Reteaching Expectations
It’s the last day of school… and I was up early formatting a slip that will help to have conversations at the beginning of next…
Category: Daily Blog
A focus for the whole year
The more I think about the creator’s expo, the more it can grow into a defining feature of the class. It gives us a purpose…
First ‘Creators Expo’
Whew. What a day. I was nervous that this first Expo was going to be somewhat dull – what just cardboard and paper… What I…
The option of doing less?
In a class that is all about creativity and autonomy, can students choose to do nothing? Obviously that isn’t the goal, I have worked very…
Daily phone calls to parents
Since I am calling parents often aways, it would be better to call them with a positive than to wait until a negative (I know…
Rethinking this site
It has been a journey, having this website. There are some resources and articles that get noticed, but it mostly has been a big experiment…
Archetypes to make tools
This quarter brought some really clever approaches and strategies that I need to remember. These solved some of the sticky problems that have been nagging…
Freedom in a classroom
The freedom that comes with a class full of opportunity and options is … different. Long story short, I have to get better at teaching…
Accountability 101
“What happens if they don’t do the work?” was asked to me today… and it has me thinking. I wish I was giving my students…
Tricks to snag a win
I need more techniques and curveballs that will interrupt some of the common patterns that come up. In a class that has much more freedom…
How to end a quarter full of projects?
It gets difficult as the projects get finished. Many students are eager to start a new project and many of these students are able to…
Why would I want to help an edtech company?
This was part of an application I filled out tonight – it’ll work as a blog post too. I have a natural curiosity about edtech…
What is Innovative Arts
Innovative Arts is taking two things and aiming them directly at each-other: maker education and the teaching of mindsets. The intended outcome is to have…
A plate of broccoli and candy
I’ve been thinking about this analogy and I think that it fits – Innovative Arts (as it stands right now) is like a plate full…
Reflecting with a deep breath
As another year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the journey I have taken as a teacher. I look back at what…
Core values in Innovative Arts
It’s past time for me to start teaching the values that make for a successful Innovative Arts student. Here are my draft values: 1) Careful,…
Utopia in my mind
Each time I implement what I read in a new book or put together another piece of the puzzle in Innovative Arts, I think that…
How many changes can I make at one time?
I have so many ideas to implement, between the books I am reading, the things I have realized this quarter, and applying the resources that…
Another run at teaching growth mindset
I’ve tried this, that, and the other thing when it comes to teaching growth mindsets. It’s time to get smart about it. Going straight at…
The Idea Cart, additional names TBD
Years ago, I gutted a small sample “Smart Table” that the SMART corporation sent with the massive order of smartboards, back when districts were first…