Posts by Jamie Back
STEM & Maker
Creating a Makerspace That Works
Jamie Back shares her recent learnings about setting up, maintaining, and working with students and faculty in her school’s makerspace.
Future of Learning
The Value of a STEM/Humanities Partnership
STEM/humanities partnerships are a great way to model the importance of valuing the diversity that all disciplines bring to the table.
Personalized Learning
Making the Most of Student Reflections
By: Jamie Back. Jamie shares how she uses several online tools to gather and respond to student reflections about such things as their mindset, study strategies, and understanding of topics.
Future of Learning
Inspiring Serendipity in the Classroom
Jamie Back discusses how as a teacher you can create serendipity in the classroom and provides suggestions on how to cultivate it yourself.
Personalized Learning
Student Choice to Prepare Students for the Future of Work
Jamie explains why the future of work's rapidly changing landscape requires our students to be flexible in their learning and why student choice is so important.
Difference Making
Cultivating An Innovation Mindset in the Classroom
According to GenDIY, people who have innovation mindsets possess qualities such as “perseverance, initiative, collaboration, tenacity, and curiosity.” How can classroom teachers give students opportunities to develop an innovation mindset and build these important skills? Jamie Back offers a few ideas.
EdTech
The Importance of Understanding Technology, Coding & Computational Thinking
To many students, technology is still a black box that requires a tech support person to fix, and according to Jamie Beck, this needs to change. For students to be successful in the future, they need to become competent and confident with technology—and troubleshooting—in various forms.
EdTech
A Look at MakerBot Education
3D printing is being used to support STEM integration, design thinking and more all over the country. Jamie Back explores MakerBot Education's resources.
Project-Based Learning
Designing Projects so Students Have High Quality Project Based Learning Experiences
PBL and CBL are related at the very core, because they both involve active student-centered learning. Whatever the project format, the six criteria outlined in the recently-released Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning (HQPBL) -- Authenticity, Intellectual Challenge and Accomplishment, Public Product, Collaboration, Project Management, and Reflection -- can help teachers create and implement successful student-centered learning projects.
SEL & Mindset
Mindset, and the Power of “Yet”
For me, the “Power of Yet” poster has been a powerful strategy. Such a simple reminder to persevere can be the difference between a student who gives up and one who routinely concludes that understanding will come with more effort, questions, or use of additional strategies.