The iTeach Blog

Hey Coach,  I’ve heard so much about breakout education, but I have never used a breakout game in the classroom. How can they benefit my students? Sincerely, Inquiring Mind Dear Inquiring Mind, It’s so awesome to hear that you are interested in breakout education! This is one of my favorite classroom strategies and is loved by students of all ages! First, a little background information for those who are not yet familiar with breakout games in the classroom: Breakout games require students to work together to solve a series of clues and challenges before a time limit expires. These games can be played with physical containers that must be unlocked (available for purchase from BreakoutEDU ), or they can be digital breakouts that are played on any device that connects to the Internet (Check out some ready-made digital breakouts on Tom’s Digital Breakouts or in the BreakoutEDU Digital Sandbox … or, create your own !) In Gamification in Education: What How, Why Bother? (Lee & Hamm

Hey Coach, I’ve been reading a lot about the power of individual student conferencing. This is a strategy I want to use in my classroom, but I’m feeling a major time crunch! How can I find the time to conference with every student? Sincerely, Out of Time Teacher Dear Out of Time Teacher, Good for you! It sounds like you recognize the importance of individual student conferencing. When it comes to building relationships with students and collecting specific information about their progress, nothing beats a 1:1 conference. Not only that, but student conferencing is an integral part of the dynamic communication that takes place within a personalized learning environment. As Stephanee Stephens and Anisa Lokey-Vega explain in the white paper, A Vision for Personalized Learning , these conferences offer important opportunities for learners to voice their needs, preferences, and interests to plan and drive their education. Yet, teachers are often hesitant to implement classroom