Harnessing the Power of AI Tools for Teachers
By: Teacher.org Staff | Apr 11, 2024
For most teachers, the initial reaction to artificial intelligence was horror. After all, if AI was able to write assignments in an instant, or pass standardized exams, the possibilities for students cheating skyrocketed.
But on reflection, AI has more to offer to teachers and students through legitimate educational uses than illicit ones.
The key challenge for teachers today is to identify those uses and ...
The Four Functions of Behavior Explained
By: Blain Hockridge | Feb 20, 2018
There is a certain image that comes to mind when thinking of a child with autism who exhibits severe problem behavior. It conjures images of physical aggression, screaming, spitting, scratching and a child unwilling to budge an inch. Many people have seen parents in public places, such as supermarkets or ...
Growing and Developing Professionally: Danielson Domain 4e
By: Jon Konen | Feb 12, 2018
Growing and developing professionally means taking ownership of your own learning instead of waiting for a district to assign it: reading, reflective practice, peer feedback, and formal coursework all count. In the 2013 Danielson Framework for Teaching, this is Domain 4e, one of several teacher-practice frameworks districts use, and it's ...
5 Questions to Improve the Participation in the Professional Community
By: Jon Konen | Feb 12, 2018
“Step up and lean in,” is a common leadership adage that can be heard resonating across school districts in America. This aphorism has a strong nonverbal insinuation that literally means, volunteer and take part when there are leadership opportunities. Leadership directly affects the professional community. Some leaders raise and cultivate ...
What About the Teacher’s Safety?
By: Mary McLaughlin | Feb 9, 2018
Back in the stone ages when I was in elementary school, we had no Special Needs students in our school, so I was completely unaware of the fact that kids were not all the same apart from skin color and/or national heritage.
Where were they?
The district in which I grew up ...
6 Questions to Tackle When Communicating with Families
By: Jon Konen | Feb 9, 2018
Who are the greatest teacher partners in education….PARENTS! Some educators may not agree, but the exemplary teachers understand that we are only with students for roughly 1,000 hours each school year. Parents or guardians are with students the other 7,500 hours a year. That is roughly 7.5 times more with ...
5 Questions to Tackle When Maintaining Accurate Records
By: Jon Konen | Jan 28, 2018
Accountability has become synonymous with many four-letter words, as well as it being immediately associated with a negative connotation whenever it is used. Educators do not shy away from the concept, but feel a need to be at the proverbial “table” when establishing the expectations, routines, and procedures that will ...
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 ...
5 Questions to Tackle When Reflecting on Teaching
By: Jon Konen | Jan 19, 2018
Reflecting on teaching means deliberately reviewing your lessons, your relationships with students, and your own growth so patterns don't repeat by accident. The strongest teachers build it into daily, weekly, and end-of-year routines, not just after something goes wrong. A short list of guiding questions, asked consistently, does more for ...
6 Questions to Tackle When Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness in the Classroom
By: Jon Konen | Jan 19, 2018
A teaching lesson bombs...in fact, about 15 minutes into the lesson you realize the students are not engaged or even looking your direction. What do you do? Some teachers may plow through the lesson and have the attitude, “I taught it, so they should know it!” Responsive teachers are not ...
6 Questions to Tackle in Using Assessment in Instruction
By: Jon Konen | Dec 23, 2017
Using assessment in instruction means treating formative checks (quizzes, exit tickets, class discussion) and summative tests as two different tools with two different jobs, then actually changing tomorrow's lesson based on what the data shows. The distinction that trips up new teachers: formative data should reshape instruction right away, not ...