Chalk It Up

Chalk It Up

Blog for Educators

  1. About Teaching Assessment

    STAAR Test Questions | STAAR Test Prep

    About Teaching Assessment

    STAAR Test Questions | STAAR Test Prep

    At this point in the school year, you've lost hours of precious sleep just staring at the ceiling, your morning coffee just doesn’t taste the same, and your 2 p.m. coffee doesn’t either. You’re left wondering: How can I possibly prepare my students for the new STAAR® redesign?

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  2. About Teaching Hot Button Issues

    ChatGPT: Tales from the AI-pocalypse?

    About Teaching Hot Button Issues

    ChatGPT: Tales from the AI-pocalypse?

    You don’t have to search for long to find educators talking about ChatGPT these days, and the conversation is all over the place. Of course, it’s understandable why everyone’s talking about ChatGPT, with its tremendous potential for both academic advancement and misuse. After all, education has never faced a challenge like this. Right?

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  3. About Teaching Assessment Hot Button Issues

    Our Customer Advisory Board enables Shmoop to make moves, innovate, and take action

    About Teaching Assessment Hot Button Issues

    Our Customer Advisory Board enables Shmoop to make moves, innovate, and take action

    We’re only just beginning to comprehend the implications and lessons of the pandemic’s impact on education--among them, the advantages and limits of remote education. For all its challenges, however, the quick shift to a remote--and thus more independent--learning model came with a pedagogical silver lining. After all, educators have long advocated for and pursued initiatives that emphasize the importance of cultivating greater student autonomy in the learning process. Of the many lessons to be taken from the pandemic, the move to remote learning has a lot to teach us about how to better cultivate more independent learners.

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  4. About Teaching

    The Benefits of Student Agency: It’s Not about Instructional “Strategies”; It’s about Empowering Learners

    About Teaching

    The Benefits of Student Agency: It’s Not about Instructional “Strategies”; It’s about Empowering Learners

    There are methods and strategies that enable and promote greater student agency in learning. But student agency is not reducible to “methods.” The unspoken assumption behind the latter tendency situates students as objects of a teacher’s instructional practice, not active subjects/agents capable of determining their own learning paths–a position that runs contrary to the whole point of student agency itself.

     

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  5. About Teaching

    What the Pandemic Can Teach Us About the Important Goals of Student Agency

    About Teaching

    What the Pandemic Can Teach Us About the Important Goals of Student Agency

    We’re only just beginning to comprehend the implications and lessons of the pandemic’s impact on education--among them, the advantages and limits of remote education. For all its challenges, however, the quick shift to a remote--and thus more independent--learning model came with a pedagogical silver lining. After all, educators have long advocated for and pursued initiatives that emphasize the importance of cultivating greater student autonomy in the learning process. Of the many lessons to be taken from the pandemic, the move to remote learning has a lot to teach us about how to better cultivate more independent learners.

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  6. About Teaching

    MTSS: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (or Making This Seriously Simple)

    About Teaching

    MTSS: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (or Making This Seriously Simple)

    So what is MTSS? In education MTSS stands for “Multi-tiered Systems of Support.” Pretty self-explanatory, right? I mean, right away we know the acronym indicates that there’s, well, a lot of systems, and they’re all organized in tiers, and it’s all about providing support. MTSS: It should stand for “Man,That’s So Simple!” One of the things I loved most about my 10+ years as a teacher was all the wonderful acronyms we got to learn. It felt like there was a new one every month. It was… wonderful. 

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  7. About Teaching

    Surveys and SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)

    About Teaching

    Surveys and SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)

    As it's becoming more clear that the non-academic elements of students’ lives impact their ability to perform academically, educators are feeling increased pressure and desire to take action in the classroom. Why does social emotional learning matter for schools and districts? Studies show that 75% of mental health support comes in a school setting. The question for educators becomes, where to start.

     

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  8. About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Trust Your Gut (Most of the Time)

    About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Trust Your Gut (Most of the Time)

    Particularly on high-stakes tests like the ACT, SAT, and AP exams, there’s nothing more frustrating than talking yourself out of an answer, only to find out later that your first instinct was actually correct. 


    Of course, that’s not to say students should “trust their gut” for the entire process—if they’ve never heard of the quadratic formula, they’re not going to be able to just guess how to solve equations requiring that knowledge. Beyond that though, students should familiarize themselves with the actual types of questions and answer choices they’ll see on the test, whether that’s through in-class skill drills or at-home practice tests. 

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  9. About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Breathe Through It

    About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Breathe Through It

    So your students are in the right mindset, they’ve made studying more fun, and they understand what’s happening in their bodies when they’re dealing with test anxiety. 


