Passionate educators search tirelessly for new ways to inspire young minds. High on motivation but short on time, teachers can sometimes struggle to make those big changes they dream of in the classroom. But spicing up lessons with an innovative approach doesn’t have to be a pain. Here are 5 innovations that require little teacher preparation and can be implemented immediately, proving that ‘quick and easy’ can still pack a pedagogical punch.
If there’s any teachers out there looking to increase media literacy and bring current affairs into the classroom, they should look no further than Triplet. This media service transforms the evening news into educational content, complete with lesson plans and activities, to be used the very next day. Students are bound to feel inspired by the varied and topical global issues. Who know’s where the conversation could lead?
Teaching finances can be a bit dull, but it doesn’t have to be! In fact, it teaches a critical skill for young adults soon to be striding out on their own. Money Flow Challenge is a game based learning app that offers a new way to learn how to manage personal finances. With the new Finnish National Core Curriculum emphasizing money management, consumerism and lessons in economy more than ever, this app is helping to get across these tough topics in a fun way.
ViLLE is a digital tool that helps make teaching more efficient (and learning more fun!) Teachers can quickly apply motivating, game-based learning tasks in a range of classes, including mathematics, languages programming. With the help of analytics tools, teachers can easily track learning progress and communicate this to students and parents alike. Research has shown that not only do students feel motivated to learn with ViLLE, but their academic achievement is boosted, too!
Planning Sex Education With Students
Even the most experienced teachers can find themselves cringing at the prospect of teaching teens about sex. But we all know how important positive sex education is, especially if we can prevent young people from turning to less reliable, potentially troubling sources of information online. This innovative approach gathers students’ questions, problems, experiences and concerns to create the type of sex education they actually want and need. The Family Federation of Finland collects the student voices and uses them to create better tools for teachers and students to study the subject authentically and meaningfully, zero blushes necessary.
Global citizenship is undeniably important, but how can we bring the world to the classroom in an authentic and engaging way? The Global Oneness Project creates award-winning, mesmerizing documentaries and photographs that explore cultural, social, and environmental issues in a thoughtful way. Aligned to US National and Common Core Standards, free lesson plans and articles facilitate interdisciplinary learning, critical thinking and global citizenship. This won’t take much time to prep, but we promise teachers won’t mind checking this out at home too!
