Thought-provoking articles and classroom ideas for English teachers who never stop learning.
Classes have always been, and will continue to be, heterogeneous. In every classroom, educators encounter students with diverse backgrounds, abilities, and interests, readiness levels and learning preferences. Yet, not until quite recently, have many teachers started to admit the importance of finding out teaching strategies and techniques that address heterogeinity.
Read this postIn this post, we’ll explore the connection between movement and long-term memory. As mammals, we began learning through movement soon after the time of conception, by joggling around in our mother’s wombs. For young learners, physical activity is widely considered to be the norm in learning and studies show how powerful movement is in the assimilation and retention of information for learners of all ages. So, let’s find out how stimulating the cerebral hippocampus with movement results in long-term memory.
Read this postFirstly, just what is Task Based Learning?
In traditional approaches to teaching, lessons are designed with the language as the primary focus. Teachers follow a syllabus that lists the grammar and vocabulary to be taught and they use materials that are designed specifically with this language in mind.
Read this postThe effect listening to music has on the brain, and the problem-solving methods often used in studying music, both stimulate neuronal areas that generate deep, divergent, lateral thinking. In this post, we’ll clarify the nature of music as a learning tool, explore the different ways music converts us into expansive (as opposed to vertical) thinkers, and present techniques you can use to generate flexible thinking in your students.
Read this postIBL (Inquiry-based learning) has existed in different forms for centuries. In IBL, the teacher places much of the responsibility for the learning on the learners themselves, inviting them to ask questions, guiding them to find out the answers and encouraging them to delve deeper and find out more. Many teachers use an inquiry-based learning approach to boost student engagement.
Read this postIs it natural to separate disciplines (subjects)? It is helpful? Wouldn’t mixing disciplines help students to assimilate information more deeply? If we are concerned about promoting critical thinking in our lessons, surely interdisciplinary projects would promote this dynamic more integrally? Let’s look at the history, objectives and some examples of interdisciplinary projects and see if we can answer these questions.
Read this postWhen students aren’t motivated at the beginning of a class, it can be hard to grab their attention. Here, we give you some ideas on how to engage your students every time, right from the start.
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