11 Total Participation Techniques That Involve Movement

By: Amy Konen | Nov 8, 2017

“Simple biology supports the obvious link between movement and learning” (Jensen, 2005). Jensen explains that oxygen is necessary for brain function, more blood flow equals more oxygen and physical activity increases blood flow (2005). Other outcomes of increased movement are: more cortical mass, greater number of connections among neurons, and gene ...
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The Benefits Of Learning a New Language and Being Bilingual

By: Kylie Hall | Oct 30, 2017

If you’re like most people, your experience with learning a second language came in high school. You took French or Spanish because it was required of you. You learned a few random phrases like, “Where is the library?” and, “I don’t speak French.” Once you were done with the class, you ...
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5 Questions in Establishing a Culture for Learning

By: Jon Konen | Oct 30, 2017

What do Google, Facebook, Nike, Apple, and Walt Disney have in common? They are five of the top ten corporations in which people said they loved to work, according to a recent USA Today article. They all have a positive and enticing work culture.  Mirriam-Webster defines corporate culture as the ...
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50 Amazing Field Trip Spots in the U.S.

By: Kylie Hall | Oct 26, 2017

Field Trips. They are children’s favorite part of elementary school and probably high school too. But field trips don’t have to just be about getting a day off from class. Savvy teachers who understand their students need something that will hold their attention understand there are plenty of events and ...
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6 Questions to Tackle in Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport

By: Jon Konen | Oct 24, 2017

Have you seen the magic between the best teachers and the most difficult students? It seems these teachers know how to connect and correct behavior through positive and meaningful conversations. As an administrator, you want to video these interactions and hit “play” for others to see the subtleness, yet effective ...
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5 Questions That Help Build Our Reflective Capacity

By: Amy Konen | Oct 23, 2017

Two nights before kicking off the 2017-18 school year, I am overwhelmed at the daily schedules, curriculums, management plans, procedures, passion projects, spelling programs, grading, testing, homework, positive incentives, etc. While these are the “things” of teaching that take up so much time to prep and organize, it is the ...
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11 Ways to Make Every Student an Engaged Learner

By: Amy Konen | Oct 23, 2017

When I went back into the classroom, I found myself having an easier time with behaviors, creating my learning environment, and keeping myself and my students organized.  As a first year teacher 24 years ago, these were the areas that kept me up at nights and became objects of my ...
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Individual Education Plan Goals: The Heart of It All

By: Mary McLaughlin | Oct 20, 2017

A few weekends ago, my beloved and I decided to take a road trip west of our humble little east Arkansas town. We were both worn out from a long span of various and sundry things—broken fences needing mended, dogs needing trips to the vet, setting up a classroom, meeting ...
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Parent Participation at the IEP Team Meeting

By: Mary McLaughlin | Oct 18, 2017

I am sitting at my desk at school, cluttered with papers, folders stacked on the table situated beside it to create an L shape so I have more room to store stuff. There are binders full of tracking sheets, tracking sheets which note the words per minute my kids attempt ...
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8 Questions to Tackle in Designing Student Assessments

By: Jon Konen | Oct 10, 2017

One of the most controversial educational topics in the past two decades… a four-letter word… is “TEST!” If you ask an educator, they may have more four-letter words to accompany it! Many of us do not shirk our responsibilities to assess our students….we know it needs to be done. What ...
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