The iTeach Blog

Hey Coach, I’ve heard that Maker Ed is a great way for kids to develop creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. How can I incorporate making into my classroom with what I’m already doing instead of as something extra? Sincerely, Maker Curious Dear Maker Curious, You’re right! Maker Ed is definitely a great way for kids of all ages to develop creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. Many teachers want to integrate making into the content kids are already learning, but don’t know where to start or how to secure the resources they need. I hope this post helps you and others discover some ways to start small and take off on your Maker Ed journey. Make Writing Angela Stockman, author of Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer’s Workshop Into a Maker Space and Hacking the Writing Workshop: Redesign with Making in Mind , encourages teachers to use making to motivate, engage, and inspire student writers. She suggests starting a writing wor...

Hey Coach, I have noticed a trend in my classroom - my students shy away from challenging tasks that require them to step out of their comfort zone! I want to create an environment where students feel comfortable taking risks and are willing to persevere through difficulties. What can I do to foster these skills in my students right from the start of the school year? Sincerely, Ready for Risk-Taking Dear Ready for Risk-Taking, Way to go! I like that you are thinking about how you can support your students as they build these important executive functioning skills! As you know, covering content and standards is just part of the equation. Building executive functioning skills like perseverance and risk-taking are a critical piece of academic success. Research shows that grit, or the ability to persevere when faced with obstacles, is one of the key principles that influence student learning and predict student success ( Duckworth & Peterson, 2007 ). Design cha...

While targeting the personalized learning principles of just in time direct instruction, mastery-based assessments, and varied strategies as well as the Engineering Design Process, this team of teachers implemented an integrated unit that had students and teachers alike pumped for learning!     Classes studied the European Exploration of North America and learned about the different explorers, the obstacles they faced, and their accomplishments.  Taught through a variety of methods including direct instruction, curated digital resources, and student-paced Nearpod lessons. After all of the content had been taught, each class was then responsible for becoming an "expert" on their chosen explorer.  Students demonstrated mastery by creating an artifact of their choosing to be included in the classroom exhibit. Peers collaborated and created digital artifacts using Chatterpix, Sway, PowerPoint, and coding maps using Ozobots with 3D printed boats or thinglink-esq...