Learning Theory | Cult of Pedagogy

8 Things I Know for Sure About (Most) Middle School Kids

1Oct2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

I never planned to teach middle school. But once I started, I never looked back. And I became kind of an expert on the idiosyncrasies of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, and how to make the most of their special qualities.

Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set

6Sep2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

With a well-crafted, well-executed anticipatory set, instruction becomes an art.

Teaching in Beta: What We Can Learn from Software Developers

30Aug2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

We already try new things all the time, but we expect perfection the first time around. When we don’t get it, we reject the good idea, move on to the next new one, and repeat the cycle. We’re chasing our own tails.

What the Mother of a Child with Autism Wants Teachers to Know

22Jul2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

At first, my friend Leigh didn’t want me to air this episode. “I’m so sorry to have wasted your time,” she said, “but my husband and I just listened to it and we realized that if our daughter ever heard it, she would die of embarrassment.”

Teaching Digital Natives, Chapters 6-10

15Jul2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

Part 2 of our 2-part discussion of Marc Prensky’s Teaching Digital Natives, a guide to using any kind of technology effectively for student learning. Great for technophiles and technophobes alike!

Teaching Digital Natives, Chapters 1-5

30Jun2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

Whether you already integrate technology in your teaching or you consider yourself tech-phobic, this book will show you how to do it right: ironically, by keeping your focus off the technology.

Summer 2014 Book Study: Understanding by Design

23Jun2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

The first installment of our study of Wiggins & McTighe’s book Understanding by Design.

Know Your Terms: Code Switching

19Jun2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

Correcting nonstandard dialects doesn’t really help students learn to speak or write in formal English. So should teachers just let kids talk (and write) how they want?

What I Love About José Vilson’s “This Is Not a Test”

13Jun2014

by Jennifer Gonzalez

Technology has allowed us to connect with other like-minded teachers, people whose ideas and convictions help bolster and refine our own, who put the thoughts we can’t quite explain into words that are powerful, honest and brave. People like José Vilson.