United States of America
Amanda Ronan is an Austin-based writer. After many years as a teacher, she transitioned out of the classroom and into educational publishing. Amanda wrote and edited English, language arts, reading, and social studies content for grades K-12. In addition to writing video scripts, lessons, quizzes, and other teaching-related materials, Amanda began blogging about education.
Now a full-time writer, Amanda uses her creative writing skills for all sorts of industries. She blogs, writes long-form articles, posts on social media, edits books, does content strategy, and coaches writers.
In her spare time, Amanda writes books of her own. Her first YA series, My Brother is a Robot, was released by Scobre Educational Press in September 2015. Her professional book for educations, A Fresh Look at Formative Assessment: 30 Simple ELA Ideas for Grades 3-5 was published in October 2016.
Amanda also does a lot of ghostwriting in industries outside of education, including health, financial, and business. These clips aren't included here because of the nature of ghostwriting. However, if you like what you see and are interested in working with her, Amanda will happily provide references.
How a school defines student success influences its design and impacts critical aspects such as professional learning, curriculum, assessment and school culture. This kind of shift requires thoughtfulness every step of the way, courage despite discomfort, and collaboration from the entire school community.
Change has proven rewarding at CICS West Belden, a high-performing K-8 charter school in Chicago, which recently shifted to a personalized learning model. Through the use of learner profiles and online programs, teachers are better able to tailor instruction to each student's needs.
Too often, teachers and administrators find themselves confined by district and state regulations that might not serve the needs of modern learners. But at Memorial Elementary School, one of two elementary schools in New Hampshire's Sanborn Regional School District, administrators and teachers are given the freedom to experiment with cutting-edge ideas not in spite of district and state guidelines, but because of them.
EdSurge
Chapter Four Loading... No matter where, when or how you grew up, a single word unlocks a complex trove of memories: School. Over the last 150 years, the notion of what a school should be has evolved.
Edudemic
No one wants to been seen as the stuffy teacher stuck in the past who lectures from the front of the classroom and doesn't seem to care about student engagement. Students today are tech savvy and have wandering minds. They are able to process information coming at them from several channels at a time-walking, talking, and texting.
Professional and personal development are important to many people. Professional development allows you to stay current in your field, make connections with likeminded professionals, and satisfy any continuing learning requirements your job may have. Personal development allows you to grow as a person, learn new skills, and try new things.
It's not a stretch to say that assessment is a hot button issue in education; however, you'd be hard pressed to find an educator who doesn't see the value in measuring student progress. Assessments themselves have been vilified, when, in fact, it's why assessments are given and how the data is used that is really the issue.
Every three years, the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) conducts an international assessment of the educational programs provided in countries across the world. The test measures the skills and knowledge of 15-year olds in over 70 countries, regions, and economies, covering reading, math and science.
Using technology in the classroom is one of those issues that makes it easy to be a fence sitter. It's difficult to be 100% for the use of educational technology all of the time, when there are so many convincing arguments against it.
There's been a lot of talk recently about what it means to be a learner in the 21 st Century. Earlier this year, we put together a guide with skills important for students today . So, why not a list for educators, too? The list goes beyond technology and social media.
When I first started teaching in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, my third and fourth grade students organized a protest against a school-wide balloon release because they had just learned about the ways deflated balloons can harm marine life. We also marched down Vernon Avenue with signs imploring people to beautify the neighborhood after a unit on civic pride.
Teaching is a challenging field, there is no doubt about it. On a daily basis, teachers work with twenty or thirty students, each one with his or her own set of strengths and weaknesses. The push toward inclusive classrooms means that teachers with general education backgrounds are more often working with students who had IEPS, or are receiving intervention services.
Most teachers consider themselves life-long learners. As professionals, teachers are required to complete a certain amount of professional development (PD) every few years to keep their certification current. Usually this PD looks like speakers coming to teacher's meetings, or educators attending conferences or taking courses at a local college.
Back in 2012, Jason Blanchard wrote an article for Edudemic about the problems with Course management systems (CMSs), such as Blackboard and Moodle. At that time, CMSs were centralized platforms that host software tools essential for online course instructors and students.
Professional development opportunities aren't just a great time to learn and grow; they're a wonderful way to network with other educators. During conferences, you can gather lots of great ideas to be used in your classroom as soon as you return.
With new media, shifting standards, and evolving pedagogies, teachers need a community to find and give support. They need to be able to exchange ideas.
Teachers know student engagement is the key to learning retention and having a great overall classroom experience, but they often can't keep kids' interest.
Teaching is a challenging field, there is no doubt about it. On a daily basis, teachers work with twenty or thirty students, each one with his or her own set of strengths and weaknesses. The push toward inclusive classrooms means that teachers with general education backgrounds are more often working with students who had IEPS, or are receiving intervention services.
