Using Social Media in the Classroom
If you teach young people ages ten and up (and often younger), it is a given that they are attached to their phones at every opportunity. Why not take advantage of social media in and out of the classroom to engage your students in a different and exciting way? Many educators view social media as a nightmare to be tolerated, but it can be useful -…
Professional Development for Teachers – COVID Edition
Not only has the pandemic affected instructors, students, and families around the world profoundly and unexpectedly over these last 12 months, it has created a multitude of other educational concerns. From computer access and proficiency to lack of socialization to innovations in teaching safely in-person, online, and in a hybrid setting, many issues must necessarily be addressed sooner rather than later. One problem directly involving teachers…
Inclusive Learning in the Online Classroom
There are a variety of challenges that face students in the online classroom environment, not the least of which are reliable internet access and a decent computer. Teachers can create the best lesson plans ever but if the children do not have these important implements, then both teachers and students are often wasting their time. Another critical issue in our currently ever-changing school scenario is reaching…
Including Special Needs Students in Your Elementary Classroom
Hopefully, by Fall 2020, our classrooms will be back to “normal.” We will be in our traditional school environment, standing in front of our students, teaching standard subjects and encountering daily challenges and joys. While many schools across the country have suspended classes for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year or are finishing up in an online setting, now is the perfect time to brush…
I Have a Student with Dysgraphia – How Can I Help Him?
While much research has been conducted on learning disorders such as dyslexia, a lot is still unknown about dysgraphia, which is unfortunate since between 7% and 15% of students suffer from this problem. But what is dysgraphia and how can educators help students diagnosed with this disorder? Like dyslexia, dysgraphia is not related to intelligence but is an unanticipated difficulty with writing and spelling skills that…
Is Positive Reinforcement an Effective Strategy for Students with Learning Disabilities?
Although any child can exhibit behavior issues in the classroom, individuals with learning disabilities often have more conduct problems than their peers. Knowing that he has a learning disability sometimes causes a child to “act out” at home, in class, or other situations. Positive reinforcement is often used to help these students reach desired behaviors. Does it work? Positive reinforcement, rather than negative reinforcement, can motivate…