was something I never had […]
Written by bblack
Show of hands: how many people have left the classroom discouraged? Disappointed by the level of student engagement, an inconsistency of reading, or a lack of skill progression. Have you ever thought to yourself ‘maybe something needs to change’? Last year I was fortunate enough to attend two professional development conferences that completely revolutionized the […]
