Makerspaces: Tinkering to Learn at Home
Makerspaces: Tinkering to Learn at Home
The idea of makerspaces has come a long way since I was a child. When I was growing up there was an endless supply of textiles, ingredients and components in which I could tinker, play and construct. I had my very own makerspace: nature. The great outdoors was a cornucopia of materials and inspiration. My mother would send my sister and I outside for …
Promoting Summer Growth Through Project Based Learning
When summer vacation hits and students leave their classrooms behind, too often they leave learning behind as well. The result is a “summer slide” that leaves students playing catch-up when they return to school in the fall.
So the problem is, how can we as tutors, educators, and parents help prevent this “summer slide”? One thing is for sure, if we are …
3 Steps to Encourage Student Mindfulness
3 Steps to Encourage Student Mindfulness
As educators, one of our most important roles is helping our students acquire knowledge and giving them authentic opportunities to apply it. Typically, these efforts are focused on curriculum and standards-based skills.
But what about the skills that transcend content? Students in today’s world need help with things like executive functions and 0 Comments
5 Practical Ways to Use Music to Promote Learning
5 Practical Ways to Use Music to Promote Learning
The correlation between music and learning remains a frequent topic of research and inquiry. Whether it’s listening or playing, studies clearly show that music can positively impact the brain’s ability to engage with and learn content.
Of course, there’s more to maximizing this …
3 Side Hustles for Tutors
3 Side Hustles for Tutors
For many people, tutoring is a way to earn some extra money. For others, tutoring is a full-fledged career. Regardless of the role tutoring plays in your personal financial situation, there are times when having a little extra money on hand can make a big difference!
Since most tutoring clients are typically unavailable during the day, tutors have a ready-made window of opportunity to …
Personalizing Student Support
Personalizing Student Support
Support for students is crucial for their growth. More importantly, providing personalized support means that the educator or facilitator of learning sees each student as an individual and makes a plan to meet each one at his or her point of need.
Seemingly more than ever, the focus on the student, the whole student, and nothing but the student is an afterthought. Many other variables mask what …
Using Innovation Competitions to Motivate Students
Using Innovation Competitions to Motivate Students
Over the past 20 years, advancements in science, technology, and communication have transformed our world. If you trace any one of these advancements back to their roots, you are likely to uncover the story of a person or team who dared to break from traditional thinking and approach a common problem in a new way.
Whether it’s a billionaire visionary like Bill Gates who …
Three Ways to Boost Vocabulary
Three Ways to Boost Vocabulary
Improving literacy skills can often be a complicated proposition. Successful readers and writers use a combination of several skills such as print awareness, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension skills, grammar, and spelling to be able to both understand and create meaningful text. Improving a student’s overall literacy skill-set requires a multifaceted approach that deals with the individual skills as well as practice putting the skills together.
…
Tutoring Twins: The Disruptive Aspect of Adaptive Learning
Tutoring Twins: The Disruptive Aspect of Adaptive Learning
The debate about whether to separate twins in educational settings isn’t a new one. For identical twins who garner the most attention and psycho-social accommodations, educational and social settings frequently fail to address individual needs.
Educators, family members and friends tend to view twins as two sides of the same coin, and can expect twins to have the same skills, personal likes …
Cliffs Notes – Not Just for Cheaters!
Cliffs Notes and Book Summaries – Not Just for Cheaters!
As long as there have been literature courses taught in schools, there have been students looking for short-cuts to avoid long reading assignments. One of the most well-known of these shortcuts (right behind “rent the movie”) has been Cliffs Notes. For decades, students have sought out the infamous black and yellow paperbacks as a way to condense large readings into …