Stories Teachers Share: MindShift just released a podcast devoted to teachers sharing their stories. “Stories Teachers Share” is about what it’s like to be a teacher and what we can learn from them. The first two episodes are live.
 
My favorite No: Leah Alcala, a middle school math teacher, shares a strategy on how to use mistakes to quickly clarify concepts.  She chooses her favorite mistake problem and uses it as a re-teaching opportunity. Take a moment and watch this teacher strategy in action at  https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/class-warm-up-routine. I’d be happy to brainstorm ways you can take this math strategy and adapt it to your content area. Let’s collaborate together! 
 
Ways to flip a Kid and turn His Day Around: Vicki Davis, also known as @coolcatteacher, offers ten ways to help make a student’s day better. Be sure to check out her post to learn more. http://www.coolcatteacher.com/10-ways-to-flip-a-kid-and-turn-their-day-around/
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State Superintendent discusses his plan for achievement and accountability: Our State Superintendent, Brian Whiston, met with Arina Bokas to discuss meaningful learning, relevant assessments, and engaging communities to create support systems for success of every child. Click here to watch his interview and hear his educational plans. https://youtu.be/gD2Y5oDy9PE
 
Think Tank Offering: There will be an after school Think Tank offered on Tuesday, January 19 from 2:30-3:30. We will continue to focus on building and re-building impactful lessons and unit plans for our students. Bring a teaching partner and your lesson materials. You can login to KALPA and register for this course: 564140. It counts for PPD! https://www.kalpapdms.com/
 
Kids’ Standards: The January issue of Kids’ Standard is available. The theme for this month’s issue is Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn. Be sure to check out what students and teachers have to say about it. http://www.kidsstandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jan16-web.pdf  

CoT News: Harvard University’s Project Zero is offering a new online course about creating cultures of thinking. Here is the preview video for the class https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkPrmZ9Ux8w. Be sure to check out the course description and details in you are interested in learning more about the course  http://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe/program/cultures-thinking.
 
Fail and Fail Often: A recent article published on Scientific American talks about the importance of failure and how it leads to success. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/why-creativity-is-a-numbers-game/
 
Schools and a Sense of Agency: Rod Rock, Superintendent of Clarkston Community Schools, and Arina Bokas, the editor of Kids’ Standards Magazine, discuss ways to build a student agency in the digital age. Take a moment and explore the five ways schools can empower students and develop a sense of agency.  http://gettingsmart.com/2015/12/61850/
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