1. Kagan Structures: The biggest difference between the Kagan approach and teaching using traditional methods is the ability to engage every student. Traditional classroom teaching captures the minds and attention of some students, but not all. Kagan Structures engage every student. Learning about cooperative learning has increase my classroom engagement this past year. Explore the website below for more details:
http://www.kaganonline.com
2. In my U.S. history classroom we teach the curriculum by themes instead of the chronologically. I have used the Stanford University History Education Group at least once a month to engage students in multiple perspectives and critical thinking. The curriculum provided engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents designed for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities. It also helps students learn how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on historical issues. They learn to make historical claims backed by documentary evidence. The content available for this curriculum is: U.S. History and World History.
http://sheg.stanford.edu/
3. Google classroom is a great way to implement technology in the classroom. I have used it in the past and it provided students link to certain surveys students needed to complete. I would like to continue with the implementation of using a variety of google apps for education. Google classroom makes it easy to create classes, distribute assignments, communicate, and stay organized.
https://classroom.google.com/