Category: News

Comprehensive, up-to-date news coverage, aggregated from sources all over the world by EduindexNews.

5 Classroom Management Techniques to Handle Teacher Fatigue

f you ask just about any teacher how he or she feels, you’ll probably get some variation on the word “Tired.” Teacher fatigue is real, and it’s a threat to the teaching profession!
But there are some classroom management techniques you can employ to battle fatigue. Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, who is a seasoned elementary school educator based in Upstate New York, looks at some Classroom Management methodologies you can use to help combat teacher exhaustion.
Janelle’s ideas include:
  • Listen to Your Body
  • Take a Technology Time-Out
  • Make Fewer Decisions
  • And More!

Janelle sums up her article like this: “You can fight teacher fatigue by planning ahead, listening to your body, getting enough rest, taking a break from technology and by making fewer decisions. When you do all of these things, you will feel better.”
How do you fight teacher fatigue? Do you have any classroom management strategies that work well for you? Please share your ideas and thoughts in the comment section of the actual article, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the topic.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Technology in the Classroom: 22 Must-Have Tools

You all know by now: technology in the classroom is taking over your classrooms. The kids in your class likely love technology in the classroom: they can’t get enough of it at home and at school.
But how do you know which technology in the classroom tools to choose from? There are literally hundreds of apps, pieces of software, and other tools you can pick out, all of which are designed to you make your classroom hum at the speed of a T1 line.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, herself a technology teacher in Northern California, takes a look at the 22 classroom tools you need to use in class this year.
Jacqui’s recommendations include:
  • E-mail
  • Flipped classroom
  • Google Apps
  • Journaling
  • Maps
  • Online quizzes
  • Screenshots and screencasts
  • Video channel
  • Virtual meetings
Jacqui expounds on each tech recommendation, and rates it as well.  She sums up her findings: “This is my list, culled from dozens of conversation with my ed-tech colleagues.”
What do you use that I didn’t mention? Why is it important to your class’s workflow?
Get our list of the technology in the classroom tools you need this year>>

Classroom Management: Handling Sensitive Topics
 Classroom discussions (and the curriculum that incites them) often revolve around issues like race, gender, sexuality, politics, and class.
However, many teachers have been trained to leave those sorts of topics out of the classroom, to let the students make up their own minds about such sensitive issues.
Today, frequent TeachHUB.com contributor Jordan Catapano, also an English teacher in a Chicago suburb, intones that there is an inevitable intersection between those hot-button issues and the way they pervade subjects like literature and history.
Jordan also offers up some useful advice for teachers to approach such issues, including:
•    Offering no teacher opinions
•    Creating class guidelines
•    Keep parents informed
•    And more!
Remember, the value in approaching such subjects lies in creating an informed student perspective.

5 Ways School Counselors Support You & Your Students

As every teacher knows, standing in front of the classroom can feel like an insane one-man-show (or one-woman-show) in which you\’re juggling far too many concerns and standards for your students. Don\’t fear, there is help out there!

School couselors are an often under-utilized division of the staff. They are there to support the academic achievement, career development, and personal and social well-being of students.

By outlining the five main ways that school counselors support teachers and students, I hope to help you make the most of the services and staff available to you and reach students on every level.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

3 WAYS TO MAKE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES STICK

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is no longer about filling a quota. Today, D&I is recognized as a key way to boost profits and increase innovation. It simply makes business sense.
McKinsey’s 2015 Diversity Matters report revealed a strong correlation between diversity and financial performance. According to the findings, companies in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity are 35 percent more likely to perform above the industry median compared to those in the bottom quartile, while gender-heterogeneous companies outperform by 15 percent.
And, in the U.S., every 10 percent increase in racial and ethnic diversity among senior executives leads to a 0.8 percent increase in EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes).

