Blog - Page 5 of 48 - Spencer Education

Oct 30 2024

Why Focused Work Has Become an Essential Skill in a Distracted World

By John Spencer Depth Advantage, Mindsets, Podcast 4 Comments

It's no secret that students are distracted. When I conduct workshops and deliver keynotes, I like to ask teachers about their successes and their current challenges. Overwhelmingly, teachers describe the challenge of teaching to a distracted generation of students. I see a similar pattern when…

Oct 16 2024

The Five Biggest Pitfalls of Collaborative Grouping (And How to Avoid Them)

By John Spencer Creative Collaboration, Creativity, Podcast 6 Comments

We’ve all been there before. You’re working with a few other people and everything just seems to click. It might be on a ball field or court. Or it might be in a jam session or a rehearsal for live theater. If you’re lucky, it…

Oct 09 2024

How do you come up with great project ideas? (Four Starting Places)

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast, Project-Based Learning One Comment

I love to come up with project ideas. The brainstorming process feels a bit like going to a candy store, where I get to peruse past experiences, seek out new interests, find materials, and feel inspired by whatever pops up. Or better yet, it's more…

Oct 02 2024

Making the Most of Community Partnerships in PBL

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast, Project-Based Learning No Comments

In PBL, we often think about the role of a public product. However, community involvement is actually something we can embed into every area of the PBL process. In this week's article and podcast, we take a deep dive into how we can make this…

Sep 25 2024

AI Won’t Replace Teachers But It Will Transform Nearly Every Aspect of the Job

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Podcast One Comment

Note that this isn't simply the question, "How will AI change teaching in the future?" This starts with the question, "How is AI already changing the teaching profession?" Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog but you’d like to listen to it on…

Sep 09 2024

Seven Questions to Ask Before Having Students Use AI Tools

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Podcast 4 Comments

Artificial Intelligence can feel overwhelming. With so many tools and strategies, you might be wondering where to start or what to do. But I actually think that before we integrate AI into our lessons with students, we should ask some critical questions that will guide…

Sep 06 2024

Campfires or Fireworks? Which Story Will You Choose?

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life 4 Comments

Perfectionism often creeps in because we buy into the wrong story about what it means to be a teacher. In this week's article, I share two different stories that ultimately lead to either burnout or sustainability. Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog…

Aug 21 2024

5 Ways to Get to Know Your Students at the Start of the School Year

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Podcast 8 Comments

As an educator, you are a community builder. From day one, you getting to know your students on a relational level. It’s often in the little things, like sending an email the first time they miss a class period or sending a positive note home…

Aug 14 2024

Taking a Gradual Release (GRR) Approach to Student Choice

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Podcast 11 Comments

If you've read my blog before, you know that I love to share sharing practical ways that we can empower our students to own the learning from day one. This is the core idea that AJ Juliani and I wrote about in our book Empower.…

Aug 02 2024

Kieran O’Mahony on Neuroscience in Education

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life No Comments

In my latest podcast episode, we get into the intersection of neuroscience and student learning with renowned expert Kieran O'Mahony. He is Founding Principal of the Institute for Connecting Neuroscience with Teaching and Learning, Chief Learning Officer of HUE Learn, and Emeritus Research Scientist at…