Too often, students sit compliantly in class and are not engaged in the learning. Acclaimed speaker and author Aaron Hansen uses compelling stories and a step-by-step framework to help educators become hero makers. These powerful classroom mentors empower students to break free of their self-limiting stories and fixed mindsets and experience a new…

The standards-based learning and grading movement of the past twenty years has ushered in a critical shift in assessment that demands clarity in both what is being measured and how well students are learning. Seeing the value in this evolution, a wave of schools has invested enormous effort to institutionalize the policy and practices of the…

Teaching students how to terminate an employee in a safe, legal, and humane manner provides them with a valuable management skill. This article describes an exercise for teaching students how to conduct termination meetings, guiding them through the process of creating a termination script that is consistent with best practices from the…

How do teachers develop their understanding of the foundation principles of assessment, stay up to date with the latest classroom approaches and have the confidence to evaluate and question the effectiveness of new methods? This professional resource for teachers supports them to understand the what, why and how of assessment. It provides key…

Shifting from transactional to relational teaching empowers students and creates a more engaging classroom environment. This essential guide explores the why behind this shift and shares immediately applicable strategies for K-12 teachers. When you shift to relational pedagogy, you establish connections that help students feel valued, respected,…

When we spend the first class period focusing on the syllabus and letting students leave early, we miss an opportunity to expose them to the course content. What happens to those who drop that day? By spending the first day illustrating expectancy violations theory, both instructors and students can explicate anticipated behaviors and use them to…

We often evaluate student thinking and their work from a deficit point of view, particularly in mathematics, where many teachers have been taught that their role is to diagnose and eradicate students' misconceptions. But what if instead of focusing on what students don't know or haven't mastered, we identify their mathematical strengths and build…

Reading instruction is too often grounded in a narrowly defined "science of reading" that focuses exclusively on cognitive skills and strategies. Yet cognition is just one aspect of reading development. This book guides K-8 educators to understand and address other scientifically supported factors that influence each student's literacy…

Deep learning is possible for all students, regardless of subject, grade, or previous experience. In "Loving What They Learn," author Alexander McNeece explains how high engagement nurtures the needs--for competence, autonomy, and content relevance--that students have, provides tools to measure how well those needs are being met in the…

This book offers a roadmap for growing students' confidence and competence in learning. We strive to empower our students to lead their own inquiry, discover knowledge, and construct approaches to solving real-life challenges. Often, though, we make the mistake of designing learning experiences that burden students with the unrealistic expectation…

Courses: The exercise is designed for an introduction to public-speaking course or a "basic course" with a major public-speaking assignment. Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to (1) identify their own misconceptions about public speaking, (2) recognize the relevance of public-speaking skills to their career…

Gravity Goldberg's "Teach Like Yourself" helps you be the biggest, boldest, and most powerful version of your teacher self. It reminds you why you became a teacher and coaches you to bring your unique gifts and talents into the classroom. The difference between a so-so lesson and one that leaves a lasting impact on students has…

Economic hardship is changing our students' brain structures at a genetic level, producing psychological, behavioral, and cognitive issues that dramatically impact learning, behavior, physical health, and emotional stability. But there is hope. This groundbreaking book by one of the nation's top experts in brain science and resilience offers…

The early emergent stage of writing consists of drawing and scribbling. This article provides a rationale for teachers to reframe their dispositions toward scribbling and reshape their interactions with writers in the early emergent stage. These teaching tips were derived from the authors' study of teacher, parent, and young students' perceptions…

Only by shifting away from a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning can every student achieve self-efficacy and true success in the classroom. In this resource, authors Eric Twadell, Mark Onuscheck, Anthony R. Reibel, and Troy Gobble provide educators with a comprehensive strategy implementation process for proficiency-based…