Top of the Priority List

Given this potential to impact business, it’s not surprising that CEOs are taking notice. The 2017 Deloitte Human Capital Trends survey found that the number of executives citing diversity as a top priority had jumped by 32 percent since 2014. This is crucial because although HR plays a key role in implementing D&I changes, long term success requires a cultural and strategic shift.
Like any company-wide push, prioritizing diversity means securing senior buy-in, pinpointing clear objectives, setting targets and measuring results. But in addition to jumping through standard management hoops, there are some specific ways to build successful D&I programs:

Banish Brain Bias

While overt bias against individuals or groups is generally easy to spot, people are sometimes unaware of their own unconscious bias, for example, unwittingly hiring people who are like themselves.
While educating people about unconscious bias and helping them identify it is an obvious first step, it’s not enough.
To overcome bias, organizations must move away from what psychologists call System 1 thinking, where decisions are emotional, instinctive, subconscious and based on gut feelings. Instead, what’s required is System 2 thinking, which is rational, deliberate, rules-based and takes more work.
From a recruitment standpoint, this means having a structured format for interviews during which all candidates are asked similar questions, followed by a an analysis process.

Turn to Technology

To influence change, organizations need to be able assess where they are today and measure results. Earlier in November, for example, Apple shared an update on its efforts with the release of its Diversity and Inclusion Report, which revealed that between July 2016 and July 2017, half of all new hires at the company were from “historically underrepresented groups in tech.” People analytics are a vital tool for spotting these types of improvements, as well as identifying problem areas.
By analyzing data throughout the recruitment process, organizations can identify where people are underrepresented, and plug those holes with new hires. The same principle holds true for all areas of talent management—analytics can uncover patterns in gender or racial bias in performance reviews, compensation and rewards.

Lead From the Front

A diverse organization calls for leaders who are not only from diverse groups themselves, but who are also serious about creating a culture of inclusivity at work.
Deloitte identified six traits that epitomize inclusive leaders: courage, cognizance of bias, curiosity, cultural intelligence, collaboration and commitment. Still, it’s up to HR to recognize and foster these traits.
It’s important to recognize that diversity encompasses differences in cognitive and emotional make-up as well as race, color, sex and sexuality. When it comes to nurturing future leaders, today’s leaders need to resist looking for carbon-copies of themselves. For example, leaders need to be self-aware of their own work style, and accept that they need to collaborate with people that work differently to create a better team.
While D&I is increasingly getting acknowledged as a good business practice, even those making it a strategic priority have a long way to go. The key is ensuring that D&I becomes a standard part of leadership development, and is seen as a core leadership skill.

Effective Teaching Strategies that Employ Passion

Figuring out how to tap into your student’s various passions can go a long way toward motivating students to learn. But how can you adopt this student-centered effective teaching strategy?
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, also an East Coast-based educator, tells website visitors how to recognize students’ passions using a technique called Genius Hour.
Genius Hour is a time-honored classroom technique in which students explore their own passions, share them with their classmates, and therefore become that much more invested in the educational process.
Genius Hour does require that students brainstorm their own projects (and generally, there is no due date or deadline). Some sample projects include:
  • How to throw a football like a quarterback.
  • How to make a bow for your hair.
  • How to create a website.
  • What is makeup made of?
  • How does a plane fly?

These projects are worked on for approximately one hour per week, until completion (keep in mind the no deadline mandate).
What do you think of Genius Hour? Have you tried in your classroom?
Get our ideas on introducing Genius Hour to your class>>
Creative Literature Projects Students Love
Regardless of whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, sometimes it’s hard to get students engaged in classic literature. Let’s face it: “The Great Gatsby” simply isn’t great to everyone: Some students will inevitably find the text boring and outdated.
So how does a good English teacher get kids engaged with a book like “The Catcher in the Rye”?
We recently listed out some time-honored tips for engaging kids with classic texts, including:
  • Throw a “Great Gatsby” party
  • Make a “Fahreneit 451” mug shot gallery
  • Have students make “Romeo and Juliet”-type masks to attend a Capulet party
  • And more!

What do you do to put an extra twist to your assignments and lesson plans?