Wikipedia is often vilified in educational circles. The site's loudest critics think that it offers biased, non-credible information. Many teachers specifically ban students from using the site from as a reference in research papers. However, though they may not cite it in their final papers, many students start their research process on Wikipedia.
Remember when schools had policies outlawing cell phones in the classroom? Teachers used to tell students, "Keep it in your locker, in your backpack, in your car, or at home, just don't bring it in here. Your phone is a distraction."
Brian South is an English teacher in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb 30 miles west of Chicago. He is also the faculty advisor of the literary magazine at Naperville North. When Brian began taking steps to self-publish his own novel, he did something few teachers feel totally comfortable doing-he invited his students to be part of the process.
For a long time, when educators discussed differentiating instruction and meeting students' individual needs, they did so through the framework of Learning Styles. However, in the last few years the idea of student achievement being impacted by lessons taught to their particular learning style has been debunked.
If you're like most teachers, you spend a crazy amount of your own money on your classroom. In fact, this Forbes article explains that teachers spend an average of $513 each year on classroom supplies, books, and their own professional development.
English teachers are skilled instructors of reading comprehension-a nebulous concept that requires several moving parts. Reading comprehension instruction often includes strategies for tackling certain, discrete skills, like vocabulary, identification of main ideas, and comparisons within and between texts. What makes reading comprehension such a complex thing is that understanding what you're reading is a completely personal and almost totally internal task.
Few students in the United States today have any memory of a time before the Internet. With a world of interactions (both good and bad) a mere click away, it is crucial to prepare our students for a connected existence that values respect, awareness, and collaboration with others from diverse backgrounds - in essence, to make truly global citizens.
For centuries, poets have turned to the written word to express emotions and symbolize important events. And likewise, for a very long time, the study of poetry was considered an important part of school curriculum. The challenging texts allowed students to access unknown parts of history, and empathize with tragic expressions of love, betrayal, and death.
Editor's Note: The SXSWedu conference wrapped up on Thursday, March 12th. We had Amanda write this update for us mid-way through the conference, and she is currently wrapping up her thoughts for a piece to appear later next week. Stay posted! There's a saying about Texas weather, "If you don't like it, wait a minute."
Hackers, phishing, pharming, spam, adware, spyware, worms, and viruses. With everything that can go wrong online, it's a small miracle that the Internet is still such a popular resource. Schools are charged not only with educating students, but also with keeping them safe-and nowadays that means protecting them online.
While many Austinites are busy planning their spring break getaways, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the best event to come through town. That's right. I'm talking about South By Southwest...edu. In 2011, the wildly popular SXSW festival featuring music, film, and interactive technology, expanded to include an educational conference.
Before the opening Keynote at SXSWedu 2015, Ron Reed, the executive producer of the conference, spoke to the audience. He asked attendees to do three things during the conference: Learn a lot, meet new people, and have a good time. Four days later, at the closing session, he checked in with the audience to see if they followed through.
The Common Core State Standards have generated a lot of new buzzwords in English classrooms. All of a sudden it's not enough for students to read, but now they must perform close reading. And it is not enough to answer simple questions, but students must become experts in answering text-dependent questions.
When The Common Core State Standards initiative was first announced there was a collective eye roll amongst veteran teachers. There have been so many shifts in pedagogical theory and practice over the years that nobody really thought these national learning goals would come to fruition. And then they did.
Thanks to the folks over at Khan Academy, alternative modes of delivering classroom instruction are all the rage. We've got face to face models, labs, rotations, online-only, self-blend, and of course, flipped. While there are numerous ways to implement a flipped classroom, the basic components include some form of prerecorded lectures that are then followed by in-class work.
Teach.Com and Certification Map.Com
July was Park and Recreation Month and we couldn't think of a better way to continue the celebration than to suggest a few ways that you can move your lessons from the classroom to the great outdoors.
Free public primary and secondary education are cornerstones of the US educational landscape. Public schools exist because of funding from the local, state, and federal governments. In return, public schools must admit any child that lives within the district or school boundaries.
The Presidential elections in the United States are an exciting, yet contentious time. Every four years on the first Tuesday held after the first Monday in the month of November, American voters go to the polls .
Before 1975, the history of special education in this country was one where students with disabilities were not guaranteed access to free, appropriate public education in the United States. In many cases, students with physical, mental, and learning disabilities were suspended and expelled from public school districts that didn't have the training or desire to educate them.
