Saturday, 23 January 2016 00:51
The Awesomeness of Problem-Based Learning (Part 2) Featured
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I was initially drawn to the Problem-Based Learning approach because of its child-centered philosophy and its emphasis on student initiative, choice, collaboration, and other critical “21st Century Skills” that I mentioned in last week’s post. As a teacher who focuses on educating the whole child, I was excited to discover that PBL offers an ideal way for my students to learn not only academic content but also strong work habits and valuable interpersonal skills. One of the most appealing features of Problem-Based Learning is that children become the primary driving forces in their learning. In this role students make meaningful decisions about how they will learn, organize their work, and present that work to a larger audience. As teachers, our focus shifts to one of coaching, facilitating, and guiding. A typical PBL unit begins with either a question, challenge, or problem statement. Often, this introduction presents an interesting context or…
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Saturday, 16 January 2016 21:26
The Awesomeness of Problem-Based Learning (Part 1) Featured
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After a few years of reading about and tinkering with Problem-Based Learning, I fully implemented this instructional approach in my classroom this fall, and PBL has been an absolute game changer. As educators teaching in the Common Core era, we hear quite a bit about the need to help children develop “21st Century Skills" focusing on such areas as communication, collaboration, technology, and problem solving, and I have found that nothing comes close to PBL in this regard. Plus, the level of enthusiasm and engagement students display while working on their projects is simply incredible. During a PBL session, the hardest part of my job sometimes is getting everyone to stop at the end of the period. On many occasions, the kids were so invested in what they were doing that I actually began to worry a little about my safety as I headed to the front of the room…
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Saturday, 05 December 2015 00:11
A Novel Way to Inspire Students Who Need a Boost (Teaching Tip #126) Featured
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One of the most difficult challenges teachers face involves motivating students who haven't yet committed themselves fully to academic pursuits, who may never before have had positive experiences in school, and who may not yet demonstrate the drive and work ethic required to be successful. Throughout my career I have incorporated "Quote of the Day" discussions into our morning routine and used storytelling to help motivate children, and these efforts have had a powerful impact on how students perform in the classroom. With some children, though, we need to take additional action. This year, for the first time, I started creating personalized, inspirational visuals for some of my students. When I made the first one for a child who was having an extremely difficult start to the year, I knew that his favorite football player was Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. Normally tough to tackle, Lynch frequently takes his…
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During my teaching career I have noticed that there are a small number of “high-leverage” behaviors that all kids can learn and all teachers and parents can nurture and develop. With time, effort, and consistent attention paid to these areas, every child can become a highly successful student and experience the greater confidence, higher self-esteem, and greater learning gains that result from this success. I describe the quest to help children develop these behaviors as “The Drive for 5.” Recently, I posted 7 new visuals on Pinterest to help teachers and parents share these traits with children. The first visual provides an introduction to "The Drive for 5," the second displays the acronym featured in this post, and the other five focus on the individual traits that comprise "The Drive for 5." I hope you find these visuals useful. Click here to see these visuals on Pinterest.
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Saturday, 22 August 2015 00:35
7 Ways to Help Your Child Become a Highly Successful Student Featured
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It takes a team effort for children to be highly successful in school. Parents, teachers, and the students themselves all have a critical role to play. The teacher’s role is carried out primarily at school, while parents’ real impact happens mostly at home. This article focuses on what research has shown to be the most important actions parents can take to help their children maximize their amazing potential. Emphasize that education is a serious quest. For children to be successful in school, they must “buy in” to the purposes of education. They need to be dedicated to their daily learning and embrace the importance of rigor. Children need to know that school is where they are expected to learn complex material and develop higher-level thinking skills so they can thrive in the world. See yourself as a coach. Take a hands-on approach throughout your child’s elementary years. Read to or…
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At the beginning of this past school year, I was conferring with a student about her newly published Writing Workshop project. On the rubrics we used for self-evaluation purposes, she gave herself consistently low scores. When I asked her about this, she told me that she always got low scores in school and naturally thought her scores on this project would be low, too. At this moment, I realized that even though our conference was supposed to be about writing, discussing specific skills, strategies, and techniques wasn’t the right approach to take. Instead, we needed to have a conversation about something larger—namely, her overall outlook on school and how she viewed her own capabilities. Until her perspective changed, it was unlikely that she would make significant academic progress. I needed to help her build her confidence and expect more from herself. This article features a set of tips that we,…
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Friday, 10 April 2015 01:48
Successful Students Engage in Energetic Listening (Trait #5 in My "Drive for Five" Blog Series) Featured
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In this post I describe the fifth of what I consider to be the five most important traits needed for success in school. By giving attention to these high-leverage behaviors and nurturing their development over time, teachers and parents can empower children to maximize their amazing potential. Of course, no two children are alike, and not all high-achieving students will display the traits I am about to describe in the same way. Some of the following details may not be true of every successful student. My goal, then, is not to paint a picture of a single, rigid "type" that all children must emulate. Rather, it's to share the specific behaviors that, in my experience, have the greatest impact on a child's success. Focusing on these behaviors gives teachers and parents the greatest bang for our buck in our efforts to help children become better students. E - Engage…
