Shifting the Learning Paradigm
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 … Continue reading “Do as Little as Needed, Not as Much as Possible”
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 … Continue reading “Teaching During a Pandemic: A Step-By-Step Overview”
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 … Continue reading “Finding Purpose after 7 Months of Loss”
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 … Continue reading “Shifting the Lesson Paradigm 3: Write”
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, … Continue reading “Why We Need to Model Skills for Students”
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 … Continue reading “Shifting the Lesson Paradigm 2: Read”
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 … Continue reading “Revamping the Classroom Library”
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 … Continue reading “Shifting the Lesson Paradigm 1: The Change”
Written by bblack
Quickly, think about three things you enjoy most about teaching. I’ll wait. Got all three? While I can’t be certain, I’d make a bet that one of those top three had something to do with engaging and interacting with students. Now, consider two aspects of your job that you enjoy the least. These probably came … Continue reading “Feedback Before the Submission”
Written by bblack
Of the many memories I have from high school, many come from my grade 9 physical education teacher. On several occasions, he would have us run the track out back of the school as a warm-up at the start of class. If it started to rain, we would start to whinge, to which he would … Continue reading “An Alternative to Due Dates”
