by John McCarthy | Jun 24, 2014 | PBL, strategies
Day one at PBL World, the educators I’m working with explored designing Project Based Learning units. A major detail, and concern, is identifying a real world audience, and then getting in touch with them. Engineers, mechanics, university professors, authors, or...
by John McCarthy | Jun 11, 2014 | Culture, Education is like Yoga, Pedagogy
“Yoga takes you into the present moment, the only place where life exists.” -Yoga Quote Most Sundays, when I’m not traveling, I go to a yoga class with my wife. We get there 30 minutes early just to ensure that we get to choose our spot. I italicized early because...
by John McCarthy | May 5, 2014 | Differentiated Instruction, strategies, Writing
In the previous two articles, we explored RAFTs (Role, Audience, Format, and Topic + Strong Verb) as an instructional strategy, and how to use RAFTs for coaching writers on writing. RAFTs can ignite engagement and context for learning. Planned with forethought,...
by John McCarthy | Apr 14, 2014 | Assessments, Differentiated Instruction, Formative Assessments, strategies, Writing
During workshops, I sometimes survey the teachers in the room: Rate yourself on a 5 pt scale. A five equals, “I can write for publication with confidence.” A one equals, “I do not like to write, preferring to avoid it when I can.” Yes, I know… rating scales...
by John McCarthy | Apr 7, 2014 | strategies, Writing
How do you get students engaged into writing? Sometimes this question feels like an exercise in futility, used as for abstract debate for the sake of venting frustration. But there are times when the answer to this question is simple: Make the writing interesting and...
