Teachers Connecting Online
Last week I was at a conference with thousands of educators.It was fun to connect with people that I haven’t seen in a while as well as meet new folks.
At one point I was visiting with Dan, and Dave came over and said, “Hello.” Being the intermediary, I politely introduced the two of […]
Nurturing Future Professionals
October 22, 2011 by PLB · 2 Comments
Blogs and social networking encourage people to “bare it all” in front of people they don’t know. A private party experience could become an interesting photo to comment on in just a few minutes. In the midst of today’s high technology culture, we need to encourage our students to start thinking about their […]
Understanding the Social Needs of Gifted Learners
October 21, 2011 by PLB · Leave a Comment
Family, school, and peers present external elements which play on the social needs of gifted students.
As with all children, family dynamics are most critical to the healthy development of a gifted child. Environments ripe with permissiveness, neglect or excessive strictness can have a negative impact on a gifted learner.
In a school setting, […]
Reading Comprehension Strategies
October 20, 2011 by PLB · Leave a Comment
Reading comprehension strategies for children help them to be prepared for the academic challenges they face. Often how much children learn depends on their ability to read efficiently. Good readers use different strategies naturally, but not everybody is familiar with the ways that work best for them individually.
The following five strategies can be […]
Autism Education: The Learning Environment
October 19, 2011 by PLB · Leave a Comment
The learning environment is an important part of educational planning for any child. However, in the case of children with autism, this issue becomes even more important.
The environment provides a lot of sensory information to a child. The sound of birds chirping outside, the rough texture of the wooden table, the smell of […]
Summative Assessment vs Formative Assessment
October 18, 2011 by PLB · Leave a Comment
Let’s compare formative assessments with summative assessments. In short, formative assessments are used to shape instruction and determine student mastery in an effort to improve student achievement. Summative assessment, however, are administered at the end of a course to determine student mastery overall, basically it is final. Formative assessment is never final. Formative […]
October is “National Bullying Prevention Month”
October 16, 2011 by PLB · Leave a Comment
As teachers we encounter bullying situations, and how to handle these can seem tricky. One of the important strategies that we can use to support students who bully and are being bullied, is to teach them to practice “The Golden Rule.” While it’s easy to say, “treat others as you want to be […]
Developing Strategies to Help Improve Reading Comprehension
October 14, 2011 by PLB · 2 Comments
Developing strategies to help improve reading comprehension can be tricky. Dr. Al Greefield, who did a lot of work in this area, came up with the following strategy. According to him, in order to develop or enhance a student’s reading skills, all three of the following elements must exist.
1. Meaning
Cues from text and […]
Dealing with Bullying in School Age Children – Handling a Fight
October 13, 2011 by PLB · Leave a Comment
When you witness hitting in the classroom you have to do something. The first thing, however, is to determine whether the children are having a play fight or a real fight.
If it is a play fight, do not panic. There is no real aggression, and the chance of injury is low. Walk over […]
Understanding & Recognizing Oppositional Defiant Disorder in the Classroom
October 12, 2011 by PLB · Leave a Comment
A child who, beyond all understanding, refuses to cooperate in all likeliness has a condition known as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Some of the symptoms or signs to recognize Oppositional Defiant Disorder in the classroom are as follows.
Negative, hostile, defiant; will not comply with requests made by adults
Persistent arguing with adults; belligerent, obstinate
Intense […]
