Methods
Being A Less Helpful Social Studies Teacher
Blogger Dan Meyer (dy/dan) is one of the first teachers I started to read regularly in the “edublogger” community. I am inspired by the way he is always trying to make the way he teaches math more effective. One of his biggest contributions to my own thought is the idea of “being less helpful.” For [...]
The Power of Biography
I’ve always been saddened by the bad rap that history gets from most students. I was always a part of the rare few that thoroughly enjoyed all of my history classes. Now, as a social studies teacher, I cannot afford to just be merely saddened by this phenomenon, I must do something to help reverse [...]
In Defense of Lecturing in the Social Studies Classroom
In the latest issue of Social Education there was an excellent article titled, “The Guide on the Stage: In Defense of Good Lecturing in the History Classroom” by Jason Stacy. It touched on an idea that I have been struggling with a long time, namely, does lecturing have a place in the history classroom, and, if [...]
Teaching Kids to Get Things Done
I do not think it is too much of a stretch to say that most teachers see their role in the classroom as more than just imparting their content knowledge to their students. Obviously, we each are passionate about our own content, otherwise it would be unlikely we would commit so much of ourselves [...]
PowerPoint: Do No Harm
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot and how it applies to teaching is graphic design and PowerPoint. I think we’ve all seen and experienced atrocious PowerPoint presentations in our school or professional lives. As a teacher, how can I use this really powerful tool in a responsible and engaging manner? Dan Meyer of [...]