Differentiation Gone Wrong: I’m a big believer in differentiation. I mean huge. I often explore the internet looking for good examples of differentiation. And sometimes, I find examples of differentiation gone wrong. Here’s one such example: I don’t whether it’s nice to say where I got this or not, so
In this episode, I take a real, live high school biology lesson and suggest ways in which I’d approach differentiating it for high level learners. The Backstory I received an email asking me to give suggestions for how to differentiate this DNA structure lab. I decided to take a stab
I know it sounds crazy, but some gifted kids want homework. They crave it. They beg for it. They will even make up fake homework if it’s not given to them. Trust me. It’s a thing. Many gifted educators know the research about the limited value of most homework, especially among
There are a number of things that teachers need parents to know about differentiation. In fact, I’ve got a list for you. Where did the list come from? The teachers at Hulstrom K-8 in the Adams 12 Five Star School District in Northglenn, Colorado crowdsourced this post. After an entire
Reading is gaining in relevance. In an information-saturated world, reading becomes more important, not less. But not just any reading. Why reading is so important A few years ago, I was at my beloved Library of Congress’s National Book Festival. I stood at the edge of the stage where philanthropist David
Gifted students’ preferred group size is usually a group of one. As in, they’d prefer to work alone nearly all of the time. Frankly, they often have very good reasons for this. No matter how good the reason, however, it can be problematic in a modern classroom, as group work
Microlending in the classroom can be a powerful yet simple tool for nearly every educator. I’ve used Kiva for microlending in my classroom, and I’m sharing some ideas for those of you who have been interested in using microlending in the classroom as part of a global classroom, to teach
It’s something I say all of the time in person, and now I’m going on record. I’m explaining why you should take notes by hand, rather than on a device. I’ve written before about the importance of writing correctly, even in a digital world, yet I am asked about this
I had an amazing day with a group of teens in Lancaster, Pennsylvania last week. I want to tell you all about it, as well as some takeaways. What I did I got to spend the morning sharing ideas about neuroscience and what it means to be gifted. We started
You don’t have to be the most amazing teacher ever, tomorrow. That’s the thought for the day. Recently, I heard a message at church that encouraged us to start where we are and simply do the next thing on our journey to becoming better Christians. What’s the next step? That
This summer I was introduced to a tool I think belongs in every teacher’s toolbox. I decided to try it myself before I shared it with you. I hope you’ll find the tool itself useful, and I also hope you can learn from my story about how I almost rejected
Have you ever been at the end of grading period and noticed that inputting a grade – even an important one – did nothing to class averages? Have you ever manipulated the weight of grades to make it “count” at all (“Oh, yes, that was worth 2 test grades, 3
