This post may seem primarily for those who teach writing, as opposed to my usual posts that work for most content areas or teaching in general. However, even if you don’t teach writing, you might get a nugget by looking into how the analogy of fishing, coupled with some brain science (dual coding) or researched-based strategy (graphic organizer) can aid you in a way to present your content that makes sense to students when traditional ways may be failing. While graphic organizers can tap into the power of dual-coding merely by having shapes to which students then add words or text, when teachers (or students) also add images or clipart, it boosts the power of the learning so that it has a better chance of going from a student’s working memory to their long-term memory. I approach most of my activity creations with that in mind when students need something new from me to help them master the content.
DON’T YOU KNOW I’M STILL STANDIN’ BETTER THAN I EVER DID?
Recently, my last-period class of freshmen was struggling with creating an introductory paragraph as we dove head-first into our blended essay writing unit. It’s still early in the school year, so students are still getting into the learning mode as opposed to summer mode. As we discussed the parts of an introductory paragraph, we reminded them of the hook sentence, the bridge sentences, and then the thesis. Students generally understand and remember the hook, and they know they have to have a thesis, but generally speaking, students in several grade levels struggle with those bridge sentences. As mine struggled, I mentioned to the class that I needed a better word for them than bridge. Something that we could use in class that made more sense. A student in the back of the class responded, “Well, you have a hook, what about fish? A hook needs fish.” Okay, in my 28 years of teaching, why didn’t I ever think of that? The rest of the class period, we successfully had students writing hooks, fish sentences, and thesis statements.
LOOKIN’ LIKE A TRUE SURVIVOR, FEELIN’ LIKE A LITTLE KID
During my prep period the next day, I considered the analogy and modified it a bit as I created a graphic organizer for writing introductory paragraphs. While we have used outlines in the past, and those are great too, this class needed the information chunked, and I wanted to use research-based graphic organizers along with the learning or brain science of dual coding. I created a Google Slide that could be printed or used digitally to help students write good introductory paragraphs.
AND I’M STILL STANDIN’ AFTER ALL THIS TIME
That worked so well that I decided to carry the analogy further and do the entire essay. A quick, but possibly not super thorough, turned up nothing like my Fishing strategy for essay writing, so here you go. I asked ChatGPT for help on the title page so that educators know they can use it for free but should not sell it or take credit for it, and ChatGPT not only told me how to word it, but that I should get a Creative Commons (CC) or other license for it too, so I did. (PESA-Public Educator Service Announcement: ChatGPT can help you with areas outside of lesson planning and grading papers.)
I’M STILL STANDIN’ (YEAH, YEAH, YEAH)
Adapt it to fit your student’s needs. Instructions are in the gray non-printing areas for students completing it digitally. If you are using sheet protectors as whiteboards like I am, then these are great to print as a class set and put inside your DIY whiteboards to practice different parts of the essay. It works hand in hand with having students read a variety of texts too, without having to grade a lot of essays, in part or in whole, constantly. The practice and repetition with the essay structure will help students write organized essays, and these can be used throughout the year with any reading material, as long as you have or can create a question or prompt from the text. Use them for write/pair/shares (like think/pair/share but writing the thinking on the whiteboards or printed graphic organizers) too, and just like that, you have a valuable formative tool.
Feel free to grab the Fishing Essay Graphic Organizer template below. Specific permissions on how you can use it is explained on the first slide of the presentation.
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As instructional leaders and coaches, we have the incredible opportunity to elevate the effectiveness of teaching and cultivate a culture of continual growth in our schools. Embracing the new school year, review an array of high-impact instructional strategies that can truly ignite learning experiences within our classrooms. Each strategy presented in this post is accompanied by a practical application that can readily inspire teachers through an example and how coaches can support teachers in implementing these research-based strategies in their classrooms. Our mission is to empower teachers to incorporate these strategies into their lessons while providing them with supportive coaching along the way to build their confidence and instructional toolkit.
As a coach, focus on three to five of these strategies to start. Then, when you are on a coaching cycle with a teacher, focus on ONE of these strategies during a single coaching cycle interval. Additionally, each of these strategies can be done with or without technology integrated. It will depend on whether the lesson requires technology or if a teacher deems that technology may provide more opportunities for students to take in the content and skills learned to then put them into action in demonstrating their learning in a formative manner and summatively.
As instructional leaders and coaches, we hold the power to transform teaching and learning in our schools along with our teachers. By embracing these high-impact research-based instructional strategies throughout our classrooms, we can ignite profound learning experiences and cultivate a culture of growth in our classrooms for our students. Explore each strategy, classroom example, and coaching example to inspire and empower your work as you move into this school year!
Definition:Providing students with immediate and regular feedback aimed at effort, improvement, and mastery rather than relative performance. It involves both teacher and peer assessments. It can be done throughout an entire class session with formative assessment. Note: Be sure to provide feedback in a way that requires students to use the feedback in action as feedback without deliberate action of implementing the feedback is not as effective.
Classroom Example:In a science class, a teacher addresses a student’s misunderstanding about a chemistry concept right away during guided practice as the teacher presents the content during an interactive Pear Deck presentation as it embeds formative assessment throughout the presentation, instead of waiting until the end of the lesson. Additionally, key items from the lesson can be assessed when a teacher uses exit tickets to assess students’ grasp of the concept, providing opportunities for reteaching where necessary for the next time they will be focused on the content from this lesson.
Coaching Tip:Coaches can assist teachers in creating effective feedback mechanisms such as templates of interactive presentations, rubrics, and exit tickets. They can model through co-teaching or teach a lesson sequence with the teacher observing how to provide immediate, growth-focused feedback and how to structure peer assessments effectively.
Strategy 2: Retrieval Practice Techniques to Support Memory Recall
Definition:These techniques involve regular use of recall-based activities that enhance the retention and application of previously learned information. This can look like flashcards, formative assessments, or even activating prior knowledge based on an image or video that was about what was learned in a previous lesson. Note: Retrieval practice, formative assessment, and facilitating feedback are strategies that can be sequenced together during lessons.
Classroom Example: An English teacher begins each class with warm-up questions from previous lessons – like matching vocabulary terms with their definitions. Also, concept checks are embedded throughout the lesson such as the use of formative assessment using either mini-whiteboards or interactive slides such as Pear Deck, Nearpod, or Canva whiteboard, prompting students to recall key ideas and providing necessary feedback, if needed, before proceeding.
Coaching Tip: Coaches can support teachers in creating recall-based activities such as quizzes, brain dumps, or concept checks. They can also advise on how to incorporate these into lessons and homework assignments effectively.
Strategy 3: Generative Learning Strategiesto Process and Reorganized Learning Information
Definition: These strategies involve students actively processing and reorganizing information. They can include tasks like explaining concepts in their own words, creating examples or diagrams, and making predictions. Note: Be sure students have quite a bit of background knowledge in the content you will want to utilize for this strategy before implementing it.
Classroom Example: A history teacher asks students to explain a historical event “as if I don’t know it.” The students create their own diagrams to represent their understanding and compare similar events. This can be done with or without tech. Sketchnoting, word webs, or even student-created videos or podcasts discussing the historical event could all be examples of how this is done by students.
