Why ePortfolios?

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Written by Gail Potratz

Building ePortfolios with the students in your classroom is a creative, exciting paradigm-changing endeavor. Digitally created portfolios can . . .

  • Provide an online container where student work can be stored easily in the classroom
  • Allow students to feel empowered about their progress in learning as they are . . .
    • Motivated to take an active part in the progression of skill development and learning as shown in their selected artifacts
    • Allowed to expand student-directed decisions about personal student learning
  • Provide purpose for teaching the important skill of self-reflection on one’s work
  • Provide numerous opportunities for seamless integration of technology skills such as . . .
    • Site design
    • Creation of various media types—such as text, artwork, video, audio, and images—as artifacts to display
    • Linking and embedding of varied media from where they were created—whether in G Suite or third-party apps such as Animoto, Voicethread, etc.
  • Enable students to easily revise and edit their work artifacts

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Tips for Finding and Retaining High-Quality Early Childhood Staff

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Written by Tarah Beduze

Staffing an early childhood ministry (ECM) can be a challenge and is one of the most difficult aspects of any director’s job. The staffing goal is to hire the best candidates in the field and retain the talented dedicated staff that already exists. What a lofty goal!

Early childhood ministry is a straining, tiring, exhausting, and sometimes frustrating field that doesn’t pay extremely well. As a result, candidates think carefully about pursuing the field or remaining in it. If you are someone looking into ECM employment or have been in the field for some time, you know that aside from the challenges in the field, there are wonderful blessings too. Continue reading →

The Science Behind the “Aha!” Moment

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Written by Nicole Lehman

I think we can all admit that one of the highlights of being a teacher is seeing the “Aha!” or lightbulb moment go off in our students’ faces. We work so hard to help them understand a complex subject, or their brains have a hard time grasping what we find to be obvious, and so, after many attempts, we finally find the right thing to say and BAM! The light bulb comes on. These are the moments that make you smile at the end of a hard day/week/month. If only they weren’t so rare a sighting! Continue reading →

The “4Cs”: A Focus on Creative Thinking

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Written by Annie Gumm

Scroll through your preferred social media outlet and chances are you can find pictures of children demonstrating their creative-thinking abilities. Perhaps it is that toddler with chocolate all over his face who somehow reached the cookies on top of the refrigerator. Maybe it is a LEGO build designed by tweens or the random “Coronavirus quotes” that are spoken by a teenager.

Education has shifted from focusing on the “3Rs” of reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic to now including the “4Cs” of developing communicators, creators, critical thinkers, and collaborators (NEA, 2012). Practicing creative-thinking and problem-solving skills should be an essential part of classroom instruction. Continue reading →

Changing Our Relationships with School Families

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Written by Brett Bengel

Even though parents and teachers both want what’s best for children, they often find themselves at odds with each other. Educators receive emails, phone calls, and after-school visits from parents who are frustrated with out-of-touch, disconnected, and unsympathetic teachers. Teachers are frustrated with clueless, distracted, and overbearing parents. Who is correct? Continue reading →

Concussions: How’s Your School Culture?

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Written by Joanna Chartrand

This post is a follow-up to the article Confused About Concussions? written by Joanna Chartrand.

In April of 2010, the University of Pennsylvania campus was rocked with the news that Owen Thomas, a popular junior and lineman on the football team, had committed suicide. A seemingly well-adjusted, driven, and successful student suffered what was described as “a sudden and uncharacteristic emotional collapse” (Schwarz, 2010).

Autopsy results revealed he was suffering from early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., a form of brain neurodegeneration linked to diminishing cognitive function, depression, and suicidal behavior, among other behavioral dysfunctions (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council [IOM and NRC], 2014). Continue reading →

A COVID-19 Response: Why We Should Be Teaching Evolution

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Written by Professor Dan Fenske

It was mid-March 2020 at Martin Luther College. I’m sure that the time frame needs no elaboration. Students had just left for Spring Break, and the campus was not yet locked down. Two student workers approached me with a simple question: “Professor, if we Christians don’t accept Evolution (when referring to the Theory of Evolution, I will indicate that by capitalizing Evolution), then where did this virus come from?” Many thoughts flooded through my head, but my priority was to address the honest question held by two troubled students.

After 30 minutes of discussion with these two students, I better understood their thought process. They were (mistakenly) thinking that since Christians reject Evolution, we must also reject data or observations that are used to support Evolution. Therefore, Christians reject the concept of genetic mutations.  So, how can a novel virus emerge if there is no genetic mutation? Continue reading →

Should Students Be Allowed to Listen to Music While Studying?

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Written by Cori Humann

It’s a debate that seems to have no end. My students say they should be allowed to listen to music on their headphones while they are studying. With the backup of our handbook, I say they should not. Both sides claim to have scientific research backing up their position. What is the answer? Continue reading →

Is School Choice the Right Choice for Your LES?

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Written by Dan Johnson

The model of parish education is changing in our synod. A greater number of schools are looking outside the church walls to continue their ministry, and that brings up questions of funding. How does a church continue to carry out the Great Commission and fund a well-rounded education? The student tuition could be raised, but higher tuition means that many families will be unable to consider the school because of their financial situation. The answer for many schools and congregations is to turn to school choice programs, using public money to pay for private school education. Continue reading →

What We’ll Keep

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Reflections from the MLC Faculty & Staff

Gathered by Laurie Gauger-Hested

We’ve all learned a lot during this strange time: new ways of teaching and connecting and being. These lessons learned are certainly not worth the pain and loss of life this virus has wrought. Still, we don’t want them to go to waste.

I asked the MLC faculty and staff what new corona-inspired habits they’d like to keep when (or if) things get back to normal. Here are some of their thoughts on teaching. Yes, they’re college profs, but many of these ideas apply at every level of education. Continue reading →