J.P. Prezzavento - The Bits and Bytes of Education:

http://goo.gl/t6QgJ This past spring, I prepared my first group of students for the Missouri End of Course exam, and I have a confession to make:  I taught to the test.  That's right, I did it.  I was that teacher that all the good teachers complain about.  Now that testing season is over and I've had the summer to reflect on my last school year, I feel like I'm on a perpetual walk of shame.  Did I let my students down by focusing too much on test preparation and not enough on what really matters  in education?  Was I focused too much on the big picture and not enough on the little things that make up a school day?  Of course none of these thoughts crossed my mind while I was worried about 3s and 4s, but the day after my testing sessions ended, something amazing happened... My first child, Giuliana, was born April 26th, the day after my students finished testing.  The birth of my first child has helped to  put a lot into per...

Before this school year started, a colleague I respect asked me to attend a training session with him for a new grade book program our district was going to roll out.  Little did I know that my quick response was going to trigger a metamorphosis in me. Before I go any further, let me provide you with a little background:  I have been a professional educator for the last seven years.  For the last six years I have taught freshmen and sophomore language arts.  I have always thought of myself as an educator who was able to get the job done with students, but I was light years behind most of my more experienced colleagues. Fast forward to the grade book training:  After two days of training provided by the school district, we were on our own to answer teacher, student, parent and administration questions about this new program.  While I never considered myself a building leader of any kind, I was quickly thrust into a leadership position in re...

Student engagement is a topic that is constantly being discussed by teachers, administrators, and parents alike.  While all of these stakeholders know what student engagement looks like, it is often times unclear how to get students actively engaged in a lesson. I am going to suggest a variety of activities to increase student engagement in your classroom using both modern technology and traditional classroom instruction.  1 - Jigsaw Activities   After reading a story, article, or book, I split students into small groups and assign each group a concept to focus on.  After the students have discussed their concept, I split the groups up again so that each group has one member from each original group.  Each student will be responsible for sharing with his or her classmates what was discussed in the first group. The beauty of the Jigsaw Activity is that each student in the classroom is held accountable for disseminating information to other members of the cla...