Coaching Tip:Coaches can demonstrate how to incorporate generative tasks into lessons and can provide feedback on the quality of tasks teachers have created. They can also suggest ways to scaffold these tasks for students at different ability levels.
Strategy 5: Spacing and Interleaving Techniquesto Improve Practice of Concepts and Skills Taught In Class
Definition: These techniques involve distributing practice over multiple sessions and mixing different types of content or problems within a single session. This can be done through practice problems given during independent practice. Note: We do not need to give our students hundreds of practice problems for them to improve their skills.
Classroom Example: A math teacher spreads out practice on a particular concept over multiple short sessions and interleaves different types of problems within a practice set. An example would be five addition problems followed by two subtraction problems and one addition problem at the end of the problem set.
Coaching Tip:Coaches can help teachers design their curriculum to incorporate spacing and interleaving. They can also suggest how to balance the rotation of old and new content. Coaches can build a template or calendar of how practice problem sets should be built and then distributed throughout the week. Then, they can support teachers by monitoring the practice they give students and at what intervals the practice is happening to support teachers in building this as a routine in their classroom.
Strategy 6: Scaffolding
Definition: Scaffolding refers to providing temporary support to students as they learn new concepts. Teachers can gradually decrease this support as students develop the skills and understanding to work independently.
Classroom Example: In a writing class, a teacher may initially provide a detailed writing template as the mentor text. Over time, the teacher might reduce the level of detail in the template, eventually only providing a simple outline, and finally asking students to create their own outline from scratch.
Coaching Tip: Coaches can support teachers by sharing effective scaffolding methods and resources. They can also help in determining when and how to reduce scaffolding based on students’ progress. For example, a coach can support teachers in reviewing their assessment data to then determine what support they may need to provide students. Additionally, they can also support a teacher in evaluating when they can begin to gradually release support over time during a given lesson or unit.
Strategy 7:Gradual Release Model (I Do, We Do, You Do)
Definition: The Gradual Release Model is an effective method of instruction that moves from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. The process involves three stages: “I do” (teacher demonstrates), “We do” (teacher and students work together), and “You do” (students work independently). Note: Scaffolding and gradual release tend to go together in tandem during an instructional sequence.
Classroom Example: In a math lesson, the teacher first demonstrates a problem-solving method (I do). The class then works through several similar problems together (We do). Finally, students solve similar problems independently or in small groups (You do). In this sequence, using mini-whiteboards or an interactive digital slideshow is helpful as then a teacher can see student progress over the course of this instructional sequence.
Coaching Tip: Coaches can assist teachers in structuring their lessons around the Gradual Release Model. This might include providing guidance on how to effectively demonstrate new concepts and techniques, facilitate collaborative work, and support independent student work. Coaches can also model how this looks in a teacher’s class as well as then plan a lesson with a teacher and observe the teacher practicing this strategy in action and then provide feedback.
Strategy 8: Modeling Content or Skills During Direct Instruction
Definition: Modeling is an instructional strategy in which the teacher demonstrates a new concept or skill to students in a step-by-step process. The teacher models the thought process as well as the actions so that students can see the “how” and the “why” of what they’re learning. This strategy is part of the gradual release of responsibility model, where the responsibility for task completion shifts gradually from the teacher to the student.
Classroom Example: In a writing lesson, a teacher could use modeling to teach students how to craft a compelling introduction for an essay. The teacher might write an introduction on the board, explaining their thought process out loud—why they chose specific words, how they structured their sentences, what information they included to hook the reader, etc.
Coaching Tip: Instructional coaches can support teachers by providing examples of effective modeling and giving feedback on their modeling techniques. Coaches can also model the modeling process—for instance, they might model a mini-lesson or co-teaching alongside the teacher they are working with, demonstrating not just the content, but also their thought process during the modeling sequence. This meta-modeling can be a powerful way to help teachers understand and apply effective modeling techniques in their own classrooms depending on the content and skills they are teaching their students.
Strategy 9:Formative Assessmentthroughout Lessons
Definition: Formative assessment is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process to modify teaching and learning activities. These assessments aim to improve student attainment throughout a lesson sequence. They serve as practice for students, check-ins for both student and teacher and a guide for teachers in planning future instruction and interventions in real-time or for a lesson in the future. Note: Mini-whiteboards, interactive slides, and short multiple-choice assessments tend to be some of the easiest mechanisms to deliver formative assessments.
Classroom Example: A science teacher could conduct a formative assessment by giving a short quiz on the material covered in that week’s lessons at the beginning and at the end of the class period. This allows the teacher to see which concepts students have understood and which they might be struggling with. The teacher can then use this information to adjust their lesson plans, providing additional instruction or practice on difficult concepts.
Alternatively, formative assessment can be as informal as a class discussion or a “thumbs up, thumbs down” quick check for understanding. The key is that the information gathered is used to inform instruction.
Coaching Tip: Instructional coaches can guide teachers in using formative assessments effectively by helping them design assessments that are aligned with learning objectives, providing feedback on the use of assessment data, and suggesting modifications or additional supports based on assessment results.
Strategy 10: Reduce Cognitive Load
Definition: Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) is an instructional design theory that uses the science of how the human brain processes information to inform the design of learning materials so they are easy to comprehend and remember. In essence, it emphasizes the importance of understanding and optimizing the cognitive load — the total amount of mental effort used in the working memory — during learning. Note: Many of the strategies discussed can reduce cognitive load, such as modeling in chunks, scaffolding, and gradual release sequences.
Classroom Example: A teacher introducing a complex concept, like photosynthesis, might first present the overall process in a simplified way, then progressively introduce details about each part. They might also use diagrams and real-life examples to help illustrate each part by chunking the information. By doing this, the teacher is intentionally managing students’ cognitive load, ensuring they’re not overwhelmed with too much information at once. Other examples include using only pertinent information in all displays of information to students. Reducing any extraneous information is helpful in managing cognitive load.
Coaching Tip: Coaches can support teachers in managing cognitive load by helping them to break down complex topics into manageable chunks. They can also support teachers in developing a variety of engaging, multimodal resources and teaching strategies, such as using visuals, analogies, and real-world examples, to support students’ understanding and reduce cognitive overload. Additionally, coaches can provide teachers with feedback related to how much extraneous information they may need to be watchful during their lessons – such as cutting out irrelevant information related to the topic during direct instruction.
Conclusion – Think Less is More and Sustainability
As coaches, we need to model why less is more and what sustainable teaching looks like to the teachers we are coaching. As mentioned at the beginning of this post, we need to focus on only one major strategy at once. Then, during our coaching sessions with teachers, model how that strategy looks, and how it can be incorporated into lessons, and then provide co-teaching and feedback opportunities to the teacher to support them in practicing the strategy over time in their classrooms. Last, focus on how teachers can use these strategies in a sustainable manner. What this means is developing the classroom routines and workflow in planning that allow these strategies to be readily utilized and practiced. Additionally, ensure teachers that not every lesson needs to have each of these strategies – it’s a matter of having these strategies in their toolkit to be used throughout the week is what ultimately matters most.
