Blog - Page 36 of 49 - Spencer Education

Feb 11 2017

We Need Librarians More Than Ever Before

By John Spencer Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy 7 Comments

It was about five years ago when a boy walked up to me and asked, "Hey Mr. Spencer, can you talk to the district and see if they'll open up the library over the summer?" "I don't think they can," I answered. "But the city…

Feb 07 2017

Who was the greatest teacher at Hogwarts?

By John Spencer Teacher Life No Comments

For our number one choice, we went with someone who is not actually a professor at Hogwarts. You guessed it. Argus Filch. That’s right, the mangy, angry caretaker of Hogwarts. You know, the guy with the cat? Okay, we didn’t choose Filch. We actually chose…

Feb 05 2017

Some of the Greatest Teachers Aren’t Nice (What Professor McGonagall Taught Me About Classroom Culture)

By John Spencer Teacher Life 4 Comments

Professor McGonagall isn’t very nice. But that’s actually what makes her so great. Confused? Let me explain. Being nice is about being pleasant and agreeable. Minerva McGonagall isn’t like that. She’s firm to a fault — like the way she refuses to let Harry go…

Jan 31 2017

Who Are the Hagrids in Your Building? How Are You Helping Them?

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life One Comment

At first glance, it would seem that Hagrid has all the makings of a great teacher. He is willing to take creative risks. He has a deep and passionate knowledge of his content area. And most importantly, he cares about his students. But unfortunately, content…

Jan 30 2017

Would you let your kids attend Hogwarts?

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life 4 Comments

Warning: this post may contain spoilers. If you haven’t read the books, go do that now and then come back to this post later. Let’s just put it out there. Hogwarts is probably a terrible place to send your kids. It’s dangerous, and I’m not…

Jan 12 2017

How Action Research Sparks Innovation and Boosts Creativity in the Classroom

By John Spencer Creativity, Innovation, Podcast 5 Comments

What happens when you give students exemplars? Do they simply copy the pre-existing examples? Do they fail to take creative risks? Do they internalize the idea that their work must fit a previous model? Does it implicitly tell students "this is what it should look…

Dec 16 2016

Six Videos to Spark Creative Thinking

By John Spencer Creativity, Design Thinking One Comment

Limitations and challenges can be frustrating. However, they can also be the creative constraint that leads to problem-solving and divergent thinking. Over the years, I've learned that students love challenges that they find engaging, intriguing and meaningful. Some of these are practical and real-world. Others…

Dec 08 2016

Fake News is a Real Problem. Here’s How Students Can Solve It.

By John Spencer Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy 4 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/embed/xf8mjbVRqao Subscribe to YouTube Channel I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class. Students created videos, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs with the goal of sharing their work with an…

Nov 27 2016

Is it time to reinvent the wheel?

By John Spencer Creativity One Comment

It’s Thanksgiving evening and I trudge up the stairs with every anticipation of writing a post about food and family and gratitude. I pull up my chair and flip open my MacBook. A black screen appears. I tap on the buttons. Nothing happens. I click…

Nov 25 2016

How I’m Using Design Thinking for My #NaNoWriMo Novel Project

By John Spencer Design Thinking, Podcast No Comments

A few months ago, my son came to me to pitch a story idea. "I want a story about a superhero taco." "You mean, like a superhero that eats tacos?" "No, a superhero taco. Like a real taco, though. Not those fake hardshell tacos." "Got…