Mrsebiology

LATEST ARTICLES ( 139 )

• OF Suckage, Growth, and Change

  Change is hard. But sometimes it's mandatory when we're keeping the students in mind and what's best for their learning. And sometimes the process of changing... Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• We Can't Be Shackled by Memories

  

  I'm revisiting Curriculum 21, edited by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. In one of the chapters written by her ("A New Essential Curriculum"), she discusses myths that... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• Make It Your Own

  It doesn't make sense to deconstruct standards into your own student-friendly objectives and then use some pre-packaged purchased curriculum to teach those... Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• What's the Gain?

  So you're a teacher who hates standardized testing. Or you hate the Common Core. Or the math series the district has adopted. Or the new assessment literacy... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• I Don't Have Many Words Anymore. Just Memes.

  

  It's been quite a year being a curriculum director at a new district, especially with some of the duties of educational technology landing in my office. Read more

  Posted on 11 May 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• Where's the Transfer?

  Whenever teachers are revising curriculum either in my district or when I do off-site workshops, at some point I get called into the discussion. Read more

  Posted on 31 March 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• Decisions: Tradition Vs. Research

  At a recent meeting of a committee I am chairing, we were discussing what would be the best program to challenge our academically talented students. And then I... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• It's All About Getting Better

  

  I think it's been firmly established that real learning for students requires work, struggle, and a growth mindset on their part.But so does real teaching. Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• Here's All My Stuff.

  When I left teaching to go into administrating, I left all of my teacher stuff out on the interweb so that others could find it and use it. Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• The Most Important Question

  

  Why? It's the one question I don't think we as educators-teachers or administrators-ask ourselves often enough. Why do we teach what we teach? Why do we grad... Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• I'm a Director, Not a Dictator

  

  I'm a curriculum director. Not a curriculum dictator."Just tell us what to teach," I hear. "That's your job."No it's not. I will give direction, such as "we're... Read more

  Posted on 06 February 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• Let's Allow Ourselves to Do Amazing Things

  If there's one thing I can't stand hearing, it's "can't." When I was teaching high school, I would never accept that out of my students. They got tired of... Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• Don't Name It. Just Do It.

  Standards-Based Grading, Understanding by Design, Professional Learning Communities, Assessment Literacy, Differentiated Instruction...we have a ton of names fo... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• "Don't Know" Doesn't Mean "Never Know"

  

  I've been at my new job curriculum directoring for about 6 months now. I've also actually been instructional technology directoring as well, since we currently... Read more

  Posted on 24 January 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• A Post About Stuff. And Learning.

  One of the biggest challenges I face as a curriculum director is people's notions of what curriculum should be. It's also one of my biggest frustrations,... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2016 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• It's Not Just Our Data

  Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of going over to our high school and doing a small presentation on analyzing data in a PLC. Read more

  Posted on 15 December 2015 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• No Shortcuts to Learning, and No Shortcuts to Teaching

  Whenever I present student-centered strategies to teachers, I can usually guarantee that I will hear some form of the statement below:"But that takes so much... Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2015 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• What Have You Been Up To?

  That's a question I get asked a lot lately. Mainly it's because I haven't blogged and haven't really shared much on social media concerning how my new job as... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2015 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• Advice For Myself

  I know it's been a while since I've blogged in this space. It's hard to blog when you're busy transitioning into a new job, and my life in the past month or so... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2015 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE

• A Memetastic Last Day of Edtech Class

  

  I had a wonderful week teaching a class for Aurora University called Advanded Applications of Educational Technology to wonderful group of educators out in... Read more

  Posted on 26 June 2015 SCHOOLING, SCIENCE