Creative Teacher
How to Implement a Check-In, Check-Out (CICO) Behavior System
By: Jon Konen | Sep 26, 2022
Check-in, check-out (CICO) is an evidence-based Tier 2 behavior intervention that pairs a student with a trusted adult for a quick meeting at the start and end of each day. It can improve behavior for many students when it's appropriately matched to their needs and implemented with fidelity.
If you had only one behavior strategy to use in your classroom, what would it be?
This question is ...
What Teaching Was Like During the Pandemic: Three Teachers on 2020-21
By: Jon Konen | Jun 22, 2021
Teaching during the pandemic meant improvising with almost no notice. Three teachers describe last-minute policy changes, classes taught to muted black squares, and public goodwill that evaporated by fall. They also found gains worth keeping: flexible scheduling helped some students, and masking cut the sick days teachers had long accepted. Teaching ...
11 Strategies to Encourage Students to Own Their Learning
By: Amy Konen | Jan 19, 2018
How often have you run out of time during a lesson and it simply ends with a lot of teacher talk and not enough time for student processing? Many times, I have found myself doing the talking when it is time to head out for lunch and kids simply pack ...
Student Behavior During the Holidays: 5 Potential Stressors
By: Amy Konen | Dec 21, 2017
Student behavior during the holidays can shift for reasons that aren't obvious from the outside. This teacher's account describes five potential stressors she has observed in her own classroom: inconsistent structure, overstimulation, calendar countdowns, unsupportive classrooms, and too many special events. What helps one student may not help another. It's here, ...
Classroom Seating Arrangements: 5 Questions Every Teacher Should Ask
By: Jon Konen | Nov 21, 2017
No single classroom seating arrangement works for everything. Match the layout to the activity: rows for independent work and testing, pods of four for cooperative learning, a horseshoe for whole-class discussion. Check each student’s IEP or Section 504 plan for any required seating accommodations, then plan for safety, sight lines, ...
10 Note Taking Strategies for Students That Actually Work
By: Amy Konen | Nov 21, 2017
The most effective note taking strategies for students go beyond copying what a teacher says: they encourage students to process, summarize, and revisit information. Techniques like the Cornell Method, guided notes, and picture notes work because students physically write much slower than teachers speak, which makes word-for-word transcription impractical. Pairing ...
11 Total Participation Techniques That Involve Movement
By: Amy Konen | Nov 8, 2017
A Total Participation Technique (TPT) is a classroom strategy that engages every student in responding at the same time, rather than one volunteer answering while the rest of the class listens. Movement-based classroom activities can increase physical activity and may improve attention and on-task behavior, although evidence for immediate improvements ...
Establishing a Culture for Learning (Danielson Domain 2B)
By: Jon Konen | Oct 30, 2017
Establishing a culture for learning is Domain 2, Component B in the 2013 edition of Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching: it measures whether students, not just the teacher, treat learning as the point of the classroom. An exemplary classroom shows shared high expectations, student-led revision of weak work, precise academic ...
50 Field Trip Ideas for Teachers Across the U.S.
By: Kylie Hall | Oct 26, 2017
The best field trip ideas connect to a unit you're already teaching. This list covers 50 destinations across the United States, from national parks to a clown museum, with a direct link to each one's group-booking page. Sort by subject and grade band first, then check what's within driving distance. A ...
6 Questions for Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport
By: Jon Konen | Oct 24, 2017
Creating an environment of respect and rapport is component 2a of the Danielson Framework, and it measures two things: how a teacher interacts with students, and how students interact with each other. Both are judged on words and actions. Domain 2 evaluators look for warmth, consistency, and how fast disrespect ...