Articles and Spotlights

Six Key Strategies for Building and Growing Your Professional Networks as Pre-Service Teachers

posted 5 days ago

Six Key Strategies for Building and Growing Your Professional Networks as Pre-Service Teachers By: Janet Solis Rodriguez, Carrie Mitchell, Priya V. Prasad, and Carey B. Walls W hen you have a question — about classroom management, lesson planning, or even where to apply for teaching jobs — who do you tend to turn to for advice? The social connections ...

Member Spotlight: Dr. Rick Breault

posted 6 days ago

Meet Dr. Rick Breault , Faculty Licensing Officer at Ashland University, KDP member of more than 32 years, KDP Eleanor Roosevelt Chapter member , and the 2026 Founders Day Awards recipient of the Dr. Truman L. Kelley Award for Scholarship Excellence . This honor recognizes his sustained, impactful scholarship within KDP and the broader education profession at local, national, and global ...

Member Spotlight: Ms. Kimmy Ma

posted 6 days ago

Meet KDP teacher member Ms. Kimmy Ma . A high school teacher with 15 years of classroom experience and a member of the Chi Epsilon Chapter at Molloy College. As a doctoral scholar in educational leadership, and a Global Justice Fellow at the Sustainability Institute, Ms. Ma bridges the gap between academic research and everyday classroom practice. A Framework for Belonging At the ...

Mind in Motion: A History of Cursive Writing and Its Resurgence in the School Curriculum

posted 8 days ago

Title : Mind in Motion: A History of Cursive Writing and I ts Resurgence in the School Curriculum By : Theoni Soublis Think about when a student struggles to take notes, decode a word th ey knew orally , or recall new vocabulary . What if one instructional tool could support all three vital skills? Literacy and neuroscience ...

Five Tips for Developing Positive Math Identities…. For You and Your Students

posted 12 days ago

Five Tips for Developing Positive Math Identities…. For You and Your Students By : Suzanne Abdelrahim , Margarita Jiménez-Silva, Rachel Restani , Tony Albano, & Robin Martin During a third-grade math lesson on multi-digit subtraction, Ms. Brewer shows the class a word problem she has written on the board. She asks a student to read the problem ...

Igniting Innovation in the STEAM Classroom

posted 15 days ago

Igniting Innovation in the STEAM C lassroom By Katherine Horlock and Cindy Melton STEAM is the integration of S cience, T echnology, E ngineering, A rt, and M athematics , and has potential to ignite innovation , spark curiosity, and instill a joy for learning in classrooms by allowing students to take ownership over learning. ...

Research-Driven Positive Psychology as a Tool in Social-Emotional Learning

posted 19 days ago

Research-Driven Positive Psychology as a Tool in Social-Emotional Learning By Robert G. Hendrickson The need for optimism and resilience among adults is clear, and it crosses cultures and boundaries. Depression is widespread in the developed world. While a substantial amount of literature has been released within the “self-help” genre, very little research has examined the ...

Member Spotlight: Dr. Darlene Hester-Slade

posted 20 days ago

For Dr. Darlene Hester-Slade, a teacher in Richmond Public Schools, education is about helping students see what is possible within themselves. “I teach to turn potential into power,” Dr. Hester-Slade shared. “Too many students face the world without a support system, and I am committed to being the mentor who changes that.” Through her work in the classroom, she uses her knowledge, ...

Member Spotlight: Mary Brower

posted 20 days ago

Ms. Mary Brower , a teacher at Magnet Academy of Cultural Arts, brings curiosity, connection, and a love of history into her classroom every day. Her own “nerdiness” for history fuels her enthusiasm and helps make learning engaging and meaningful for her students. Mary Brower came to KDP not through a college chapter, but through a conversation. KDP member Khalil Roy introduced her to the organization, ...

Reimagining Classroom Conversations: Using Padlet to Engage K–2 Learners, Including Students with Special Needs

posted 22 days ago

Reimagining Classroom Conversations: Using Padlet to Engage K–2 Learners, Including Students with Special Needs By Melissa Wesney Introduction Young learners in kindergarten through second grade thrive in environments that are interactive, visual, and emotionally engaging. As digital tools become more integrated into early childhood education, teachers face the challenge ...

