If a task didn’t flash into your mind the moment you read this post’s title, then take a minute to consider the question until something comes to you: What is the most pointless thing you do as an educator? I don’t mean to be crass with the question, either. What I’m aiming at, really, is a visceral […]
Archives for November 2016
A Simple Activity for Building Self-Regulated Learners
Self-regulated learning has been described several ways [1], but the gist of the concept is that self-regulated learners are conscious and in charge of their learning. They analyze a task, set a goal for it, make a plan for achieving the goal, implement the plan, and then self-critique after receiving feedback. Importantly, these different modes are only […]
Video: My Five-Minute “Defining Everest” Ignite Talk
The other day, a gentleman inquiring about my speaking/workshop services asked for a video of me giving a keynote, and I realized that, surprisingly, I didn’t have anything. This past weekend, I remedied that. Today’s post is a little different from usual in that it centers around a video. Below, you’ll see the “Ignite”-style talk […]
A Simple Set of Activities for Building Public Speaking Comfort in Students
Last school year, I studied the impact of a fairly simple method for increasing public speaking comfort in kids. Thanks to support from Character Lab, I was able to verify that, indeed, this intervention produced a statistically significant improvement in public speaking comfort. (See Figure 1.) The activity is meant to take place during the first […]
“Overachievers” and the Tyranny of Low Expectations
The other day when my students were brainstorming questions they could ask to a panel of local professionals, a student said she would like to ask, “What motivated you to overachieve and become successful?” This was an earnest question from a pretty transparent kid. The definition of an overachiever, in my general education classes especially, […]