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Showing posts from 2021

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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#62: Bounce Forward: The Power of Adaptability

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I will teach you in a room, I will teach you on zoom, I will teach you in a house, I will teach you with my mouse, I will teach you here or there, I will teach you because I care. -Author unknown We made it!! First Semester? ✔ Winter Break? Bring it on! I am ready to disconnect, spend some time with my family, rest and recharge. I really thought that this school year would be a piece of cake after last year. Last year we became the masters of pivoting. New schedule? Teaching two groups of students in different locations at the same time? Sanitizing desks between classes? Done, done, and done. This year my school returned to full-time in-person learning and I am thrilled to have my students back. However, my new normal is not the normal that I am used to. I think it is time for me to make peace with the realization that education will be forever changed as a result of the pandemic - and that can be a really good thing. COVID-19 laid bare many of the inequalities evident in education. It...
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#61: Connections Count: How Social Connections Protect Us

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The holiday season is upon us! For many of us, the holiday season is a time of joy and celebration. For others of us, the holidays might be a little more bittersweet. Our joy might be brighter, but our losses are also more poignant. This past week I suffered the loss of a longtime friend. The sense of grief accompanying this loss is tremendous and, at times, paralyzing. As I sifted through old photos looking for images to share with this family, I was gifted with a sense of peace and thanksgiving for the friendships that I have been blessed with throughout all of these years. For that, I am grateful. This post is meant to be one of encouragement for those of you who might be struggling or know someone who is. It is about the power of social connections and relationships during times of challenge. Our relationships and social connections can provide us with a physiological and psychological buffer against stress. In the TED talk, How to Make Stress Your Friend, Kelly McGonigal shares w...
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#60 Fostering Self-Determination in Students (Student Well-Being Project)

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This weekend I had the opportunity to present at the 101st National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Conference! This is my 3rd time presenting NCSS and it is always an amazing opportunity to share, collaborate, and build relationships with other educators and bring awesome resources back to my own students. This year I had the privilege of presenting 'Fostering Self-Determination in Students."  As part of this presentation, I designed a brand-new student well-being project that  I will be rolling out with my own students next semester.  I am so excited to share it with you, too!  Self-Determination Theory First, a little bit of information on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and how it relates to classroom instruction. SDT is a theory of optimal motivation. It focuses on how social environments, like your classroom, can facilitate intrinsic motivation by supporting versus thwarting people's innate psychological needs. Specifically, teachers who support autonomy...
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#59 Picture This! A Visual Vocabulary Strategy

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This year I have purposefully incorporated more face-to-face learning opportunities within the walls of my blended classroom. In this post, I will share a brief, easy-to-implement, works-for-any unit, vocabulary strategy that will get your students thinking, moving and talking. The following activity requires students to create a visual representation of a concept without using any words. Here's an overview of the process: (An exemplar assignment is provided in Step #6 below.) 1. Choose the Vocabulary Terms. These should be terms that have already been learned in class. It is not a strategy designed to teach new vocabulary terms. This activity will work with almost any set of related terms. 2. Assign Terms. Assign one term to each student. I like to highlight the term on the direction sheet. They should keep their term a secret! It should not be written on their drawings. 3. Provide Directions. Here are mine: You will be assigned one vocabulary word. You will have 15 minutes to ...
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#58 A Mindfulness Intervention

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I have a question for you, when was the last time that you sat quietly and let yourself just "BE?" You didn't revel in the past or plan for the future, you simply existed in the moment. If you are anything like me, it certainly hasn't been often or recent enough. In this blog post, I will share what I have learned about being mindful, the benefits of mindfulness and ways to foster mindfulness at home and work. Mindfulness can mean different things to different people. For some people, it conjures up ideas of Buddhist monks meditating for hours on end. Others might envision hordes of spandex-clad individuals practicing yoga. In the field of psychology, m indfulness is "being aware of the present moment during our daily activities, including both the world outside us and our inner experiences" (Compton, 2020, p. 121). It is paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in the present moment without judgement or reservation. According to Jon Kabat-...
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#57: Glimmers of Gratitude: The Importance of Being Present

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Earlier this week I stumbled across the following quote, "My life has been enriched from talking with you" (Manning, 1990, p. 81). I spent a great deal of time reflecting on this quote and it's meaning in my life. I wondered, " Do my students leave my classroom knowing that they have enriched my life?  In order for this to occur, it is imperative that I be fully present with my students and that my time with them is truly a gift. I became acutely aware of this during remote instruction as I deeply missed my students' presence. However, even having come to this realization, I still really struggle with being fully present during my time with them. Like many of you, I am a "do-er." I love to make lists, cross things off my lists, and add new things to my lists and move on. Productivity is important but the downside to this "do-er" mentality is that I can become so future-focused that I look past what is happening right in front of me. The type...
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#56: Back to School: Teaching Adults the Psychology of Learning

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School is back in session and we hope to host a relatively normal "Meet the Teacher/Open House" this year. I always look forward to meeting the parents, guardians, and other caregivers of my students. I love to see their excitement at being back in the classroom, sitting in the desks that their students normally occupy, and hearing about their student's experiences in class. But I have a confession to make; I have been teaching for 20 years and I still get nervous before every single Meet the Teacher! Over time, I have found what works best for me is to design an interactive (and fun) experience for the caregivers that mimics much of what their student actually does in class. Presentation Overview I organize my presentation into three different sections; a brief class overview, a short demonstration, and an explanation of the research behind the demonstration. I love to connect the demonstrations to what the students are currently doing or have done in class. In the past...
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#55 SEL in the Covid Classroom & Beyond: Faculty Well-Being Matters, Too!

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Student well-being has been a hot topic in education for a number of years. Unfortunately, during this same time period teacher well-being has plummeted. According to a recent survey , 78% of teachers experience frequent job-related stress 27% of teachers are experiencing symptoms of depression, & 54% of teachers are feeling burned out. For most of the people reading this post, I am sure this is not a surprise. You were (and still are) in the trenches teaching kids during a pandemic! It is important to note that although the pandemic may have exacerbated levels of stress it certainly did not create them. Teacher stress has been a problem for a long time and it is time to tackle it head on.  In this post, I will explore why teacher well-being is important and ways to utilize schoolwide SEL to increase teacher well-being. According to CASEL, schoolwide SEL is "a systematic approach to infusing social and emotional learning into every part of the students' educational experie...
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#54 SEL in the Covid Classroom & Beyond: Focusing on Student Well-Being

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One of my favorite self-reflection activities is the Rose, Bud, and Thorn. In this activity, students are asked to reflect upon an event and identify a: Rose: A highlight, small "win" or recognize growth Bud: A new idea that emerged from the experience or a hope that they have Thorn: A challenge or difficulty that was encountered I would like to encourage you to pause for a moment and reflect on your teaching experiences during the last year. I bet it is really easy to identify those thorns, right? What about those roses and buds? Are you proud of the resiliency and perseverance of your students? Did you learn new ways to teach? Did you realize even more acutely how much you treasure seeing your students every single day? As I reflected on my "roses," I felt an immense sense of gratitude for the people who continue to support me and allow me to better support my students and teachers. As I reflected on my "buds," I have been really glad to see more emphasi...
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