2023 Teacher Tips

4 Templates to Clarify Daily Objectives

Regardless of environment, clear answers to these three questions enhance teacher clarity, and can potentially double the rate of learning in our students: What are we learning?; Why are we learning this?; What does success look like? (Hattie 2021).

Oftentimes, student misbehavior is not the result of a desire to break rules. Rather it results from students not knowing, or at least not being told, what they are supposed to be doing. If students know exactly what you want them to be doing, they are less likely to do something you don’t want them to be doing. If you ask any student, “What are you supposed to be doing?” they should be able to answer. Here are some tips...

Don't Fear the AI

I see this not only as an opportunity to teach students about the proper and appropriate adoption of new technology, but also as a way to start an open and honest conversation among an entire school community about academic integrity.

Whether we see artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT as an intractable menace or an instrument of innovation, teachers, particularly those of us that teach writing, find ourselves at a crossroads as artificial intelligence developments and their use become increasingly inevitable. While some school districts, fearing an existential threat, have banned the use of AI writing tools altogether, these tools can be used as vehicles to improve learning and help students develop their writing skills. Students must be explicitly taught proper and appropriate use of new technology, and we as teachers ought to rethink the purpose and delivery methods of our instruction and assessment techniques.

Weekly Wins Cards & Gratitude Notes

“Burnout is not the result of how many hours that you work. It’s more related to the effort and impact connection.” --Fisher, Frey, Smith, Hattie, Rebound (2021)

We can put in hours and hours of work into something that we love and enjoy and not get burned out. In fact, it might energize us. Burnout occurs when we don’t experience the link between our work and the impact it has. It’s vital to reflect on the wins.

Too often we focus on what didn’t happen or what we want to achieve in the future, and we forget to reflect on the victories from the past, even the recent past. This is a recipe for BURN OUT. It’s just as important to reflect on our wins big and small.

Take a 3x5 card and write down three “wins” from last semester (It doesn’t matter how big or small these were) to help start you off your new semester in a positive tone.

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