The iTeach Blog

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...

Hey Coach, I often use tools like Flipgrid, Google Classroom, Seesaw, and blogging so my students can give peer feedback through comments on each other’s work. The problem is, their feedback is not very meaningful - the comments lack detail and specificity to support their peer’s learning, and instead are full of exclamation points, emojis, and vague compliments. How can I teach my students to provide meaningful peer feedback in a digital space? Sincerely, Frustrated with Peer Feedback Dear Frustrated with Peer Feedback, First, let’s take a moment to celebrate what’s going well. It sounds like you recognize the importance of peer feedback in the classroom, and you’re already utilizing tools that enable students to share and discuss their work. Researchers John Hattie and Helen Timperley (2007) explain that when utilized effectively, feedback is one of the most powerful influences on student learning, so you are on the right track! But what does effective feedback look like? Acc...