I’m dating myself by saying this, but when I think of the band They Might Be Giants I think of the songs Particle Man and Birdhouse in Your Soul. These days, teachers everywhere are using videos by this offbeat band to teach their kids about science. The song below, called Roy G. Biv, teaches about [...]

I love this – it has all the elements of perfect learning: 1. Science tools. 2. Dirty kids. 3. Excitement. 4. Mystery. 5. Discovery. 6.Higher-Level Thinking. In fact, one student said, “This is probably the best science class ever,” (Angus Stewart). What is all this referring to? One teacher teaching science the way it should [...]

“Tell me and I forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I understand.” – Chinese Proverb Constructivist learning, experiential learning, whatever you want to call good teaching where the student is intimately involved as meaning-maker is desirable for the development of true understanding. UC Davis has some wonderful resources for teachers, home [...]

This is an excerpt from an article in Teacher Magazine, written by Mary Tedrow: “My idea of innovation calls for a quieter revolution, one with fewer bells and whistles. It begins by envisioning a quiet but humming classroom, where busy heads bend over pads of paper and hands scribble rapidly with pens or pencils. If [...]

I was just reading a post on The White House blog about a recent visit by President Obama to a successful charter school in Washington, DC. He noted that Capital City Public Charter School is “an example of how all our schools should be.” Yes. Innovation. A focus on problem solving, writing, math, and science. [...]