    Now, what do they actually do when test anxiety hits them in the middle of the exam? Well, they have some options, so introduce your students to all of the methods we’ll discuss in this blog post to be sure they have every tool they need to stop test anxiety in its tracks. 

     

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  10. About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Study Time Flies When You’re Having Fun

    About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Study Time Flies When You’re Having Fun

    Part IV in our series on "Emotional Test Prep"

    Studies from the APA show a progressive rise in teen stress over at least the past decade—and high-stakes testing has no doubt played a part. In her book Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation, Vicki Abeles describes today’s youth as “the most tested generation in history” (110).

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  11. About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Climb On the Magic Shmoop Bus

    About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Climb On the Magic Shmoop Bus

    As we mentioned in our intro post a few weeks ago, the main culprit behind test anxiety is the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is produced in the adrenal glands, just above your kidneys, but let’s back up even further in this process. What triggers cortisol to be released in the first place? 

    It all starts with the amygdalae, a pair of small regions in the brain that are part of the limbic system.

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  12. About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Cultivate a Growth Mindset for High-Stakes Test Prep

    About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Cultivate a Growth Mindset for High-Stakes Test Prep

    Educators know that learning fundamentally depends on failing. More specifically, learning depends on the ability to fail and learn from the experience, what psychologists call a “growth mindset”: The belief that we can improve over time, despite setbacks and failures, through effort and perseverance. 

     

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  13. About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Are Your Students Emotionally Prepared for Their Big Test?

    About Teaching

    Emotional Test Prep 101: Are Your Students Emotionally Prepared for Their Big Test?

    The emotional skills required for success on tests—particularly high-pressure, high-stakes tests like the ACT and SAT—play a critical role in student performance. 

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  14. About Teaching SEL

    SEL - the good, bad, and the ugly

    About Teaching SEL

    SEL - the good, bad, and the ugly

    SEL (social-emotional learning) has found itself in the hotbed of an extremely emotional and political spotlight. What started as an innocent concept revolving around understanding and learning about non-academic elements of a student’s life, has quickly been associated or disassociated with theories, concepts, and practices outside of its scope. 

     

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  15. About Teaching SEL

    How Non-Academic Factors Affect Academics

    About Teaching SEL

    How Non-Academic Factors Affect Academics

    Students spend a mere fraction of their lives within the schools they attend, and success both in and out of school is dependent on multiple factors. Although quality education, which includes social emotional learning or SEL, is an important component in developmental success, it can’t replace benefits children can receive outside of school from certain familial, socioeconomic and social advantages. 

    The skills that social and emotional learning addresses are those that would otherwise be developed through experience and support outside of the school: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.

     

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  16. About Teaching SEL

    Moving from “I’m stupid,” to “I’m learning.” in Dynamic Learning Ecosystems.

    About Teaching SEL

    Moving from “I’m stupid,” to “I’m learning.” in Dynamic Learning Ecosystems.

    Moving from Reductive Labels to Dynamic Learning Ecosystems in Education

    A challenge with a question or some difficulty in a class quickly turns into a sweeping self-generalization, a fixed label about one’s innate aptitude and ability, even their character. Terms like “lazy” and “slacker” come to mind. As a result, a simple question in a class suddenly becomes the terrain for a student’s overall sense of themselves as a person.

     

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  17. Assessment

    How to Provide Effective Feedback

    Assessment

    How to Provide Effective Feedback

    You may not realize it, but your students value your feedback. Whether it's a quick nod/shake of the head or pages and pages of feedback on an essay, they want to know what you think of their work.

    Having said that, not all feedback is created equal.

    Here are some tips for how to be sure you're providing effective feedback.

    Focus on one thing at a time (or maybe two).

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  18. Assessment

    Problem Sets

    Assessment

    Problem Sets

    If you’re anything like 97% of the student population, just reading the term "problem sets" probably made you nod off, groan out loud, or maybe start whimpering quietly to yourself. So just brace yourself and try and stay awake (and optimistic) for a bit. Problem sets can be a good way to assess student learning and help insomniacs fall asleep, so understanding just how to use this tool in your classroom is a good thing.

    Problem sets are meant to encourage the practice of concepts learned in class and to keep students sharp on the material. You can find these little assignment gems in physics, engineering, chemistry, math, and economics.

    The idea may be kinda boring, but problem sets are useful as summative assessments. They normally count for a small portion of one’s overall grade in the course, but some classes may see a teacher who tallies up all the P-set scores and averages ‘em out for the final grade.

    Hey, stranger things have happened.

    Usually problem sets are issued continuously, so that students are constantly practicing the material. And don’t forget: that’s a good thing. The assessment benefit is that you, the teacher, get a weekly or biweekly update on individual student’s learning. And even better, the scores of the problem sets can be recorded and tracked, highlighting where additional class instruction may be needed.

