It’s no secret that there’s a lot you don’t learn in your methods classes. Even student teaching doesn’t quite prepare you. Lucky for you, you’re reading this! In addition to the subject knowledge you have, and the pedagogical theory you’ve
13 Tips for Giving Better Directions
Approaching my 20th year of teaching, I am thinking about how different my practice is now, compared to my first years. There’s so much that methods classes just don’t teach you! Some aspects of teaching can only be learned through
Classroom management from the first minute
I start every year thinking about changes I’m going to make to improve my classroom management. I have so many colleagues whose calm, quiet, relaxed personalities spread to their students. I think I need to accept that my energetic and
4 Easy Tricks for a Quieter Classroom
Music teachers have an amazing tolerance for noise. All primary school teachers deal with the calling out, the obliviously loud voices, and all that, but the music classroom multiplies that. After all, we don’t usually sit at desks—maybe not in
Using the PYP Attitudes
I was a bit slow to work this out, but having the Learner Profile and Attitudes on my walls had an incredible impact on my teaching. My teacher training, though fairly progressive, did not prepare me for PYP teaching. The
Save Your Voice (And Your Sanity)
Do you have those days when you get home and you just don’t have any voice left? Music classrooms are LOUD—and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s partially due to my loud and excitable personality—but I have often