We know that teachers learn best, and are most motivated, when learning about a topic that is of high interest to them. Some trainings are required for all teachers and there isn’t any way around that, but much of what we do with professional learning tends to be “one size fits all” with little choice provided.

May is here and the end of the school year is quickly approaching! Don’t let the upcoming summer break stop you from holding your students’ attention with great lessons right up until the last day of school. Here is our collection of engaging themed content for May:

Spring is in full bloom and signs of new life are beginning to emerge everywhere. This time of year is an exciting one for teachers as there’s a renewed commitment to continue making an impact in the classroom—but there is still a lot going on with spring breaks, end of year assessments, ensuring standards are being met, and much more. For teachers, the challenge to stay motivated to finish the year strong and keep students engaged remains a mission.

 
We teachers can be pretty set in our ways when it comes to how we do things in our classroom. Lessons we’ve had in our arsenal are continually refined and can be presented at a moment's notice to fit our curricular needs. For those newer to the classroom, it takes considerable time to create the perfect lesson that achieves the learning goals you have. We’ve all been there when a lesson turns out to not go exactly the way it was intended—it’s all part of the process of getting better as an educator and a professional.

Ready to try something new? Shake up your routine this month with these engaging lessons and activities from MimioConnect™, our interactive teaching community:

Public education teachers are professionals. They see themselves as such, and rightly so. There is a great deal of training and education to become a teacher, and it is a position of respect in most communities. The role requires both customer service skills and technical know-how that surpasses average employees.

As it is a professional role, it matters if teachers are demonstrating professionalism on a daily basis. There are many reasons why it matters, but more than anything, it comes back to our attitude. Because what we are doing is so very important, we need to treat it as such.

A new year is upon us, which means many of you will be making or renewing resolutions for self-improvement in 2018. Resolutions may include taking your health goals more seriously by eating better and exercising more, taking charge of your life by being direct in accomplishing certain goals, improving money management, or making a bigger impact on others around you.

If you want your teachers to have special training or certificates in technology or career education moving forward, it will take some searching—but hopefully the information below will help you get started.

This certainly is an exciting time with the start of a new school year! It’s another opportunity to build relationships with students and truly make a difference in their world in ways we can’t even fully imagine. As an educator for 22 years, I have always loved the beginning of school—especially when I have the opportunity to have a fresh start. It’s a lot of work to get the ship ready to sail for the voyage ahead, but I truly enjoy it. Whether it involves creating the perfect lesson plans for an exciting new project, making curriculum tweaks to provide the latest great resources, or finding new ways to integrate teaching tools to make learning more interactive and fun, I find this hard work really satisfying.

We’re here to help you get ready for a new school year! If your students are still in summer break mode, here are some engaging lessons and activities to help draw them back into the learning process: