Blog - Page 29 of 50 - Spencer Education

Apr 02 2019

The Future Belongs to the Makers

By John Spencer Design Thinking 14 Comments

This is the first in a month-long series on design thinking. This is an elaboration of an article I wrote in 2015. My Maker Journey When I was in the eighth grade, my entire goal was to go unnoticed. Fly under the radar. Keep away…

Mar 25 2019

Get a Free PowerPoint with 100 Writing Prompts for Middle School

By John Spencer Literacy 41 Comments

Over 100 visual and video writing prompts for grades 6-8. Here's a one-minute preview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAvxvI3UIN8 One of the best aspects of being a teacher is watching students go from saying, "I hate writing," to being so passionate about writing that they refuse to stop…

Mar 18 2019

Making The Shift from Student Engagement to Student Empowerment

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Student Choice 15 Comments

We often focus on student engagement, but student empowerment is a step further. Here, we focus on the seven shifts toward student empowerment. Two years ago, I was a chaperone for my son's fourth-grade field trip to a hands-on pioneer museum. Students learned how to…

Mar 06 2019

Dear New Teachers, You Don’t Need Be Superheroes

By John Spencer Teacher Life 3 Comments

I created the following video with my good friend Trevor Muir, who has partnered with me on the New Teacher Academy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y541aTuW5s8&t=6s Subscribe to YouTube Channel An Open Letter to New Teachers Dear new teachers, There’s a popular idea that to be a good teacher,…

Feb 25 2019

The Surprising Truth Behind Creating and Consuming

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 4 Comments

It's easy to pit creativity and consumption against each other. However, critical consuming is vital for creative work. When you engage in critical consuming, you become more inspired and ultimately, you will create better content. Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog but…

Feb 12 2019

7 Ways to Inspire Divergent Thinking in the Classroom

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed 14 Comments

The world is unpredictable. The corporate ladder is now a maze, which means our students will need to think divergently. In this article, we explore how to integrate divergent thinking into our everyday classroom practices. This is an updated version of an article that was…

Feb 04 2019

Six Strategies for Tackling Perfectionism

By John Spencer Creativity, Teacher Life One Comment

The following is a variation on a post I created for the New Teacher Academy. Each year, I ask my pre-service teachers to describe what teaching will be like when they move from surviving to thriving. Common themes emerge. "Every student will listen each time…

Jan 28 2019

Podcasting Can Work in Any Subject

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 2 Comments

Last week, I shared why student podcasting is a great idea. Podcasting is a powerful way for students to share their voice with the world. Along the way, they learn to communicate, engage in critical thinking, and go through the design process as they ultimately…

Jan 21 2019

5 Reasons to Pilot Student Podcasting Projects

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 2 Comments

I just learned that New York City doesn't actually have alleys. Okay, they have a few private alleys. However, after listening to the latest 99% Invisible podcast, I learned that the idea of alleys throughout NYC is a bit of a myth. Does this matter? Probably…

Jan 14 2019

Seven Strategies for Building Empathy in Students

By John Spencer Creativity, Design Thinking, Podcast 2 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-M4dvAgWs&t=64s Subscribe to YouTube Channel A few days ago, my son said something that surprised me. He said, "Dad, we have the best cafeteria lady at our school." And I said, "Wait, what?" But then he went on to describe how this woman chose to…