Technology in the Classroom: 10 Ways to Use Thinglink

If you’re like us, the onslaught of technology in the classroom trends can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to forget about a time-honored technology in the classroom tool when bright, shiny new applications and tools are being unveiled every day.

So today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, who is a veteran technology teacher in California, takes a look at Thinglink, which she describes thusly: “It is an interactive media platform that allows students to use multimedia content and links to share their knowledge and tell their story by tagging images or videos with hotspots that include additional information.”

Jacqui points out 10 ways that educators can use Thinglink, including:
  1. Create infographics and graphic organizers to visually explain a complex topic.
  2. Design and share interactive digital posters.
  3. Write a digital storybook with a connect-the-dots Thinglink (replace with color-coded hotspots or numbers, which may require an upgrade).
  4. Curate resources for a topic or project and share with students.
Jacqui sums up her article like this: “Thinglink makes differentiation easy, as students select the tools that work best for their communication style.”
Get our ways to use Thinglink as part of your technology in the classroom repertoire>>

Teaching Strategies that Use Sticky Notes
Post-it notes – those square pieces of paper that stick to many surfaces and remind us of what we need to do next – can also be used as helpful classroom devices that can help us further connect with students!
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jordan Catapano,, himself an English teacher in the suburbs of Chicago, takes a look at some alternative ways that sticky notes can enhance your classroom experience. His ideas include:
•    Annotating books and articles
•    Brainstorming
•    And more!
Jordan sums up his ideas with this paragraph: “What I love about sticky-notes is that their size, colors, cost, and you-can-put-me-anywhere qualities provide limitless applications. Whether for myself, colleagues, or students, these sticky-notes offer a multitude of easy opportunities to improve thinking and collaboration.”
How do you use post-it notes?

The Teacher Spillover Effect

Great teaching is contagious, according to a new study.

A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research has shown that adding an accomplished teacher to a teaching team or department has a strong beneficial effect on student achievement. Many have reported this as “old news”, since most teachers could tell you that good teachers help students to do better work.

What is the Teacher Spillover Effect?

But, there is a more significant message in the paper–the effect on student performance was indirect. That is, the other teachers on the team became more effective due to the presence of a skilled colleague. The authors attribute this change to raised standards and opportunities to observe and learn from highly capable teachers nearby.

10 Fun Teaching Strategies for Current Events

For many children, the events of the world around us are foreign and of little interest. In a world where celebrity-driven “news” and meaningless cat videos are the norm, teaching current events via an old-school newspaper can still go a long way toward getting kids to pay attention to the happenings of the globe around us.
But teachers are still committed to illuminating their charges to at least have a passing knowledge of current events, hence that topic’s steadfast remaining at the top of classroom activities. So how do teachers make something as esoteric as current events exciting and relevant?
Today’s centerpiece article on TeachHUB.com addresses current events and making them interesting and relevant. Penned by Janelle Cox, a frequent contributor to TeachHUB.com (and a seasoned educator based on the East Coast), the article lays out 10 teaching strategies to create activities that utilize the newspaper.
Janelle’s articles include:
  • Current Events Scavenger Hunt
  • Is it Newsworthy?
  • Become an Editor
  • Opinion Page
  • And More!

Janelle ends today’s articles like this, in a paragraph with the subhead, “Captain This”:  “The newspaper is known for its amazing, catchy captions. Cut out a dozen photographs from your local newspaper and challenge students to come up with a caption as well as an article just by looking at one of the pictures. Encourage students to use their imaginations and remind them to address the 5 W’s: the who, what, when, where, and why for their article. Before sending students off to get creative, read a few captivating newspaper captions and taglines. This will help students come up with something that will really catch the reader’s eye.”

How do you teach current events in your classroom? Share your ideas with us!

And the Cheating Continues…

Caught another one red handed…

Every semester, I catch at least one student whose pulled nearly an entire paper from one or more websites. Typically, it’s not too hard to figure out when you’re reading work that didn’t come from the student. The funniest example was a few years ago when the girl failed to remove the Wikipedia hyperlinks… I mean, that’s just the epitome of laziness, right?

