Fractions: A Realisation About Educational Priorities

Although fractions tend to be one of the concepts I cover most often with students in my work at Sylvan Learning Centre, I never quite realised how critical of a concept they were in so many grades of high school. For example, I never realised that fraction topics are discussed in every grade between 3 and 12 in British Columbia. Read more Fractions: A Realisation About Educational Priorities

Group Dynamics in the Classroom

Since I was a student for 23 consecutive years (after which I took a year off to teach abroad before returning to school), it’s likely that I’ve been exposed to nearly every group-learning model imaginable, and many of those models I have integrated into my own lessons. As such, I have arrived at several realisations about both short-term and long-term group work. Here are a few: Read more Group Dynamics in the Classroom

Is Project-Based Learning the Best Strategy?

These days it seems like everyone’s getting excited about project-based learning, to reduce the anxiety for students who hate exams and essays. Few people talk about the dark side of project-based learning, though, so here are several things to consider before you integrate it into your classroom. Read more Is Project-Based Learning the Best Strategy?

Thoughts on Math Drills

I have a mixed opinion about drill sheets.

On one hand, I believe drill sheets are slightly underrated. They encourage students to memorise multiplication facts instead of having to derive the answers every time. Although being able to derive answers is an essential skill, it may not be a viable option for each circumstance the student will encounter later in life. Drill sheets help drive students to produce answers quickly. They also motivate students who thrive on competition. Read more Thoughts on Math Drills

Poetry, Critical Literacy, and the Classroom

For many, poetry can be the bane of English class. Having to interpret passages of complex and figurative language nonliterally can often seem confusing (especially to those who tend to think linearly), and interpretations on a single poem may vary considerably from person to person. However, the act of interpreting the meaning of the words—the thought process behind forming an opinion on the piece—is more complex in poetry than in most other written art forms, which gives it a distinct advantage. Read more Poetry, Critical Literacy, and the Classroom

25 Useful Features Removed from Opera 15

I haven’t blogged in years, but this seemed serious enough to mention because I have been an Opera fanboy since Opera 8.5 when the browser was made free. Fast page rendering, the latest browser standards support, a clean interface, and a host of other unique features, like mouse gestures and keyword searches, that were years before their time. Opera continued to improve this browser for years and years, and always managed to stay one step ahead. Then came Opera 15, the first colossal mistake I’ve seen them make.

Read more 25 Useful Features Removed from Opera 15

HTML 5: Hail or Fail?

Those who have worked with the Web for many years usually have a wish list of things about HTML they would change. Personally, I loved the proposed XHTML 2. It was a very nice spec. It seemed that if Web browsers would finally support XHTML properly, the potential would be limitless.

Instead, that dream died, and we got HTML 5 in its place. Granted, we could be dealt much worse.

Read more HTML 5: Hail or Fail?