Which is a better way to prepare for this week’s Psych test? Dedicate three solid hours to reviewing the textbook, notes, and practice questions, as well as quizzing yourself with flashcards. Spend 30 minutes writing a test for yourself over the content. Take a nap, eat a snack, do your math homework. A few hours…
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Let’s end boredom together
What does it mean to “never bore” our students? How can we train teachers in active-learning strategies that engage all students? Promoting active learning in high school classrooms has been my mission for just over a year, and now there are big changes underway at NeverBore. You may have noticed that this blog is now MarthaRush.org.…
Read MoreHelp for students who lack logic
Have you ever had to teach logical reasoning to teenagers? I have — many times — and it’s very difficult. A few kids are fairly logical already; building on that is easy. But teens who don’t think logically at all have a hard time even understanding the task. Asking them to construct an argument with…
Read MoreMake time in class for what’s happening outside
ABC News How do you react when events outside the classroom are clearly affecting students inside? Do you take time to let students talk about their opinions, experiences, and questions? Or do you do what most of us do — stick to the lesson plan? Years ago, Mary Dilworth and Carlton Brown interviewed urban teenagers…
Read More‘I don’t get it’ doesn’t get us very far
“I don’t get it” Students often say this, but it’s not very helpful information for us. It could mean: I don’t understand the vocabulary in the reading I don’t understand the concept being explained I don’t have the background knowledge to make sense of this information My answer was wrong, but it still seems right…
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If you have an idea, don’t let it go
You’re back from summer break, energized for the new school year. You read a great book on writing workshops this summer, and you are excited to implement a new strategy this fall. You propose it to your Professional Learning Community (PLC), and the response is … silence. No one else wants to do it. Sounds…
Read MoreTeach the election – and critical thinking
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the challenges of teaching the 2016 presidential election. I’ve thought about it a lot since then and developed a lesson that I hope will enable students to openly discuss and critically evaluate the candidates and issues. In the lesson, each student is randomly assigned a role, as a voter…
Read MoreMotivation, without the guilt
At the end of last year, when I was stepping down as newspaper adviser, my student editors put together a surprise “tribute” page where they shared nice comments about me. One that really stuck with me was this: “She always pushed me to work harder and never made me feel guilty for not finishing something.”…
Read MoreWhen to cold-call? Today.
When is the best time to start cold-calling students? The first day of class. There are plenty of reasons not to. We have to “get through” the syllabus. We don’t know the students’ names yet. We haven’t built a relationship yet. The students haven’t learned any of the material yet. But I’m going to argue…
Read MoreTeaching this election won’t be easy
Yesterday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump renewed his pledge to build a wall at the Mexican border, deport 11 million illegal immigrants and suspend immigration from countries like Libya and Syria. In our public school classrooms, we have students who would be deported — or at the very least harassed about their immigration status —…
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MARTHA RUSH 