Vicki A. Davis's Blog, page 141
January 17, 2016
Beginning and Ending Class Like a Pro with Brian Sztabnik
Every Classroom Matters episode 203
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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The four minutes beginning and ending class matter most according to teacher Brian Sztabnik. Today we talk about how to make the most of those valuable minutes. How you handle these minutes may just determine whether you’re a good teacher or a great one. Sure, there’s lots of reasons for starting class slowly or ending early. The great ones to do neither.
The great ones make u...
January 16, 2016
The 2016 Student Technology Conference
A conference run by students [Guest Post]
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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In 2015, Marymount School of New York’s Student Technology Team pose the question: what if students and teachers from around the world could share ideas about using technology in the classroom? As a result, the Student Technology Conference was born.
A Note from Vicki:Again this year, I’m a cheerleader and admirer of this incredible group of students! They wrote this post...
January 15, 2016
Reaching Hard to Reach Students with Passion and Tough Love with Ron Clark
Every Classroom Matters Episode 202
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Teaching hard to reach students can be so frustrating. Master teacher and motivator Ron Clark shares his secrets for reaching kids and staying motivated to teach. I especially LOVED the advice he has about what we should remember before we start complaining!
I’m curious how many of you listeners out there agree with Ron about how he doesn’t necessarily give cookies to every kid...
January 14, 2016
The 1 Habit That Can Make You Healthier and Happier: Retrospective Journaling
Productivity Habits that Make a Difference
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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I used to start my day with this feeling of drowning. Overwhelmed by everything I had to do and a to-do list that was overwhelming, sometimes I felt like I had no hope. I couldn’t do it all, so why do anything. One little habit has changed everything.
If you want to change your life, change your habits. But reprogramming our minds to be more confident and excited is diffi...
January 13, 2016
Historical Inquiry: 20+ Creative Ways History Teachers Can use Primary Sources
Every Classroom Matters Episode 201
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Historical inquiry helps make history class exciting. History teachers can use primary sources in creative, exciting ways to make history come alive. Many people in history might be dead, but your teaching doesn’t have to be. Let’s dive in. What is historical inquiry? How can it be used to teach history? How can you use technology, creativity, and exciting projects to teach his...
January 12, 2016
Epic Effective Classroom Decoration and Design Resources
30+ ideas to improve learning with awesome classroom design
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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A well-designed classroom boosts student learning by as much as 16% (Barrett, Zhang, Davies, & Barrett 2015), but overdecorating is a distraction. Busy teachers can use good classroom decoration and design principles to boost learning. Here’s a quick list of the most valuable classroom decoration and design resources.
Classroom Design Resources Tip: One o...
January 11, 2016
A LOOK INSIDE a Digital Shop Class: Game Based Learning, Design Thinking and …
Every Classroom Matters episode 200
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Digital shop class! Igniting wonder! You can write on the desks. You can write on the walls; there are no grades! Learning is a game where students level up and earn experience points. Kids are building things to improve their community. Does this sound like a dream? No! It’s happening right now in Kevin Jarrett’s classroom.
Kevin isusing game based learning andevery cutting e...
January 7, 2016
Teaching Pitfalls: Signs That You Are Out of Balance & Burning Out
Every Classroom Matters episode 196
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Do you feel unbalanced in your classroom? Is something off and you don’t know what it is? How can you restore balance?
You’re not losing your mind. This feeling is normal. It happens to pretty much every teacher I know. In this episode, Alicia Roberts and I discuss how it feels to be out of balance and what we do about it.
January 1, 2016
The Top 15 Tweets of 2015 from @coolcatteacher
Education news and trends
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wow, 2015 was a big year for Twitter in education. So many new faces joined in and even more Twitter chats started up. But this was certainly the year of the SKETCHNOTE and my friend Sylvia Duckworth was queen of them. (Excited to be leading a panel with her and other star edusketchers at ISTE 2016)
I was shocked with my friend Richard Byrne came to my school and set up a...
December 31, 2015
The 2015 Top Blog Posts of the Year
from the Cool Cat Teacher Blog
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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What a 2015! The Cool Cat Teacher blog celebrated 10 years, has 167 new posts this year with a total of 3,672 blog posts in the archive. Millions have visited this blog and wow, so many things have happened in ten years. This year was another year of learning and leveling up for all of us.
The stats are in and here’s what you liked on my blog this year! Thank you for reading and shar...
