Why self-compassion is important for teachers
Teaching is, in its essence, a caregiving profession. We all have that one teacher who inspired us to aim higher, choose a certain career path, or simply discover our passions. This role comes with ma...
Podcast pedagogy: Leveraging audio programs for learning
It was probably over ten years ago when our after-school multi-media club began creating podcasts for our school using GarageBand on our MacBook Pro. The students put a lot of work into each episode -...
6 Ways to build meaningful online teacher-student relationships
As a teacher, one of the greatest joys is seeing your students’ eyes light up when they learn something new. We’ve all had that teacher who made us like a subject simply because their personality and ...
How to overcome digital fatigue as a teacher
Teachers have a saying: There's no tired like teacher-tired. Being a teacher has always been a tough job that can drain the last ounce of energy out of you regularly. In the past year, "teacher-tired"...
Practice vs. research in education? Why teachers need to do both
Here’s a riddle for you: What came first: the practice or the research? You might say, “practice, of course!” The first teachers didn’t just sit around to collect data about everything under the sun. ...
4 Ways to promote collaboration in digital spaces
As we prepare for spring, it is always good to have some new ideas to promote student engagement and foster more collaboration in the classroom. Whether we are in virtual, hybrid, or in-person learnin...
5 Basic copyright rules for students and teachers
For teachers, the freedom to create their content and use it in the classroom is a great experience. Each teacher has their own manner of tackling a subject, and when allowed to use their creativity, ...
5 Principles of effective instruction adapted for online teaching
Education and research go hand in hand. You can’t have research without proper education and definitely can’t offer the best instruction if it’s not evidence-based. However, the real world contains mu...
Let's talk a good game: Mining talk shows for classroom engagement ideas
Although teaching during a pandemic has presented many new challenges, educators were searching for ways to keep students engaged and motivated during class long before 2020. Distance learning, howeve...
Why each student needs a personalized learning path
Remember Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz? At some point in the story, Dorothy sets off to find the famous Wizard of Oz and her journey begins with a first step on the Yellow Brick Road. She follows the ...
Our favorite teacher memes for 2020
Dear fellow teachers, Last year I wrote an open letter that was meant to be fun and supportive at the same time, and to make you welcome the new year with a positive attitude. Read more: Our favorite ...
What every teacher should know about the hexagonal approach to learning
In a quest to find innovative ways to stimulate learning, teachers often try to reinterpret patented theories. One of these reinterpretations is the hexagonal approach to learning. Based on the Struct...
Top learning myths to leave behind in 2020
It seems that everyone’s looking forward to the new year and the promise that it holds. And who should blame us? It’s 2020, after all, am I right? For my part, I also think that we should leave other ...
How to grow your confidence with using edtech these days
When people think about classroom diversity, they often do so with regards to students: how each student has a unique background, how diverse their interests are, or how their learning needs differ fr...
Is optimism the key to excellent teaching?
In the ‘60s, most learning science researchers agreed that students learn by association and reinforcement, ignoring the individual factors that influence learning. However, that all changed when a re...
STEAM: STEM plus Arts, for a more enriching learning experience
The ideal of the Renaissance man, the polymath with expertise in a wide range of fields, is long gone. We live in an era of hyperspecialization. And not without reason, as specialization has its unden...