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’m ready to set goals for the new year and I’m looking for some inspiration! Professionally speaking, what are your New Year’s resolutions for 2020? Sincerely, Resolution Ready Dear Resolution Ready, Great question! Self-improvement is the name of the game, and we are always looking for ways to become even better educators, coaches, employees, and colleagues. Working in education, we are well-versed in setting goals at the beginning of each school year and creating a plan to achieve those goals. But still, there’s something about that fresh January feeling that motivates us to reflect on our progress, revisit those goals, and set some new ones! To answer your question, I turned to the great minds on our iTeach team, who shared their own resolutions for 2020. Each resolution is followed by resources and links to prompt your thinking if you are interested in setting a similar goal for your own professional practice. While you read about our goals for the ne...

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...

It’s no secret that the #MakerMovement has taken U.S. K-12 by storm. I think that more than any other ‘trend’ in my 12 years in education, embracing what it is to be a #Maker has had the most profound impact on culture, but not just for students…for TEACHERS! Here are MY 3 reasons why #MakerEd will save teaching. #3 -  Permission to make a mess and not clean it up is LIBERATING! I can’t even begin to tell you how many of my afternoons have been lost to the deadly ‘I’ll just pick up a bit before I leave’ curse. The expectation that classrooms should look pristine and Pinterest-ready every morning is just too much pressure, and its such a time-suck. Instead, honoring the fact that when the bell rings doesn’t impact when kids are done with what they are working on, gives teachers the appropriate permission to skip the Clorox Wipe and recycling bin barrage at the end of the day…giving them back some of the TIME they are in such desperate need of. (Disclaimer: This d...