Posts by techsupport
Time Savers
We all know that teaching is a demanding profession. One of the common problems raised by teachers is that they never seem to have enough time to do everything they have to do. Here are some simple ideas for saving time. Organize your teaching materials and keep them handy. This will help you to avoid…
Read MoreBroken Record Technique
The “broken record” technique is a simple yet effective classroom management technique you can use with students at any level. All you have to do is assertively, yet calmly, repeat a message or a command that must be complied with by the student. For example, if a student leaves his or her seat without permission,…
Read MoreHelping Students Organize
As high school students work through their various classes, they will have many assignments and tests and will accumulate a lot of papers. Being organized becomes very important. Here is an organizational system that your students can easily use. Students should color-code their classes. Math might be blue, science green, and so on. They should…
Read MoreTests as a Remembering Tool
Many educators believe that the only value of tests is to evaluate what students have learned and to assign grades. Here is recent research that demonstrates the value of tests as a remembering tool. Researchers had three groups of college students read a science passage. After reading the passage, one group studied the passage in…
Read MoreMaking Lectures Effective
A variety of instructional techniques are available to teachers, but the traditional lecture remains a widely used technique. This is particularly true in high school and college classes. Here are some ideas for making your lectures as effective as possible: Present ideas in a logical order. It helps to prepare an outline in advance. Stay…
Read MorePolitically Correct Gender Language
We live in a time of increasing political correctness. It is important for your students to be aware of the need to use language that will not offend anyone on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, age, and disability. Here are some examples to help your students avoid the use of discriminatory gender references. humanity…
Read MoreEncouraging Thinking
Thinking is hard work for anyone. It’s natural for students to take the easy road and avoid thinking. Here are some ways you can get your students to think. Give your students something to think about. Present a work of art and challenge your students to think about what they’ve seen, or a musical work…
Read MoreMaking Learning Enjoyable
Students often complain that they are bored in school. Research shows that students learn more when they enjoy what they are doing. Here are some ways you can bring a sense of enjoyment to your classes without compromising your instructional goals. Introduce drama, song, and dance. Embedding what is to be learned within these forms…
Read MoreLying
Lying by students is a problem most teachers encounter, especially elementary school teachers. A student who lies occasionally is not a major problem. A student who lies often is a major problem. Students may lie for a number of reasons. They may want to avoid the consequences of owning up to something, they may want…
Read MoreCoin Denominations Quiz
Your students probably use coins every day. But do they know whose portrait is currently on each coin denomination? Give your students the following quiz. Whose portrait is on the penny? (Abraham Lincoln) Whose portrait is on the nickel? (Thomas Jefferson) Whose portrait is on the dime? (Franklin D. Roosevelt) Whose portrait is on the…
Read MoreWriting Topics
When teachers ask students to write a report, a complaint they frequently hear from students is, “I don’t know what to write about.” Here are some ideas you can share with students to stimulate their writing. Write about things such as computers or cars. Students can write about how things came about such as sneakers…
Read MoreWriting Concisely
Encourage your students to make their words count when writing. Good writing is concise writing. Here are three things you can do to help your students write concisely. Have your students avoid redundancy. For example,a student might write “I was thinking to myself the other day.” To whom else could the student be thinking? The…
Read MoreChanging Word Meanings
Words that have changed their meanings over time can make for an interesting class activity or discussion. Here are some of these words with their older meanings shown in parentheses. You can present each word and have your students try to identify its older meaning. sophisticated (corrupted) nice (unaware) counterfeit (a legitimate copy) guess (take…
Read MoreCritical Thinking
It is important for your students to be good critical thinkers. Critical thinking can help your students to avoid making bad decisions, focus on what is most important, and generate new ideas. You can help your students be good critical thinkers by encouraging them to: rely more on reason than emotion. recognize their own assumptions…
Read MoreInformation Bulletin Board
You can make good use of wall space in your classroom by creating a bulletin board that displays essential information. Here are some items that would be valuable to post there. School bulletins and announcements about upcoming events. Class and school calendars. Emergency evacuation information. Scholarship, volunteer, and other opportunities for students. School policies regarding…
Read MoreScientist Scramble
It always helps to make science fun. Here is an activity your students will enjoy. Next to each scrambled name of a scientist is a brief statement about what that scientist is most famous for. Have your students use the clue to help them unscramble the name of the scientist. ELREKP – developed the laws…
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