Liesl's Blog
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Three Lessons Math Education Can Learn From MTV
As a teenager, channel 31 on our television was strictly forbidden in our home. Lucky for me, this was decades before the invention of parental
Rebuilding the Education Playground Without “Slides”
Slides are a common source of childhood joy and exhilaration. Now, the term “slide” is tossed around education circles to define any “learning loss” that
The Brain Roots of Unproductive Struggle in Math (and 3 Tools to Ensure it Stays Productive)
You’ve likely seen it a hundred times. A student is working diligently on a math problem. They’re leaning in, scribbling possibilities frantically. They pause to
The Relationship-Building Tool COVID-19 Cannot Take Away
The bell is about to ring. You’re standing in the doorway offering each student a high-five. You enter your classroom and crouch down at a
Let’s Re-start Your Post COVID-19 Life Painlessly
The cries of “Wagons Ho!” echoed through the morning air. It was just another day in her family’s long journey west along the Oregon Trail
Why Movement is SO Hard for Most Everyone (except you)!
In the Stone Age (circa 10,000 B.C.) tribe of Bedrock, Fred and Wilma Flintstone lived with “modern-day” amenities such as foot-driven cars, gimmicky kitchen appliances,
How to Win the Attentional Game of Tug-of-War
It’s a deafening roar: 35,000 screaming spectators have waited all year for this event. No, it is not baseball or football. It is an epic,
How Culturally Responsive Teaching Re-Draws the Boundaries of the “In” Crowd
Why is it that so many kids crave to be part of the “in” crowd? What do they hope to gain? Regardless of what they’re
The 3 Biggest Lies You’ve Been Taught About Stress and How You Can Grow from “Surviving to Thriving”
For most educators, stress levels slowly ramp up over the first couple of months of school. The word on the street is many of you
The Overlooked Element of a “Safe” Return to School (Virtual or Face-to-Face)
Ensuring students and staff are physically safe is a top concern these days. But we all understand that keeping staff and students physically safe is
Want to Remember Your Life Story? 3 Habits to Protect You From “Losing Your Mind” to Alzheimer’s Disease.
Think back to the last time you forgot something. Something you needed for work that got left at home. Something you needed from the grocery
5 Simple Daily Habits for Cancer Prevention (and Treatment)
Are your daily “auto-pilot” habits making you more susceptible to the second greatest cause of death? Most people are unaware of how their daily habits
Attentional Mastery for the (Distracted) Teach-from-Home Educator
Now that you’re working from home, do you find yourself distracted or scattered? Are you struggling to focus and finish a task? Your brain’s attentional
When Students Remember Wrong – 3 Remedies for False Memories
With the Covid-19 pandemic, we are living out a statistically rare event that we will retell for years to come. The crazy part is that
3 Power Tools for Brain-Powered Test-Prep
When it comes to testing, you might feel like your students experience some bizarre memory loss, and forget all they have learned. Or perhaps you
Why Empathy Matters More Than You Think (and why too much can hurt)
Why is it that we feel so much comfort when someone says, “I feel your pain”, “I get it,” “I know what that is like”,
4 Simple Steps to New Year’s Resolution Success
Is it just me, or does it seem like fewer people are setting New Year’s Resolutions these days? If so, you wouldn’t be surprised; the
Getting Everyone on the Same Page: How YOUR Classroom Can Experience “Brain Synchronicity”
Have you ever had a class where, for whatever reason, you and the class didn’t feel connected like you’ve experienced before? Or perhaps you’ve taught