How to help all students feel like they belong

Students who feel welcome and valued in the classroom are better able to learn, and it's up to teachers and aides to make sure each student feels at home -- especially those with learning differences, writes third-grade teacher Michael Dunlea. A National Board Certified Teacher, Dunlea recommends that teachers model the acceptance of others that they want their students to emulate, and give students opportunities to pursue their unique passions.

States weigh mental health education mandates

Several states have adopted or are considering legislation on mental health education in schools. Virginia law requires mental health education in ninth and 10th grades, and a new proposal seeks to extend the mandate to kindergarten through 10th grade.

Education Dive (9/3) 

Lesson uses language to teach bias

Educators should consider ways to help students recognize and curb implicit bias, writes Jacquelyn Whiting, a high-school library media specialist in Connecticut. In this commentary, she shares a lesson that helps students to recognize their own bias by focusing on language.

3 ways you can become an effective mentor

Mentors need to think of their mentees' mindset, help them develop technical skills and advocate for them when opportunities arise, said Tamay Shannon, a consultant at WS2 Marketing. But if you don't have time to commit to being a mentor, there are other ways to help, such as donating to a cause or conference, she said.

7 tips to keep students motivated

There are ways to help students reflect on their work and learning environments while staying motivated throughout the year, according to Kendal Rolley, English coordinator of a bilingual K-12 school in Vietnam. In this commentary, Rolley shares seven strategies maintain student motivation, including helping them set and commitment to goals.

KQED-TV/FM (San Francisco) (9/4)National Board joins effort to train STEM teachers

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has joined 100Kin10, a national network working to prepare 100,000 STEM teachers by 2021. The National Board is among 41 organizations to recently join the network, which has trained 68,000 STEM teachers since 2011.

Teacher: Short writing has big benefits

Shorter writing assignments can help students improve their writing and thinking skills, according to Benjamin Barbour, a high-school history and government teacher in Pennsylvania. In this blog post, he shares several ideas for short assignments, including writing summaries and crafting sentence-long questions in response to class readings.

How teachers can overcome frustration

It is inevitable that teachers will face frustrations in the classroom, educators and experts share in these blog posts. One educator, first-grade teacher Valerie Ruckes, says her greatest frustrations are things that prevent her from teaching, such as disruptive behavior by students, and shares tips to overcome the situations.