TL;DR: 10 tips to finding your people in education, including doing what is best for students, taking risks, being positive, planning and following through, and respecting others’ ideas. Having the support of colleagues can help encourage you to take more risks. The absolute last thing that someone wants is be involuntarily moved to a new grade level. Trust me, I … Read More
Simple Ways To Foster Relationships
TL;DR: Surveying students and the 2×10 strategy are two ways to strengthen relationships with your students. Initiating meaningful conversations with others to foster classroom community. When I first interviewed for teaching positions, I was never asked a single question about how I build classroom community. I was asked about my philosophy around classroom management (firm, consistent, and fair), and how … Read More
Virtual Restorative Circles
TL;DR: Restorative circles are personal class discussions. Some benefits of restorative circles for your students include building community and creating a sense of acceptance. Restorative circles can provide a safe environment for students both in-person and virtually. I learned of restorative circles at the December 2019 AIMS Network Conference. The session I attended described how these circles transformed classroom culture … Read More
Behavior Principles + Practices: It’s Time to Decide What is Best for YOUR Classroom
TL;DR: Turning behavior principles into behavior practices using clearly defined expectations, visual supports, and connecting with students. Understanding the principles can help us create an authentic classroom community. As a board-certified behavior analyst, I spend a lot of my time teaching and training about behavioral principles. We unpack what they are and what they are not. Together with teams, I … Read More
Effective Decision Making: Using Core Values as the Filter
TL;DR: Reflecting on our core values helps us filter through the decisions we make to ensure they are purposeful and effective. Involving team members in decision making can help to increase the likelihood that all members support the outcome. Using core values to make decisions helps to prevent decision-making fatigue. Research shows that adults make an average of 35,000 decisions per … Read More