On the first day of synchronous learning at my school, I had a pair of students doing something I hadn’t seen before while the class was completing a writing warm-up. They were taking turns flashing their videos on and off, making funny faces each time they’d appear. I could tell they were getting a real […]
Things That Help: “Good Times”
While I don’t necessarily recommend the book,* Ben Courson’s Flirting with Darkness: Building Hope in the Face of Depression did give me a concept that’s been helpful in the days since I read it one night. It’s this habit amongst elite military groups of responding to adverse turns in events with the phrase, “Good times.” […]
My School Just Went Remote: Here Are Ten Things That Are Helping
The last couple of weeks have seemed like the capstone project for my master’s degree in pandemic pedagogy. (You know, that master’s degree program that we all enrolled in together about eight months ago this Friday?) For nine instructional days, I was on quarantine while my students were (mostly) in class — so I taught kids […]
Things That Help: Lisa Van Gemert’s Content Capsules Method for Creating Joyful, Knowledge-Rich Learning Spaces, Remotely or In-Person
Note from Dave: This summer, our colleague Lisa Van Gemert reached out to me to tell me about a new book she had written. I’ve always appreciated Lisa’s work, and I was particularly eager to share it in this case because it’s 100% in line with what I believe to be the best avenue for […]
Things That Help: Emails as Letters
This is weird to say: I’m enjoying email these days. Part of that is because I’m spending less time on it than I have in years — that feels really good given that I have a higher volume of it than I’ve ever had. But part of it is because, thanks to this neat book, […]