Besides being required and good for overall professional development, there are other benefits to participating in advanced-level training. Many districts pay more for master's or Ph.D. degrees, some even add to teachers' salaries based on additional credits earned after a degree. While money is a great motivator, for teachers it's not usually the most important.
School House Chalk
Holding traditional Halloween, holiday, and Valentine's Day parties that include cupcakes, chips, cookies, and juice excludes students who cannot eat the provided food and upsets some families who try to encourage healthy eating habits. Classroom parties don't have to be food-based. Students can celebrate together in fun ways without the junk food.
The winter break is a glorious one. It comes at just the right time of the year. Hopefully you've taken some time to relax and rejuvenate and maybe even sleep in. The problem with winter break, if you can call it a problem, is that you're likely to get consumed with holiday activities and obligations.
The US is one of the only countries in the world with separate algebra courses. In most places across the globe, algebraic thinking is just mathematical thinking. It's integrated across all numerical disciplines. Algebra's scope is large and its impact is wide.
Physical seats- Many classrooms are doing away with uncomfortable, molded plastic chairs and replacing them with seating alternatives. Exercise balls, stools, soft chairs, chairs with cushions, camping chairs, ottomans, rugs and low tables are some options. Having a variety of seating options allows students to discover where they do their best learning.
When people ask us what we teach, our answer is usually something like, "I'm an English teacher," or "I teach chemistry," or "5th grade." We highlight the content that we teach rather than the thought processes required for learning. But these thinking strategies are as important as content-they are flexible and applicable to every school subject and in every life experience.
Whether you're new to the profession or a stalwart veteran, it's possible that you're looking for someone to help you improve your practice. Teachers are the ultimate lifelong learners, especially when it comes to bettering their craft.
There is nothing quite like summer break, especially after a long year of teaching. On the last day of school it can be tempting to wipe down tables, tidy up your desk, and then vacate the building as soon as possible.
Now that school is back in session, you're busy getting to know your students. But don't forget about reaching out and communicating with their families. Several studies show that the more engaged parents and family members are in their child's schooling, the better the student will perform.
It's the end of the school year and you've got more than a few things on your mind. You're busy keeping your students focused and engaged while the calendar winds down. You're anticipating the end of the year routines necessary to return textbooks, clean your classroom and hand in paperwork.
iAchieve Leaning
As the back to school season kicks off, it's a great time to think about how to help your child stay organized. Let's face it, high school students aren't always known for being able to develop and maintain effective homework and study schedules. Kids today are busy.
It's never too early to start thinking about how to pay for college. According to the College Board, the average college tuition and fees in the 2014-2015 school year ranged from around $9,000 for state residents at public schools to just over $30,000 for a private education.
Students have to manage pressure that comes in many forms and from many different sources. It seems like parents, teachers, coaches, friends, online bullies, tutors, siblings, and classmates all have something to say about what you do, wear, say, and accomplish.
Even as many classrooms come into the 21st century with high-tech computer labs and 1:1 devices, it seems like teachers may never give up assigning essays. Whether it's the traditional 5-paragraph essay, your college admission essay, or even your dissertation, writing can be tough. Luckily, online resources that offer assistance with the essay-writing process exist.
Kidü
Hi, I'm Amanda. Today I'm one of the writers here at kidü, but not too long ago I was an elementary school teacher. The parents of my students were concerned with all the usual academic stuff like reading, writing, and math. But they also really wanted their kids to have good social skills.
FluentU
Real-world experiences have got to be part of every ESL classroom. They're absolutely necessary- the world beyond the classroom is full of language. Everywhere you go you're bombarded with sounds and voices. People speak quickly, using slang and dialects in unfamiliar accents. It can be overwhelming to be an ESL student in such a diverse and fast-paced world.
Who doesn't love games? Working together can be a great way for shy students to get more involved with classmates in an easygoing atmosphere. During group activities, ESL students can engage in authentic vocabulary practice while having a great time. There are many ways to bring group work into your ESL classroom, even when you're on a tight budget.
Books are awesome! C'mon, you don't have to be a bookworm to love books. Everyone you know can name his or her favorite childhood book. That's because books change lives. In the case of your ESL students, books are gateways to information, imagination and English immersion.
Expertise
Students in the United States owe more than $1 trillion in student loans. A 2014 college graduate is looking at an average of $33,000 in student loan debt, an increase of more than 40% since 2008. 1, 2 And this is before considering debt from credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages.
You can't erase most content from the Internet. If you haven't been on the wrong side of this fact, consider yourself lucky. Whether it comes from regrettable images or content on social media, a comment taken out context, or a negative review of your business, millions of people have felt the wrath of the internet's permanency.
