Posts

101. The Transformative Power of AI

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Folks, let’s face it. Our classrooms are going to look a little different this year. AI, specifically ChatGPT, is going to change the way we design learning experiences and assess student mastery. I’ll be honest, when I first explored the ChatGPT platform I was terrified. As I have dug deeper into the technology and its capabilities, I realized that while it does pose significant challenges — it also presents us with some pretty amazing opportunities. In this series, we will explore what AI is capable of, its implications in the classroom, and how it can benefit both teachers and students. Let’s start by examining where we have been, where we are currently, and looking forward to where we are going. Whether this is a trip you wanted to go on or not, the AI train has left the station and it is time for all of us to jump on board. From Card Catalogs to Artificial Intelligence I belong to the micro-generation called Xennial. Xennials are considered to be a “bridge” between Generation X a...
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#34. Building Connections One Moment at a Time

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Image Link This is the second post in a series about building connections with students in a remote learning environment. The focus of this post is how to easily embed moments of connection in your daily lesson. The relationships that are formed through these connections will be essential this year. Relationships motivate the students and teachers to keep going when the going gets tough. And this year, the going is very, very tough.  I am going to share with you a simple and effective strategy developed by Dave Stuart, Jr. called "Moments of Genuine Connection" or "MGC's." If you are not currently following his work, I highly recommend that you sign up for his blog and check out his professional development resources . I first learned of his work on The Cult of Pedagogy Episode 152. A MGC is an intentionally planned time to connect with each student. Stuart offers the following advice when creating these moments: 1. Keep them short and sweet....
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#33. Building Connections using Positive Psychology

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I love the first day of school.  There is a palpable energy when the students arrive at the building.  The halls echo with laughter as students rush to class. Former students pop their heads into classrooms to greet last year's teachers. It is a time of optimism, excitement and hope. This year the first time I met my students was on Zoom.  I am so grateful that I got to see their faces - but, I'll be honest, it was pretty lonely.  I was sad to not be able to greet them in person. I was heartbroken to see them disconnected from their friends.  I found myself grieving what should have been, but wasn't.   And as I looked at their faces on my screen, I realized that they are grieving, too.   Over the summer I did a lot of research about how to teach online.  Almost every article that I read stressed the importance of establishing a sense of community. I thought "duh, of course, that is the backbone of any classroom."  What I didn't real...
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#32. A Road Map to Online Lesson Design

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There has been a lot of change in my neck of the woods!  After preparing for a hybrid model, our school ended up starting fully online.  As part of this change, we also moved from a 45-minute daily class period to a 75-minute alternating day block schedule.  I had already started moving my content online using a flipped classroom model in preparation for the hybrid schedule. I simply assumed it would be easy to translate these lessons into a fully online, block format. I was so wrong. When I started redesigning my lessons I realized that it was not as simple as combining two 45-minute lessons. The flow and pacing of my block lesson was very different.  I needed some help.  Enter Jennifer Gonzalez of The Cult of Pedagogy and Catlin Tucker of Balance with Blended Learning .  Both are my "go-to" educators when I am confronted with a new challenge.   I began my research with The Cult of Pedagogy's podcast "Making the Most of a 90-Minute Block...
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#31.The First Days - Social Distancing Style

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Our first day of school is August, 17th 2020. Normally by this point in the summer I have my lessons planned, my copies made and my classroom set up.  Obviously, this year is a little different.  My district is currently providing our students with options in order to return to learn:  1) a hybrid schedule in which students alternate attending in-person and remote modalities or  2) a full remote learning experience.   This presents me with quite a challenge!  How will I teach two groups of students, in different locations, at the same time? Does anyone else remember reading the book, "The First Days of School" when you started teaching?  Recently an "updated" meme of the book has been circulating and it certainly rings true!  This year is in many ways our "first year" all over again.  You are likely being asked to teach your students using platforms you have never used, to recreate your curriculum in a way that is acces...
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#30. Modern Classrooms - A Practical Guide

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I am excited to share a new professional development opportunity with you! I have spent the summer scouring the internet for an easy to implement framework that works in F2F and remote learning environments. I think I have found it in a free online training offered by the educators at The Modern Classrooms Project! According to their mission statement, The Modern Classrooms Project "equips and empowers educators to create blended, self-paced, mastery-based classrooms in which all students truly learn". ( https://modernclassrooms.org/who-we-are ) The project originated at a Title I school in Washington DC. The teachers who founded the program, Kareem Farah @Kareemfarah23 and Robert Barnett @barnett_tweets, were faced with numerous challenges, including chronic absenteeism and differing skill levels in the same classroom. They developed The Modern Classroom Project to meet the needs of every student. Here is a sneak peek at their approach: https://modernclassroo...
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#29. Retrieve Note Taking & Other Forms Engagement in a Flipped Classroom

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Retrieval practice has been a complete game-changer for me as an educator. Retrieval practice is a learning strategy that focuses on the students retrieving information that they have previously been exposed to. It focuses on getting information out of our students' heads. In the past, I have been so focused on covering every single topic in my class that I didn't have time for anything else. Now that I have incorporated retrieval practice into my class my students are learning more, even if that means I am "teaching" them less. If retrieval practice is new to you, I highly suggest you check out this article by The Cult of Pedagogy.  Retrieve-Taking in the Flipped Classroom Retrieval practice is research-based, effective and pairs perfectly with the flipped classroom. You probably already use retrieval practice in some form in your classroom. Some popular examples include brain dumps, mini quizzes, and even popular tech tools like Quizlet or GimKit. All of the...
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#28. The Flipped Classroom - An Accessible Option

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As I mentioned in my last post, I don't know what school will look like next year yet. I do know that I need to be ready and able to flip the switch and transition to remote learning with little notice.  I have been exploring strategies that offer me more flexibility to meet my students needs wherever we meet.   As part of my exploration, I attended a webinar hosted by Mandy Rice of Teach on a Mission .  She asked a question that really resonated with me; if I could move all direct instruction outside of my class, what would I use my class time for?  This made me think long and hard about how I currently utilize my time with my students, especially if we are on a hybrid or remote schedule. If I only "see" them once or twice a week, what do I want to use our time together for? Do I want to spend that time lecturing or do I want to have discussions, demonstrations, provide feedback and build our classroom community?   Enter the flipped class...
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