Old Favourites Archives

Teaching for Conceptual Change: Fractions

22 November, 201927 September, 2017 by Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)

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Teaching fractions is critical. Yet, students often struggle to master the concept of fractions. You can help these students by using the conceptual change process. Mastery of fractions is one of the strongest predictors of success in high-school mathematics and helps in areas such as algebra. Therefore, it is vital that your students understand fractions. Common Errors Errors occur at the surface level. Common errors include: Adding (or subtracting) … Read more

New Teachers: 10 Things They Should Know Before Starting Day 1 In The Classroom

22 November, 201916 January, 2017 by Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)

As a new teacher, your 1st day with your own class is exciting, nerve-racking, and incredibly important. Here are 10 things you must know before that day.

Homework: How to Make It All Worthwhile

22 November, 201918 September, 2016 by Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)

Homework is the bane of many people’s lives. Teachers hate setting it, let alone marking it Students hate doing it Parents hate ensuring it done (and trying to work out what it is that the teacher really wants) So why do we bother? Let’s have a look. Homework or No Homework Most schools require teachers … Read more

Checking for Understanding Without Creating Mountains of Marking

22 November, 201912 July, 2016 by Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)

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Checking for understanding is an essential aspect of teaching. You need to check that your students have understood what you taught them. It’s how you know what to do next. However, if you are like most teachers, your time is already stretched thin, and you don’t want to be creating even more mountains of marking … Read more

Plain Old Good Teaching

22 November, 20195 February, 2016 by Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)

There are a lot of elaborate theories and vogue words that try to describe what good teaching entails. Sadly, some of them have little, if any grounding in evidence at all. Others do, but they are difficult to carry out and their effects are small. A teacher has limited time, and this makes your time a valuable commodity. When you choose … Read more