    But you know we wouldn’t be bringing them up if there weren’t a bit of controversy involved. Here it is: some dirt has arisen regarding problem sets because of the ease of collaboration online. Which means that yet again, Internet morality has come into question, as online forums are set up to discuss and solve problems in the sets.

    Plus, for better or worse, problem sets can be magnets for student collaboration. Many students meet in study groups to work out the sets together and turn in their own, handwritten assignments. Some teachers encourage working together, while others consider it cheating. The bottom line: before assigning problem sets in your class, be sure that you know where you stand on the whole "work with a group or not" idea.

    Did you stay awake? Kudos. Will your students? We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

    If you're looking for other ideas to engage students in your lessons, why not check out our teaching guides?





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  19. Assessment Hot Button Issues

    The Standardized Testing Debate

    Assessment Hot Button Issues

    The Standardized Testing Debate

    If everyone hates standardized testing so much, when are we going to cancel it in all its forms once and for all? For now, that's not quite on the agenda. But that doesn't mean the struggle won't continue. The hope is that teachers can use the standards and the tests that go along with them to help them craft lessons for their students without falling short on creativity or student performance.

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  20. Classroom Management

    Teacher-Student Ratio: Does Class Size Matter?

    Classroom Management

    Teacher-Student Ratio: Does Class Size Matter?

    We've all heard the commonplace that as far as class size goes, bigger is not better.

    In smaller classes, students benefit from more individual attention from the teacher. Parents get to think that their kids will have better test scores and a sense of community. The school board feels more cost-effective because it gets higher graduation rates. Win-win-win-win right?

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  21. About Teaching

    8 Tips for Surviving Your First Year as a Teacher

    About Teaching

    8 Tips for Surviving Your First Year as a Teacher

    Is this your first year of teaching? Little anxious and worried? When you dreamed about becoming a teacher as a kid, bet you were not planning on dealing with things like COVID-19 and learning how to incorporate so much technology into your teaching.  

    It can all seem overbearing and may make you a little nervous. In the world of teaching, things seem like they're going super fast and painfully slow at the same time. Here are some tips for making the fast times less overwhelming and the slow times less like you're red-penning your life away.

    Tip #1: Act more confident than you are.

    When you're just starting out and nerves are getting to you, it may feel like you command about as much respect as the mac and cheese that Jenny left in her desk a week ago. But the kids sure as heck don't have to know that.

    Whether it's teaching something new, trying an activity you're not sure will work, or trying to get the little darlings to quiet down, acting like you've done this a bazillion times and could do it with your eyes closed will be a lot more convincing to them than to yourself.

    At least, until the day that you realize that you have done it a bazillion times. A word to the wise: still probably a good idea to keep your eyes open.

    Tip #2: Take deep breaths.

    We know. How cliché can we get? But sometimes a little bit of patience can get you a long way. So whether it's a lesson your students just don't seem to get or little Billy drawing on the wall again, keeping calm and making that smile stay glued to your face can get you a long way. At least as far as keeping sane is concerned.

    Tip #3: Ask for help.

    According to this article, "the steep learning curve is hard not only on students, but also on the teachers themselves: 15 percent leave the profession and another 14 percent change schools after their first year, often as the result of feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, and unsupported." Those stats aren't pretty. So find the people you can turn to—whether it’s other teachers, school administration, or your buddies who work in nice, easy jobs like finance—for the kind of boost that you need.

    Tip #4: Know your resources.

    Yeah, this is sort of the same as number 3. But it's just that important. Common questions that might arise include; Have any teachers on staff used this software before? Where do you look to find the list of school rules and regulations? Which office do you send a kid with a bloody nose to? And is it the same one as to where you send the kid who caused the bloody nose? 

    Knowing exactly where to look for academic and disciplinary questions in advance will give you a shapely leg up on the questions that are sure to arise over the year. And the years.

    Tip #5: Be specific.

    "For homework, do your math handout and read the next chapter of Hamlet."

    What's wrong with this picture? Aside from Hamlet not having chapters.

    Well, are they supposed to just write the answer to the math problems, or show their work? Is there a specific lesson they should keep in mind? Do you want it on the handout or separate paper, or can they just do the problems in their head? And when they read, should they take notes? What themes should they focus on? Will they have to write an essay about it? What's the difference between a chapter and a scene?

    Sure, this is probably heading into detective-interrogation mode, but it's a good plan to hedge your bets to avoid the "I didn't get what the homework was so I didn't do it" response. It helps the students—and in turn, it will help you—if you give very precise directions about what they're supposed to do, whether it's homework or a new activity. Even better if you can tell them what the goal of the exercise is.

    Bottom line: leave any wiggle room and you're risking a whole lot of wigglers.

    Tip #6: Notice how kids learn, react, and interact in different ways.

