Here is a video I made about the science of Fall Color. I worked with Dusty Little and Tom Braun from the Bethlehem Area School District. Enjoy!

​youtu.be/EOYrG0EMOr4

I am always looking for ways to improve my teaching... This year I have really embraced the Google Suite of products.. It helps with collaboration and it's now the central place to find my stuff. I am making Interactive Digital Notebooks and using Google Forms with my classes already, but recently came across this fantastic article my Beck Tench on how to use Google Slides in the classroom... Enjoy!

https://www.becktench.com/blog/2019/9/9/google-slides
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In my opinion, A hallmark of good instruction is the building of community. A sense of community in the classroom helps to foster motivation - especially with reluctant learners. In addition, community helps with cooperation among the students and teachers. One of the key ideas in designing instruction is to work community building into the lesson design. Here is a link to a great article on how to build a sense of community in all grades ... https://www.edutopia.org/article/10-powerful-community-building-ideas

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change may be. – John Wooden

One of the best ways to learn is through failing and trying again. Learning from our missteps and growing our idea into something better is the hallmark of a true learner.

"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember, that's where you will find success." Thomas J. Watson

Fail Forward !
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Daniel Pink, in his fantastic book on Motivation called Drive, gives this flow chart of when to use Rewards...

I've explored Instructional Design for a few months now and I am finding ways to link these ideas with some of the other topics I have been reading about. Motivation in education is important. It gets students interested in the topic and in the frame of mind to WANT to learn. But How? Can we design with motivation in mind? I plan on doing more with this idea, but for now I have learned that "If/Then Contingent" rewards are bad for Creative tasks such as learning. Giving someone a reward for something that should be intrinsic and something that requires depth and creativity narrows their focus - The short-term prize crowds out the long-term learning and thinking... When we design courses, the feelings of Connectedness and Community are what bring out the best in the class. 

Reminds me of another great quote I came across:

Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible.