TL;DR: Teachers provide more value when they stay up to date on current events around our country and world. We should model for our students what it means to be a lifelong learner. As a teacher, it is important to know your why. Finding your why is a necessary part of your teaching career. My journey to finding my why begins … 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
Addressing Creativity and Wellness with Your Students
TL;DR: Kahoot teaches and reinforces understandings. Vector graphics give students an outlet to share how their daily lives are going, and lead to open discussions with individuals and/or classes. Educators can examine data from surveys in Google Data Studio to track wellness over time. Last school year was one like no other before. We spent our summer uncertain as to … 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