References
Agarwal, P. K. (2019). Powerful teaching: Unleash the science of learning. John Wiley & Sons. (Retrieval Practice Techniques)
Archer, A. L., & Hughes, C. A. (2011). Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching. Guilford Press. (Modeling Strategy)
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7-74. (Formative Assessment Strategy)
Brookhart, S. M. (2017). How to give effective feedback to your students. ASCD. (Strategies for Facilitating Feedback)
Brown, P. C., Roediger III, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Belknap Press. (Retrieval Practice Techniques)
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354. (Spacing and Interleaving Techniques)
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. ASCD. (Gradual Release Strategy)
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. ASCD. (Gradual Release Strategy)
Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. (2015). Learning as a generative activity: Eight learning strategies that promote understanding. Cambridge University Press. (Generative Learning Strategies)
Gibbons, P. (2014). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Heinemann. (Scaffolding Strategy)
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. (Strategies for Facilitating Feedback)
Kirschner, P. A., & Hendrick, C. (2020). How learning happens: Seminal works in educational psychology and what they mean in practice. Routledge.
Kirschner, P. A., & Hendrick, C. (2023). How teaching happens: Applying the science of learning in the classroom. Routledge.
Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Pearson. (Generative Learning Strategies)
OpenAI’s GPT-4 (2023, July 25). Personal communication. Instructional Coaching and Instructional Strategies.
Pearson, P. D., & Gallagher, M. C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8(3), 317-344. (Gradual Release Strategy)
Rohrer, D., Dedrick, R. F., & Stershic, S. (2015). Interleaved practice improves mathematics learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3), 900. (Spacing and Interleaving Techniques)
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249-255. (Retrieval Practice Techniques)
Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive load theory (Explorations in the learning sciences, instructional systems and performance technologies). New York, NY: Springer.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. (Scaffolding Strategy)
Wittrock, M. C. (1974). A Generative Model of Mathematics Learning. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 5(4), 181. (Generative Learning Strategies)
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher. Harry K. Wong Publications. (I Do, We Do, You Do Strategy)
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The world is constantly evolving and the skills that are in demand now may not be needed five years from now. Jobs are changing, technology is becoming even more advanced and careers that exist today may not be needed in the future. And on the other side, there are many jobs that don’t exist yet that will need to be filled by the students in our classrooms today. How do we prepare for what we can’t truly know and understand? We need to make sure that all students have opportunities to explore a variety of topics, careers and learn about their areas of interest and about themselves. We need to spark curiosity for learning and help to guide students to discovering what they might actually be interested in.
Students need to be active in learning and have time to explore the world around them. In some classrooms, students may experience passive learning and solely be consuming content, rather than creating. To amplify learning for students today, we need experiences that will potentially cause some chaos and shift from what has been the traditional classroom structure. Instead, we need to extend learning beyond our classroom space and embrace new learning models that promote student agency and spark curiosity for learning. We need methods and opportunities that foster the development of essential SEL skills and that will best prepare students for the future through real-world learning opportunities. Students need to understand the relevance of what they are learning in our classrooms and how that applies to the real world and careers that are available to them.
Finding methods and tools that will best meet student interests and needs is essential. In education, we have been focusing on the development of “21st-century skills” for many years. We can’t possibly know everything about what the future holds for students when it comes to careers and specific skills, so to prepare, we must help students build a variety of skills. With opportunities that support students as they learn how to adapt to changes and become flexible in learning and growing, will prepare them for whatever the world of work will look like five, ten, or more years from now. Defined Careers offers information that is applicable to all grade levels and has information for many different areas of work. It includes job descriptions, education requirements, and salary information. Recent webinars from Defined Learning have also focused on careers that are in demand and how to engage students in career-connected learning.
Here are three more ways to spark curiosity for careers of the future and engage students in career-focused learning:
CTE and Work-based learning: It is important for students to continue to learn about the career options that are available and how they may be changing. With CTE, work-based learning, and even job shadowing programs, students can gain practical and real-world insights into different fields. In the classroom, students can learn about careers and speak with people in their local community. However, being able to experience what it is like in the work environment, and interact with people who are working in careers of interest to students, will have a bigger impact. There are opportunities available locally and virtually that will greatly benefit students. By partnering with local businesses and professionals, inviting guest speakers, and involving students in real-world, hands-on projects, they will become more aware of the opportunities available to them. Through these experiences, they learn about what their interests are and how they can make an impact in the world. Diving into the Defined Careers resources can also help students learn more about specific careers and the types of work that may be involved. Career Course focuses on providing students with relevant career experiences and skills needed for a specific career. Each career course is a collection of projects that gives students hands-on learning opportunities.
Place-based learning: By shifting our focus from solely the content area, we can identify a geographical area or the culture of a place as a way to build content knowledge and help students develop SEL skills. Through place-based learning, we place students into the community to collaborate with local businesses, entrepreneurs, and other organizations. These experiences give students an opportunity to apply the content they are learning in the real world. They foster the development of student agency, boost student engagement, and enhance student awareness of the issues and perspectives of the world around them. To further engage students, we can organize field trips to relevant locations, invite guest speakers from the community, and encourage students to research and present on local challenges and solutions.
Project-based learning (PBL): With PBL, students take the lead in deciding what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. With PBL, students choose an area of interest, design their own learning journey and through the experience, see the process of learning rather than a finite end point. In our classroom, we explored a variety of student-chosen topics and also incorporated the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the projects. We can help students to become more globally aware and involved in finding solutions to challenges faced in the world. PBL helps students to become more independent in learning while developing essential SEL skills such as self-management and social awareness.
STEM-focused learning: We want to make sure that students take a break from technology, especially during the summer, however, there are some great resources available for students to explore on their own. With sites such as Defined Learning, Code.org, and Khan Academy, students can explore different STEM-focused courses and resources. With these tools, they can explore in-demand topics like data science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and other STEM-related fields and be more involved through the interactive modules, videos, and other resources that are offered. Online platforms like these and many others like them enable students to explore areas of interest at their own pace and develop skills that may lead them toward a specific career. Find guest speakers who can provide some personal insight into careers in STEM-related fields and the importance of building skills that are applicable to these areas.
There are many options available to inform students of the possibilities for their future careers. While we may not know exactly which jobs will still exist, we do know that there are specific skills that will help students stay flexible and adapt to the changing landscape of learning and work. Through these real-world opportunities, students will make connections that will positively impact their learning and hopefully, spark curiosity or make them aware of areas they have an interest in for their future
About the Author:
Rachelle Dené is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle is also an attorney with a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. Rachelle is an ISTE Certified Educator and Community Leader and served as president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network. She was named one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers to follow in 2021.
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Building skills in STEM-related fields especially in computer science is important for our students today. The World Economic Forum stated that approximately 1 billion jobs will be transformed by technology over the course of the next 10 years and the Bureau of Labor Statistics “predicts a 13% growth in computer and IT-related fields between 2020 and 2030. As educators, we must continue to find ways to best prepare all students for the rapidly evolving world we live in. A valuable skill that we can equip them with is computer science. By exploring the careers that are highlighted through Defined Careers, students become aware of the different fields that require skills in computer science the types of jobs that will exist in the future, and how to prepare.
Although not every teacher has a computer science background, it is important to find ways to bring related learning activities into our classrooms for the benefits they can offer students. There are many advantages of integrating computer science into different grade levels and content areas through activities and projects. Defined Learning offers many resources that can help educators to get started.
