Category: PD

Adding EdTech to Your Classroom? 3 Non-Negotiable “Old School” Components to Include in Every Lesson

Educational technology: it’s the hottest movement out there in education, and has been for some time. In fact, there seems to be a rather non-discriminating admiration for anything edtech among many teachers today. You can’t open […]

Leading In And From the Classroom

The role of a creative leader is not to have all the ideas; it’s to create a culture where everyone can have ideas and feel they’re valued. ~Sir Ken Robinson I am a middle child and […]

Ultimate Project Based Learning – How Student Teamwork Built a World Championship Car

Every year for the past twenty the Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team (STA EVT) has built a new vehicle from the ground up to give our students the best engineering experience a high-schooler can get. […]

EdTech Comfort Zones – From G Suite to Office 365

What is your preferred platform for regular digital work? What makes it your favorite? I learned how to use Microsoft Word and Appleworks (yes, I’m old) in high school. I continued to use those tools for […]

Utilize Your Students and Surveys to Measure Your Teaching Effectiveness

A teacher’s stakeholders’ satisfaction with their course is an important measure of instructional effectiveness that is too often overlooked or outright ignored. Of course, it’s absurd to hope to satisfy every young adult’s needs and wants […]

Get on the Bus of Learning! A Creative Approach to Weekly Staff Professional Development

As educators, we know it is imperative that we are always learning. We strive to find the best techniques, the helpful tools, the lesson plan ideas, and the ways in which we can become stronger together. […]

Feeding the Fire: Finding The Key To PD and Your Passion

What sets your soul on fire? What are you so passionate about that people can tell by the look on your face and the sound of your voice when you are talking about it? Professionally, my […]

Field Days Are One of the Best Parts of School! Here’s How You Can Plan One to Remember!

Think back on your field day from your school days. What do you remember? Was it the heat? Was it the humidity? Was it the bugs and bees? Was it the competition? Or was it the […]

We are Pleased to Announce the Launch of the WorldSTEM Challenge!

We are pleased to announce the launch of the World STEM Challenge! Website: worldstem.co Twitter: @WorldSTEMedu The concept is to ‘crowdsource’ a video bank of quality STEM lessons and ideas for teachers around the world. The […]

Striving to be a Strong Digital Leader

—Every day, I want to grow and become better. Through every task and experience, I am pushed as a leader. How will this decision affect kids? What impact will this have on our school? What is […]

3 Key Characteristics of Successful School Leaders [Infographic]

It’s no secret that it’s tough at the top. As a leader, it can be difficult to gain respect, make changes and deliver results (and I don’t mean academic results). However, in a minimum of 21 […]

Blogging Matters: Reap the Rewards of Starting Your Own Blog

I took a break from my blog in the recent past. I told myself I didn’t have enough time. I thought I didn’t have anything to share. I pulled together every excuse in the book and […]

The Innovator’s Mindset—A Blockbuster Lesson from George Couros

Let me begin by making three confessions: 1. I think this is a very clever title … read on to find out why. 2. I thought this review would never be written; indeed, I’ve taken nearly […]

The Carrot and The Stick: Are American Schools Actually Teaching Us?

When I was seven-years-old we moved from the United States to Switzerland because of my father’s job. I was born in Brazil, but having left it just two years old, I didn’t really know anything other […]

Discipline Outdoes Talent—Here’s How

F. One simple letter. The grade we never want to have to give. Are some students simply doomed to low marks forever? Can their brains only struggle to deliver D-level work? Why do some students sail […]

Is Your Child Having Friendship Problems?

At some point throughout their schooling years, children will experience problems with their school friends. Have we not all been there? Because of this, it is important to differentiate “normal” childhood conflicts and bullying. Normal childhood […]

3 Superpowers of the Principal: E.V.E

As a Principal you are plopped down into a building tasked with one of two scenarios: maintain the status quo or upset that status quo. In order to accomplish your own goals within one of those […]

Teachers—Don’t be a Joke

I recently came across this joke on Pinterest. I like a good joke as much as the next person, but being an educator, my first instinct was to be offended. My second inclination was to look […]

3 Key Characteristics of Successful School Leaders

We are living in an age of educational cynicism. It is becoming increasingly difficult to lead in these times. In order to cultivate success as a Principal you must first acknowledge that it isn’t all about […]

It’s the Little Things—Avoiding Burnout through Teacher-Teacher Relationships

I’m currently coaching a teacher in Texas. This is her fifteenth year as a high school physics teacher, but her first in this district. As soon as I walked into her classroom it was clear to see […]