Category Archives: Uncategorized

Several weeks ago, I got a very welcome email from Perry Goldsbury, 7th grade science teacher.  In it, he wrote: I wanted to share a quick story of student innovation with you . . . Currently in 7th grade science, the students are working on a presentation related to a nervous system disorder. One ofContinue reading “Making the Move from Teacher Innovation to Student Innovation: Face-to-Face Interviews Bringing Science to Life”

I first ran across the concept of “Vintage Innovation” in an email promoting John Spencer’s new book on the subject: The idea is simple and yet, at the same time, counter-cultural. Vintage innovation rejects simple binaries and the notion that innovation always looks shiny and digital and instead asserts that “sometimes the best way toContinue reading “The (Vintage) Innovation Exhibition”

Learning Colors in Spanish Throughout my Spanish classes, I have been using TPR (Total Physical Response) – a method that combines visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learning techniques. For example, we start learning colores with a song. I introduce colors one at the time, with a movement motion attached to each color. This movement helps studentsContinue reading “Aprendiendo Colores”

Emily Philpott, Associate Director of Global Studies, Upper School Science & History Faculty I have realized this year just how much I use stations as an instructional practice in all of my classes. While the implementation and structure depend on the desired learning outcomes and course discipline (I teach both history and science), the generalContinue reading “Students on the Move: Using Station Rotations to Foster Collaboration, Autonomy, and Experiential Learning”

Last week I had the opportunity to listen to Jonathan Mooney, award winning author, entrepreneur, and activist, speak at the Mississippi Dyslexia Conference. Jonathan didn’t learn to read until he was twelve years old, yet he graduated from Brown University with an honors degree in English Literature. He mentioned one of his reasons for successContinue reading “Teaching Self-Advocacy”

It’s 2:25pm Friday afternoon.  You are twelve years old. You’ve spent the week running from class to class, trying to bring the right supplies to each place, going to sports practices, doing the homework, engaging in whatever it is the teacher has dreamed up.  You breathe a sigh of relief. TGIFCF (Thank God it’s FreeContinue reading “Bracelet-Making, “Talkie Walkies,” and Fishing as Revolution: How Free Choice Fridays Disrupt Our Notions of Schooling”

This post was contributed by Dr. Matt Luter. At our first faculty idea-share of the year in August, I shared with some of you how much I have been influenced recently by the writing of John Warner. His two recent books, Why They Can’t Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities and The Writer’sContinue reading “People Speaking to People”

My love affair with NaNoWriMo started long before I ever stepped into the classroom. While in graduate school, I was introduced to this crazy endeavor called National Novel Writing Month. The premise is simple- every day of November a writer pens 1,667 words adding up to 50,000 words total. At the end of the 30Continue reading “NaNoWriMo- 30 Days of Writing with Reckless Abandon”

I know I don’t represent everyone on this, but I have always found teaching conferences, gatherings populated with and led by feet-on-the-ground practitioners, life-changing. I’ll never forget my first NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Conference. I was 21 years old, in the midst of that most difficult first year of teaching, and IContinue reading “Ode to Conferences”

In October and November during Library, second graders had an opportunity to participate in the Global Read Aloud, an initiative to promote diverse literature and voices to students. This year’s picture books were all by author and illustrator Yuyi Morales. Students learned about the author and analyzed inspirations for her stories and art. One book,Continue reading “Messy Making in the Makerspace”

Sometimes I just wake up uninspired.  I might not have slept well the night before.  I might have had a weird conversation in which I felt misunderstood, underappreciated.  Often I’m just overwhelmed with a million different things pulling on my minutes and hours, things that even though I know aren’t my priority just have toContinue reading “‘Tis the Season: Embracing the Ebb and Flow of Innovation & Inspiration”

As many of you know, I’ve been exploring the idea of “backchannel chat” in my senior English class.  A backchannel is a conversation that happens concurrently with whatever is going on in the class but is not officially part of the lesson – much like passing notes in elementary school.  I’ve implemented it as partContinue reading “Shhhh…don’t tell teacher! (backchannelchat.com)”

During the month of November, our lower school community is practicing “30 Days of Gratitude”.  This 30 day focus is an intentional way for us to dive deeper into our gratitude practices as we’ve set gratitude as the theme for the complete school year.  A recent email from our wonderful school counselor, Chelsea Freeman, toContinue reading “30 Things I’m Thankful For”

Let’s face it, the math instruction today is quite different than the way we learned math as kids.  As mathematical instruction shifts, many parents are curious as to how they can help their child at home. Teachers also desire consistent messages for students while they are completing work outside of the classroom. One way IContinue reading “Using YouTube to Strengthen Collaboration with Parents and Student Learning”

This year, teachers in the Early Childhood Center have adopted a new form of documentation of a child’s learning in class. This form of documentation comes through the innovative app called SeeSaw. This app allows teachers to document learning that many times is missed on the youngest learners. Normal documentation is mostly found in theContinue reading “SeeSaw: Sharing Learning with Parents in Real Time”

During last week’s Late Wednesday, faculty at the middle school began a conversation about homework, led by our incredible MS Learning Facilitator, Lynda Morse. (Click here for a link to the slideshow.)  Rather than fixate on the question of quantity (a well-worn topic by all accounts) we began with the notion of quality.  How intentionalContinue reading “Homework: Bringing Purpose to the Practice”

When Emmi Sprayberry sits down to plan her classes, she probably does what a lot of us do.  She thinks about her course objectives and maps out a tentative timeline of activities that build toward those objectives.  But for her, that is just the beginning. Her next step involves phone calls, emails, and meetings withContinue reading “Graphic Design, (Re)Designed: The Case for Community Engagement”

At the end of quarter one, the 5th graders wrapped up a thrilling final unit in the performing arts quarter rotation! Using primary sources as the entry point for discovery, students learned about the Mississippi Delta Blues and applied their greater understanding through a culminating jam session.  In small groups, students cycled through centers comprisedContinue reading “Through the lens of a 5th-grade musicologist: Mississippi Delta Blues”

When sitting in Grace Pei’s Mandarin 5, you better be ready for all-Mandarin, all-the-time. Near the end of my observation of her class, students worked collaboratively on a script (in the target language of course), and I just had to ask to be invited to the big performance of a well-known Chinese Valentine’s Day story.Continue reading “Love & Mandarin: Scripting and Staging for Chinese Valentine’s Day”

For lesson 2 in French 4, the theme is “downtown” and everything we come across. We talk about the different activities that happen, the different places we can come across and we also make comparisons between living in the city and living outside of the city (albeit in the suburbs or in the country). TheContinue reading “Going downtown, where the French gets tough!”