Guest post by Dr. Shelly Vohra in collaboration with @ClassComposer
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a strategy geared towards students who face learning challenges. Students struggle for a variety of reasons and it’s important to understand why these students are struggling and the best way to create a learning path so that they are successful and feel good about themselves. The premise behind “interventions” is to ensure that students receive the supports they need so that the gaps in learning are not exacerbated. It is important to note, however, that “gaps” should not be seen as deficits; rather gaps are areas of growth for students and each student has their own areas of growth based on a wide range of assessments. I, personally, have an issue with the term “gaps” but that is a topic of discussion for another time. It is also important to know that RTI is not a program; it is an approach that identifies student needs based on collecting data from various sources and in a variety of ways and then identifies and applies relevant instructional strategies to develop those skills in students.
Gathering and accessing data
When it comes to data, there are many sources available for educators to learn about the needs of individual students. Being able to gather all of this information, sort through it, share it with other teachers, and develop a plan can take time. Not having a streamlined space for this makes it challenging. With Class Composer, educators have everything they need to be able to monitor student progress. The information is readily accessible to anyone, at any time. It enables all teachers to access the information they need about each individual student when they need it.
With Class Composer, it is easy to track and record student growth toward individualized goals and share this information within your PLC to best provide for all students. Simplify how you manage all the assessment data collected!
Supporting teachers to support students
As it is, one of the most important parts of the RTI process is to build a team to effectively support students who are struggling. The team should include classroom teachers, administrators, teachers who support special education students and those students who are learning English, the school psychologist, speech-language therapist, and parents. Teachers provide targeted teaching and then use formative assessment practices to determine if the intervention strategies are working.
With Class Composer, it makes it easier for teachers to have access to all this information in one space. It enables teachers to create a supportive learning community for students. These teacher-student connections lead to the development of the essential relationships that need to exist for all students to be successful. The simplified space creates a better way for teams to collaborate and access the information they need when they need it.
If they are not working, the team must decide how they will adapt and modify their instructional practices to ensure that students are indeed learning and growing. A significant aspect to keep in mind is that formative assessments inform us of what we must do to ensure student success, not what the student needs to do. In other words, how are we adjusting our practice to best support students? Assessment informs instruction; it is our responsibility to continuously revise what we are doing so that students meet the learning goals related to curriculum standards and expectations.
Even though there is no one correct way to implement RTI, it is a three-tiered approach and you can think of it as a pyramid in which each tier increases in the intensity of support. They are:
(1) whole class
(2) small group, and
(3) intensive interventions.
Some school boards call this a multi-tiered system of supports or MTSS. Although there are many benefits to this approach, I also see several problems and issues arising from the basic foundation upon which RTI and MTSS were built.
I will be discussing these issues in future blog posts as well as digging deeper into this system of support and how to best implement this framework so that all students succeed, grow, and have positive self-worth.
About the Author
Dr. Shelly Vohra is an educator, coach, and consultant. Dr. Vohra teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in Technology and Mathematics as well as working with students who are learning English. She holds an M.Ed in Adult Education & Distant Learning and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology. Dr. Vohra has over 20 years of experience in education (K-12) teaching various subject areas. Dr. Vohra has written several courses related to Indigenous Education, Multilingual Learners, and Mathematics.
Most recently, she was on a writing team that revised the Science Curriculum (K-8) for Ontario. She has presented at various conferences in Canada and the U.S.A. Dr. Vohra’s work includes designing learning experiences for students through an integrated curriculum lens that combines inquiry with equity. Her research interests include social media in education and blended learning, Dr. Vohra is currently writing a book on her journey. You can find her blog at https://techdiva29.wordpress.com/. Her website will also be launching in late Fall. You can also follow her on Twitter @raspberryberet3 and on Instagram @elevate_ed_21.
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It’s a short list, but the older I get, the longer it becomes.
Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye.”
Pearl Jam’s “Release.”
James’s “Out To Get You.”
Regardless of where I am (except in the car; I’m not a lunatic) or what’s happening in my life, there are certain songs that make me close my eyes. A reaction both genuinely involuntary and intimately purposeful. A strange, dichotomous shutting off of one sense in favor of another, telling our eyes to sit this one out while our ears do the heavy lifting.
And then there’s the goosebumps. The sensation, dubbed frisson, is triggered by a dopamine flood measuring 4-5 seconds associated with seeing, hearing, or experiencing something that triggers an emotional response. Interestingly, the brain elicits the same reaction to fear.
I like to think about it as moment recognition. My conscious decision to dim everything else in an effort to brighten the experience of a deeply personal, infinitely resonant moment in my life. But in order for it to take hold, to really matter, I have to remember that moment, often at a random, unrelated or loosely connected time.
So I do.
And it works.
Now, while I don’t walk around my school, eyes shut, meditating on moment recognition, the practice itself has made its way into my leadership. Instead of song lyrics, however, it’s small moments with kids, staff, and community.
When a kindergartener found out he would be repeating this year, he said, “it’s okay. I love kindergarten, and Mr. Kulak is my best friend.”
When I responded to a Twitter question about leadership catchphrases, a teacher chimed in that I often say, “I trust you” and don’t even realize it. Now, I do.
During the promotion, a Tatem OG, whose final child was leaving, approached me sheepishly and asked for a hug. I told her to bring it in, and she cried while we hugged.
Education, unlike any other profession, is a mosaic of these experiences. Without the predictability or isolation of other fields, we have daily opportunities to create and store these brief moments of zen. And the best part? They will always include other people.
