Memorization vs. Life
The tough teenage years don’t have to be so tough. They can be easier. What happens is that when kids move into middle school and even before, they are met with most teachers asking them to start memorizing stuff. Does this
It's Not You!
I often felt, at the big summer workshops, that I couldn't possibly remember all the stuff they were teaching me. It really was overwhelming. But now I realize it wasn't me. They were giving me too many rules and things
Fluff
Many CI teachers don't/can't apply what Krashen has shown to be true that language acquisition is an unconscious process. The teaching gene in them is too dominant. They think they have to teach. But they don't. All they have to
On Lesson Planning
It's not good the way we collect papers from students. I don't even collect free writes. They go in composition books kept in the room. If I have time, I look at them. What teacher has time? I only read some
Question About Upper Levels NTCI
Hello, I am a first year teacher at the high school level and I love the ideas you present in your book A Natural Approach to the Year. I am wondering if you have developed anything or have any suggestions
Interpersonal Skills – New Rubric
Some in the group may want to check this new version of the old jGR and current Interpersonal Skills Rubric. In keeping with our way of working together here as a group, we never assume that there is only one
Personalized Learning Is A Central Design Principle In Education
Here is a 2009 article by John Bordeaux about personalized learning. The last two paragraphs are particulary powerful: Let’s imagine a conversation at the close of the 19th century. You and a team of designers are considering elements of the internal
PQA in a Wink
I wrote a book - PQA in a Wink! - that addresses classroom management in TPRS. That was back in 2008, ten years ago. I was reading the conclusion to that book recently and thought I would share it here,
The New CI Mobile
This is an updated repost from February of 2008: My teacher gave me a fender. She told me it was "important" to really look at the fender, which she called relative pronouns. Then she gave me two bumpers, front and back.
Greg on NTCI
I was going back and reading Greg's comments from over the summer here and this one I thought was worth sharing here today: I think NTCI is superior for two reasons 1) targeting is a constraint on student interest 2) targeting