What are the benefits of computer science for students?
Computer science helps students to develop some of the essential skills that are required in the world of work and that will continue to be needed, even though we don’t necessarily know what types of jobs will exist. Computer science-related learning can help students to build the following skills:
Analytical Thinking: Students will need to learn how to analyze by examining data, identifying patterns, and making data-driven decisions as they learn. Provide students with some problems to solve and task them with analyzing various aspects of it and potential solutions.
Collaboration: Students can work together in teams to explore computer science topics or work through activities together. In these experiences, they not only develop skills related to the content but also other skills in collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving, they learn to work together as a team as they push through challenges that may come with learning. It will prepare them for future careers where collaboration is essential.
Creativity and Innovation: By allowing students to design their own projects, such as creating apps, designing websites, or even games, they learn about computer science in an engaging way. These experiences also empower them to bring their ideas to life and spark their creativity!
Problem-Solving Skills: Computer science encourages students to develop their critical thinking skills and be better able to solve complex problems in learning and in the future. Through lessons in coding and programming, students will learn to break down tasks into smaller, manageable steps. These skills are essential when thinking about SEL skills and developing resilience in learning and dealing with challenges.
Ideas for exploring computer science
Coding: There is an increase in need for people with coding skills and that need will continue to grow over the next five years. A predicted 58 million STEM-related jobs will exist, many of which will require coding skills. Some options include Code.org, Scratch, or Tynker which offer age-appropriate coding activities that make learning fun. Matatalab has several robots available for learners as young as 3 and which provide screen-free coding options too. For younger students, trying the KIBO robot from KinderLab Robotics is a great option. Code with Google is focused on closing equity gaps in computer science opportunities and it provides free resources for students.
Hour of Code: Even though the Hour of Code happens during December, it is something that should be a focus throughout the year. There are many websites that offer activities for all grade levels. Options to explore include Scratch and Scratch Jr. which are designed for kids and available for free. CS Unplugged is an option that does not require computers, which promotes accessibility for all students.
Game or App Development: Students can try MIT App inventor and other online tools to create their own game. It can be done as a project-based learning experience. Students can design and create their own video games, and focus on the process of learning. Students can design and build mobile apps using platforms such as App Inventor or Swift Playgrounds that offer beginner-friendly environments for app development. These will help to encourage students to take some risks and hopefully spark curiosity for coding and computer science.
ISTE Curriculum: ISTE offers free curriculum guides for computer science educators that also bring in Artificial intelligence learning into the classroom. These guides are full of standards, resources, activities, and lesson plans that make it easy to get started. The guides are focused on elementary, secondary, computer science, electives, and ethics.
Robotics:There are a lot of resources for students to learn about robotics and explore more about what a career in computer science might involve.
Regardless of whether computer science may not be our primary field of expertise, integrating it into our classrooms can be incredibly beneficial for our students. The advantages include the development of problem-solving skills, enhanced creativity, real-world learning experiences, fostering collaborative skills, and analytical thinking. By exploring coding challenges, robotics, game and web development, data analysis, and app development, students can gain valuable computer science skills.
About the Author
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM Educator at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. She is also an Attorney, Edtech Consultant, Speaker, and the Author of seven books about education and edtech. Rachelle is available to provide PD on Artificial Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Coding, SEL and STEM.
Contact Rachelle to schedule sessions for your school about Artificial Intelligence, Coding, AR/VR, and more!
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In a world where technology often competes with traditional learning methods, educators are always on the lookout for innovative tools that can genuinely impact children’s development. The Toniebox, a revolutionary audio device, has recently released the results of a study conducted between January and June 2023. The study explored how this creative tool can influence young learners’ comprehension, language skills, and attention.
Unlocking the Potential of the Toniebox
We should first understand what makes the Toniebox stand out. It’s an audio storytelling device that combines the magic of bedtime stories with captivating learning content. It makes it an excellent addition to the early childhood education toolkit and the best part is that kids are independent in their learning and can use it without much help at all.
A recent study
Imagine a learning tool that cultivates comprehension, language skills, and attention in young children. The recent study included 100 families from the UK and the United States, and involved children of ages 2 through 5. The research began with interviews to establish baseline measurements for each child’s development. Families were then provided with a Toniebox and bedtime Tonies, along with instructions to integrate them into their bedtime routines. After a period of 2-3 weeks, there were follow-up interviews that assessed the impact of Tonies on each child. Families were then provided with additional Tonies from the 4 Learning Centers: Discovery, Reading, Mindfulness, and Independent Play. After at least 12 weeks, there was another round of interviews which evaluated the effects of the Toniebox on children’s learning.
The Impact
1. Bedtime Routine Improvement:
– For parents who initially struggled with bedtime, using the Toniebox improved the situation for a remarkable 92% of them.
– Even if routines took longer, parents noted less resistance from their children, a welcome relief for many.
– Satisfaction scores increased significantly, from 6.6 to 7.4 out of 10, indicating happier bedtime experiences.
2. Comprehension and Language Skills:
– 60% of children’s comprehension scores increased
– Researcher-assessed comprehension levels improved by an impressive 6.3%.
– Reading comprehension scores saw a substantial increase of 12.6%.
– Verbal fluency jumped by over 10%, with 44% of children demonstrating improved verbal fluency.
– Vocabulary scores increased by 13.2%, with 66% of children scoring higher.
3. Enhanced Attention and Engagement:
– 53% of children’s general attention scores improved.
– For reading-specific attention, there was a 5.9% average increase.
– Engagement with stories increased by 7%, indicating greater interest.
Educators’ Takeaway: Tonies Toniebox
What makes the Toniebox an invaluable addition to early childhood education? It’s the perfect blend of entertainment and education. Here’s why educators should consider integrating it into their teaching strategies:
1. Promotes Literacy and Learning: The Toniebox enhances comprehension, language skills, and attention, crucial for early childhood education. The significant boost in reading comprehension is especially noteworthy.
2. Bedtime Routine Improvement: Better bedtime routines mean well-rested, alert learners in the classroom. Educators can appreciate the positive impact on children’s behavior and readiness to learn.
3. Screen-Free Learning: In a world dominated by screens, the Toniebox offers a refreshing screen-free alternative, promoting auditory learning and imaginative thinking.
4. Parent and Child Collaboration: The Toniebox encourages parent-child interaction, fostering a love for storytelling and learning from an early age.
Feedback from parents
The feedback offered by parents provides some valuable insights into the unique experiences they had with the Toniebox in their home.
1. Vocabulary Development and Screen-Free Engagement: A parent highlighted how Tonies significantly contributed to her child’s vocabulary development while serving as a screen-free alternative. The child’s enthusiasm for their Toniebox was so profound that he even listened to them for extended periods during road trips, showcasing the potential of this audio-based medium.
2. Design and Quality: Parents appreciated the figurine design of Tonies, which differentiated it from other devices. Many found Tonies ideal for storytelling, while other devices were preferred for music. The Toniebox engaged a child’s mind safely and offered high-quality manufacturing.
3. Innovative Possibilities: Parents associated reduced screen time with improved behavior in their children, emphasizing Tonies’ role in promoting a healthy balance.
