Classroom Practices
We have complied lesson plans, articles, and additional online resources all in one place in order to help you make informed decisions about your classroom.
How should teachers address difficult topics in the classroom? Should we include trigger and content warnings?
In this age of the polarizing spectrum, where politics occupy everyone’s daily life, separating political from moral beliefs becomes all the more difficult. Should teachers share their political beliefs with their students?
Extra credit has had a history of catalyzing learning in some classrooms and highlighting inequalities of opportunity in others. Before enabling it into their classes, teachers should weigh the effectiveness of such a practice, and find fair methods of creating such opportunities for their students.
Students and teachers alike can use electronic devices to access information or photos more quickly than with a textbook. On the other hand, devices can also serve as a distraction when constantly within arm’s reach.Does technology do more harm than good in the classroom?
In this age of smart-phones and social media, understanding the student experience becomes especially difficult for educators and parents to grasp. In order to improve the student and teacher experience, educators should gain an understanding of anti-bullying spaces by defining, promoting, and requiring them in their own classrooms.
In recent years, a number of schools have converted to the pass/fail grading system. Some say it disregards the more hard-working students, while others say that it calms many students, making for a more even playing field. Nevertheless, educators should consider both sides of the argument when deciding whether or not to switch to a pass/fail grading system.
With new technology at its highest availability, students are looking to utilize it to their advantage, even in the classroom. Many use laptops and tablets during class in order to record notes. But this tight relationship with the digital world leaves educators split on whether or not to allow students to type out lessons in class.
One of the most common practices in dealing with misbehaving students is holding after school detention. But by keeping students after school hours, are teachers exercising their rights, or going too far? Is detention an effective solution to class disruptions, or would it spur future problems?
Implementing safe spaces at school invites students to feel more comfortable in the classroom and ultimately leads them onto a better path to success. Teachers have different ways of defining safe spaces and identifying what they look like. A safe space can be a set period of time where groups can come together to discuss their experiences, or a literal spot in the classroom where students can alleviate stress.
Recently many schools have banned homework altogether, but many other schools stand firmly against this practice. Those against excess allotment assert that it could lead to unhealthy stress levels and sleep deprivation, especially for older students. Homework does ultimately create extra work for teachers to grade and for parents to help, but are the student-learning benefits strong enough to outweigh all else?