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Professional learning has long been a pain point in education, typically characterized by teachers spending hours in sit-and-get sessions with no guarantee of lasting improvement to their teaching practice. Not to mention the time-consuming elements of traveling to a district location or the frustration teachers can face of being restricted to specific course offerings due …

Teachers Continue To Seek Out Opportunities To Learn From One Another Read More »

The reach of our schools goes far beyond academics, as we have witnessed more during this global pandemic than ever before. Florida was an early national leader in ramping up distance learning options for students, and sharing the lessons learned from that experience will help ensure that all students are able to receive a high-quality …

Experiences During COVID Highlight Need for Stronger Social-Emotional Supports Read More »

Throughout May and June you’ve been hearing from Florida teachers in a series of Insight posts with recommendations for summer learning focused on their area of expertise. With today’s Insight post, we wrap up this series but will continue to highlight and support Florida’s teachers. Stay tuned for a new series launching soon!    Creativity: …

Creativity: Weaving Learning into Projects at Home by Christie Bassett Read More »

This summer is going to be unlike any summer we’ve ever seen.  There is so much going on in our daily lives, but we’ve got more time on our hands so I can’t think of a better time to write.  I LOVE writing, however, in my twenty years as an educator I have found that it is a passion many of my students lack.  Sadly, most children are exposed to writing in a way that has tainted their view of it.  “Let’s write for fun,” said no one, ever! Yet, writing for fun is exactly what I’m proposing. Writing can bring words alive so that they can dance across your brain, encompass your heart and captivate your soul.  

I began teaching Astronomy in 1997 and have always believed the goal is to not only teach the wonders of the Universe, but to allow students to learn new technologies, collaborate in a work-place like environment, and express their own creativity in the process of doing so. Even with the social distancing and distance learning we are experiencing, it presents an opportunity for us to look up and tap into an interest that your kids may have and that you may  learn together. 

It’s National Teacher Appreciation Week again, but this year feels a whole lot different. Parents everywhere (this one included) are hitting the wall trying to recreate the elements of a productive learning environment that existed in our children’s schools just a few months ago. As we attempt to successfully navigate the matrix of information and …

Have You Ever Appreciated Teachers More? Read More »

Part 5: Shifting from “I Don’t Know” to “I Can Figure It Out” Parent Pedagogy 101 is focused on sharing how the skills used by master teachers in their classrooms can also be used by parents to support learning from home. These skills include asking questions to guide learning, highlighting mistakes as part of the …

Parent Pedagogy 101: Part 5 Read More »

During this current period of COVID-19 and social distancing, parents are stepping up in tremendous ways to help their children through the ups and downs of distance-learning. In our Parent Pedagogy 101 Series, we take a close look at skills master teachers utilize in the classroom and showcase how they can be used at home. …

Parent Pedagogy 101: Part 4 Read More »

In this week’s Parent Pedagogy 101, we will discuss the power of wait time, a strategy to provide your child with time to think and process information. It is a skill used by master teachers that can be applied at home, too. Wait time also blends seamlessly with the use of the what, how, and …

Parent Pedagogy 101: Part 3 Read More »