Teaching Strategies Archives - Mike Anderson Consulting

5 Reasons to Not Use Incentives This Year (and 5 Things to Do Instead)

By Mike Anderson
In Blog, Classroom Management, Great Academic Work, Mike's Blog, Motivation, Teacher Talk, Teaching Strategies

Classroom management and academic engagement are two of the most important aspects of getting off to a great start in the new school year. Though gem/marble jars, tickets, clip charts, and other incentive systems (including traditional grades) are common throughout

By Amy Difeo
In Classroom Management, Great Academic Work, Mike's Blog, Motivation, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies

Are you a teacher struggling to keep your students engaged? You’re not alone. A team of teachers at Sandown North Elementary School faced similar challenges, witnessing a decline in student engagement and an uptick in students that were dysregulated. Instead

By Mike Anderson
In Audio, Great Academic Work, Health and Balance, Interviews, Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies

When my district first adopted a math program I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was relieved. Look a this—all of my math lessons are planned for the entire year! Just imagine the time I’ll save. I won’t

You may think of the first weeks of school as a time to focus on classroom management, and it is. But in fact, all year long, we should consider classroom management an active part of our daily teaching. How do

By Mike Anderson
In Blog, Classroom Management, Great Academic Work, Teaching Strategies

Kathy Collins and I were co-teaching a summer workshop for teachers on how to teach reading effectively. We were sharing about different kinds of direct instruction—various ways we can teach students the skills, strategies, and mindsets they need to be

A great learning environment is like a three-legged stool. Ruth Charney first introduced this concept to me years ago. It’s an important idea to keep in mind all year long, but it’s crucial during the first weeks of school. The

Can Retakes Actually Raise the Bar?

I know many educators bemoan retakes. It is often seen as giving kids too many chances, not holding them accountable, and generally “lowering the bar.” I’ve heard the warning “There are no retakes in real life!” too many times to

By Pam Gunneson
In Blog, Great Academic Work, Motivation, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies, Uncategorized

What Are We Doing Today in Physical Education? “What are we doing today?” is the most frequently asked question by my middle school students while entering the gym to get ready for class. After my response, students will usually either

By Mike Anderson
In Blog, Great Academic Work, Teacher Talk, Teaching Strategies

A friend and colleague of mine, Andy Dousis, once told me that every lesson has three moments: a golden one, a silver one, and a leaden one. Whatever you say in the first 60 seconds of the lesson is the

A few years ago my wife gave me three months of coaching for my birthday. I’d been running 5K road races and was trying some half-marathons. She thought I could use some professional help! We connected online, and I sent

By Tom Tuscano
In Great Academic Work, Mike's Blog, Motivation, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies

“How’d it go?” On the surface, it is such a basic question. I’ve been asked that question plenty of times in my life. After a sports game, doctor’s appointment, or school meeting, not to mention that nerve-wracking best man’s speech

By Mike Anderson
In Blog, Great Academic Work, Health and Balance, Mike's Blog, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies, Ted Lasso

In the final episode of Season I of Ted Lasso, players are somber and nervous heading into a do-or-die match against a superior team. Ted decides they all need to try something new, so he invites the players to name

Beyond Behaviorism: Three Key Strategies

A Brief History of Behaviorism, Part 5 If you could travel back in time about 60 years and walk through a typical school, you might be surprised to find something missing. You wouldn’t see behavior charts or “star student” award

Drooling Dogs and the Birth of Behaviorism

A Brief History of Behaviorism, Part 1 If you could travel back in time about 60 years and walk through a typical school, you might be surprised to find something missing. You wouldn’t see behavior charts or “star student” award

Do your students seem young this year? You’re not alone. In every single school I’m working in this year—with no exceptions—teachers are saying the same kinds of things. This shouldn’t be surprising. Students always seem a bit young in the

15 Strategies for Learning Students’ Names

“To weave the magic of a thing, you see, one must find its true name. In my lands we keep our true names hidden all our lives long, from all but those we trust utterly; for there is great power,

By Mike Anderson
In Blog, Great Academic Work, Mike's Blog, Motivation, Teaching Strategies, Video

In this vlog post, published through Eduplanet21, I share a story about a student who seemed motivated but wasn’t really self-motivated. She was always seeking my approval: “Is this okay? Is it good enough?” I tell about how I helped

100 Ideas for Awesome Academic Work in the Last Weeks of School

Don’t look now, but the end of the school year isn’t far away. Of course, we know how important the first weeks of school are, but what about the last weeks of school? Surely, this is just as important a

As Students Return to School, Don’t Focus on SEL or Academics: Do Both

As schools welcome more and more students back through their doors, we’re all trying to figure out the best way to do so. It seems as though there are two wildly different needs we must address. As I talk with

Teacher language can be a great focus for a New Year’s resolution. After all, we all use language with students, and we all surely have some habits that could use some refinement. Often, some of our language habits don’t line

You want at-home learning to feel purposeful and engaging for students, but you don’t want to further overwhelm yourself with work. What if there was a way to both boost student engagement and reduce the daily assigning, correcting, and keeping

Games can boost engagement and learning for students while also reducing teacher workload--a win-win!

What if there was a learning strategy that boosted student engagement, had many (many!) academic benefits for students, and reduced teacher planning and correcting/grading time? Great news! There is–and it’s a tried and true strategy you have probably been using

Teaching Strategies

5 Reasons to Not Use Incentives This Year (and 5 Things to Do Instead)

Struggling with Motivation? Try Engaging Students with Project-Based Learning!

How Teachers Can Forge Instructional Autonomy

Whole Class Lessons: The Most Efficient, Least Effective Form of Instruction

Can Retakes Actually Raise the Bar?

Choice as a Motivator in Physical Education

5 Strategies for Keeping Lessons Short

Can You Really Own Something You Didn’t Choose?

3 Planning Moves to Reenergize Your Teaching

Helping Students Become More Self-Motivated

100 Ideas for Awesome Academic Work in the Last Weeks of School

Tap into Self-Motivation with an At-Home Project

3 Reasons + 5 Tips = GR8 Games