Improving Teaching
Be Better Than Yesterday
Looking for a few ways to improve your students’ engagement and learning in your classroom? Based on the latest educational research, this workshop series provides you with a set of ‘quick wins’ for your teacher toolbox to increase productive learning using collaboration and cooperation in your teaching practice. Participants will leave each workshop with methods to increase student engagement that you can use the very next day. Each workshop is about an hour or so in length and are low/moderate effort to implement in the classroom. Come for one workshop, or some, or all. The workshops are independent of the others so pick and choose what best suits your needs, interest and those of your students.
Remember, the learning brain feeds on cooperation and togetherness. A few small changes in your teaching practice can make a daily difference in the joy and outcome of learning for your students. Read below and find out how!
Workshop #1
Engage ALL students in your Classroom with Effective Questioning
Tell me about it: Did you know that research on questioning shows that teachers ask nearly 80% of the questions in the high school classroom? It’s important then that we get this action right! How a teacher ‘frames’ or delivers questions in a classroom can have a huge impact on the level of thinking as well as the level of participation occurring from those questions. In this workshop we explore what it means to ask ‘good’ questions and practice various methods of framing questions so you can engage ALL your students socially and cognitively with each question you ask.
Workshop #2
To ‘Learn It’ They Need to ‘Link It’
Tell me about it: “You learned this last year. How could you forget?” Well, the fact is that students do forget and often. Why don’t students remember all those great lessons we prepared for their education? Student forgetfulness is a common source of frustration for many teachers. Previous content when not remembered or mastered can negatively affect the building of new concepts. In this workshop we explore the educational neuroscience of forgetting and remembering then explore the strategy of ‘retrieval practice’ for your classroom to combat forgetfulness of those concepts you think are important to remember.
Workshop #3
Why Students Hate Group Work and How to Make it (Much) Better
Tell me about it: If you ask students, “What do you think of group work?”, I think you will find that most don’t have positive experiences with it. Why is this? We seem to be missing something that prevents group work from being an enjoyable and effective experience as we imagine it for our students. If you are planning any type of group work, this workshop will explore what it means to structure effective group work, common pitfalls when putting students into groups, and play with several common cooperative group structures that make learning social, productive and fun. So, if you are planning on having your students ‘work together’ in your classes then this workshop might be for you.
Workshop #4
Introduction to Concept Mapping and Mind Mapping
Tell me about it: Brain science tells us that ‘memory is the residue of thought’. The best way to make learning ‘sticky’ in the brain is to re-think acquired knowledge and ideas in different contexts whether visually, written, or the spoken word. Concept mapping and mind mapping help students think differently. They have a very rich history in education showing improved learning and memory for students compared to those that don’t do these. In this minds-on, hands-on workshop we will learn the foundations of concept maps and mind maps, how to create these maps and learn why they are so darn effective at making learning ‘sticky’.
Workshop #5
Making Test Review Engaging Using Teams, Game and Tournament
Tell me about it: Want to add some productive and cooperative fun into review instead of the traditional go-it-alone review package? Teams, Game and Tournament (TGT) is a research-driven, formative educational strategy that turns reviewing for assessments or improving skills into an engaging cooperative activity prior to the ‘real deal’. It has been used successful from grade 2 to university. In this workshop, we explore how the game-like approach of TGT expose students to those key ideas and skills you know are important to master within a supportive, collaborative environment.
Workshop #6
Power Up Formative Assessment with
Peer Instruction
Tell me about it: Regular formative assessments for students is one of the most powerful instructional strategies you can give your students to improve their learning. Peer Instruction (PI) invites students to engage with key concepts in your courses using 'concept questions'. Students form small groups and instruct each other on how an important concept is applied to a variety of situations outlined in the concept questions. This highly engaging, cooperative strategy is sure to be a 'hit' with your students! Psychologically safe, fun and effective formative assessment for any classroom and at age.