The Toniebox is a valuable addition to childhood The feedback from parents underscores the versatility and potential of the Toniebox. While the study’s quantitative findings reveal its substantial impact on bedtime routines, comprehension, language skills, and attention, the individual comments paint a more comprehensive picture of its role in children’s lives. The Toniebox offers not only educational benefits but also a unique opportunity for children to engage with audio-based content in a screen-free and imaginative manner.
Toniebox is more than just a device; it’s a tool that empowers educators and parents to inspire young minds while nurturing positive habits and fostering a lifelong love for learning. As we navigate the ever-changing landscape of early education, the Toniebox supports the development of young learners in a dynamic and enriching way.
It is more than just a storytelling device; it’s a game-changer for early childhood education. Its potential to transform bedtime routines, enhance comprehension, language skills, and attention makes it a tool that educators should bring to their classroom. This innovative approach to learning is not only effective but also a whole lot of fun for young learners.
Contact Rachelle to schedule sessions for your school or keynotes for your conference about Artificial Intelligence, Coding, AR/VR, SEL, STEM and more!
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I have been speaking and teaching about AI in my classroom for more than five years. I was curious to understand where we see it in the world and how to teach about it in our schools. I was also fascinated by the capabilities of AI for learning and in the world.
I reached out to several educators and some students to find out what they thought about the changes we are experiencing in education, especially with these emerging technologies. There are, of course, concerns, ongoing conversations, and definitely excitement, although sometimes hesitant excitement, about what these technologies might bring to the world of education and work.
Educator predictions
Nicole Biscotti @BiscottiNicole, Educator
“AI has exploded on the scene and everyone is trying to figure it out at the same time which is exciting. A lot of educators are afraid that kids will use technologies like ChatGPT to cheat and have even banned its use. The reality is that kids have been cheating since the beginning of school and we have an exciting opportunity as educators to shape the narrative around this new technology. Biscotti plans to continue to learn as much as she can about how to use AI to better support her students. She says as an educator, “I feel that I am obligated to prepare my students for their future, not my past. These tools will only improve and they are here to stay. It’s imperative that kids are familiar with them and know how to use them or we risk sending graduates out into the workforce at a competitive disadvantage.”
Dr. Michael Harvey @doctor_harves, Pedagogical Prognosticator from Blenheim New Zealand
“AI/emerging tech has yet to really shape this past school year. Questions are being asked of what learning is and the role of assessment, but the actions to this change are yet to be realized.” He is thinking about /planning how to transition assessment tasks to a process rather than a product model. As for the future, Harvey thinks that “the next school year will bring pushback from the establishment and for those who want to progress in education a movement away from assessment of learning to assessment for learning and the role of AI to support student independence in learning.”
Alex Isaacs @mr_isaacs_math, Edtech Specialist from Long Branch Public Schools
“Emerging tech has helped teachers gain time while assisting with lesson planning, quick questions, and providing feedback to students in real-time. It has also helped increase data analytic capabilities by providing insights into student performance trends and instructional practice.” He plans to delve more into emerging technologies and how they can benefit the teachers and students in his school district. By participating in multiple coaching cohorts, including GoGuardian and Pear Deck, he hopes to gain more insight into helping his colleagues with these platforms. As for the future, “the discussions surrounding the ethical use of emerging tech will continue next school year.” He believes that more edtech platforms will increase their integrations of AI-related tech to provide differentiated instruction and personalized pathways to every learner.” Check out his AI-themed Wakelet collection that he and colleague Lois Alston created.
Vicki Van Matre @MsVanMatreArtRm, Teacher at Bluffton High School and ISTE Certified Instructor
Next year, Vicki will be teaching a class called the” 3rd class” for their new Education Professions pathway. One basis for this class is introducing technology’s role in the modern classroom. She was planning on discussing AI and how it could help the teacher but also discuss how to use it appropriately as a student. Her plans focus on involving students more in learning about ChatGPT by writing a lesson for them and having them make modifications where necessary. She also wants her students to experiment with a variety of technology to see “what THEY think would work best in the classroom.” While she uses technology in her art room, she has not yet experimented a lot with DALL E to see if I want to use AI for any of my art classes. However, she believes that if she does choose to use it, most likely it would be with the senior independent study students to have them experiment with it.
Student reflections
Holden, grade 10
“As soon as I was introduced to AI, I knew that it would change the world. The more I interacted with it, the more I understood its vast potential.” He shared that he “may or may not have used it to complete a few small assignments (Never in Spanish).” His uses were more as a study tool, in particular for reviewing for Chemistry. He would ask it to give a simple definition and an example and it worked perfectly to help him process the information and content better. He believes that “AI by itself is mediocre at best. However, when collaborating with humans, it can do amazing things.” As for benefits, he has an interest in starting an online store but has never really had the time and he hopes that with the help of AI to get a jumpstart this summer. “The school will look right through all the great things that AI is capable of and try to prevent it from being used completely.”
Lola, grade 11
“I believe that emerging technology has provided and created new opportunities for students. The new ideas and aspects of technology accessible to students now provide new experiences and can help to improve a student’s capabilities and knowledge about the subject they are studying.” Looking ahead, “I believe that by next school year, technology will continue to grow and emerge in new ways that will allow students to continue to have opportunities that will enhance their learning environment.”
Dimitri, grade 8
“AI and a lot of new tech has helped me with coming up with ideas for projects or providing me with a summary of a book, if I forgot something that I had read or I didn’t understand it.” As for the next school year, “I hope we will be allowed to use ChatGPT in class to help us understand books and literature more.”
With the rapid advancements in AI and emerging technologies, there are now incredible opportunities available to us and as we reflect on the past year, it becomes evident that AI and emerging tech have revolutionized education in ways we never imagined.
Looking for PD for your school? I provide in-person and virtual training on the following topics. If you want to learn more about and explore AI and ChatGPT, contact me to schedule! Rdene915@gmail.com
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Guest post by: Torrey Trust and Robert W. Maloy, University of Massachusetts Amherst
“The Ethicist” – Kwane Anthony Appiah’s column in the New York Times Magazine – offers philosophical advice about how to respond to the dilemmas and complexities of everyday life. People submit questions they want answered, and the rights and wrongs or ethics of what to do are not immediately clear or self-evident. Questions posed include: “Is it ever acceptable to visit a Confederate historical site?” “My salary is too high. Is it wrong to stay in my job?” “Can I sell my Taylor Swift tickets for thousands of dollars?” and “Can I use ChatGPT for the tedious parts of my job?” In July 2023, the Ethicist responded to this last question about ChatGPT, which was written by the chair of the English department at a small college. The reply was “yes,” as long as “you exercise proper vigilance and can stand by what you submit” (para. 4).
Utilizing “The Ethicist” as the starting point for instructional ideas, we envision giving elementary, middle, and high school students ongoing opportunities to develop their own ethical responses to authentic questions and issues they are facing in their lives, schools, and communities – especially those related to the use of GenAI tools and large language models (LLMs) – as a means of helping them develop their civic engagement skills and knowledge. Ideally, students engage in discussions about how they and others should act in the different situations and settings of everyday life. By stating their views and restating and understanding the views of others, students will become more socially conscious and civically engaged as members of our diverse society.
