My 121st post and my 21st article with Edutopia!
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Thanks for reading!
Strategies That Help Teachers Make the Most of Time Spent Planning for Essential Standards
A Book and Two Podcasts: Resources I Just Have to Share
I’m not much of a podcast listener because I like to jot things down as I listen, and I usually listen when I am driving or walking. I also feel my strengths and preferences are for reading and visualizing/seeing new things, rather than listening. However, thanks to recommendations from colleagues and podcasts I have stumbled upon myself and found really useful, I try to listen when I am able to focus and listen in. In this post, I want to share a book that I learned about in a podcast, started to read, and then heard more about in another podcast. I highly recommend all of these resources! And I want to give Aila Stengl a huge shout out for sharing both podcasts with me! As always, I learn so much from our collaboration.
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Assessing as You Teach
My Edutopia Article #19 was published today!
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Generating a Podcast to Listen to Learn
Recently my friend and colleague Maria Elena Garcia Peterman called me to share something that we both found fascinating. She was introduced to a tool called Google NotebookLM.
To experiment with the tool, Maria Elena linked my latest article (Guiding Elementary Students to Show Their Thinking) in NotebookLM and generated a seventeen minute podcast dialogue about the article! I highly recommend giving this tool a try, especially for those people who love to listen to learn.
FYI, I can share the “podcast” with up to 50 people but cannot share it via a public link. So if you would like to listen to it just let me know and I’ll share it via your email.
Happy Reading and Listening to all of you!
Guiding Elementary Students to Show Their Thinking
Success Criteria for a Professional Learning Community Meetings
I originally started writing this blog as a way of synthesizing and reflecting. That is exactly what this article is, and as a result it is my very best drafty thinking at this time; I’m ideating rather than producing a polished piece of writing….
We know that using I Can Statements and Success Criteria help maximize learning. When we explain and make visual what students are aiming to do and what success will look like, we empower and motivate students. They know what to focus on. When PLCs collaborate to develop I Can Statements and Success Criteria based on grade-level standards, we ensure vigorous learning that is coherent across classrooms. Adult Learners benefit too from knowing what success looks like. In this post, I want to synthesize some of what I have learned about what effective teams do in their PLCs to accelerate student learning.
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Preparing for Challenging Conversations
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Providing Effective and Empowering Feedback
Change is a certainty in the field of education. Like all professionals, teachers are learners, striving to increase impact on student learning: as we know more, we do better. In a time of large system change, such as with a new curriculum, it is essential to focus on teacher practice. High quality instructional materials are key to student learning, and the teacher is the most important factor to student learning. Teachers are the people who nurture classroom community and student relationships in order to learn student’s strengths and fund of knowledge; teachers use this knowledge to provide high quality instructional practices to bring a curriculum to life for students.
In this post, I want to discuss feedback and how feedback is important for growth. I need to receive feedback from colleagues, students, and families in order to do better. I also need to self-reflect in order to provide myself feedback on what is working and what needs to change. Read more for suggestions on how to give feedback to students, self, and colleagues, in service to student growth.
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Creating Meaningful and Productive PD
My latest Edutopia article, just in time for a week of providing professional learning to my amazing colleagues! As I approach next week, I am grateful for all of the highly effective presenters I have the privilege of working with and learning from.