A few years back, I was sitting in an office with my best friend Javier, scribbling out a web of ideas for our upcoming STEM Camp and Lab School. “What if we . . .” He stopped mid-sentence and looked at his phone. “You were…
The term “design thinking” is often attached to maker spaces and STEM labs. However, design thinking is bigger than STEM. It begins with the premise of tapping into student curiosity and allowing them to create, test and re-create until they eventually ship what they…
Right now, I’m sitting on an airplane. I mean, I’m not actually sitting on the airplane. I’m in it. Because, if I were on top of it, I wouldn’t be bored. I’d be terrified. Without access to the interwebz, I have nothing to do. I’ve…
When I was a kid, I used to get jealous of classmates who were rewarded for reading. They would get video games or money or whatever and it seemed odd to me. I didn’t understand why someone would get rewarded for doing something fun. It…
A few years ago, I had the chance to teach science in a self-contained classroom (teaching all subjects). I scoured the Internet for examples of great demonstrations that would captivate my students’ attention. It worked at first. I did the typical experiments. You know, add…
It’s easy to bust on standardized tests. They suck. They’re boring. They’re virtually meaningless. They kill instructional time. But what’s the alternative? If we’re not using multiple choice tests, what are we using? If we want a more creative classroom, what types of assessments exist…
Note: While this post points to a problem I have noticed with tech adoption and teachers, I want to point out that there is a free resource I developed with coaching questions for teachers on the technology journey. These correspond with a post I wrote…
I believe that peer feedback is critical for students. Part of this is the nature of peer interactions. Peers are often able to share their thoughts in a more relatable way than teachers. Another part is simply the time limits that teachers have. Even with…
I sit in front of the computer, staring at the screen. I have a general syllabus with little more than standards and goals. The university is giving me a crazy amount of freedom to design this online course. I shake my head, unsure of what…
Over the last few weeks, I’ve enjoyed experimenting with illustrated videos. Here are three of my examples: One of the questions people ask is, “How did you make these?” This is often followed up by a second question, “How long did it take?” That…