Questions of ethics and ethical behavior are central to how individuals and groups conduct political campaigns. In the run-up to the 2024 election, political candidates, parties, and action and advocacy groups have been using GenAI tools to generate campaign speeches, policy proposals, and even fundraising emails. In one example, the Democratic Party used AI to write fundraising emails and found that AI-generated fundraising requests performed as well as or better than human-generated requests in generating financial responses from donors (Goldmacher, 2023). However, not all uses of GenAI in political campaigns have been done with honorable intentions. University of Georgia journalism professor David E. Clementson (2023) identified multiple ways that GenAI tools could make political campaigns more deceptive than ever, including using these tools to design customized bogus campaign promises, write outright lies presented as truthful statements, convince voters to reevaluate their choice of candidates, and craft manipulated photos of candidates.
Following the model of “The Ethicist,” students could be asked: “Is it ethical to use GenAI tools to craft political campaign materials and media?” To begin this activity, students could be encouraged to use the Teacher and Student Guide to Analyzing AI Writing Tools to critically investigate popular GenAI tools, including ChatGPT, Bard, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E. This guide provides a series of prompts that motivate students to examine the design and production of AI tools (questioning things like “Who designed this tool and why? “How does this tool make money?” “What data was used to train this tool?” “What biases are represented in the data?” and “What privacy protections are in place for users’ data?”) and the output of AI tools (questioning things like “Who or what is included in the output and who or what is left out?” and “How does the AI-generated output compare to human-generated text or media?”). Through this type of critical investigation, students might uncover that GenAI tools are trained on data that has embedded biases and consider what that might mean if political campaign staff use these tools, for example, to write fundraising campaigns based on demographic data.
Next, students could work on designing their own political campaign to run for a local or statewide political office (see the “Online Campaigning for Political Office” activity). Students could start this activity without any assistance from GenAI tools and then mid-way through the activity have the opportunity to use AI to help with or improve their campaign materials. For example, students might ask ChatGPT to generate a series of social media posts related to their campaign promises, write a script for a podcast or video that will be embedded into their campaign website, improve the quality of the text for their campaign website, or devise a strategy for increasing voter engagement with their campaign. Or, they could use image generators, like Microsoft Bing Image Creator powered by DALL-E, to produce visuals for their campaign websites or social media posts.
After designing their own political campaigns with and without the assistance of GenAI tools, students could engage in a discussion or debate about whether they think it is ethical for politicians and their campaign staff to use GenAI tools to craft political campaign materials and media. Integrating an ethical question about the use of AI in political campaigns as students design their own run for political office gives students an opportunity to investigate what AI can and cannot do and what AI should and should not do as a tool. The cognitive scientist Fei-Fei Li said nearly a decade ago: “AI is a machine that can make a perfect chess move while the room is on fire” (quoted in Knight, 2017, para. 4). Her point is AI can generate content, but not critical thought or socially and morally ethical plans for action. Through this activity, students consider what role AI should play in politics, and then they should be able to form their own opinion to the prompt: “Is it ethical to use GenAI tools to craft political campaign materials and media?”
Author Bios
Torrey Trust, Ph.D. is a Professor of Learning Technology in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her scholarship and teaching focus on how technology shapes educator and student learning. Specifically, Dr. Trust studies how educators engage with digitally enhanced professional learning networks (PLNs), how emerging pedagogical tools (e.g., HyperDocs), practices (e.g., Making), and technologies (e.g., 3D printers, augmented reality) facilitate new learning experiences, and how to design and use open educational resources (OERs). Dr. Trust served as a professional learning network leader for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) for five years, including a two-year term as the President of the Teacher Education Network from 2016 to 2018. In 2018, Dr. Trust was selected as a recipient of the ISTE Making IT Happen Award, which “honors outstanding educators and leaders who demonstrate extraordinary commitment, leadership, courage, and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students.” www.torreytrust.com
Robert W. Maloy is a senior lecturer in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he coordinates the history teacher education program and co-directs the TEAMS Tutoring Project, a community engagement/service learning initiative through which university students provide academic tutoring to culturally and linguistically diverse students in public schools throughout the Connecticut River Valley region of western Massachusetts. His research focuses on technology and educational change, teacher education, democratic teaching, and student learning. He is co-author of Transforming Learning with New Technologies (4th edition); Kids Have All the Write Stuff: Revised and Updated for a Digital Age; Wiki Works: Teaching Web Research and Digital Literacy in History and Humanities Classrooms; We, the Students and Teachers: Teaching Democratically in the History and Social Studies Classroom; Ways of Writing with Young Kids: Teaching Creativity and Conventions Unconventionally; Kids Have All the Write Stuff: Inspiring Your Child to Put Pencil to Paper; The Essential Career Guide to Becoming a Middle and High School Teacher; Schools for an Information Age; and Partnerships for Improving Schools.
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“Collaboration is being open to each other’s ideas and benefiting from each other’s perspectives in an open way.”
Alan Menken
Preparing our students for the future means that we need to continue to learn more about the types of jobs that are in demand and create opportunities for our students to develop a variety of skills that are transferable to many types of work. As we have experienced over the past few years, being able to collaborate whether in person or remote, was critical. We all faced challenges in our practice, especially in being able to connect with our students and create learning experiences that fostered the building of relationships and collaborative skills.
For our own professional learning, being able to facilitate instruction with students, and working with colleagues in the absence of being together in the physical space, we had to explore and learn what worked the best. By leveraging the right digital tools and spaces, whether in-person or virtual, we kept learning going and continued to build our own professional skills.
There is tremendous power in collaboration and if we want to best prepare our students with essential skills they need, being able to collaborate and work as part of a team are two of the top skills required by employers. There are a variety of ways that we can foster collaboration in our classrooms which are beneficial to our own learning and growth, but more importantly, for our students.
Benefits of Collaboration
When we collaborate, it not only impacts our growth as educators, it amplifies the learning potential for our students. In an article by Lily Jones, “The Power of Teacher Collaboration”, research showed that teacher collaboration helps to raise student achievement. They found that when teachers had more conversations that focused on the content area, that it helped to provide more for students. By modeling collaboration, students will see and experience the benefits of collaborating with classmates and even beyond our own classroom and school. Building relationships is important for social-emotional learning (SEL) and future preparedness, especially for having a system of support in place. Finding methods and tools that foster collaboration between students and teachers in the same school or school district as well as on a global scale, will provide many benefits.
When educators collaborate, it enables us to stay relevant and current with teaching methods and digital tools, and we have access to more feedback that helps with our professional growth. For our students, collaboration needs to be a priority so that we can provide the most beneficial learning experiences for them. When students work together on a common goal and share responsibility for creating a product of that learning, there are many benefits beyond just learning the content.
As students collaborate, they are building relationships and their own learning network. They can bounce ideas off of each other, provide peer feedback, work through learning challenges together and build SEL skills throughout. Through collaboration, students build their comfort and confidence in the classroom.
Here are three ideas to explore for promoting more collaboration:
Brainstorming spaces: Using a variety of digital tools, we promote collaboration beyond our classroom space. Whether through Google Jamboard, sharing ideas in a Wakelet collection, or posting on a Padlet board, everyone can contribute from wherever they are. With some of these options, audio or video can be added, which enhances the learning experience by feeling more connected to classmates and teachers. When students need to work together, they often need a way to collaborate beyond the school space. These options create a space for students to work as a team and feel more connected whenever they cannot be in the classroom working together. For students to explore and brainstorm ideas on their own, try Ideamapper for mind-mapping.
Methods: When we bring in methods like project based-learning, we provide many benefits for students. They can work together to solve a problem being faced in the world, for example, by learning about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PBL is also a good method that will help students to develop SEL skills, especially in self-management and decision-making. Game-based learning is always a good choice to not only build content area skills but also for promoting collaboration and boosting student engagement. Through the digital tools available, students can collaborate on teams and build teamwork skills while using the games to become self-aware of their growth and set new goals for learning. Some of my students’ favorites are Gimkit and Quizizz. Providing opportunities for summer learning and STEM exploration is another way to keep learning going and spark curiosity! Check out Lobee Learning and how they provide STEM and PBL experiences for students.
Feedback and reflection tools: Just as educators need feedback and opportunities to engage in conversations and collaborate, students also need to learn how to track their growth over time. Being able to identify strengths and also areas where they may want to focus on improving is important. Having a small group to collaborate and reflect with can help students not only become more self-aware, but also develop supportive relationships in the classroom. Some ideas for collaborating to help each other grow are to write a collaborative blog, launch a podcast, or even use collaborative spaces where students can share their progress and provide feedback. With Flip, students can record videos to reflect on their learning experiences and share these videos with the teacher or collaborate with classmates to reflect and give feedback to each other. Sharing a blogging space, even using Microsoft or Google tools, where students can write and collaborate would be beneficial. We also use Spaces EDU which offers individual, class, and group spaces, all great for collaboration at different levels. For teacher-to- student, the individual space helps students to build confidence in sharing their learning with teachers and the group spaces for working together on activities like a scavenger hunt, discussion, or PBL for example. In using formats like blogs, podcasts or even portfolios, students will not only develop skills for collaborating, but also skills of self-awareness and self-management which are vital for now and the future.
Each of these methods and tools offer a lot of ways to promote collaboration for students and teachers. Collaboration is an essential skill for everyone. Being able to ask for help, provide support to others, and work as part of a team, are transferable skills to any area of work and life. With a variety of methods and the use of different digital tools to facilitate them, we can foster collaboration and the other essential skills needed that are needed for future careers and success.
About the Author:
Rachelle Dené is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s nExT in Emerging Technology Teacher at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle is also an attorney with a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. Rachelle is an ISTE Certified Educator and serves as the past president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network. She was named one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers to follow in 2021.
I am available for PD sessions in-person and virtual on a variety of topics. Key focus areas are AI, ChatGPT, AR and VR, SEL and STEM.
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In today’s ever-changing job market, we need to help students develop a variety of skills that will enable them to be flexible with the changes we are seeing in the world of work. It is also important that students have opportunities to consider a variety of career paths. It’s not enough to just focus on the careers and options that exist today, as technology and the jobs in demand are constantly evolving.
To help students take ownership of their career journey and be curious about the opportunities available, educators can explore the resources provided by Defined Careers to help students learn about their options. Defined Careers is an online platform that offers a variety of tools and resources to help K through 12 students explore and experience career options and develop the skills needed to succeed in the future, whether in college or career. There are materials available for students in elementary, middle and high school and each has a listing of possible career choices.
Here are a few ideas for how educators can use Defined Careers to get their students excited about creating their own career paths:
1. Encourage Career Exploration
One of the best ways to get students excited about creating their own career paths is to encourage them to explore their interests and passions. Ask students about their interests and provide opportunities for students to exchange ideas with classmates. Sparking interest in career exploration happens when students have a chance to dive into their own curiosity and tap into their personal interests. When students are passionate about something, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work. Sharing resources will provide students with access to a wide range of real-world career scenarios that can help them identify their interests and passions. These resources may inspire students to think about the types of careers that would enable them to pursue their passions while also making a difference in the world. Defined Careers offers a wealth of information for all grade levels and different areas of work. It includes job descriptions, education requirements, and salary information.
To make this learning experience more engaging and build communication skills and classroom collaboration, educators can also have students create brief presentations or share what they learned about different careers. This can help students get excited about the possibilities and start to envision their own career paths.
2. Foster Career Readiness Skills
In addition to exploring different careers, students also need to develop the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce. Defined Careers offers resources to help students develop these skills through career courses. Each Career Course focuses on providing students with relevant career experiences and skills needed for a specific career. Each career course is a collection of projects that gives students hands-on learning opportunities. Teachers can supplement these materials by having students create materials they need for careers of interest such as resumes and cover letters, or preparing for an interview. Through the career clusters, students also create products of their learning that can be uploaded into their portfolio to track their growth. Students can explore to learn about the demand for specific careers.
Educators can incorporate these resources into their curriculum, either as standalone lessons or as part of larger projects. By helping students develop these skills, educators can empower them to take ownership of their career paths and feel confident in their ability to succeed.
3. Incorporate Real-World Experiences
One of the best ways to get students excited about their future careers is to give them real-world experiences. Defined Careers’ Courses offers a variety of units and career clusters that have projects and project descriptions to give students real-world learning experiences. To bring it to life even more, educators can help students to find opportunities to engage in virtual job shadowing or connect within the community to learn about industry-specific projects.
By incorporating these types of experiences into their curriculum, educators can help students see how their education is directly relevant to their future careers. This can be especially valuable for students who may not have a clear idea of what they want to do after graduation. Having a variety of options to explore within one platform is so helpful for educators looking to provide more choices for students and for students to have guided support as they learn about careers through the pathways. Exploring the work of commercial and industrial designers, a baker, a hazmat technician and other careers will spark some curiosity.
4. Encourage Students to Think Outside the Box
In order to create their own career paths, students need to be able to think outside the box. Defined Careers resources can be used to help students think creatively about their future careers. Especially for students that may be unsure about future plans, exploring these real-world tasks can be so beneficial.
For example, students can explore non-traditional career paths, such as interior designer, an artist, or a game designer, and learn about the skills and resources they will need to succeed in these types of careers. By encouraging students to think outside the box, educators can help them see the possibilities for their future careers and feel excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. Educators can also offer their own guidance by providing one-on-one meetings with students to discuss their career goals and help them create a plan for achieving those goals. By offering this kind of support, educators can help students feel more confident in their ability to navigate the constantly changing job market.
Getting students excited about creating their own career paths is essential to best prepare them for the future. Defined Careers offers a variety of resources to help educators foster career exploration, develop career readiness skills, and incorporate real-world experiences through a range of project-based learning experiences that help students develop the skills they will need to succeed. By utilizing these tools, educators can empower their students to take ownership of their future careers and feel confident in their ability to succeed.
About the Author:
Rachelle Dené is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle is also an attorney with a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. Rachelle is an ISTE Certified Educator and Community Leader and served as president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network. She was named one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers to follow in 2021.