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Become a Member of the Chase Manning Detective Club! If you're a young reader who enjoys the Chase Manning Mystery Series, then join the Chase Manning Detective Club today. (It's absolutely free.) With your family's permission and help, simply click here to e-mail Steve. Be sure to send your name and home state or country. Once you join the club, you will receive periodic newsletter updates that will let you know how you can: * Get free, signed bookmarks for your friends and teachers. * Win a chance to have a character in a future book named after you. * Help choose the name of the next Chase Manning mystery. * See sneak previews of future books. * Earn a chance to write a review that appears on the back cover of a future book. Click here to Join the Chase. (Note: Because of some technical difficulties with the…
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Saturday, 21 March 2015 00:03
Successful Students Venture Toward Important Purposes (Trait #4 in My "Drive for Five" Blog Series) Featured
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In this post I describe the fourth of what I consider to be the five most important traits needed for success in school. By giving attention to these high-leverage behaviors and nurturing their development over time, teachers and parents can empower children to maximize their amazing potential. Of course, no two children are alike, and not all high-achieving students will display the traits I am about to describe in the same way. Some of the following details may not be true of every successful student. My goal, then, is not to paint a picture of a single, rigid "type" that all children must emulate. Rather, it's to share the specific behaviors that, in my experience, have the greatest impact on a child's success. Focusing on these behaviors gives teachers and parents the greatest bang for our buck in our efforts to help children become better students. V - Venture…
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Saturday, 14 March 2015 00:00
Successful Students Immediately Ask for Help When They Need It (Trait #3 in My "Drive for Five" Blog Series) Featured
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In this post I describe the third of what I consider to be the five most important traits needed for success in school. By giving attention to these high-leverage behaviors and nurturing their development over time, teachers and parents can empower children to maximize their amazing potential. Of course, no two children are alike, and not all high-achieving students will display the traits I am about to describe in the same way. Some of the following details may not be true of every successful student. My goal, then, is not to paint a picture of a single, rigid "type" that all children must emulate. Rather, it's to share the specific behaviors that, in my experience, have the greatest impact on a child's success. Focusing on these behaviors gives teachers and parents the greatest bang for our buck in our efforts to help children become better students. I - Immediately…
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Saturday, 07 March 2015 21:02
Successful Students Reach for the Stars (Trait #2 in My "Drive for Five" Blog Series) Featured
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In this post I describe the second of what I consider to be the five most important traits needed for success in school. By giving attention to these high-leverage behaviors and nurturing their development over time, teachers and parents can empower children to maximize their amazing potential. Of course, no two children are alike, and not all high-achieving students will display the traits I am about to describe in the same way. Some of the following details may not be true of every successful student. My goal, then, is not to paint a picture of a single, rigid "type" that all children must emulate. Rather, it's to share the specific behaviors that, in my experience, have the greatest impact on a child's success. Focusing on these behaviors gives teachers and parents the greatest bang for our buck in our efforts to help children become better students. R- Reach for the…
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Saturday, 28 February 2015 00:10
Successful Students Demonstrate Drive & Determination (Trait #1 in My "Drive for Five" Blog Series) Featured
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In this post I describe the first of what I consider to be the five most important traits needed for success in school. By giving attention to these high-leverage behaviors and nurturing their development over time, teachers and parents can empower children to maximize their amazing potential. Of course, no two children are alike, and not all high-achieving students will display the traits I am about to describe in the same way. Some of the following details may not be true of every successful student. My goal, then, is not to paint a picture of a single, rigid "type" that all children must emulate. Rather, it's to share the specific behaviors that, in my experience, have the greatest impact on a child's success. Focusing on these behaviors gives teachers and parents the greatest bang for our buck in our efforts to help children become better students. D - Demonstrate Drive…
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Saturday, 21 February 2015 00:01
The 5 Most Important Traits Needed for School Success (A New Blog Series) Featured
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For most of my career, two powerful sets of habits have guided the work I do with my students. Together, the Habits of Mind and Habits of Character show children the specific traits and behaviors needed to become better thinkers, better students, and better people. These 22 habits empower children to maximize their considerable potential, and I simply cannot imagine myself teaching in a classroom without using these ideas as daily reference points. Recently, I have noticed that a few of the behaviors included in this larger list seem to have particular power in explaining why some students consistently achieve success in school and why others haven’t yet been able to do so. Of course, factors that lie outside the control of teachers and schools most certainly impact how well children perform in the classroom, but the good news is that there are a small number of “high-leverage” behaviors that…
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