    You know how it goes: not everyone learns in the same way. (And there are plenty of theories on just how different kids learn in different ways. Being attentive to how your class as a whole, as well as individual students, best interact with the material will help you design the sorts of lesson plans that will keep the wheels a-spinning.

    And that means that you pay attention not only to what activities and methods click with certain students but also…

    Tip #7: Don't forget that kids are people, even though they're undersized ones.

    That's right: they're not just vessels to absorb the history of the French and Indian War or basics of quadrilaterals and spit 'em back out on test day. These are tiny humans that you are contributing to forming.

    So get to know what makes them tick. Maybe it's a particular subject, or a favorite activity, or an incomprehensible obsession with llamas. Whatever it is, getting a sense of what makes each kid an individual snowflake will help you interact with them better and teach them better. And hey—maybe you'll even like some of them.

    Tip #8: You don’t always have to be a ten.

    In other words, cut yourself some slack. You don't have to nail every explanation, have an Oscar-worthy closing moment at the end of each class, or even be 100% eloquent all the time. If you feel like you're having an off day, chances are your students sure as heck won't notice.

    So take some deep breaths, reflect on these tips, and don't sweat the little stuff. And if you're really having an off day, eat some ice cream, and try again the next day.

    The unlisted tip, of course, is to Shmoop  into your curriculum planning resources. We specialize in making teacher's lives easier!

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  22. Assessment SEL

    Keeping Analytics in SEL Human

    Assessment SEL

    Keeping Analytics in SEL Human

    The question we need to be asking is if the intent of Social Emotional Wellness tools is improving student outcomes? Or is it to create analytics sets about them?

     

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  23. Hot Button Issues

    Why Teachers and Guardians Need to Understand How The Teen Brain Works

    Hot Button Issues

    Why Teachers and Guardians Need to Understand How The Teen Brain Works

    Spoiler alert: the teen brain isn't like the adult brain. Sure, it's pink and squishy, and it bears a passing resemblance to a giant wad of chewed-up bubblegum. In those ways it's pretty similar. But as teens navigate their daily lives, their brains light up differently from the brains of adults. In part, that's because their brains aren't done developing. Of course, evidence suggests that human brains are never totally done growing and changing, and that "brain development in various forms goes on throughout the lifespan". Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks after all.

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  24. Homeschool

    The 5 Biggest Challenges of Homeschooling

    Homeschool

    The 5 Biggest Challenges of Homeschooling

    The homeschool population had been growing at an estimated 2% to 8% per annum over the past several years, but it grew drastically from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021 largely due to the pandemic. And while the number of homeschoolers has been growing steadily since the first count in 1999, homeschooled students are still a minority, and whenever you choose to do something different from what the majority is doing, you're bound to find yourself swimming against the tide, at least to an extent.

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  25. Classroom Management

    6 Ways to Encourage Your Students to do Their Best Work

    Classroom Management

    6 Ways to Encourage Your Students to do Their Best Work

    All educators want their students to produce high-quality work. Could we get any more "duh" up in here? But what are the best ways to ensure that they actually do? We've rounded up 6 tried-and-true techniques for helping your students put their best feet—and work—forward. 1. Make sure assignments are clear. It's hard for students to complete high-quality work on anything if they're not sure what you're asking them to do. (Another "duh" for you there.) So, if you give them a broad list of topics and instruct them to "choose one and write a research paper," for instance, you're not giving them much to go on. Especially if they haven't written a research paper before, or if they haven't written one for you.

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  26. Assessment

    Pop Quizzes: Fair or Not Fair?

    Assessment

    Pop Quizzes: Fair or Not Fair?

    Nobody likes a pop quiz…or at least, nobody likes to fail a pop quiz. If you have students who habitually ace pop quizzes, well then, the words, "Put your books under your desk—we’re having a pop quiz," may be among their favorites in the English language. Most of the time, though? You’ll get a chorus of groans. So what’s the deal? Are pop quizzes perfectly fair and efficient ways to assess student learning, or are they a mean-spirited "gotcha" tactic designed to punish students who may not have finished their homework?

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  27. About Teaching

    8 Things You Won't Expect About Teaching

    About Teaching

    8 Things You Won't Expect About Teaching

    We've got the 411. One thing you knew you could expect is that we'd have an article reminding you about what you would not expect. 1. You'll get the first-day jitters. Teachers can teach for years and still be plagued by those little butterflies. Which means what? It's normal. Even if you don't expect it to be on year two or year 20. You have a new group of kids and even if your job is to teach them, you're still going to care about what they think, at least on some level. After all, if your kids don't like you, you can have some serious problems. Or maybe it won't even be your fault, but you'll get an army of brats. Or maybe it's totally irrational, but you just feel jittery for the heck of it.

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