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Four Cognitive Skills Supercharged by Music Education

In recent times, music programs seem to be one of the elements being reduced or eliminated in schools. However, music has so many educational benefits for all students, not just for those who are musically gifted. Students that are not musically talented can also participate and sharpen different cognitive skills while musically inclined students will take their learning one step further by tuning their musical abilities. Academic Processing and Skills Acquisition of language occurs faster in students who study music rather than students who do not participate in music. Since similar regions of the brain are responsible for language and …

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Switch your high school classroom to flexible seating

Sitting in a molded plastic chair all day can be hard on anyone, especially high school students. For that reason and others, high school teachers have introduced flexible seating in classrooms, and their decision seems to be paying off. Flexible seating allows students to choose from various seating options in the classroom, including traditional desks, tables, and chairs or soft seating like couches and beanbags. By introducing flexible seating, teachers change the learning environment, making it less clinical and more student-friendly. Teachers who are critical of flexible seating may think that it’s too informal for a high school classroom, yet …

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20 strategies to use right now for teaching high school

There’s no doubt that teaching in high school is like no other kind of teaching. You’re responsible for delivering in-depth, rigorous content while managing large class sizes and teenage emotions. These twenty strategies will keep you confident and in charge: The classroom Provide the rationale for assignments. Once students understand why they must do something, they’ll be more likely to get it done. Create a workshop environment for your classroom by providing materials for completing assignments. Less is more. Remove anything you’re not using during the grading period. If you can, eliminate the teacher desk, too. Stay organized by using …

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The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 7: How Digital Age Teachers Can Win Over Parents

Education is a collaborative process, as it takes many stakeholders working in unison to help students succeed academically. One of the most integral parts of this collaborative team is parents, as teachers know all so well. So, if you are a teacher struggling to increase parental engagement, how do you fix this issue? In this episode, we will discuss 7 ways that digital age teachers win over parents.

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The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 4: How to Create a Culturally Responsive Classroom

Building a culturally responsive classroom is hard. To help you along your journey, here is your guide to exploring and respecting the cultural backgrounds of your students while also using diversity as an asset. If you you listen to this episode of the podcast, and take my advice, you will have a culturally responsive classroom in no time. References Culturally responsive teaching is a theory of instruction that was developed by Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings and has been written about by many other scholars since then. To read more of her work on culturally responsive teaching and other topics, click here to …

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The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 2: How Edtech Companies Should Start the New School Year

As summer reaches its peak, and fall gears up to make its arrival, students, parents, teachers, and administrators are all preparing for the beginning of a new academic year. So many gains were made last year, and they are eager to build upon that success. When we talk about education stakeholders who are concerned with starting the school year off right, we rarely, if ever, talk about edtech companies. They too are an integral part of the school community, as they provide a valuable service. So how do edtech companies stay on their “A” games to begin the new school …

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