Despite wielding tremendous influence in their respective school districts, the lives of superintendents can become isolated if they don’t have peers to reach out to. That can be tolling, even when they’re not in the midst of making weighty decisions. With this in mind, we developed a five-part content series that demonstrates best practices for
Teaching Math through Art
On a Sunday afternoon when my family finally had a free moment, my wife took us to the Woodson Art Museum to view the Walter Wick exhibition. Walter Wick is the photographic illustrator of the I SPY series, and the author/illustrator of the Can You See What I See? series. This exhibit inspired me to think about
Why a Retake doesn’t enhance learning.
Recently, a post on a listserv I am part of was discussing retakes at the secondary level and how different schools have structured them. The thread was well responded to and well thought out. We had responses from giving them in every case no questions asked to not ever allowing a retake. Some schools require
A New Perspective: Asking Questions Without an Answer
In my previous blog, Questions that Spark Student Curiosity, I discussed ways to ask questions that would engage students. France Snyder commented, “What is the best way to evaluate our students? What is the effect on our students’ engagement, retention, and transference of skills? What is overall best for our students?” I’ve thought a lot
WI Community Event- You’re Invited!
From WI Guru, Rita Mortenson and WI DEN STAR Cathy Houchin: Join us at the Apple Store in the West Towne Mall, Madison, WI on Saturday, February 20 at 8:00 a.m. to learn how the iPad can be used in the classroom and for professional development purposes. Specifically, you will learn how to record, edit and
A New Perspective…A First Review
In the 18 years I have been teaching there have been a few constants. The teacher controls the effectiveness of any lesson and no technology can engage students with depth of learning without the effectiveness of a teacher. In the few months that I have been blogging I have tried to make it a point,
A New Perspective…Mathematics Retention
It has been said for many years. “I’m not sure last years teachers did such a great job. Students don’t even know (fill in your major topic that students should remember from a previous year).” Teachers had very little way of fixing this without practically going to last years teachers and accusing them of poor
A New Perspective…The Search for a Future
It was three years ago when, as a district we realized we could not take our current program and modify it to meet the new requirements of the Common Core State Standards, especially the standards for Mathematical Practice. So the journey began to find a new foundation for our curriculum. We did what most districts
A New Perspective…
I spend a lot of time, probably more than is healthy, thinking about making math class more engaging, more exciting, and most importantly, more of a learning experience. Like many others, I work to create depth in instruction. Opportunities for students to not only learn the “what” of math but more importantly the “why.” As a K-12 coordinator
iMake iLearn – Strawbees …. Making At Any Age
You know a product has great potential when it spans any age group. This last week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to do the Tower Activity in the context of creativity and construction with both our educators and students in our summer school program. The Strawbees were donated by Strawbees directly to DENSI 2015