RSA of Steven Johnson’s “Where Good Ideas Come From” Talk

Kim CarterClassroom Culture, Learning, Learning about Learning, School Culture, Student Strengths, Teachers, Whole Child

In the video below, the clever folks over at RSA Animate give visual engagement to Steven Johnson’s brief talk on Where Good Ideas Come From, an excerpt from his TEDtalk. One of the things we love about this talk is that it confirms what we intrinsically know to be true — innovation is more about interaction and engagement than sitting … Read More

Brief Review of L. Todd Rose’s “Square Peg”

Kim CarterAttention, Brain Facts, Learning, Learning about Learning, Learning Challenges, Social Emotional Learning, Student Strengths, Teachers, Whole Child

“Behavior isn’t something someone ‘has.’ Rather, it emerges from the interaction of a person’s biology, past experiences, and immediate context.” L. Todd Rose, from his book, Square Peg For students with learning differences schools can be (and often are) incredibly trying places. Imagine being a kid who wants to do well — motivated, eager to please, and enjoys interacting with … Read More

Tipping the Balance in Students’ Favor

Kim CarterClassroom Culture, Learning, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers, Testing

By AKOM Guest Blogger Sally Hunter   I am struck by the reality that schools today require teachers to become skilled performers in an increasingly complex and critical balancing act.  In more and more public classrooms, elementary teachers are asked to spend the bulk of their day following impersonal lesson plans, preparing students for mandated tests, and completing layers of … Read More

All Kinds of Minds Website Gets a Makeover!

Kim CarterLearning, Learning about Learning, Strategies for teachers, Teachers, Uncategorized

All Kinds of Minds is pleased to announce that our website has been updated with a brand new structure and design.  We’ve streamlined the navigation and structured the content to provide you with a better user experience. Your Go-To Source for Learning about Learning While the site has a new look, you’ll still be able to access the same great … Read More

What’s Up with Kate? (Part 2)

Kim CarterAffinities, Differentiated Instruction, Differentiated Learning, Higher Order Thinking, Language, Learning, Learning about Learning, Learning Challenges, Memory, Reading, Strategies for teachers, Student Strengths, Student Weaknesses, Teachers

Last week we told you about Kate, a 6th grade student with some learning challenges.  Kate is earning good grades, but she really has to work hard for everything – seemingly much harder than her peers.  She struggles to retain new vocabulary words, recall information from reading passages, follow multi-step directions, and master math facts. So what’s really going on … Read More

One School’s Faculty-wide Exploration of Schools for All Kinds of Minds

Kim CarterClassroom Culture, Differentiated Instruction, Differentiated Learning, Learning, Learning about Learning, Learning Challenges, Learning Specialists, Private School, School Culture, Strategies for teachers, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers, Uncategorized

By Mary Mannix, Guest Blogger Last spring, administrators at Indian Creek School, an All Kinds of Minds School of Distinction, searched for a book for summer reading for the faculty that would be meaningful and relevant to teachers across all three divisions of the school, from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Why Schools for All Kinds of Minds? Administrators chose Schools … Read More

Embrace What’s Going Right to Pave a Better Road to Learning

Kim CarterAffinities, Classroom Culture, Differentiated Instruction, Differentiated Learning, Learning, Learning about Learning, School Culture, Strategies for teachers, Student Strengths, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers, Uncategorized

By Michele Robinson, Director of Special Projects at All Kinds of Minds and co-author of Schools for All Kinds of Minds Grab a pen or pencil. Off the top of your head, list 3-4 of your strengths – those things you do well with relative ease. Now list 3-4 affinities – those activities or topics you love to do or … Read More

Seeing – and Nurturing – the Genius in our Students

Kim CarterAffinities, Classroom Culture, Differentiated Learning, School Culture, Student Strengths, Student Weaknesses, Teacher Effectiveness, Teachers

By Rick Ackerly, Guest Blogger In the foreword to Schools for All Kinds of Minds, Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko’s, writes: More than ever, America needs the kinds of minds that generate new perspectives, seek solutions, and discover emerging opportunities. Those are the minds of many of the students in your schools today who, at first glance, look a lot … Read More