Student learning is no accident!
As a student, I always saw September as an opportunity to rewrite my story. I could make a good impression on my new teachers. I would keep better track of my materials and assignments and maybe even be one of those kids that seemed to “have it all together.” These days, I still find myself resolving to do better every… Read More
After hearing/ reading the unrelenting enthusiasm of my colleagues who have attended ‘edcamps’ and ‘unconferences,’ I determined I needed to experience this phenomenon for myself. Could it really be that everyone who attended these events got exactly what they wanted and more? People who had experienced unconference-style events reported feeling professionally satisfied, respected and invigorated. My attitude is generally pretty… Read More
For the last two years I have been welcomed into many classrooms as a coach, or as my favorite mentor Jan so accurately describes: a thought partner. When she used that language two years ago during our first New Teacher Center Mentor Academy, I had no idea just how connected I would feel to that phrase today. I have partnered… Read More
How do you capture all of the learning that occurs during discussions, hands-on exploration and collaborative group work? When there is a written product… we know we can collect and correct (ugh)… but that’s not always my first choice. When I collect and correct too much, I lose the ability to catalog and analyze and make instructional decisions based on… Read More
Dear Teachers, Thanks for wanting to jump back in with us as we dig into Assessment in Instruction! This is the last of the 4 challenges- and I know you’ll finish strong! To get started, think about which level you feel most accurately describes your daily teaching experiences… Level 1: There is little or no assessment or monitoring of student… Read More
What better way to develop an Environment of Respect and Rapport than by developing a 1:1 relationship with each student??Watch Rick connect with students about their reading during conferences. What does he do/ say that develops an environment of respect and rapport? What does Rick communicate to his students with his verbal and non-verbal language? I’ve seen similar successes with… Read More
Love #2!!Building relationships with kids is more than being nice to them. Here are some ways we can go deeper.
#teachergoals #HackingSchoolDiscipline
Here’s my favorite grouping hack for teachers... I learned this from my favorite math coach at least 10 years ago, and I’ve been using it and sharing it with teachers ever since.
👑1- It looks pretty cool when kids get up to find their group members! They do it silently in my room- like a “silent sort.”
📁2- I drop colored folders on desks around the room so red dots meet in this area, green over here etc.
🤸🏻♀️3- I use this often so students are pros!
🧠Pro Tip- I never put kids into collaborative arrangements until they’ve had time to struggle and think about the material independently. For example, students spend 5minutes jotting notes in the margin of this discussion sheet BEFORE getting into groups. This way, I know everyone has something to share. No one feels on the spot to process the demand of the task, get to know a group and take a risk to share all in the same moment.
🌈Mix it up! I keep students guessing by sometimes asking them to get into rainbow groups instead. This means they need to silently sort into groups with one of each color!
Student learning is NO accident! Teachers do amazing things to create the conditions for students to have AHA moments every day.
👩🏼🔧How do you engineer success during collaborative group work?
Have you laughed REALLY hard lately?? If not, it’s time to call that friend who makes you laugh until you cry! Every. Time. You. Hang. Out. Tag that friend!
😂🤣🤣🤣
6 year olds get it! Set yourself some 6 year old goals and bring back joy.
Help someone else today by making them laugh.
Laugh with some kids. Let them show you how it’s done!
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