Author: Arpan Chokshi

A National Board Certified Teacher, instructional coach, and teacher mentor.

5 Potential Pitfalls: What you should know before adopting an LMS

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As more schools go 1:1, students and parents are demanding a central hub for organizing the rapidly growing number of digital materials teachers are creating. Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, Edmodo and other Learning Management Systems (LMS) have helped many schools tame this digital information explosion; however, as with any remedy, there are side-effects you should … Continue reading 5 Potential Pitfalls: What you should know before adopting an LMS

6 Tips for Facilitating Discussions on Race with Predominantly White Students

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Teachers at predominantly white schools, especially those in conservative communities, may be reluctant to discuss race in the classroom. However, it is precisely in these communities that conversations about how race, ethnicity, and other social identities are critical for broadening students worldview. Here are some ideas on how to have these conversations based on a … Continue reading 6 Tips for Facilitating Discussions on Race with Predominantly White Students

10 ways to adjust instruction based on formative assessment data

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SOURCE: ASCD      You've collected exit slips, spot checked students' homework, skimmed their Google Doc, seen the results from a Google Form,  Pear Deck, Formative or Socrative. What do I do next? In this era of student centered-learning and data informed instruction we know we should be formatively assessing our students frequently. However, what should … Continue reading 10 ways to adjust instruction based on formative assessment data

Teacher’s Sanity: Late Work, Re-Takes, Pacing

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Progressive teachers for decades (perhaps centuries!) have long advocated for deemphasizing grades, developing various methods for re-learning concepts & skills, and providing students multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning. These  ideas have found a renaissance of sorts with the the recent movement towards standards based grading, mastery learning, competency based learning, and allowing students to submit … Continue reading Teacher’s Sanity: Late Work, Re-Takes, Pacing

Improve Students’ English Language Skills: Academic Discourse, Word Interaction & Read Alouds

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I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend and present at the SIOP National Conference at the end of June. Although I gained a lot of ideas & strategies I can bring to my class, here are 3 things I hope to apply to my classroom this year: 1) Prepare students for a broader … Continue reading Improve Students’ English Language Skills: Academic Discourse, Word Interaction & Read Alouds

Beauty Pageants & Discussions

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According to Don McCormick of the University of Redlands and Michael Kahn, of the California Institute of Integral Studies most classroom discussions or seminars fall in one of the following four categories: Free-for-All: In this seminar there is a prize to be won, whether it's the instructor's approval or one's self esteem. There is no … Continue reading Beauty Pageants & Discussions

21st Century Humanities PD

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The steady stream of developments in education technology along with the books and blogs touting the newest, most student-centered methods of teaching makes it difficult to discern fads from true instructional innovations. Technology should shift how students learn. However, without appropriate professional development teachers will be overwhelmed by the speed with which technology changes or merely replicate traditional teaching … Continue reading 21st Century Humanities PD