Category: Welcome

  • A Measure, Not THE Measure

    NFL scouts use a spider graph to assess prospective wide receivers on twelve elements they deem important to success in the league. Those elements include height, weight, arm length, hand size, 10-yard dash, 40-yard dash, bench press, broad jump, cone drill, 20-yard shuttle, and 60-yard shuttle.   During a presentation at the ASCD Conference on Educational

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  • Does Classroom Dialogue Make A Difference For Student Learning?

    Often attributed to the philosopher and teacher Socrates, classroom dialogue, whether teacher to student or student to student, has been considered essential pedagogy for centuries. Even as we move boldly into the 21st century and focus on communication as an essential skill, we continue to acknowledge the importance of dialogue in the classroom. Does it

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  • Let My Students Think

    Think time is an important part of the communication process that is often overlooked in planning. Those periods of silence in the flow of a lesson can be awkward for students and teachers alike, but those moments of thought can yield tremendous insights from students. What should a teacher do during the silence of a

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  • Thinking About Communication Opportunities

    Students need the opportunity to practice communication skills in the classroom. If you are having difficulty coming up with communication-type activities for your students, the following list may help: Oral Communication “How To” Speeches – Let the students teach you something like making a peanut butter sandwich or tying shoes. These are more powerful when

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  • How Did You Get That?

    Classroom dialogue can be a powerful tool for student learning in all grade levels and content concentrations, particularly when student ideas are central focus. Teachers need to create safe spaces for such dialogue by providing structure and goals for student talk. In the article Talking About Math, authors Allison Hintz and Elham Kazemi share the

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  • Creating A Communicative Climate

    Students frequently engage in energetic chatter within the classroom; however, that chatter is often idle. A wise teacher will channel student energy and dialogue in meaningful ways. Authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey suggest the following to create a classroom that is “driven by discussion, rather than distraction” (Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2014). Speaking

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  • Standing On Your PV LEGS

    Oral communication has been a primary means of sharing information since mankind developed language. Because of the innate nature of speaking, many educators operate under the assumption that students enter the classroom with the skills necessary to competently employ speaking and listening skills; however, this is not the case. If students are to speak effectively,

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  • Teaching Between Desks

    In Japan, teachers are often found providing instruction to students while moving throughout the student desks. American educators Bradley Ermeling and Genevieve Graff-Ermeling observed the method, known as kikan-shidō, during a professional study visit to Saitama, Japan in 2014. In their article Teaching Between Desks, Ermeling and Graff-Ermeling noted the following functions that were used

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  • Sustainable Grading Practices

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    According to Glen Pearsall in a recent article published in Educational Leadership, teachers work on average teachers work 14 more hours per week than they are paid for due to issues related to preparation, planning, and grading. Many teachers reported they often stay late at work or take mounds of student work home to be

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  • Win Every Time!

    The 1998 movie Patch Adams is loosely based on the early struggles of Hunter Adams as he undertook training to become a physician in Virginia.  Adams’ philosophical perspective regarding developing close relationships with his patients – particularly through the use of humor – was directly opposed to the distance that the clinical faculty demanded in

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phil@makeitbettertoday.com

phil@philharrisoncoaching.com

Based in the United States Midwest

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