One has heard about personal learning networks (PLNs), but what are they and how are they different than professional learning communities (PLCs)? Find out how PLNs can help a teacher pursue his/her own professional interests and be a better teacher. This article answers questions related to PLNs such as: (1) What are personal learning networks?;…

One of the most important things that teachers do is to provide feedback to students. It's possible to have wonderful curricula, engaging lesson plans, and high expectations, but when a feedback is ineffective, students don't understand how to translate curricula and lessons into improved academic performance. For a student, grades are very…

An essential understanding about brain-based education is that most neuroscientists don't teach and most teachers don't do research. It's unrealistic to expect neuroscientists to reveal which classroom strategies will work best. That's not appropriate for neuroscientists, and most don't do that. Many critics could cite this as a weakness, but it's…

Today's adolescents write to communicate--via text messaging, instant messaging, and social networking posts. They are skilled at manipulating their out-of-school digital language to communicate with an intended audience and to capture individual voice. Because the writing is informal, teens have the ability to break rules, and they can do so…

The author's classroom is bare, and the school supplies she received are long gone. After realizing how much money she was spending on her classroom each year, she decided to find other resources besides her credit card to stock up her classroom. In this article, the author shares some strategies that provided more return with a lower investment.

Teaching in a public school today is far more complicated than it was in the mid-1950s. At that time, rural communities tended to be more homogeneous. Immigrants in major cities also tended to assimilate into well-established ethnic and religious neighborhoods, with each group sending their children to attend the local public school. The cultural…

Can schools demand teachers live their lives a certain way, even while they're away from school? Teachers may think that what happens after school and off school grounds has nothing to do with their job as a teacher--but think twice! Teachers can be disciplined or dismissed for off-campus activity. This article discusses what off-campus actions…

The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, also known as the Missouri Facebook Law, forbids exclusive or private conversations between teachers and students on Facebook. A judge has granted an injunction against it, but this issue has sparked a debate among teachers about whether they should be Facebook friends with current students and in what ways…

Everything valuable in education begins and ends with engagement. Schooling can be about many unpleasant things--compliance, stratification, control--and these don't always require engagement. But all of the positive things promised by education--things like opportunity, excellence, and openness--are possible only when minds are turned on and…

As thousands of graduates search for new jobs each school year, networking with potential employers through social media sites can help preservice and new teachers connect with current teachers, learn about potential job openings, and engage in professional conversations. By using social media sites to follow trends in education, preservice…

When the author had been teaching middle school and high school math for six years, she had just completed her master's degree and was itching to find other opportunities for professional growth. That's when she came across a flyer about certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (www.nbpts.org). National Board…

In this article, the author talks about the Common Core State Standards and what they mean to teachers and their students. The Common Core State Standards Initiative provides an opportunity for classroom practitioners across the nation to hone their skills, focus on student learning, and ensure that all the students they serve will be working…

Teacher unions are hard to miss in the news lately. Newspapers, blogs, social media posts, magazine articles, and political speeches abound with talk of them. Teacher unions are a hot topic and one that probably was not covered in college classes. The noisy back-and-forth among partisans can be both mind-numbing and confusing, often creating a…

The teacher job market has become very competitive, but the good news is that there are jobs in schools. Candidates who do their homework and work at getting a job with the same dedication they put into earning their teaching licensure will be employable. In this article, the author discusses the the dos and don'ts of the job search--including…

For those who want to change the world, the author suggests they take the first step by learning about humane education. The goal of humane education is to graduate a generation of solutionaries. Humane education is founded upon the belief that human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection are integral aspects of a just,…