Say Goodbye to Grade Levels?

A Colorado district is taking differentiated instruction to a whole new level – little red school house style.

This year, Adams 50 in Denver shifted to this grade-free approach to learning. Children have more control over their lessons and do not move on until they’ve become proficient in the subject.

Tips for Happier, More Productive IEP Meetings

As a teacher, having to discuss a child’s deficits with his or her parents can be a very uncomfortable experience. Every parent wants their child to have a successful, happy life and that certainly is possible for students who are challenged with a disability.

Sometimes we are tasked with helping their parents see what wonderful strengths their child possesses. We bring in samples of work that show how much their son or daughter has learned, provide examples of the progress they are making, and speak with pride about their child’s educational victories. Other times, however, we have to discuss what challenges or needs the student is going to require help overcoming in order to achieve that success and happiness.

Often, parents are well aware of these strengths and weaknesses and are happy to work with their child’s teaching team to create a plan to support them, but sometimes things don’t go as smoothly.

An IEP meeting (or any parent-teacher meeting) may turn tense in a hurry if a parent:

* is confused or unaware (either accidentally or deliberately) of what difficulties their child has,
* wants a level of academic success or a career path for their child that might not be possible,
* feels that their child’s teaching team hasn’t done their job to the utmost of their ability,

In these instances, it is our responsibility not only to continue to be honest with parents, but also to find a way to get back to a place where the parent feels like a partner in their child’s teaching team – rather than an unhappy or confused outsider. I have found that this can often be achieved with some very simple communication tips:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Pop Culture Lesson Plans

For a limited time, you can get full access to the archive of 500+ Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans for the rest of the 09/10 school year for only $9.95.

After requests from teachers trying to connect content with student interests, the TeachHUB team created a Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans. Pop Culture Lesson Plans are designed to enhance your existing curriculum while grabbing your students’ attention.

Pop Culture Lesson Plans are:

  • Access 500+ lessons through June 15, 2010
  • Available for K-12 grade levels and core subjects
  • Inspired by pop culture and news headlines
  • Aligned to national teaching standards
  • Valued at $29.95 for a one-year subscription
  • 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
  • Ready to print, copy & assign in your classroom today!
You can preview Pop Culture Lesson Plans with these free samples.
Sign Up to get your Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans today!

3 WAYS TO MAKE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES STICK

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is no longer about filling a quota. Today, D&I is recognized as a key way to boost profits and increase innovation. It simply makes business sense.
McKinsey\’s 2015 Diversity Matters report revealed a strong correlation between diversity and financial performance. According to the findings, companies in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity are 35 percent more likely to perform above the industry median compared to those in the bottom quartile, while gender-heterogeneous companies outperform by 15 percent.
And, in the U.S., every 10 percent increase in racial and ethnic diversity among senior executives leads to a 0.8 percent increase in EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes).

Top of the Priority List

Given this potential to impact business, it\’s not surprising that CEOs are taking notice. The 2017 Deloitte Human Capital Trends survey found that the number of executives citing diversity as a top priority had jumped by 32 percent since 2014. This is crucial because although HR plays a key role in implementing D&I changes, long term success requires a cultural and strategic shift.
Like any company-wide push, prioritizing diversity means securing senior buy-in, pinpointing clear objectives, setting targets and measuring results. But in addition to jumping through standard management hoops, there are some specific ways to build successful D&I programs:

Banish Brain Bias

While overt bias against individuals or groups is generally easy to spot, people are sometimes unaware of their own unconscious bias, for example, unwittingly hiring people who are like themselves.
While educating people about unconscious bias and helping them identify it is an obvious first step, it\’s not enough.
To overcome bias, organizations must move away from what psychologists call System 1 thinking, where decisions are emotional, instinctive, subconscious and based on gut feelings. Instead, what\’s required is System 2 thinking, which is rational, deliberate, rules-based and takes more work.
From a recruitment standpoint, this means having a structured format for interviews during which all candidates are asked similar questions, followed by a an analysis process.

Turn to Technology

To influence change, organizations need to be able assess where they are today and measure results. Earlier in November, for example, Apple shared an update on its efforts with the release of its Diversity and Inclusion Report, which revealed that between July 2016 and July 2017, half of all new hires at the company were from \”historically underrepresented groups in tech.\” People analytics are a vital tool for spotting these types of improvements, as well as identifying problem areas.
By analyzing data throughout the recruitment process, organizations can identify where people are underrepresented, and plug those holes with new hires. The same principle holds true for all areas of talent management—analytics can uncover patterns in gender or racial bias in performance reviews, compensation and rewards.

Lead From the Front

A diverse organization calls for leaders who are not only from diverse groups themselves, but who are also serious about creating a culture of inclusivity at work.
Deloitte identified six traits that epitomize inclusive leaders: courage, cognizance of bias, curiosity, cultural intelligence, collaboration and commitment. Still, it\’s up to HR to recognize and foster these traits.
It\’s important to recognize that diversity encompasses differences in cognitive and emotional make-up as well as race, color, sex and sexuality. When it comes to nurturing future leaders, today\’s leaders need to resist looking for carbon-copies of themselves. For example, leaders need to be self-aware of their own work style, and accept that they need to collaborate with people that work differently to create a better team.
While D&I is increasingly getting acknowledged as a good business practice, even those making it a strategic priority have a long way to go. The key is ensuring that D&I becomes a standard part of leadership development, and is seen as a core leadership skill.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Classroom Management: Using Gaming Elements

Educators should take cues from video game designers and incorporate some of the bells and whistles that designers use to energize their classes, according to frequent TeachHUB.com contributor Janelle Cox.
Janelle’s article today outlines several ways that teachers can employ tactics of gamification, or using the principles of gaming to motivate and engage students.
Some ways that teachers can use gamification include:
  • Have a Clear Goal.
  • Recognize Achievement with Badges.
  • Scaffolding Progress.

What do you think about gamification? Do you use gamification elements in your classroom?
Learn How to Incorporate Elements of Gaming into Your Classroom Management Techniques>>
Classroom Activities for Novel Writing Month
November is National Novel Writing Mart, or NaNoWriMo. It’s a month when potential book authors are encouraged to pen an entire book (at least 50,000 words).
It’s the perfect time for English teachers to explore and encourage longer-form composition pieces, and today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributor Jordan Catapano outlines several ways that teachers can increase their class’ interest in NaNoWriM, including:
  • Bring in juice and treats.
  • Encourage students to share their works-in-progress aloud.
  • Work in a computer lab or bring laptops into your classroom if possible; if not, have a safe way for students to store their paper copies so nothing is lost.
  • Create your own system of rewards and milestones. My suggestion would be to go with badges.

Discover More Ways to Celebrate National Novel Writing Month in Your Class>>
TeachHUB’s Anti-Bullying Resources

Meanwhile, remember that TeachHUB.com is a go-to resource when looking for anti-bullying material. Here are some evergreen resources we’ve compiled over the years:
•   Create a Culture of Anti-Bullying
•   Anti-Bullying Advice for Educators
•   Anti-Bullying Strategies, By Grade
•   Using Children’s Literature as Anti-Bullying Material
Did you know that TeachHUB’s in-service professional development program can include an anti-bullying focus?  
In a TeachHUB in-service day, teachers will participate in various anti-bullying activities and learn strategies they can use to help prevent and intervene with bullying behavior and participate in modeled exercises to create self-awareness within a child.
Teachers will learn how other educators are encouraging anti-bullying behavior in and outside of the classroom across the country.
Why book an in-service day through TeachHUB.com? 
TeachHUB.com professional educators can help you design original seminars to fit your school, district and teachers\’ needs
•   Established seminars can be brought to your school or district
•   Wide variety of speakers and topics
•   We work within your budget and schedule
•   Superior customer service and accessibility
But our expertise isn’t limited to just anti-bullying seminars. We’re also prepared to address differentiated instruction strategies, tiered activities, inclusive education and more!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1