Derek Stoppels
Here's What I Learned
I just started teaching at a new school this year. I'm really excited about the new challenge and the fresh start! The last school...
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Derek Stoppels
- Apr 5
- 2 min
Teaching Doesn't Equal Learning
Teachers need to stop talking about teaching. We need to start talking about learning. Students don't need more direct instruction. ...
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Derek Stoppels
- Dec 2, 2021
- 4 min
Respect - Connect - Reflect - Direct
The title of this blog post seems simple enough, and yet, after reading Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta, he pointed it out, we get it all...
101 views0 comments
Derek Stoppels
- Apr 26, 2021
- 7 min
Traditional Model = Learned Helplessness
When we invite students into our classroom, tell them to sit down, open their books and get out something to write with so that they can...
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Derek Stoppels
- Mar 12, 2021
- 7 min
"The Process"
The Process This is the process I want to use to promote lifelong learning for my students. What’s the question? I use Sugata Mitra’s...
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Derek Stoppels
- Feb 28, 2021
- 12 min
A Call To Action
This letter is a call to action to all my fellow teachers in Ontario. Stephen Lecce and Doug Ford love to brag about how Ontario has the...
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Derek Stoppels
- Dec 31, 2020
- 14 min
2020: Best Year of My Career.
2020 has by far been the best year of my career. Hands down. The global pandemic has seriously put a damper on a lot of things, and I...
121 views2 comments
Derek Stoppels
- Nov 27, 2020
- 20 min
The Punk/Ska Scene Made Me A Better Teacher
“Punk rock changed our lives,” is the opening line to Sublime’s 40oz. To Freedom Album and I couldn’t agree more. The Punk Rock...
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Derek Stoppels
- Nov 9, 2020
- 15 min
How I Learned What Learning Looks Like
I found out that I would be teaching SBI3U for the first time in the first quadmester about a week before it started. I taught the...
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Derek Stoppels
- Oct 8, 2020
- 3 min
This is NOT for marks
I did a fetal pig dissection with my grade 11 biology class today and it was awesome! And the best part was it was not for marks. The...
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Derek Stoppels
- Oct 6, 2020
- 3 min
We Need More Type B Personalities in Education
I was driving into school this morning with a half-assed plan about what I wanted to do with my classes today. I was listening to the...
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Derek Stoppels
- Sep 13, 2020
- 6 min
Teachers Need To Be Flight Instructors
I love flying. But I'm not a pilot. However, one of my best friends is! I remember getting the opportunity to get into the back seat of...
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Derek Stoppels
- May 15, 2020
- 5 min
Not An Apology
Life is crazy, man. Especially these days! This week has been an especially tough one as far as finding motivation goes. Imagine how...
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Derek Stoppels
- May 10, 2020
- 11 min
Open Letter to Stephen Lecce
An open letter to the Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, I am writing to you to share my concerns about your statement about...
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Derek Stoppels
- May 5, 2020
- 17 min
A little bit of "How and Why" ver.2
It's Friday night and I’m lying in bed with my three year old daughter, cuddling her until she falls asleep. One of the hardest parts of...
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Derek Stoppels
- May 5, 2020
- 5 min
Incentives/Consequences Vs. Purpose/Learning
So our school board and the Ministry of Education (Ontario) has told us, and students, that marks can not go down from the mark that...
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Derek Stoppels
- Apr 17, 2020
- 6 min
I'm so stressed out!
What a time to be alive! We're on day 33 or 34 (I don't even know anymore) of this social distancing/quarantine/self isolation era and...
56 views0 comments
Derek Stoppels
- Jan 25, 2020
- 1 min
Leading Them To Water
As a teacher, it's my goal to lead my students to water. I can't make them drink, but I can bring them there. And on our journey to the...
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Derek Stoppels
- Dec 12, 2019
- 4 min
SNC1D Electricity PBL Unit
The Grade Nine Physics (Electricity) Unit is going to be based on a book/movie called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. It is a true story...
454 views0 comments
