Mary Ann Johnson

Our plans are full for most days with curriculum and pacing schedules.  And yet, every so often, something comes up for us teachers that wasn't expected, and we need an immediate substitution for the sake of humanity.  What to do when most of a class is failing, and it's close to the end of a grading period?  What to do when you need students to line-up or respond quickly for a drill or emergency?  What to do when students will be writing comments in a yearbook, annual or autograph book, and they don't have the skills?  Or the students know someone has taken something and hasn't been caught.  We need plans for days like these, as well as for our usual lesson plans. And most of these days provide opportunities for teachable outcomes.

These are some of the situations that derail your leson plan and everyone's peace of mind.  Make a day like this one of the most important, with a thoughtful pivot.  Specific strategies can be added to your own repertoire.

See how Maslow needs that fit into a classroom application. In this course you will find answers to motivation issues for kids from a developmental perspective. Review the matrix of essential human needs and find a wealth of lesson ideas to use that will help your students who are trying to meet these needs.  If you are looking for lively and engaging strategies for daily work that is also aligned with human development, this course is a fresh look at teaching on a deeper level.  The text is one of the few books you will want to keep forever. 

From Behaving to Belonging, The Inclusive Art of Supporting Students Who Challenge Us is a rare book that asks us to find out how some of the most challenging students can benefit most from feeling the power of belonging. 

Take boredom out of your K-12 classroom and engage your students! Learn new strategies and techniques that include novelty and brain-friendly ideas. These processes will get students involved with material you already planned to cover. No special equipment or preparation is usually required. Each section explains why that set of activities is valid and provides step-by-step directions for academic discussion, feedback, writing, classroom technology and more.

Are you looking for a personalized description of an outstanding teacher?  Learn the six vital Indicators that define the qualities of effective teachers in this updated edition of the original book. You'll find information to validate your own personal and professional strengths, as well as timely information aobut the special qualities that help high ability students as well as students at risk, both of whom may be in your mainstreamed classroom.  The special extras include timely information about skillfully using technology and extra tips for tech savvy. This book will validate all your best qualities and lift your cutting edge skills.

Every principal needs to examine the issues that are central to his/her success. The course text present hands-on insights to help you become an inspirational leader in your school. You will find practical information from the authors own experiences including research-based techniques covering topics from informal school communication networks, building lasting relationships, improving faculty meetings, keeping up with state mandates, dealing with surprises, and more.

Using a basic workbook created by Larry Ferlazzo, an award-winning author, you will find strategies to engage your students more effectively. You will learn how to deal with getting students motivated and helping students see the importance of personal responsibility. You will also learn to deal with disruptive students and classes, while finding the best ways to maximize the chances that a lesson will be successful, and more. 

Based on the best-selling book ever on classroom management and student achievement, this course will help you make the first day of school, and every day, a success! This First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher is a must-have for new teachers and veterans alike. Regardless of your level of experience, you will enjoy the text so much that you will want to savor it instead of rushing through.

The 99 strategies explored in this course are going to help you engage your students. And you will find boredom's been banished from your classroom and from your teaching as well.

The book for this course introduces you to the most typical student types and how best to work with them such as: the Good Kids, the Rebels, the Perfectionists, the Invisibles and more.  With each introduction, there will be ample information on what is needed and how to work best with that student.

As a teacher, there are so many different things you have to keep track of and organize.

The required text for this class is "How to Teach So Students Remember" by Marilee Sprenger.  This book is one of the top-rated and inspiring “how-to” guides showing the seven important strategies, and supporting research, that gives students the best possible chance to make meaning and remember what’s academically important.

The required text for this course is "Teaching with the Brain in Mind" by Eric Jensen. Noted for his contribution to brain-based learning Eric Jensen guides us through one fascinating insight after another in the introduction and twelve chapters of this latest edition of teaching how-to’s, based on our understanding from brain-research of how people are motivated, problem-solve and remember.

This course provides authoritative and reality-based best practices in classroom management from some of our best educational researchers, including Robert Marzano, Jana Marzano and Debra Pickering. It clarifies both what to do, and how to do it, with ample examples and action steps.

Follow Eric Jensen's guidebook, Arts With the Brain in Mind, to enhance students' creative, expressive and reflective abilities. The arts are a wonderfully humanistic way to teach all subjects better, for arts educators and other teachers alike, and Jensen has proven to be one of the most readable and enthusiastic authors for educators.

Learn the causes and misconceptions that surround the development and treatment of oppositional children. Learn how specialists would engineer classroom environments, routines, and tasks to maximize positive results.

This book comes to the rescue for ELL teachers at a time when ELL students are increasing. The authors provide the ultimate handbook of methods and specifics for motivating and for assisting ELL students to become bi-lingual thinkers and learners.