teach Archives

I didn’t learn how to teach reading in my teacher prep program

Key points:

As students continue to struggle with reading, it is critical that teachers receive structured literacy training in teacher preparation programs

Literacy serves as the foundation of learning, and families should be involved in this learning process

See related article: How to support reluctant readers with literacy strategies

After 14 years in education, I consider myself to be a good reading teacher. Unfortunately, the path to getting where I am today was a long, frustrating journey.

Growing up, as the child of two teachers, education was in my blood.…Read More

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Guiding culturally responsive teaching in today’s classrooms

Key points:

Video reflection is a popular PD tool used across many professions

Video PD helps teachers reflect on their interactions with students and improve their culturally responsive teaching

See related article: 3 ways educators can embrace and enable inclusive programming

Equity is a widely-used term in education today.

However, talking about equity is not the same as taking action to create more equitable learning environments that benefit today’s students. For equity to truly exist, educators need to be more culturally responsive in their teaching.…Read More

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With Critical Race Theory spurring debate, is there hope for diversity in schools?

Key points:

Educators will likely need to expand their definition of diversity

Self-reflection is an important part of ensuring diversity in schools

See related article: 3 supports for educators implementing restorative justice practices

The greatest social justice movements teach us that progress isn’t linear, but is rather dynamic. This means that progress doesn’t transpire overnight. It doesn’t transpire instantaneously with one motion or action, but is the product of concerted efforts compounding to create change. This also means that in the midst of fighting for what is right, resistance sometimes hidden in the form of defeat and regression can take place.

In the case of fighting for educational equity, this means that creating schools that honor and celebrate diversity, affirm students’ identity, develop a sense of social and critical consciousness within students, cultivate inclusivity, and provide equitable access and outcomes for all students can often feel nearly impossible. With bans on teaching Black history; book bans that prohibit certain texts that center the histories, perspectives, and lived experiences of marginalized communities; and other unjust and discriminatory practices, educators, parents, and education advocates may wonder if there is any hope for diversity, equity, and inclusion within schools.…Read More

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Cybersecurity and Computer Science certification for any educator

MindSpark is addressing the shortage of educators qualified to teach STEM and Computer Science. Our STEMpath graduate certificate upskills educators in STEM, Computer Science and Cybersecurity. Read how STEMpath activates educator success and galvanizes student career pathways.…Read More

6 benefits of immersive learning with the metaverse

The metaverse is a tool that blends experiences typically associated with either the virtual or physical worlds. It can deliver greater immersive learning for students while also creating some new and exciting teaching opportunities. For educators, it is crucial to not only understand what the metaverse is and its uses within education but to also realize the benefits of immersive learning with the metaverse.

The metaverse is an emerging technology that is gradually becoming more mainstream within education, in part because it delivers immersive learning experiences for students. Essentially, the metaverse allows academic institutions and educators to create engaging experiences that teach valuable information, which encourages exploration and experimentation. What’s more, the metaverse itself can be accessed using a variety of devices.

With that being said, metaverse learning is a relatively new concept and one that many educators are still getting to grips with. At the same time, because the metaverse is also being used in areas like social media and the creation of video games, its use as an educational tool has not necessarily been fully understood by all.…Read More

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The Science of Reading: A Defining Movement

Dr. Maria Murray is dedicated to helping others understand how we learn to read, how to teach literacy effectively, and why it matters. In this podcast, learn why reading is comparable to medicine, how to create empowered readers/writers, and why literacy is a “defining movement” in the 21st century.

I’m a first-year teacher. How do I become successful in the classroom?

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

This is my first year as a teacher and I’m teaching sixth grade, so both my students and I are new to the school. I’m wondering if you have any advice for how to make students feel welcome in a new building? — I’m New Here

Dear I’m New Here,…Read More

CYPHER LEARNING Builds Out Proven Executive Team

PLANO, Texas — CYPHER LEARNING, a leading provider of intelligent learning platforms for schools, universities and organizations around the world, today announced the expansion of its executive leadership team with Jennifer Geisler as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Matt Kane as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Combined with the prior appointment of Hank Courson, CFO, these proven leaders will help fuel CYPHER LEARNING’s global growth, customer success and innovation — helping the company achieve its mission to improve education by fundamentally changing the way people teach and learn worldwide.

“Jennifer, Matt and Hank bring a new and invigorating level of experience and leadership required to drive scale and high growth with a strong go-to-market strategy,” said Graham Glass, CEO of CYPHER LEARNING. “The large $8.1 billion LMS market has created significant growth opportunities for CYPHER LEARNING, as its leading-edge learning platform continues to gain traction due to its intuitive user experience, powerful functionality and innovative approach to teaching and learning. With our recent $40 million growth round and the addition of this power trio, we are now full speed ahead.”

In her role as CMO, Geisler will define and lead CYPHER LEARNING’s global marketing strategy with tight alignment across the company that drives scale, customer value and clear differentiation from the traditional learning management system (LMS). She brings more than two decades of marketing leadership experience, including two successful initial public offerings (IPOs), category creation and accelerated adoption of innovations. Geisler has previously held leadership roles at Vectra AI, Forescout, McAfee, Cisco and more.…Read More

4 ways we designed collaborative learning spaces

When we built a new 3-story high school building on our former baseball field, we knew that we wanted to incorporate spaces where students could learn and teachers could teach in a very collaborative manner.

So, along with our new classrooms, in most areas of our school there are now two hallways with resource classrooms running down the center. Those are our collaborative spaces, and they’re where we got to be creative in terms of planning and design.

We didn’t want to just order 200 of the same chairs and hope for the best, so we worked with MiEN to select furniture designs and other elements that would best define and complement our new collaborative spaces. Here are four other steps we took to achieve our vision:…Read More

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Creative Touch Interactive Flat Panel Displays

Optoma’s interactive displays are designed to fit the needs of teachers and students seamlessly. By listening to educators and gathering customer feedback, Optoma creates solutions that remove the challenging barriers facing teachers today. The result; intuitive user-friendly software to work in harmony with the way you educate. Create. Connect. Teach.