The Power of Building Empathy and Gratitude in the Classroom
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” – HARPER LEE It was the time of year when I sat in front...
View ArticleKeeping things Curious…..
If you happened to pop into my 3rd grade classroom at Grimsrud, at first glance it may look like the classroom teacher is simply walking around observing while the students are busily working on a...
View ArticleDo I have to???.....................Yes, you get to! Student Engagement
Teachers wonder why students are not engaged, not participating, and not interested. Why do I have to know this? How is this important to me? Two questions heard so often from students. We try to get...
View ArticleWork With an Instructional Coach? Whoa...Talk About Vulnerability!
It was my seventh year teaching, but my first year as a second grade teacher. To me, this was just like being a brand new teacher. I was teaching in a very low socioeconomic building in the District...
View ArticleLive Your Excellence
What are you good at? What do you feel confident doing? Maybe it’s something you’re naturally good at, maybe it’s something you’ve put in hours of practice learning how to do and now it’s something...
View ArticleTurning Student’s Minds On To Math
In February, I had the opportunity to attend a math conference led by Wendy Ward Hoffer and focused around her book titled Minds on Mathematics Using Math Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding. I...
View Article“Teacher, Teacher, how do I do this?” ... or ... “What are you going to do...
Ever wonder how to help your students know what to do when they don’t know what to do? Me too. I like to give a lot of lip service to how important it is to support success skills (four C’s, soft...
View ArticleWellness and Relations, A District Approach
Wellness and Relations, A District Approach By Dr. Jason Hornbacher, BPS Superintendent As parents and educators it tends to be easy to identify the physical needs of our children such as housing,...
View ArticleWhat does Innovation mean?
For me, the concept of innovation is both overwhelming and exciting. The blistering pace of change, particularly changes driven by technology, leave us in a state where it is difficult to predict the...
View ArticleWorkshop Model of Teaching
Have you ever met your hero? Have you been afforded the opportunity to visit with someone who inspires you or who has changed the way you teach? Lucy Calkins is my “teaching hero”! I have learned so...
View ArticleCareer Ready/Work Place Ready
For the most part school assessment is about grades in specific subject areas as it relates to classroom assignments and projects. However, if you ask business, industry employers, or Human Resource...
View ArticleDo Your Students Know You’re a Learner, too?
We know that learning is essential for professional success. As adults, we are often expected to learn according to someone else’s agenda. This is in contrast to studies that tell us the most...
View ArticleAVID in the Elementary
What is AVID, you ask? AVID stands for Advancement Via Individualized Determination. AVID is best teaching practices nicely laid out for teachers to refer to; it is not something new that we have to...
View ArticleCreating Experiences for Kids
When I think back to my years as a student, the memories that spark the most joy were the ones that were out of the ordinary routine. Popcorn parties on the playground. Parading through the school...
View ArticleInquiry in the Classroom
We need to think about creating classroom environments that give children the opportunity for wonder, mystery, and discovery; an environment that speaks to young children inherent curiosity and innate...
View ArticleFostering Collective Teacher Efficacy through Collaborative Inquiry
I am continually inspired by teachers. Again and again, I sit beside teachers who come together to grapple with the hard questions of teaching and learning. Sure, experts have answers, but these...
View ArticleTeacher Leader Academy reflections
Starting a new year is a natural time for reflection. What worked in the previous year, what you want to change or do differently, what you want to start. Much of my 2019 (and quite a bit of 2018,...
View ArticleSOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM
Two years ago, my teaching partner and I set out to get our Master’s in Education in Leadership through a shared partnership between NDSU and BPS. One of the key assignments was an action research...
View ArticleHands-On CTE in a Virtual World
February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) month. Students who live in Bismarck have access to multiple CTE programs at the Career Academy, Technical Center, and our three high schools....
View ArticleVoice and Choice: Independent Reading
When students have the chance to select their own books to read, they have opportunities to read what interests them and discover books they enjoy to read. Self-selecting books does not always work...
View ArticleTransitioning to Online Education
We are in new times and are likely overwhelmed with information, so I am keeping this post as brief as possible. We changed the Twitter Tues topic for this week to respond to 'just-in-time' needs. We...
View ArticleBPS eLearning Kickoff Reflections
We are a week into BPS's transition to online learning! Let's chat about how it's going. Q1: What's working so far? What's going better than expected? What can you do now that you couldn't do a...
View ArticleSelf-Care during eLearning
Take Care of Behavioral Health I'm blaming it on Covid brain mush, but I was struggling with fresh ideas for the blog this time. After visiting with Melissa Korslien and Danielle Weisz, they...
View ArticleOne Month into Distance Learning - What Have We Learned?
It's the last #learnbpschat Twitter Tuesday of the '19-'20 school year! We did it! Teachers have done at least a year's worth of learning in just over a month! (insert a pat on the back to...
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