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How I Successfully Pivoted My Teaching Practice Sep 28, 2022
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4 Types of Passion Projects Sep 18, 2022

Passion projects are such a great way to engage today’s learners and empower them to make connections to content, practice life-ready skills, and understand the importance of social-emotional learning.  However, if we simply focus on passion and don’t prioritize purpose, the...

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The DMLE Framework Mar 19, 2022

 I am so excited to have finally created The Meaningful Mess Design Framework that I've been working on for so long.  I am passionate about helping educators shift from simply writing lesson plans to designing experiences.  In my book, A Meaningful Mess, I introduced the 3Es...

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A New Way to Make Genius Hour More Meaningful Mar 04, 2022

When done well, Genius Hour is one of the most meaningful experiences that we can provide for our learners.  It’s personal, makes learning relevant, and makes purpose a priority. Just like any strategy or tool that is implemented into the classroom, passion-based learning should be...

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5 Mistakes I Made When I Started Genius Hour Oct 11, 2021

 So often, those of us that share Genius Hour, talk about how amazing it is and what we did well.  However, the reality is that most of us did a lot of things wrong, too.  It's important to not only talk about what went well, but also what went wrong.  I know that I made...

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Beyond the Label Jul 29, 2021

When I reflect on my time in the classroom, I remember how many different labels each new class of learners brought to the table...gifted, dyslexic, ADHD, twice-exceptional, English language learner, I could go on and on.  We all know that this will be case this year as well.  I wanted...

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Purpose Statements purpose statements Mar 30, 2021

I have to admit that I'm a big fan of the word purpose. Purpose should drive everything that we do in the classroom and give both ourselves and our learners a reason for the work.  The definition of purpose is "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something...

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Using Flipgrid to Manage Genius Hour Dec 10, 2018

So I have to admit...I definitely have #flipgridfever right now.  I have been reading so much about how teachers are using it to creatively give opportunities for reflection, connection, and collaboration.  The more that I read, the more I realize how powerful this tool can be for...

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Help Wanted Wall (Outside Experts) Feb 10, 2016

So, I have spent most of my week chatting with my students and my Voxer buddies about how to best find outside experts for our Genius Hour projects.  As an elementary teacher, it is very time consuming to search for an outside expert for every single project.   Outside of...

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