TL;DR: Reimagine school as a verb with these five tips. Start with defining the problem. We need to focus on more than preparing students for the next grade; we need to focus on the necessary human skills of success. Reflection: The pandemic has forced us to relook at the whole learner through a metacognitive lens. Establish a growth mindset to … Read More
Celebrate Poetry: What Will Your Verse Be?
TL;DR: Poetry offers students an access point into language. Spoken and written word have the power to foster conversation, liberation, and increase student voice. Poetry instruction that is multimodal (spoken word, video, and audio) increases engagement and can be a great way to delve into social justice topics in the classroom. It’s OK to just celebrate poetry without feeling intimidated … Read More
Beat Overwhelm with a Goal Setting System That Works
TL;DR: The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) is a goal-setting framework based on four critical components of execution: focus, leverage, engagement, and accountability. Focus and decide on only one or two goals that are most important to your success. Measure your success using a lead measure (predictive, proactive, and push you closer to your goal) rather than a lag measure … Read More
5 Tips for Better Grading
TL;DR: Grade better by aligning all of your assessments and creating clear feedback measures. Eliminate unnecessary assignments and involve students in the process. Use tech tools and verbal feedback whenever possible. Coming back to school means many things: students in our rooms, interacting and building relationships in person, learning to instruct in person and online simultaneously. But it also means … Read More
3 Ways to Reach Students on a Deeper Level
TL;DR: There are 3 ways teachers can reach students on a deeper level. Establish rapport and build trust with students by asking more questions about them. Have office hours to provide students with a safe place to be honest and ask questions. Provide opportunities like emotional check-ins where students can share their feelings. Teachers are already going above and beyond … Read More