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"The idea of dissection in the classroom is nothing new. Science teachers have been delighting (and occasionally sickening) students for decades by giving them hands-on experience with organisms and tools. What is new, however, is the movement to create un-making spaces in the classroom. Giving kids access to old, broken-down electronics and a safe place to take them apart as they seek to answer why and how things work is an effective and environmentally-friendly teaching technique."

"How long can any device realistically be expected to remain an effective tool in the classroom? Three years? Five years? Yet today, when schools decide on a device for their 1:1 programs, that choice quickly gets written into their school "brand." Schools become identified by that choice, and the evaluation of other devices ceases. There are even certifications to this extent, such as GAFE schools, Apple Distinguished Schools, and so on. But it's important that schools who make "the choice" don't simply stop planning at that point. As educational technology becomes key to the daily workings of a classroom, discussing the direction of its use should not end once devices are in their students' hands."

"A day in the life of a teacher may rarely be the same two days in a row, but there are some common themes and occurrences. Take a look at the following two scenarios, and note which one seems more familiar to you. Scenario 1: Each school day, students have a lunch break built into their schedule. At the prescribed time, students put away their work and head outside, cafeteria, or other spot to hang out, play, eat, or relax. The teacher breathes a sigh of relief in the quiet classroom, and uses those moments to decompress, eat, and relax too. Scenario 2:  At the prescribed lunch time break, students head out of the classroom and the teacher rushes to complete all the things they haven't had time for yet: grading papers, last minute planning, offering extra help to students, meeting with administrators regarding student issues, replying to emails, checking all the personal emails, texts, and phone calls that they got earlier in the day, and if they're lucky and have time, eat something quickly before the next class period starts. WHY TEACHERS NEED RECESS Most teachers identify more closely with the second scenario."

""There just isn't enough time to integrate technology and adequately cover the curriculum." "What will happen next year when they go to a new classroom and realize school is work and not all 'fun and games?' You're setting them up for disappointment." "Playing games all day just isn't good teaching." Sentiments like these echo in the hallways and classrooms, offices, and teachers' lounges across the nation. Technology can be an important tool that helps teachers teach and students learn. But are we utilizing it to its fullest potential?"

"Since there's such a push to bring apps into the classroom, it's time to figure out which ones are right for you. I threw together this cheat sheet to choosing education apps that will hopefully help you quickly choose what works (and what doesn't). So what are some of the best education apps for active learning? What are the top ways to get students actively engaged and interacting with one another? There are some seriously amazing iPad apps that are terrific for project-based learning, active engagement, and even flipped classrooms. This cheat sheet will help - but first let's run through the questions you see in the visual."

"While the rest of the class was working in a writers workshop, she handed the student an iPad and told him to try and experiment with its speech-to-text feature. With minimal expectations, Redford figured that the newness and the boy's curiosity would at least keep him busy during writing time, which he usually found frustrating. While Redford described the boy as "very bright," he "couldn't even compose a sentence to save his life" because of his dyslexia. Any classroom assignment having to do with writing made him moody. So, as Redford guided the rest of the class through the workshop, the student stepped outside the classroom and spoke his ideas for his writing assignment into the iPad."

"And through understanding how students' brains actually work and using that knowledge to benefit classroom learning, we may be able to positively influence classroom education and prepare students to better face unknowable futures. Here are nine scientific insights that educators might want to keep in mind."

"Fast forward to today… Even though there are always new edtech trends emerging, I no longer find myself having those yikes moments when I read about them on Twitter or hear about them on a TEDx Talk. However, as I assist colleagues in the classroom, facilitate PD, and collaborate with a team of administrators and teachers to develop a new K-12 tech plan, I am finding that many of the individuals I encounter throughout my work day are currently experiencing what I did eight years ago-that same what the what feeling that often creates anxiety and doubt. That said, I did some surfing to try to locate a reference guide that could quickly (and visually) help my co-workers get a better grasp on some of the latest edtech buzzwords. Here is one of the resources I am sharing with them-and you. Hopefully it will help to eliminate some of that app-prehension you might have as you try to choose the best tools or ways to incorporate technology into your classroom!"

"A recent MindShift article highlighted some things teachers should be aware of if they're bringing mindfulness into their classrooms. Students may have experienced trauma that makes sitting silently with their eyes closed feel threatening, and teachers can't assume it will be an easy practice for every child. That awareness is important to create an inclusive environment, but it doesn't mean that teachers shouldn't cultivate their own mindfulness practice or use some techniques with students. Often mindfulness is used as a way to help students build self-regulation skills and learn to calm down when they become frustrated or angry. Cultivating those skills can be powerful for students, but many teachers say mindfulness is crucial for themselves, helping them take an extra moment before reacting to students. "The best way to practice trauma-informed mindfulness is [for teachers] to have their own practice and interpret the behavior of the youth through a trauma-informed lens, even if they never do mindfulness training with the kids," said Sam Himelstein, a clinical psychologist, trainer and author who has spent most of his career working with incarcerated youth. He's received a lot of questions about how to be trauma-informed while still using mindfulness in classrooms since the first article. He suggest nine guidelines for teachers that he uses to make sure mindfulness practice with youth is helping, not hurting."

"I am a big advocate for embedding a maker culture in my classroom to deepen students understanding of topics. With an interdisciplinary approach, making, tinkering, and STEAM activities enable our students to design and create a piece of work that is embodied by teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking. "Maker centred learning helps students see themselves as people that can effectively take action in the world". (2017, Clapp, E. P., Ross, J., Ryan, J. O., & Tishman, S). Designing lessons around making principles empowers students to embrace a continuous learning cycle, where a growth mindset and accepting failure is part of the journey to achieve success. "The role of the teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge" (Seymour Papert)."