Make Way for Reading Skills: Are Your Students’ Reading Ducks in a Row?

posted 29 days ago

Make Way for Reading Skills : Are Y our S tudents’ R eading D ucks in a R ow? By Robin Quick Have you ever seen a mama duck and ducklings walking along a creek? They stay in a line moving steadily forward , each duck following closely behind the next. But if one duck slows down or stops, the entire line is affected: the others must ...

Member Spotlight: Mrs. Janna Kirby

posted 04-23-2026

Meet Janna Kirby , an elementary teacher with Bauxite School District in Bauxite, Arkansas, and a member of the Alpha Alpha Sigma Chapter at University of the Ozarks. Since first joining KDP in 2007, Janna has remained committed throughout her career. This year, she celebrates another milestone as she earns her master’s degree from Henderson State University in Educational Leadership. ...

Member Spotlight: Dr. Lucijan Jović

posted 04-23-2026

Meet Dr. Lucijan Jović, an educator, researcher, and KDP United Nations Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Representative who is committed to advancing equitable education for all learners. In the classroom, he teaches 8th-grade English and Writing, along with high school students in grades 9–12 with limited English proficiency, helping them build language skills, confidence, and academic ...

Mother’s Day Is Coming. Here’s How to Make It Work for Every Student.

posted 04-22-2026

You’re planning a fun Mother’s Day activity. You’ve got the materials ready. What you might not know is that for at least one student in your class, this week is really hard. A student’s mother might have died. She might live in another state, be deployed, or be incarcerated. Her whereabouts may not even be known to her child. These aren’t rare situations. They show up in classrooms every year, often ...

Pariendo Chistes: ¡¿Who Knew Homophones Could Be So Funny?!

posted 04-14-2026

Pariendo Chistes : ¡¿ Who Kn ew Homophones Could Be So Funny?! By Mitch D. Ingram “ Se nos nació ” as we say in Spanish. It was just born, naturally , out of the activity that we were doing about homophones in class. One of my favorite go-to assignments every spring as a bilingual elementary teacher for ...

Member Spotlight: Ms. Nakesha Patrice Robinson

posted 04-09-2026

KDP member Ms. Nakesha Patrice Robinson is a dedicated Early Childhood Educator and member of the Alpha Epsilon Gamma Chapter at Grand Canyon University. For her teaching is more than a career—it is a daily opportunity to build a foundation for the next generation. Nakesha’s journey is fueled by a commitment to creating spaces where the youngest learners can find their voice and their confidence. ...

Member Spotlight: Ms. Maria Cleofe Palma

posted 04-09-2026

For Ms. Maria Cleofe Palma , a teacher member of the Alpha Kappa Tau Chapter at the University of the Southwest, the classroom is more than a place for formulas—it is a laboratory for life skills and a bridge between cultures. As a High School Special Education (SPED) Math Teacher and J-1 exchange teacher, Maria brings a global perspective to her work, fueled by the belief that every student can flourish ...

From 'Time-Crunched' to Tech-Savvy: A Teacher's Guide to Learning Experience Design

posted 03-31-2026

From 'Time-Crunched' to Tech-Savvy: A Teacher's Guide to Learning Experience Design By Colton H. Clark Closing the “Knowing-Doing” Gap Imagine this scene: you deliver a fantastic lesson on primary sources. The exit ticket shows that your students can define "primary source" perfectly. Success! But the next day, when you ask them to analyze a 1920s political ...

Member Spotlight: April Federico

posted 03-26-2026

Meet April Federico, a member of the Epsilon Rho Chapter at Rhode Island College. For April, the classroom is a place of profound transformation, and she doesn't just teach subjects; she unlocks potential. “I’m inspired to teach because I believe education has the power to change the trajectory of a person’s life,” April shares. “That moment when a student understands something new, feels seen, ...

Legacy Member Spotlight: Mr. Theodore Timms