Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Shelly Sanchez Terrell dives deep into the transformative program From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Don’t walk in the classroom defeated. Make professional development personal. Start tomorrow. It is easy in simple, small steps. For the last seven years, Shelly Terrell’s 30 Goals Challenge has ignited teacher learning. Today, we’ll learn how this “quick goal” technique can transform your teaching.   Shelly wants teachers to tackle small, short goals. They take just 45 minutes each . Small achievements within the day can build momentum in your classroom . These small goals can energize you. Listen to the show. Grab the book. Check out Sylvia Duckworth’s sketchnote. This technique is worth investigating. Listen to this show on: BAM Radio Network | iTunes   Today’s Sponsor: Bloomz Bloomz is your one-stop solution for parent-teacher communications. More than just connecting with their cell phones, you can sen...

100+ Game Based Learning Resources to Get Started in Your Classroom From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Games are fun. We can use them to teach. It isn’t that hard. Game based learning excites learning in my classroom. It can ignite your classroom too. In this post, I’ll share what I’m doing in my classroom. Additionally, I’ll give you 100+ of my favorite game based learning resources. These links and ideas will jumpstart your journey.  This post is sponsored by Samsung . All thoughts and opinions are my own. Game Based Learning in My Classroom Three houses are at war in my keyboarding classroom. Not only do they battle the monsters of ignorance in quiz battle-games but when they type faster, they earn gold coins to buy awesome outfits for their avatar. Ordinarily, each day begins with a random event of the day. While the whole class is a game, there’s serious learning happening. And despite what some may think, the game is not re...

Life Lessons from Hall of Fame Teacher Kim Bearden From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Broken. It happens. It hurts deeply. I have had days when I didn’t know how I would get out of bed and make it to school. Most teachers I respect have had periods of deep brokenness too. So has Hall of Fame Teacher Kim Bearden, co-founder of Ron Clark Academy. Today she tells all. We need to lift one another up and encourage each other. Sometimes sharing the lessons we’ve learned on our hard-fought journey of teaching can help other teachers. I know it helps me to know I’m not alone in feeling this way sometimes. Maybe you have a friend who needs to hear this. Share and help others in the journey. Teaching is hard but teaching is worth it, my friends! Let’s do this. Listen to this show on: BAM Radio Network | iTunes   Today’s Sponsor: Classtag Parents and teachers need to be partners. Bring parents in the loop. Be intentional to help pa...

(Besides Improving Test Scores) From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Why does music seem to rewire the brain for learning? Studies show a definite link between music and academic success . Then, why is music often one of the first things cut when budgets shrink ? Let’s dive into why music is so important to a child’s education. We’ll also discuss some of the ways we need to educate children about music. Listen to this show on: BAM Radio Network | iTunes   Today’s Sponsor: Live Music Tutor With the Every Student Succeeds Act 2015 (ESSA)’s requirements that every student receives a “well-rounded” education, US public schools can again receive funding to help bring art and music back to classrooms! Today’s sponsor can help. Live Music Tutor helps bring the best music instructors in the world into the classroom using technology. Live Music Tutor has partnered with musicians from places like Julliard and Berkley to create a music prog...

W hy does music seem to rewire the brain for learning? Studies show a definite link between music and academic success . Then, why is music often one of the first things cut  when budgets shrink ? Let’s dive into why music is so important to a child’s education. We’ll also discuss some of the ways we need to educate children about music. This post was originally posted at coolcatteacher.com Listen to this show on:  BAM Radio Network  |  iTunes   Today’s Sponsor: Live Music Tutor With the Every Student Succeeds Act 2015 (ESSA)’s requirements that every student receives a “well-rounded” education, US public schools can again receive funding to help bring art and music back to classrooms! Today’s sponsor can help.  Live Music Tutor  helps bring the best music instructors in the world into the classroom using technology. Live Music Tutor has partnered with musicians from places like Julliard and Berkley to create  a music program t...

Dr. Anael Alston talks about what really turns schools around From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Today we’re talking to Dr. Anael Alston about specific issues with high-poverty schools . In a refreshing take on dramatic school change, Anael does not recommend that we assign blame. Instead, he recommends an approach that focuses on teacher expectations and several other things. As a turnaround principal himself, Anael has insights into how to help teachers change their attitude about how students can perform. I think his principles apply to all teachers, because we all have students who struggle. We all have students who need us to believe in them. I think perhaps the greatest challenge is what Anael tells teachers who just don’t believe the kids can do it. It’s actually genius. Take a listen. (Oh, and there were so many great quotes, I’ve included them in graphics at the bottom for those listeners who love to pin great quotes to Pint...

a Talk with Tony Vincent From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter A secret to great teaching is to understand what students know. I’ve had times when one or two students begged me to move on because what I was teaching was “so easy” or they were “bored. When I did, I would discover that the rest of the class did not master the material and I had moved on too quickly! We all struggle to know what students know “in the moment” so we can adjust our teaching. We need them to master the material. We need to teach it. But how can we know what they know without depending on hand raising and verbal feedback from just a few students? Formative assessment is the answer. Formative assessment can supercharge your classroom learning. Technology can make formative assessment easier for you. Lesson flow. Formative assessment gives us the ability to quiz every single student in the class. Every teacher should have one or two formative assessment too...