Biology Domain

Frustration is coming!

We all have that hard section. We can usually predict frustration. This one topic is complicated, a bit abstract, or just very different from the rest of our curriculum.

For me this was always DNA, transcription, and translation. It didn’t matter what I tried. Many of the kids still got frustrated and some just quit. I’ve had teacher mentors say that if the material is frustrating, then it’s the teacher’s fault. Of course, you do need to evaluate your lessons to see if there is a better way of presenting the material.

Sometimes the teacher causes the frustration and sometimes the subject is just tough to learn.

New research shows a method to help your students get past the frustration of learning new concepts.

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I know you have a life that demands your time. After all, aren’t you involved enough? This job seems to never end. You always have grading to do, some teacher function, or see kids at the store. I have found that there is one surefire way to truly improve your classroom and work life.

Nothing great happens without sacrifice, so go do one thing now.

Get involved at school in a meaningful way!

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There seems to be quite a number of my former students asking about being a teacher. I find I’m answering the same questions for a lot of them.

What are my 5 best moments as a teacher? [Read more…]

Why am I writing?

As anyone who has taught full time in the past 10 years, political and budgetary conditions have made it much more difficult to be as effective as we can be. I will be focused on concepts that directly apply to traditional classroom teaching and science education, but many of the articles will be applicable to anyone who teaches others. [Read more…]