inquiry-based learning Archives

03 Apr 2020

A Better Way To Teach Math

This episode was recorded and edited before the coronavirus & distance learning was front of mind for educators. Valuable takeaways though regardless if you're virtual or in person One of challenges of teaching math is being able to satisfying answer the question 'why'? Before we can even answer the question for students, we have to answer the question for ourselves. Why does the math work this way? It's much easier to teach a student how to do a problem. It's a bit harder to explain to them why it works the way it does. It's even more challenging to help…

28 Oct 2019

Screaming at Kids, Comparing Students, and Creating a Self-Sustaining Classroom | Q&A Show

How do you handle the noise level in your classroom and get your students attention without screaming? What do you do about students who just refuse to study for tests? How do you create a self-sustaining classroom? We answer these and more in this first Q&A show! EPISODE NOTES In this Q&A show, we discuss (timestamps included): 0:51 - What are the top three books that guide you in building a self-sustaining classroom culture?8:37 - As a first year robotics teacher, do you compare one class with another as a way to motivate students? In Brazil, if one class is falling behind another, it's common to…

27 Sep 2019

4 Things Every Math Teacher Should Stop Saying

In today's video, we look at 4 things that every math teacher should stop saying, as well as what to say instead. 1. Does anyone have any questions? Instead - "What questions do you have?" or "I want to hear 3 different questiosn about this topic before moving on." 2. What's the answer to this problem? Instead - "How did you approach this problem?" or "What's something you tried on this problem?" 3. That's correct. ** Instead - "Tell me what you did here and why." or "Convince me that this is the correct answer." 4. That's wrong. ** Instead…

09 Feb 2019

Dealing With STUDENT PUSHBACK | How To Debrief A Class

In this video, I share how I've dealt with student pushback in my classrooms. I'm looking at pushback as when students just aren't really digging what you're doing in the classroom. It's important to allow students to have a voice in your class, which I do through class debrief. I share how I conduct the debrief as well as times I've changed how I do things based on the feedback and times I stuck to the way I did things. Cliffs Notes version: 🍎Tell students why you're doing what you're doing 🍎Give them opportunities to give feedback 🍎Don't take the…

14 Jan 2019

5 BIGGEST MISTAKES I’ve Made As A Teacher

In the teacher social media space, there's been a lot of talk of how discouraging it could be as a teacher to see all these other teachers online doing amazing things in their classrooms while you feel you're just trying to make it through the day. I talk about why I think that happens but also wanted to share some of my biggest mistakes I've made as a teacher in an effort to avoid only sharing successes from the classroom. [This used to be a previous blog but thought I'd turn into a video reflection.] 1:16 - Feeling the need…

26 Dec 2018

Epic Rap Battles in the Classroom

The learning objective on Chalimar Chieza's Early American History classroom reads as follows: "The student will create sick rhymes that showcase their knowledge of the roots of government in the United States." Epic Rap Battles of History is one of my favorite YouTube channels. I knew that giving students opportunities to write songs about content was a good assessment, but I never thought of utilizing raps / slam poetry specifically. So much opportunity for students to show what they know in this creative assessment. Chalimar Chieza has been doing rap battles in her history classes for years. In this episode…

02 Jun 2018

Learning From A Chess Prodigy & Exploring The Problem of Evil | Books & Beef Jerky

Welcome to the second official episode of Books & Beef Jerky, where I eat beef jerky and chat about the books I read this past month! The Hobbit The Art of Learning Grand Inquisitor NEXT MONTH'S BOOKS! Mere Christianity Fahrenheit 451 North Side Hustle https://youtu.be/hd8QoM-QDc4 __ I’m Thom Gibson. I’m a middle school teacher and filmmaker. My Amazon Shop (equipment I use, books I love, etc) - http://amazon.com/shop/thomgibson **contains affiliate links** Here’s what my channel’s about in 30 seconds - https://youtu.be/2Y2yzAPyfhk I’ve also got a short film on how I got into filmmaking - https://youtu.be/DOJxQFYx32g Find me on social media…

24 May 2018

Keeping Kids Curious In The Classroom

Welcome to episode 6 of The Thom Gibson Podcast! In Kindergarten, students are bursting with curiosity; why are doorknobs round, what is carpet made out of, why are my fingers little? Unfortunately, as students progress through their education, they tend to become less curious about the world around them and settle for just asking the questions that will get them the answers to pass the tests that determine their future. In todays episode, I chat with two-time Teacher-of-the-Year science teacher Kelley Janes who takes time out of every class to allow students to ask questions about the world around them;…

17 Apr 2018

What Jiu Jitsu Has Taught Me About Education

After a rough go as a kid in some of the schools I went to, I vowed to learn martial arts some day. A month after I turned 30, I joined a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school. I've been going strong now for a little over 5 months and I've begun to see a little bit of overlap between the mats and the classroom. How did becoming a learner at level 0 again impact me in the classroom? What insights did my coaches give me into teaching? What can educators learn from the world of martial arts? https://youtu.be/Q5geYmGnUSs Music by…

23 Jan 2018

How To Teach Robotics

In episode 2 of The Thom Gibson Podcast, I recorded the sounds of my robotics classroom for a couple of days while they worked on and presented their final projects. I reflect on some of the observations of going back and listening to the audio. You also hear students working to troubleshoot their creations which included an electric guitar, a whack a mole, an etch-a-sketch, and robotic arm controlled via sensors on a glove connected bluetooth... Music by Podington Bear www.soundofpicture.com https://youtu.be/-Iw3ocfWlc8