Once you've sent your application package off, you will find yourself waiting, waiting, and then waiting some more. At times this wait can be no more than a day or two, but in instances like the application process to become an occasional teacher it can be a multi-month long stretch. Your resume is finished. Your … Continue reading Preparing for a teacher interview [Interviewing to become a Teacher – Part 2]
Once student teachers have finished their program, they find themselves facing one of the most challenging hurdles in the profession: The Interview. Someone can be the best teacher, but being the best teacher isn't always enough to get the job. Being able to explain why they are the best, and even getting the opportunity to … Continue reading How do I get an interview to be a teacher? [Interviewing to become a Teacher – Part 1]
Students are unique. We know this, we understand this, and we have evidence of this every day within our classrooms, and through our lived experiences. We also know that “[a]ll students can learn with the use of specific strategies that meet each student’s unique learning needs.” (Teach Spec Ed: https://www.teachspeced.ca/) This is why it's so … Continue reading A Guide to Understanding IEP Areas for Growth and Accommodations
A number of students require a reduced number of tasks. This is something that a number of education workers have difficulty with, because it’s hard to know what can be reduced, and where that can happen. Before we apply this directly to culminating tasks, we will examine what it looks like in a classroom. Photo … Continue reading Understanding: Reduced Number of Tasks
What are graphic organizers? That’s the first thing we need to understand. They can be a number of things. They can be a T-Chart, a mind map, a bubble sheet. Essentially a graphic organizer is a fancy way of saying “worksheet”. It’s a document that shows students where they can collect thoughts, and provides a … Continue reading Understanding: Graphic Organizers
Chunking has a number of different meanings. While we recognize that it means breaking a task down into specific parts, things can be chunked in a variety of ways. Types of Chunking Chunking materials on a pageChunking tasks in an assignmentChunking pages in an assignmentChunking an assignment over multiple periods Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on … Continue reading Understanding: Chunking
There are two types of memory, working memory and long-term memory. Students whose Areas for Growth include Working Memory have difficulties passing information from their working (immediate) memory to their long term (storage) memory. Imagine if you had five people yelling at you all the time, and you had to accomplish each goal you were … Continue reading Understanding: Auditory Working Memory
We've all heard about transition planning. We've all made transitions in our life. We all understand the stress that they can cause. Whether it's transitioning from home, to a vacation hotel - where you can't get a good night's sleep, until at least the third day; transitioning from an old relationship into a new relationship, … Continue reading Understanding: Transitions
One of the most common areas for growth on student Individual Education Plans (IEPs) is executive functioning. While many education workers have seen that term, there is often confusion about what it means, the impact is has on student success, and how to accommodate it. By understanding what the experts think, and understanding why specific … Continue reading Understanding: Executive Functioning
Since September 2010, Ontario teachers have been working under the guidelines laid out by the document Growing Success. That document underlies all of our assessment and evaluation practices, among a number of other different topics. A lot has changed in the past decade, and while some talk about “mark inflation”, that might not actually be the case. It’s not so much that marks have been inflated, but rather that levels (and as such, grades) have been reframed. But where do grades come from? And what guides our professional judgement when determining it?
What Binder Education 