Blog Posts

Celebrating teacher power: Pitsco TAG reflects on educators who make a difference

Posted by Patty Cooke on May 10, 2022

What makes a good teacher? What inspires someone to become a teacher in the first place? And, what inspires them to keep teaching, even during tough times?

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Topics: Elementary School, High School, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Teacher Resources, Teacher Development, Authentic Learning, Women in STEM

Activity: T-Bot® offers leverage for exploring simple machines

Posted by Admin on January 19, 2022

A great physical science education tool isn’t just exciting while you are using it; it continues to provoke thought and make real-world connections well after you’ve placed it back on the shelf. Case in point: I recently spent time exploring Pitsco’s T-Bot® Hydraulic Arm. It was a fun challenge using the hydraulic robot arm to pick up and move blocks, and I thought about links to automation and heavy machinery as I used it. But, to my surprise, after I put the device away, what I really couldn’t stop thinking about was my own arm.

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Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, Middle School, Elementary School, High School, ROBOTICS, Teacher Resources, Science, Technology, STEM, Authentic Learning, Activities, Hands-on Learning

Kid Inventors’ Day: Celebrating creativity in all young inventors

Posted by Patty Cooke on January 17, 2022

Kid Inventors’ Day, a day to celebrate young inventors of the past as well as encourage today’s inventors, falls on January 17, every year, a fitting nod to inventor Benjamin Franklin because January 17 is also his birthday.

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Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, Middle School, Elementary School, High School, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, ROBOTICS, Resources, Authentic Learning, Activities, Hands-on Learning, innovate

Using Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to grow as a teacher

Posted by Patty Cooke on December 06, 2021

(Authored by Jim Brown and James Jones, members of The Ambassador Group for Pitsco.)

Teachers of all grade levels face challenges on a daily basis, from elementary teachers tasked with teaching young students to read and recognize shapes and sounds to middle school teachers working with students who are beginning to gain more independence and figuring out their place in the world to high school teachers trying to prepare burgeoning adults for the real world.

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Topics: Middle School, Elementary School, High School, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Teacher Resources, Collaborations, Resources, Careers, Teacher Development, Professional Development, Conferences

Best ways to thank a teacher

Posted by Patty Cooke on November 23, 2021

We have a long-standing tradition here in the United States (and perhaps worldwide) of giving our teachers thank-you gifts. And it is certainly fitting. Teachers spend an enormous amount of time instructing and molding our students, not to mention taking care of their social and emotional well-being, tying their shoes, wiping their noses, providing necessary supplies, and so much more! If anyone deserves a thank-you, it’s teachers!

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Topics: Middle School, Elementary School, High School, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION