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Susan Kruger Winter, M.Ed.

The “New Initiative” Bandwagon:
The One Fatal Flaw of Every Education Initiative

May 26, 2025

Why Do You Have to Work So Hard to Make Students Learn? You work harder and harder, but clearly feel a drag. You are tasked with more things to do, document, and correlate every day. Your extended efforts never seem to be enough. Students become more apathetic. Many people are quick to blame technology. But,…

THE Right Way to Teach with Student-Led Software

May 18, 2025

Teaching with student-led software raises many questions for teachers… Should I introduce the lesson before having the students jump into the software?  Or, should I let them explore the software, and then discuss the content with them? What if students want to progress farther ahead in the software on their own?  Should I let them?…

A Mother’s Day Tribute

May 11, 2025

I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the significant roles that mothers (and fathers) play in homework, having just celebrated Mother’s Day over the weekend. As a young student, I had my share of homework arguments with my mom. As an adult, I have become more and more appreciative of the tenacity my…

“A ‘Good’ Teacher is a ‘Self-Abuser’ Teacher!”

May 4, 2025

“I am convinced that a ‘good’ teacher is a ‘self-abuser’ teacher!!” My grad-school professor said this in class one day. He was lamenting that his wife, a kindergarten teacher, had been on leave for two years to have their two children (they lived in Canada, with generous maternity leave). He specialized in reading development and…

How to Teach a SOAR Workshop

April 27, 2025

It was almost-summer of 1998. I was wrapping-up my first year of teaching… at my alma mater. Just five years before, I was sitting in those desks. Now, my desk was at the front of the room. From this new vantage point, I could see that nearly all my 9th & 10th graders struggled with…

80/20 in the Classroom: How to Change the Way You Work

April 17, 2025

There is a universal rule that governs our lives behind the scenes. It works silently, only observed by those aware of its existence. The people who understand its power spend more of their time living happier lives.   They use this principle to accomplish more in less time. We can see it at work in…

Standardized Tests:
Two Proven Ways to Raise Test Scores

April 6, 2025

Research consistently confirms there are two critical ways to raise test scores on standardized tests: Build “cognitive flexibility” with metacognitive strategies.1 If students don’t have problem-solving strategies for learning content, well… they won’t learn it! Obviously. Teach the curriculum, not “to the test.” Teaching “to the test” –also known as “item teaching”– actually lowers test scores; it…

Teaching Students with Autism: Science that Empowers What Your Heart Already Knows

April 3, 2025

Teaching Students with Autism There’s a very good chance you could teach me a lot about teaching students with autism. You’re in the trenches, working with students every day, So, I’m NOT here to tell you what you “should be doing differently.” Nor am I here to point out “where you’re dropping the ball.” I…

Study Skills Reduce High School Dropout Rates

March 30, 2025

I was a freshman in college when study skills radically changed my life. I went from struggling in K-12 to “straight As” in college. About six weeks after my first semester of college success, however, I was suddenly overcome with a deep, visceral ANGER. “Why didn’t someone teach me how to learn before!?” I was mentally…

The Motivation Circuit: How Motivation Works

March 16, 2025

The Motivation Circuit Video Transcription “Motivation” is the term we use to describe a power surge from the emotional region of the brain. When the emotional region of your brain is happy, comfortable, and engaged, it makes a lot of brain chemicals. This provides a hefty power boost the rest of the brain, making learning…

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