Unfortunately, I have seen a number of teachers come and go throughout my 20 years in education. And for every teacher who leaves my school, there's a different reason for why they left. However, I would say that I've seen some patterns in the departures of teachers in terms of both why they left and in the manner in which they departed the school. 

And reflecting on this—all of which is based on my observation, not on any research—I believe it might be helpful for school leaders and for the teachers who remain to process the departure of their colleagues. Maybe some of these ideas can help the “professional breakup” to go more smoothly than it sometimes does.

With the holidays upon us, now is a very busy time of the year. It’s also notoriously a time when keeping students on task can be a bit more challenging. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with fun themed content and helpful teaching tips to keep you going right up until the holiday break! 

Here is our collection of engaging content to help you keep your students’ attention all month long:

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, it’s a great time to reflect on all of the aspects of the education profession that teachers are thankful for. We took a look back at some of our past blogs and posts from educators to compile this list of what makes teachers feel thankful. 

Here are our top 20 reasons why teachers are thankful for teaching:

Many people think that teaching is an easy job, but if you’re a teacher, you know this isn’t the case. In fact, a 2018 Gallup poll showed that 46% of teachers said they experience a high level of daily stress. With so many things to do to ensure the school day runs smoothly—from grading papers to preparing lessons and finding engaging content—it can be hard to keep up with all of the other important aspects of your life.

That’s why we’ve compiled this list of seven apps and services to help simplify your life as you work around all of the other important things you have to do as a teacher:

Space: The final frontier. A topic that is touched on in many science classrooms, but rarely finds a foothold in the major learning of our students. Learning about space provides opportunities to not only teach the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), but also allows students to think, dream, and wonder.  

As a classroom teacher of science or any other discipline, the topic of space can be a great crosscutting concept. As teachers dive into the NGSS, they can use these cross-curricular ideas to engage and deepen student learning.

Professional learning is not only a huge investment for a school district, it’s also a great opportunity for teachers to grow in their profession. Because it’s such a critical part of improving the educational experience for our students, we are looking at how to make it most effective for our teachers. In the first two parts of this series, we covered issues with professional learning and how to make learning more timely for teachers. In this third part of the series, we’ll focus on the implementation portion of any professional learning. We hope to answer the question of how teachers can practice and implement the new strategy in the most effective way.

Today’s educators know how vital STEM fields are for their students. STEM learning covers a multitude of necessary skills: hands-on, critical thinking, problem solving, student-driven, creativity, innovation, collaboration, inquiry, leadership, and teamwork. These skills will help today’s students excel in STEM careers, which are growing at a rate of 17%—compared to 9.8% in other professions.

Robotics and coding are becoming more and more popular for incorporating STEM in the classroom. Both activities are engaging for students while providing the ability to apply their knowledge of science, mathematics, and technology to solve problems.

Interesting in incorporating these activities into your classroom? Here are our top picks for robotics and coding resources:

Hundreds of educators joined us this fall for another rendition of our Transforming Learning in the Classroom webinar series. These robust sessions featured insights from experienced leaders in EdTech and provided educators with helpful tips for utilizing technology to promote critical thinking, implement project-based learning in the classroom, and support students as they prepare for college and STEM careers.

These three webinars are full of valuable ideas for using technology in the classroom to promote student engagement and success.