Pat W

Some Like it Hot – The Windup Girl and Call Me by Your Name

At first glance The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi and Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman have nothing in common. The Windup Girl is a biopunk dystopia where agriculture companies engineer plagues to increase food insecurity as a way to access new markets and promote corporate-back regime changes. Call me by Your NameContinue reading “Some Like it Hot – The Windup Girl and Call Me by Your Name”

Tic-Tac-Toe

I came across this wonderful post on BGG about tic-tac-toe’s true greatness. Posted by marc lecours (@rubberchicken), tic-tac-toe is one of the first games children can solve so they learn that games involve strategy, not luck. https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3110151/article/42550066#42550066 I recommend reading the entire post. It really changed my view on how can tic-tac-toe can be usedContinue reading “Tic-Tac-Toe”

How to get parents on board with differentiation

Managing parental expectations is an aspect of education. As in any field, education is often misunderstood by outsiders. Parents simply do not have the time to keep up with modern pedagogy while they pursue their careers and raise their children. However, education differs from most industries because everyone has school experience. The average adult’sContinue reading “How to get parents on board with differentiation”

Who doesn’t agree with differentiation in 2023?

The evaluation essay assignment gives us the option to find an article about someone who is strongly against differentiation and reflect on their opinion. Is there anybody out there that strongly believes differentiation is a load of nonsense? I understand there must be some limits on differentiation. There is only so much I canContinue reading “Who doesn’t agree with differentiation in 2023?”

Reflections on the Teachers Pay Teachers Differentiation Survey

I enjoyed reading the 2019 report produced by the Teacher Pay Teachers website about differentiation. The site surveyed teachers and principals about their feelings about the importance and effectiveness of differentiation as well as the various strategies being used. One thing that jumped out at me was how teachers and principals responded toContinue reading “Reflections on the Teachers Pay Teachers Differentiation Survey”

My concerns with differentiation

Rationally, I understand the need for and the benefits of differentiation. Every person is different. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. But I am not a teenager. I am a grown man, and I feel that I have a well-developed sense of self-worth. I rarely crave the approval of others to validate myself.Continue reading “My concerns with differentiation”

Board Games and Learning Standards

I am working on a personal project this summer to align my board games to educational standards. This interests me for two reasons. First, it forces me to think more deeply about the mechanics of the games. It also familiarizes me with educational standards outside what I teach, specifically math and early childhood education standards.Continue reading “Board Games and Learning Standards”

Differentiation in swim class

I took my son to swim lessons last week. Because of the reading and coursework, I had differentiation on my mind and realized how well the instructor differentiated the swim class. I will argue that differentiation is more important in swim lessons than in a classroom. Metaphorical drowning in an undifferentiated lesson is muchContinue reading “Differentiation in swim class”

What is “understanding” in an AI world?

In The Differentiated Classroom, there is a long list of what a student can do when they “understand” something (pg 75). Some of the examples are obvious like “use it” and “compare and contrast it with other concepts.” Others are more creative. However, one thing all these skills have in common is that I wasContinue reading “What is “understanding” in an AI world?”

Differentiating Codenames

For practice, I am going to write out how I think I could differentiate the game Codenames right out of the box. These thoughts came to me while I watched my ESL class play. I tried to observe all the different skills involved with the game and how the students were interacting. I noticedContinue reading “Differentiating Codenames”