Empowering Students Archives - Page 2 of 5

Sep 24 2022

Designing Socratic Seminars to Ensure That All Students Can Participate

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Podcast 19 Comments

Socratic seminars are a democratic, student-centered, approach to class discussions. They can be used at any grade level with any subject area. In a Socratic Seminar, members meet in a circle (or more likely an oval, because, let’s be real, circles are really hard to…

May 02 2022

Five Reasons Students Should Own the Assessment Process

By John Spencer Creativity, Distance Learning, Empowering Students, Mindsets, Podcast 2 Comments

For years, I held a very teacher-centered view of assessment. I would grade student work and use that to modify lessons and pull small groups. Students would receive a grade, which would then motivate them to work harder. Later, I started realizing that my feedback…

Jan 17 2022

Why I’m Not Too Worried About Learning Loss

By John Spencer Creativity, Empowering Students, Podcast 5 Comments

All three of my kids have missed a significant number days because of the need to quarantine. The Omicron variant is sweeping through our neighborhoods and our local school district recently created a no-contact day this last Friday. Many caregivers and community members are concerned…

Oct 04 2021

Empower symbol with fist and lightning bolts

You Don’t Have to Be a Martyr to Do Student-Centered Learning

By John Spencer Creativity, Empowering Students, Podcast, Teacher Life 4 Comments

It's been quite a year so far in American education. Between school board battles over Critical Race Theory to protests over mask mandates, we are seeing significant social strife playing out in the context of our schools. We're also seeing school staff shortages, leading to…

Jul 26 2021

Less Work. More Reading.

By John Spencer Creativity, Empowered Readers, Empowering Students, Podcast One Comment

This is part of a series on empowering readers. If you're interested, I also have a self-paced course where I walk you through practical ways that you can empower your students in the reading process. Some people say that it's better to ask forgiveness than…

Apr 12 2021

Clement Townsend on How Video Journalism Can Empower Students with Voice and Choice

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Literacy, Podcast 2 Comments

In this podcast episode, I interview Clement Townsend about the importance of journalism and multimedia composition in the classroom. Clement Townsend has valuable real-world experience in journalism as well as teaching and mentoring experience at the K-12 level. In this episode, he shares practical insights…

Feb 26 2021

Thom Gibson on Designing Student Jobs that Empower the Classroom Community

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Podcast One Comment

Teachers have been using student jobs for years but sometimes a classic idea can use a makeover in an age of hybrid learning, remote learning, and blended learning. In this podcast episode, I interview Thom Gibson, who has thought strategically about how to use classroom…

Aug 24 2020

5 Ways to Get to Know Your Students in Virtual and Hybrid Environments

By John Spencer Distance Learning, Empowering Students, Podcast 6 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 virtual class session. It’s what happens when you…

May 11 2020

Seven Reasons to Pilot Genius Hour Projects

By John Spencer Creativity, Empowering Students, Podcast, Student Choice 7 Comments

Genius Hour (or 20% Time) projects begin with a simple idea: give students a dedicated period of time to pursue their passions, interests, and questions in a creative way. In this blog post and podcast, we explore the benefits of doing Genius Hour projects. This…

May 06 2020

4 Ways to Craft Choice Menus in Distance Learning Classes

By John Spencer Creativity, Distance Learning, Empowering Students, Podcast 13 Comments

I have three kids ranging from older elementary to high school. Each one of them is handling distance learning differently. My daughter, who is also the youngest, initially felt overwhelmed at the list of assignments that popped up each Monday and the scheduled meetings twice…

Dr. John Spencer

As a former middle school teacher and current full-time professor and best-selling author, I’m a big believer in empowering students (and teachers) through the power of creativity. Whether you sign up for one of my online courses, enroll in one of my cohorts or invite me to spend time with your staff, I promise you’ll walk away with a fresh perspective and new ideas to transform your classroom.

Empowering Students

Designing Socratic Seminars to Ensure That All Students Can Participate

Five Reasons Students Should Own the Assessment Process

Why I’m Not Too Worried About Learning Loss

You Don’t Have to Be a Martyr to Do Student-Centered Learning

Less Work. More Reading.

Clement Townsend on How Video Journalism Can Empower Students with Voice and Choice

Thom Gibson on Designing Student Jobs that Empower the Classroom Community

5 Ways to Get to Know Your Students in Virtual and Hybrid Environments

Seven Reasons to Pilot Genius Hour Projects

4 Ways to Craft Choice Menus in Distance Learning Classes

Dr. John Spencer

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