Education Resources Blog

VariQuest Blog

The VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite Blog contains resources on classroom ideas, lesson plans, industry news, events, and offers throughout education.

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Recognition | Student Engagement | VariQuest Tools: Cutout Maker 1800 | Featured Topics: Student Engagement | Featured Topics: Professional Development | student achievement | social-emotional learning | classroom management

Bulletin Board Ideas for Your Classroom & School Building

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
June 30th, 2022

When it comes to bulletin boards, the creativity that educators display knows no bounds. It's the timeless school décor that brings back the most familiar and fondest of memories for both young and old. As you plan for the upcoming school year, here are some fun bulletin board ideas to implement in your classroom or school building!

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Professional Development | Recognition | Student Engagement | Parental Involvement | Featured Topics: Student Engagement | Featured Topics: Professional Development | student achievement | social-emotional learning | VariQuest Resource Center | classroom management

4 (plus more) Professional Development Videos for Educators

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
June 16th, 2022

When it comes to professional growth as an educator, you have a lot of choices to expand your skillset to help your students and further your goals, but your time is precious. From continuing education on social-emotional development and neuroscience, to tactical strategies for learning in the classroom, we at VariQuest have put together a list of some of our best professional development webinar and video opportunities for educators to help you fill your teaching toolbox with valuable resources and future-forming assets.

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How to Write a Grant eBook

How to Write a Grant eBook

This helpful guide includes an explanation of the grant process, including a checklist (with samples!), and useful links and resources to find funding!

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Professional Development | Featured Topics: Professional Development | social-emotional learning

How Can I Incorporate Mindfulness in the Classroom?

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
September 12th, 2019

We hear a lot about mindfulness, or being fully present and aware in every moment, as it relates to distractions from our phones, computers, and TV screens, but is it about meditation, mantras, and breathing - or is it really something more?

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Differentiated Instruction | Professional Development | Recognition | Parental Involvement | Featured Topics: Student Engagement | Featured Topics: Professional Development | student achievement

Professional Development Web Video Series: Glow and Grow

By: VariQuest Visual & Kinesthetic Learning Tools
August 16th, 2018

Register Now for Glow and Grow ! A Professional Development Web Series Delivered to Your Inbox featuring Dr. Melissa Hughes, Expert on Whole Brain Teaching & Learning and Carman Le, MAT, Education Development Specialist at VariQuest Live Now! Student Engagement. Inclusivity. Critical Thinking. Parental Involvement. Student Achievement. Recognition. These are the basic needs of schools nationwide. In this 6-part professional development web series developed by VariQuest, you'll receive one ~10 minute video each week in your inbox, which will start with Dr. Melissa Hughes, expert on Whole Brain Teaching & Learning, addressing one of these 6 needs and how brain function processes affect what we as educators are trying to do in our schools, then hear from Carman Le, Education Development Specialist at VariQuest, on how you can implement this neurological research in your classroom and school building through hands-on activities, teaching methods, or staff training. Here's what you can expect each week...

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Differentiated Instruction | Professional Development | Featured Topics: Professional Development | student achievement

Professional Development Webinar: Growth vs Fixed Mindset

By: VariQuest Visual & Kinesthetic Learning Tools
June 28th, 2018

featuring Dr. Melissa Hughes, Expert on Whole Brain Teaching & Learning Tuesday, July 24th at 10:00am CT We often think of student success in terms of ability and skill acquisition, but recent research tells us that’s only part of it. A student’s mindset is a powerful driver for motivation to learn, resilience with challenges, and developing a love for learning. Join us as Dr. Melissa Hughes, expert on whole brain teaching and learning, leads a free professional development webinar on how mindsets develop and how they impact student achievement - to improve engagement and achievement in your classrooms! Presented by Dr. Melissa Hughes, we'll be exploring neuroscientific findings and offer tangible strategies for parents and teachers to effectively nurture a growth mindset. We hope you can attend this free professional development webinar event hosted by VariQuest!

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Professional Development | STEM | Academic Subject: STEM | Featured Topics: Professional Development

What's the Difference Between Boy and Girl Brains, When it Comes to STEM?

By: Melissa Hughes, Ph.D.
December 20th, 2017

As STEM-related jobs are on the rise, women continue to be widely under-represented in STEM professions. Even though women make up more than half of college graduates, they comprise a staggering minority of engineering and computer professionals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies three broad categories of STEM occupations. In 2016, women accounted for 42% of the workforce in life, physical and social science occupations, but only 25% of the workforce in computer and mathematical industries, and an even lesser 14% of full-time architecture and engineering jobs.

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Professional Development | Academic Subject: STEM | Featured Topics: Professional Development | Kinesthetic Learning | Project-based Learning

Professional Development Webinar: Pink Brains vs. Blue Brains: What Neuroscience Teaches Us About STEM

By: VariQuest Visual & Kinesthetic Learning Tools
August 31st, 2017

Tuesday, November 7th at 9:00am CT The focus of student achievement has extended beyond reading and math scores and shifted to a “learning by doing, making, building, and discovering” approach. Despite the fact that this resurgence in experiential learning is supported by recent brain-based research about cognition, problem-solving, and innovation, females are still under-represented in STEM-based programs and careers. Join us on Tuesday, November 7th for a free professional development webinar at 9am CT, and learn about this often-discussed hot topic.

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Professional Development | Academic Subject: STEM | Featured Topics: Professional Development | 3D Printing | Kinesthetic Learning | Project-based Learning | STEM:IT

Professional Development Webinar Series: Whole Brain Instruction With a Kinesthetic Approach

By: VariQuest Visual & Kinesthetic Learning Tools
June 15th, 2017

Until recently, we believed that intelligence and creativity were fixed traits. We now know differently. The capacity to learn, solve problems and be creative is hardwired into our brains – we either tap into it and nurture it, or we don’t. Join us for an informative professional development webinar series hosted by Dr. Melissa Hughes, author of "Happy Hour With Einstein", and STEM Fuse, creators of STEM:IT, where we will explore these concepts and how to infuse this knowledge into your classroom curriculum to nurture more active, engaged students.

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Perfecta | Professional Development | Student Engagement | Poster Maker 3600 | STEM | Maker Movement | Featured Topics: Professional Development

What Happens in the Brain When Students Collaborate?

By: Melissa Hughes, Ph.D.
July 22nd, 2016

This post has been republished with permission from Dr. Melissa Hughes, a curriculum and instruction expert. In partnership with Dr. Hughes, VariQuest delivers professional development webinars to valued educators. To learn more about this offer, visit our professional development page. The Maker Movement, as it’s called, is finding its way to more and more classrooms today. STEM and STEAM initiatives have promoted a learning culture that flips the priority from the consumption of information to the production of innovative and creative meaning. According to some educational experts, the Maker Movement could actually be the impetus for the next industrial revolution.

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Professional Development | Featured Topics: Professional Development

NEW! Strengthen Your Instruction with VariQuest Professional Development

By: Geena Maharaj
February 11th, 2016

"I see and I forget. I hear and I remember. I do and I understand." -Confucius Little did Confuscius know that his belief would be the root of many pedagogical truths, even thousands of years later. This very belief, that poetically explains the reasoning behind whole-brain learning, is what VariQuest has decided to dive into for the launch of our brand new professional development offering.

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