Test scores, school report cards and Facebook posts complaining about homework problems often drive critiques of how math is taught in schools. Amid the debates, it has become increasingly clear that one ingredient is necessary for success: opportunities for students to talk about math. Unfortunately, these are often lacking in U.S. classrooms. We are both math education researchers. While we focus on different levels of the K-12 span, a common theme across our work is the role of talk in math classrooms - what talk can sound like, how talk impacts student learning, and how teachers can support math talk. Want to support your student's understanding of math? Talking will play a critical role. And a good place to start is to talk about math yourself.

"We are in an exciting time in education, where innovative topics like Design Thinking, Rapid Prototyping, Entrepreneurism, Engineering Design, High Quality Project-Based Learning, and The Future of Work are at the center of discussion. How can we give our students the chance to master content knowledge while integrating these student-centered approaches to education in the classroom? For the last five years, 3D printing has been an important part of my classroom because it encourages an innovation mindset, exposes students to elements of design thinking, and fosters self-directed learning."

"I am a big fan of music in the history classroom and I have created a number of Spotify Playlists for this purpose. Often this is merely to help create a calm and purposeful working atmosphere, when a bit of Chopin or Debussy sets the tone perfectly. Occasionally it's even possible to have calming instrumental music directly related to the topic in question: for example, Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, which was inspired by the composer watching British troop ships heading off to France in 1914. However, some songs are better used to stoke up some energy during lessons, whilst the very best of all are historical sources in themselves, combining musical feeling with powerful lyrical content. What follows is a list of songs I regularly use in class, organised in broadly chronological order in terms of the topics they relate to, with a brief explanation of how you could make use of them with your own students. What follows is a list of 25 principal songs, but with links to others on similar themes or by similar artists, bringing the total up to over 50. If you have any other suggestions, please contact me (@russeltarr / @activehistory on Twitter) and I'd be delighted to add them to the list (as long as it isn't "We didn't start the fire" by Billy Joel. Which I admit is superb, but we all know this one, surely?)."

"Close your eyes and picture the most recent math class you taught. Who is doing the math? Who is doing the talking? Who is doing the thinking? Three years ago, my answer would have been "me"-the teacher. My students were doing math, but I was probably telling them how to think and what to do most of the time. My big aha moment was being introduced to the research of Peter Liljedahl, a professor at Simon Fraser University. Liljedahl proposes three strategies that you can implement in order to create what he calls the thinking classroom: Start with good problems, use visibly random groups, and work regularly on vertical nonpermanent surfaces. I started using these three strategies in my math classes, and they have been an absolute game-changer. I can confidently say that my students now do most of the thinking and talking in my classroom."

"Computers intersect with every aspect of kids' lives, but most kids don't understand how they work. Through coding, students build essential literacy skills, gain an understanding of logic and sequence, and learn the mechanics of iteration. These tools support project-based learning and give students the freedom to create, collaborate, hack, remix, and tinker with their own unique designs. Using these picks, kids can unlock the logic of code and the basics of programming, turning computers into tools to make new things. If you're looking to begin coding lessons in your classroom, check out our Teaching Strategies for how to Get Started With Coding in Your Classroom."

" definitely don't claim to be a tech pro-if something breaks, I immediately call tech support to get it fixed. But I do believe in coding and making it part of a child's curriculum. In recent years I've been working with a lot of new teachers who are unsure about how to integrate technology in their classrooms. I've been a classroom teacher, and I get it: Sometimes it's hard to make the connection. "Why is this important? Don't I have enough to do already?" However, once you realize how much technology can aid your other curricula, you see that it's worth the time and energy. Coding definitely teaches students tech skills, but that's only the beginning. Take a look at these 10 other benefits you'll see when you teach kids how to code."

"With the prospect of returning to face-to-face instruction or hybrid constructions, what can we learn that works in our digital spaces that can readily transfer to our in-person classrooms? How do teachers motivate students to share ideas and risk "being wrong" in the digital space or the public space of the in-person classroom? How can we catch that lightning in a bottle? Well, there is the chat function built into many of the digital tools we use. There is power in the chat that can be intentionally put to use now and in the future."

"Over the summer of 2021, I collaborated with our 6th grade science teacher as part of a grant to find ways to incorporate makerspace activities into the curriculum. (Look for posts coming soon about some of the projects we did).  Part of our work was reading the book, Making Science: Reimagining STEM Education in Middle School and Beyond.  I found it to be a fantastic, practical resource for bringing hands-on maker learning into the classroom.  Reading this book as a maker librarian gave me a ton of ideas for new ways to collaborate with our STEM classes.   And it's an excellent resource for classroom teachers as well."

"Between school closures, learning loss, intensified educator burnout, widespread staff shortages and increased stressors at home, it's been hard not to focus on the negatives in education this year. In fact, it's human nature to get caught up in what went wrong-an innate survival mechanism called "negativity bias" vigilantly draws our attention to worries and risks so we can better remember and avoid threats. While I'm appreciative that my ancestors were wary folks, in 2021, I often saw myself and others trapped in this negative mindset, always tallying the losses and waiting for the next bad thing to happen. However, in my work with educators this year, I began to notice that some were able to metabolize this negativity and keep themselves and their classrooms positive and adaptive despite the obvious hindrances. Interviews with elementary classroom teachers spanning a variety of settings and grade levels revealed that these resilient educators utilized a common strategy: they practiced gratitude in their everyday lives."

"There is nothing much rewarding for students than to see their accomplished work being published and celebrated with others. This is very much motivating and is a strong impetus for them to achieve more and work harder. Can you imagine how happy a student would be to share his classroom work with his parents in a neat and clean online platform that they access anywhere and anytime ? "