Culture in the New Normal

Teach Better TeamBlog, Connect Better, Lead Better

TL;DR: Using your Professional Learning Network (PLN) to inspire positive culture in your classroom. Reimagining your PLN through positivity, authenticity, and modeling appropriate norms. Using the tools, skills, and ideas established with your PLN to maintain valuable relationships with your students. “Learning is finding out what you already know” – Richard Bach. With our new normal quickly approaching this fall, … Read More

SEL in the New Normal

Jennifer AppelBlog, Connect Better, Lead Better

TL;DR: Planning for social emotional learning in the new normal. Strategies to prioritize SEL and the whole child, including being flexible, focusing on social issues and changes, checking in with others and meeting them with empathy, and ensuring that we are taking time to understand where students are at in their learning. “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings” … Read More

You Can’t Be Prepared for This

Jeff GargasBlog, Self Care Better, Survival

TL;DR: Go into this school year knowing you can’t be prepared for every possible scenario. Plan to change your plan, and prepare to be unprepared. Now is the time to take risks and try new things—even if you fail. You learn and grow from every failure and put yourself in a position to succeed the next time. Hey, how’s your … Read More

5 Design Strategies to Come Back Better

Teach Better TeamBlog, Innovate Better, Lead Better

TL;DR: Qualities of a design thinking mindset. Five strategies to Come Back Better this fall, including engaging with empathy, defining needs, challenging the process, innovating, and being flexible. Seven years ago, a group of high school students participated in a design competition, building a robot to perform various jobs.  Each week, they sent programming code to a company design firm for … Read More