Around the Table- Round Table Companies
She had been inspired to pursue the career since she was little and saw the difference a great teacher made in the life of her younger sister Alexa, who had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Charlotte was only two when Alexa was diagnosed, but she'd been like a third caretaker for her sister; Suzanne always marveled at the bond shared between her two daughters.
As the parent of a child with ASD, you experience the love and connection with your child in ways that are different, but are no less important and valuable. By learning techniques that suit your child's needs, you are helping them to reach their full potential and giving yourself the opportunity to experience that emotional connection.
Parents with children on the Autism Spectrum often feel isolated from their community. Very often good friends and even close family members stop visiting the home, inviting the family out or calling and checking in.
Parenting is always a journey that you can only try to be fully prepared for; however, parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can require an entirely different set of preparations. If you are the parent of a child with ASD, remember: you're not alone-there are many options available for help.
Other Clips
Blogging has been around since the early 1990s and, if you're like most wirelessly connected Earth dwellers, you've started your own blog. Maybe you're a blogging devotee, and you schedule your posts and upload them at the same time every day. Maybe you write multiple blog posts a day and cross post to numerous social media outlets.
Parent advocacy groups and legislators have been trying to regulate children's exposure to violence and sexual situations in video games since the early 1990s. With all the negative attention video gaming gets, people who don't play games are likely to believe that there are very few redeeming qualities about the industry; however, those people who are gamers, including parents, disagree.
There are many contributing factors that help shape how we see the world, but what about how the world sees us? The effect of social media on human behavior harbors many pros and cons; however, with a little effort, we can design a social media experience to create positive change.
I've never felt too attached to my hair. I can cut and color it without much thought or worry. Even when I've had, what others might consider, "bad haircuts," I just covered the offending 'do with headbands and barrettes. I don't blow dry or style my hair in anyway.
In the summer, one of the biggest worries is sun damage, but can the sunscreen you are using do more harm than good? While we are often more than willing to look at what we are putting into our bodies - selecting healthy, unprocessed options - it is also important to look at what we are putting on our bodies.
Around the Table - A Round Table Companies Community | Sugar is an addictive substance, and it's hiding in just about everything we eat; however, with some changes to our diet, it is possible to beat this sweet addiction and retrain our palates to enjoy much fresher, healthier alternatives.
Many have been conditioned to think that exercise has to be boring to be effective, which is the exact opposite of the truth. If your heart is happy before, during, and after exercise, you are more likely to continue to pursue that activity.
When your goal is total wellness, just treating the symptoms will only mask the cause of the problem. Functional medicine doctors look at the whole picture to develop a long term plan to help you achieve total wellness. Check out these 4 aspects of functional medicine to learn more.
Around the Table - A Round Table Companies Community | Far too often we find ourselves caught up in the anxiety stemming from past and future events. The following five steps may help us to focus more on the present, the little blessings we often overlook, and ultimately, leading a satisfying life we can love.
When you feel the urge to write freely without an outline, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Allowing the story to unfold is a journey, but Amanda Ronan shares the importance of taking a step back and really examining the work that you have done in order to look ahead with clarity and a vision for the story you really want to tell, keeping you on the path to a brilliant piece of art.
So often we do what's practical, rather than pursue the marvels that live in our hearts and imaginations. As we grow, childhood aspirations get cast aside in favor of more sensible and realistic goals. Yet, with the right push from trusted friends and a supportive community, it is possible to find the way back to what fulfills our souls.
When it comes to writing, we try to hold ourselves accountable to the work through creating a solid routine. But, when we are faced with a block, we step away. Typically we go down the same path we have gone down when inspiration struck the last time, just enough out of the routine to seem new.
What goes on in today's classrooms? Is it enhancing or inhibiting a student's education? Giving students the opportunity to play the role of problem-solver and/or critical thinker, as well as allowing them to design their own learning goals, makes for an effective, well-rounded learning experience in the classroom.
During times of trial, love was always the prevailing emotion that Amanda Ronan was able to experience. And though she may get a different diagnosis down the road, she is armed with the power of love for herself and love from those around her, not hatred towards a few cells that aren't working right.
CompassLearning
Illustrations from The New Way Things Work The adoption of the Common Core State Standards has brought a lot of changes to the classroom. One big change is the emphasis on informational text. Many teachers have voiced concern over this new emphasis. Will these new standards sideline the beloved fiction we share with our students?
Last week, at the International Reading Association Conference, I overheard a table of teachers chatting. One teacher was lamenting about the amount of time children in her class spent being shuttled from one after-school activity to another. "Parents don't have the time to read to kids anymore!
Every year, since 1938, the American Library Association (ALA) has awarded the Caldecott Medal to the most distinguished American children's picture book. The 2013 Caldecott was recently awarded to This is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen.