TL;DR: Preparing for school with the impacts COVID-19 and racism in mind. Checking your heart and mind, becoming knowledgeable, and taking action are necessary steps to prepare for school this fall. Preparing for school with the impacts of COVID-19 and racism in mind is essential. Once students enter their classroom physically or gather virtually this school year, they will have experienced … Read More
Instruction in the New Normal
TL;DR: To prepare for any scenario, materials, lessons, and activities should be accessible to students anywhere and anytime. Teachers should create non-time dependent instructional plans that flow from one learning environment to another. Utilizing mastery and standards based grading to focus on targeted objectives provide a pathway to success. Things Are Different Now. No matter how you look at education … Read More
Key Tips for Beginning a Virtual School Year
TL;DR: Contacting your local mental health community partner is a strategy to start addressing mental heath in your school. Increase the effectiveness of online learning by using learning management systems, personalized learning, creating relationships online, and incorporating social-emotional learning. A technique for transforming your student relationship building activities to a virtual setting is shared. As districts begin to finalize their … Read More
Culture in the New Normal
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
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