Looking for PD for your school? I provide in-person and virtual training on the following topics. If you want to learn more about and explore AI and ChatGPT, contact me to schedule! Rdene915@gmail.com
**Interested in writing a guest blog or submitting a sponsored post for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here. Looking for a new book to read? Find these available at bit.ly/Pothbooks
This was my ninth time attending the ISTE conference, the third time it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There were a few years that the in-person event did not happen but ISTE held a virtual conference that enabled educators to connect and learn with other educators from around the world. It is the reason I look forward to the summer and a conference I look forward to because it brings in people from more than 80 countries from around the world. It offers so many different ways to learn through the poster sessions, the playgrounds, the concurrent sessions, panel discussions, workshops and other special events.
But beyond those specific learning spaces, there are lots of opportunities to connect with educators and build your PLN. It’s not just the learning that happens in those session rooms and spaces. It is about the learning that also happens on your walk to the sessions and while in the open spaces. A time when you can walk and talk or sit and have a conversation. And even once the conference day ends, the social events that happen later in the evening, are always great for connecting with friends and making new ones.
The conference was a little bit different for me this year because even though my schedule was busy it didn’t feel as overly busy as in prior years. I had the opportunity to join in some new adventures, present sessions on some of my favorite topics, and had the honor of being involved in the Closing Mainstage.
For me, as soon as I met friends at the airport, the excitement started. Then as soon as I arrived at the convention center to register on Sunday afternoon, it took a good 25 minutes to get there because I kept passing friends along the way, some of whom I had not seen in more than 5 years and a few that had never met in person. And when that happens, you have to stop and enjoy those moments.
Registration can definitely wait. Taking the time to stop, grab a quick picture, a hug, even a quick conversation makes all the difference. It brings those connections to life and reminds you to not miss out on opportunities, no matter how tired you are.
Presenting with friends
There wasn’t much time to waste as I had a workshop with my good friend Melody McAllister on Sunday. While we have done a live show for years, it was the first time presenting together officially. The focus was on podcasting and live streaming. We had a great crowd, our session was sold out and it was a high point in the conference for me. Being able to present with friends, share each other’s perspectives, and learn together, really makes a difference. For a long time, I did sessions by myself and that definitely helps me to build my own comfort level and confidence but I have definitely grown to prefer having friends present with me because we can bring in our different backgrounds and experiences and it’s just fun.
Another highlight was my Immerse Students in Learning session, all about AI, AR, and VR, topics which I have been presenting on for a little over 5 years. It has been amazing to see the increased interest in AI especially over the past 6 months with the entrance of ChatGPT, it has stirred up a lot of conversation and will continue to do so.
It’s a lot of fun to share with educators how I got started in teaching about AI in my classroom, knowing very little but also knowing that I needed to just dive right in. And that’s the advice that I often give. You don’t have to be an expert, you just need to have one idea, one method, one tool to start with and put it in the hands of the students. It’s important to also engage in conversations about these topics and these technologies so that we can be mindful of any concerns but also aware of the potential benefits not just in education but in preparing the students for their future and how these technologies might be used in the world of work.
Presenting with students
Another highlight was being able to co-present with Namya Joshi, (#EachOneTeachTen) a young student from India who we had hoped would be able to attend in person but thanks to technology and the power of using Zoom, I was able to bring her in to present with me during that session. Powerful to hear from students and I definitely recommend any time you can involve students in sharing the impact of these tools, and in this case the importance of STEM, then we need to do this. Hearing from her, (at actually 3:00 in the morning because of the time difference), did not diminish her spark for STEM and she was definitely an inspiration.
ISTEVerse
The three-day augmented and virtual reality ISTEVerse experience was a big hit and I tried to direct people to stop there as much as I could because a lot of people don’t realize the benefits of it until they experience it. And without access to the resources or know how to sort through all of the tools that are available, it can be hard to dive in and explore. That space had a variety of opportunities for people to learn about augmented and virtual reality, how to have students create rather than just consume, and that AR/VR is something that can be used in all content areas and grade levels.
Coffee with Kai’s Clan
Social events
And everybody kept busy with social events, which are great spaces for networking. Whether the Edtech karaoke, casual gatherings for coffee or small sit-down dinners, there were opportunities everywhere. Learning still happens in these spaces. What I’ve discovered over the years is that PD does not only mean sitting down in a session and listening to a presentation. PD is so many different things and there are so many ways for people to choose the type of PD that is going to impact them the most.
Those early morning CoffeeEDUs with Alice Keeler, the social events and mixers held by some of the companies that we all know, and quaint gatherings by some other companies that enable you to really engage in conversation and get to know the people behind the products and their passion for what they’re doing. An amazing dinner with the BookWidgets team was a lovely opportunity to relax, enjoy the conversation and spend time with friends.
Dinner with BookWidgets
The Closing Mainstage: AI in Education
And one final highlight as I’m rolling these out in chronological order, was the Closing Mainstage on Wednesday. I was honored to be selected as the person to introduce and then interview the keynote speaker Kevin Roose. He is a New York Times columnist, a bestselling author of three books and he writes about technology, education, finance, and AI. We had the opportunity to sit down and talk for about 20 minutes. I had a lot of questions for him but tried to streamline them to those that are on the minds of many educators that I’ve spoken to, and some questions based on what I had read in his most recent book Futureproof.
Some of the biggest takeaways from that conversation are:
As educators, we need to be willing to embrace new ideas, trends, and technologies, even if we don’t fully understand them or we feel like we’re not the expert, we have to keep up with the changes that are coming.
We have to prepare our students and understand how these tools can be beneficial to us and to students, but we also have to be cautious as with all things, and question their purpose.
Consider any potential concerns or harm that can come from using them whether safety, security, or privacy. Ethics needs to be part of the conversations that we have and continue to have as these tools continue to evolve.
If we look at the positives, for teachers, as Kevin stated on his podcast dividing the AI between the “relational and the logistical.” We need teachers, humans, for the relational so that we can work with the students, we can have conversations, and support them as they learn. But we can benefit from the logistical or the clerical tasks that AI can do like helping us with some of the grading or having it be able to see trends in student responses and create a personalized learning path for them in real time. We can use traditional assessments and give students feedback one-on-one, but we can also find a way to balance the use of the technology so that we have more time to work with our students and provide for them with exactly what they need.
It was a great conference and it’s hard to believe that it has come and gone already but before you know it, it will be June 2024 and we will be in Denver for ISTE. The last time it was held there was in 2016 and that was the first time that I got on an airplane in many years and so I’m looking forward to returning to the conference next year. If you have not ever attended but have been giving it some thought, I definitely recommend that you try to go. And if attending in person is not an option, take advantage of the virtual learning that is available. Several of my sessions were recorded and live streamed and many of the other sessions were as well. So you can join in, interact in the chat, build your network, and learn from wherever you are and whenever you want to.
Jenn Womble and Adam Phyall
Wakelet and Capstone friends
The power of these global networks is that there is something for every educator and it’s important to keep pushing ourselves to learn and grow and adapt with the changes that we have seen and will continue to see in education.
See you in Denver next June!
About the author
Rachelle Dené is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle is also an attorney with a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. Rachelle is an ISTE Certified Educator and serves as the past president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network. She was recently named one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers to follow in 2021.
Looking for PD for your school? I provide in-person and virtual training on the following topics. If you want to learn more about and explore AI and ChatGPT, contact me to schedule! Rdene915@gmail.com
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Learning as I go: Reflections & lessons learned 