Every teacher’s goal is for students to use critical thinking in the work they do. Students who can think critically grow into lifelong problem solvers. Critical thinking with students means that they can take information and analyze it, draw conclusions, form and defend opinions with data to back it up, reflect on their work, and approach problems in a systematic way. Where does that begin in the classroom? And how do we promote critical thinking in the lessons we do with students? Here are a few suggestions:

Ah, June. Summer is officially here! This signals the end of the school year for many. Hopefully, this time of the year also means some well-deserved time for rest, relaxation, and having fun somewhere in the mix. But before you finish up in the classroom, here is our collection of engaging themed content to get you through to the last day.

 
Professional educators should always seek out best practices. Because this term is thrown around a lot, teachers can feel confused and overwhelmed by all the “research” that is available about what we should do (or not do) in our classrooms. It can make our collective heads spin.

One solution to assist teachers with this is John Hattie’s research on Visible Learning. This resource can be very beneficial in keeping our heads on straight, but Visible Learning can be a bit overwhelming, too. There are 252 different categories of research sorted into a number of domains and subdomains. This is a lot of information to sift through, and if you’ve read the book, it is a formidable experience. 

To end the year on a high note, it’s important to keep students learning until the last day of school. This is easier said than done since students, and often teachers as well, are excited about the end of the year. All this excitement can make it difficult to ensure learning is taking place.

In order to combat this, teachers must use creative strategies that will be more engaging to students than the average lesson. Many teachers already have these tricks up their sleeve—it's just a matter of putting them into action and remembering to keep the focus on learning.

I always thought I’d be a nurse or a pediatrician. I babysat and enjoyed taking care of kids—I wanted to make a difference in their lives, if only for the short time I was with them. In the early years of high school, I was a volunteer at a nearby hospital. I realized pretty quickly that I hated seeing sick kids. I would cry in the bathroom after leaving a patient’s room because I worried about the child and his or her family. It was hard to feel like I could make a difference in their lives when I was so overcome by what they were facing.

The days are both dragging along and speeding by. I’m increasingly tired and maybe a little more sharp-tongued than usual. I feel like I’m limping—or maybe even crawling—to the finish line. My desk is stacked high with papers that I don’t have the energy to file, and my stamina is on a decline. It’s that time of year a teacher both loves and dreads: The last month of school. The end of the line.

How do we, my fellow teaching companions, get through this difficult time when our students forget the rules and procedures we spent nine months teaching them? Here are some strategies that may help us more fully enjoy (or, at the very least, survive!) these last few weeks:

I have wanted to be a teacher since the 4th grade. Even when I wasn’t sure what content area I wanted to teach, I knew that I wanted to work with kids and affect lives. You see, I’ve always loved school—ever since the day I set foot in Mrs. Keethler’s kindergarten class at Lincoln Elementary. It’s the combination of my love of school and respect for teachers that led me to become a teacher myself. In reflecting last week on teaching during Teacher Appreciation Week, I’d like to recognize some teachers who have influenced me. Some of these are teachers who had me in class, others are teachers I work with or those who had my children. All of these teachers have one thing in common: They have positively impacted my teaching.

The biggest takeaway for many educators from the research in Visible Learning is that both types of learning are crucial to student success. We must go deeper than the surface-level learning that occurs most often in classrooms. At the same time, we cannot go deep until we break the surface. Students must gain some knowledge about a topic before they are able to go deeper.

We are running this touching blog again in honor of this wonderful holiday. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who help guide us through life!

When I started teaching—and before I had my own children—I often referred to my students as “my kids” or “my kiddos.” I truly felt connected with them, and did my best to guide them to their successes during the school year. When I became a mother for the first time, my equilibrium shifted. No longer were my students the sole focus of my day, and I slowly learned to prioritize my tasks. I needed to use my time more efficiently and with greater intention in order to arrive home and be completely present with my own children.

It’s hard to believe that I am celebrating my twentieth “Teacher Appreciation Week” this year. It seems like just yesterday I began my teaching career fresh out of college. Although my intention was to only teach for a few years and then pursue a more lucrative career in law, my first years in the classroom revealed the zeal I had inside for teaching social studies. Within a few years, I had found my calling as a classroom teacher—and have never looked back. Now, twenty years later, I still retain that passion and enthusiasm for teaching. However, I am astonished to see how much my classroom has changed since I began my career, and what a much better teacher I have become.