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Social and Emotional Techniques That Help Students Focus on Academic Progress at Mount Desert Elementary

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John Seely Brown on Motivating Learners (Big Thinkers Series)

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How to Thank a Teacher

Blogs on Maine

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How More Social and Emotional Learning (and Less Academics) Actually Builds Academic Success

Scott McFarlandApril 5, 2013

Tags Classroom Management, Primary (K-2), , Student Engagement, Upper Elementary (3-5), Maine

With all of the high-stakes testing in our schools, and the resulting judgments and consequences for students and teachers, it is no wonder that schools are taking time away from activities like recess, breaks, art, music... to spend more time on academics. Yet I believe, based on what I have seen in schools, that we should move in the opposite direction, and take time out of academics in the early elementary years to focus on making students feel safe, secure, and confident in the classroom, in other words making them ripe for learning.

Five Practices that Transformed My Teaching

Gaetan PappalardoMarch 18, 2011

Tags Teacher Development, All Grades, Maine

"It's nice to be considered" encapsulates the philosophy of The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), a K-8 school in Edgecomb, ME. Those exact words, spoken by CTL teacher Ted Demille, still reverberate within my psyche weeks after my visit; I don't think the echoes will ever desist. However, CTL proved to me that "consideration" carries much more weight than "nice." I think "memorable," "life-changing," and "earth-shattering" are much better words to describe the impact of being considered. I know, pretty dramatic. But it's the truth. I'm not sure if I can accurately relay my enlightenment through a blog, but I want to share some highlights of my one-week internship there in hopes of inspiring your teaching heart AND giving you some concrete ideas to help improve your own practice. (Or, go experience their Internship Program first-hand!)

The Shallop Project: A Summer Learning Adventure

Suzie BossAugust 30, 2010

Tags After-School Learning, Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, High (9-12), Maine

Bath, Maine, has long been known as the City of Ships. More than 400 years ago, this was the site that launched the Virginia, the first seaworthy ship built by English-speakers in the New World. Since 1884, Bath Iron Works has been turning out battleships, destroyers, and commercial craft.

Two Decades of Wisdom on School Leadership

EdutopiaMarch 23, 2010

Tags Leadership, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, Maine

When I think back to middle school, which was Junior High back in the day, two things stand out about my principal, whom I'll call Mr. G. I don't ever remember seeing him smile, but I vividly recall being frightened of his ruler. No, Mr. G. didn't use it to slap our wrists -- that would have been preferable. He employed it as a modesty monitor, ordering girls he passed in the hall to get on their knees while he measured the distance between the floor and the hem of their skirts.

Learners Thrive with a Public Audience

Jim MoultonJune 20, 2009

Tags Project-Based Learning, Student Engagement, Middle (6-8), Science, Maine

I drove over to Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine, this morning. I had been invited to see a set of culminating presentations of collaborative research projects by college students and alternative-education students from a local middle school.

Teachers Need to Share Their Stories

Jim MoultonFebruary 27, 2009

Tags , , Teacher Development, All Grades, Maine

I am going to connect a couple of dots here in thinking about personality and teaching. Stay with me -- and please let me know what you think.

Building a Legacy: Innovations Shouldn't Necessarily Become Institutions

Jim MoultonJune 15, 2008

Tags , Teacher Development, All Grades, Maine

I spent the weekend extending a stone wall I have been working on over the years. Now, before you get too impressed, please understand that my effort this weekend was only about 8 feet long and about 2 feet or so from the ground to the capstones.

Emotional Engagement in Education, Part One: Should Teachers Care About Student Apathy?

Jim MoultonJanuary 30, 2008

Tags Brain Research, Dropout Prevention, Integrated Studies, Place-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning, , Student Engagement, Teacher Development, All Grades, Maine

This is the first post in a three-part entry.

The answer is, "Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Everyone has to care."

The Choreography of Calculus: Using the Arts to Comprehend Content

Jim MoultonJanuary 23, 2008

Tags Brain Research, Curriculum, Integrated Studies, Project-Based Learning, , Teacher Development, All Grades, Maine

I recently attended the Juice Conference here in Maine on the effort to power up the state's creative economy. The discussions focused on how craftspeople -- potters, weavers, dancers, musicians, metalworkers, woodworkers, and their ilk -- contribute to the bottom line. As I listened, it occurred to me that the conversation -- and the definition of "creative economy" -- needed to be far deeper, far more foundational than that. We must be more creative in how we think about creativity.

Vacationland: What's Wrong With This Picture?

Jim MoultonFebruary 12, 2007

Tags Teacher Development, All Grades, Maine

No question about it -- Maine is a wonderful place to live.