So do it. Find small moments for which you close your eyes, literally or figuratively, and store them up. There will come a time, and it might be soon, when you want to close your eyes because of frustration or fatigue, and when you do, behind your eyelids and just within reach will be these moments of frisson.
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As a teacher in elementary school, I’m passionate about making the classroom a fun and engaging place where students can take charge of their own learning. The Learner-Centered approach puts students in the driver’s seat and encourages them to be more involved in their own education. This type of classroom is designed to fit each student’s needs, interests, and abilities.
Student-centered learning empowers students to take control of their own education by allowing them to explore topics, generate questions, and find answers on their own. This type of learning helps students develop critical thinking skills and encourages them to take an active role in their education. When students are given the freedom to direct their own learning, they are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and develop a deeper understanding of the material.
It has been demonstrated through research that a Learner-Centered Classroom can significantly enhance the motivation, engagement, and success of students. By adopting a student-focused approach, educators are able to facilitate the development of important skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-reflection in their students. With this student-centered approach, students will become more confident and empowered learners.
The implementation of seven key strategies can help the transformation of a conventional classroom into a student-driven learning environment, in which students are equipped with the skills necessary to take a lead role in their education.
Student-led discussions
I encourage my students to lead discussions in class by sharing their ideas and perspectives. I use strategies such as Think-Pair-Share or Socratic Seminar discussions to facilitate student-led conversations. During these types of discussions, students are given the opportunity to share their thoughts and engage in active listening with their peers. This type of student-led discussion promotes critical thinking and helps students develop strong communication skills.
Collaborative learning
I encourage my students to work together in small groups or pairs on projects, assignments, or activities. Collaborative learning helps students develop important skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. I use techniques such as Jigsaw or Group Concept Mapping to encourage my students to collaborate and share ideas and I use online collaboration tools such as Google Classroom or Schoology to allow my students to work together on projects from anywhere. This type of learning not only promotes social and emotional growth but also helps students understand and retain information better through shared exploration and discussion.
Choice-based learning
I believe in offering my students a range of learning options, allowing them to choose activities that interest them and align with their learning styles and passions. Choice-based learning is a student-centered approach that empowers students to take the lead in their learning. I use centers, stations, or choice boards to provide my students with a variety of options and let them choose what they want to work on. This type of learning creates a more engaging and personalized learning experience for each student and enhances student’s’ organizational skills.
Inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based learning is a student-driven approach where students are encouraged to ask questions and engage in their own investigation to increase their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. I use prompts such as “I wonder…” or “How can we find out…” to support inquiry-based learning, and provide opportunities for students to engage in hands-on activities, simulations, and experiments to support their investigations. And to make the process even more meaningful, I encourage students to keep a student inquiry journal where they can jot down all their curious questions about the world around them. This journal not only helps them keep track of their progress, but it also gives them a sense of ownership over their own learning journey.
Project-based learning
Project-based learning, a hands-on method of education where students engage in real-world projects that showcase their knowledge and skills, can lead to a deeper understanding of the material and increased engagement in the learning process. By working on challenging projects that require critical thinking, problem-solving, and application of knowledge, students can see the relevance of their education and make connections to the world around them. This approach aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it promotes active, meaningful learning and the development of skills that are essential for success in the 21st century. Examples of project-based learning activities may include creating a podcast, designing a website, or constructing a model of a historical landmark.
Self-reflection
I encourage my students to reflect on their own learning process and to think about how they can improve. This type of self-reflection helps students to understand their strengths and weaknesses and to set goals for themselves. By regularly reflecting on their own learning, students can better understand how they learn and how they can become more effective learners.I use online journaling tools such as Flip, SeeSaw, or Kidblog for students to document and reflect on their learning experiences.
In-class projects
I assign in-class projects that allow my students to apply the concepts and skills they have learned in class in a hands-on and engaging way. These projects can involve independent or group work and can be used to reinforce the material covered in class. For example, a student might create a poster or model to demonstrate their understanding of a particular subject. In-class projects give students the opportunity to be creative and to showcase their learning in a tangible way. This type of project also helps students to develop important skills such as research, collaboration, and presentation skills.
Imagine being in a classroom where the focus is on you and your learning journey. It’s all about empowering students to make the most of their education, and helping them understand the importance of what they’re learning. That’s what makes a Learner-Centered Classroom so special. A learning space for students to actively participate and be engaged is key to inspiring students and sparking a lifelong love for learning.
Kellie Bahri is an experienced instructional specialist, teacher, and children’s book author. With over a decade of experience in education, she has successfully implemented innovative instructional strategies resulting in improved student performance and engagement. As Elementary Teacher of the Year for 2020-2022, her dedication to education and creative teaching methods are highly regarded. Kellie also uses her writing talent to inspire a love of learning in young readers through her children’s book. Her goal is to make a positive impact on children’s lives and help them reach their full potential.
About the Author
Kellie Bahri is an experienced instructional specialist, teacher, and children’s book author. With over a decade of experience in education, she has successfully implemented innovative instructional strategies resulting in improved student performance and engagement. As Elementary Teacher of the Year for 2020-2022, her dedication to education and creative teaching methods are highly regarded. Kellie also uses her writing talent to inspire a love of learning in young readers through her children’s book. Her goal is to make a positive impact on children’s lives and help them reach their full potential.
**Interested in writing a guest blog 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
************ Also check out my THRIVEinEDU PodcastHere!
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I beat Colin Kaepernick to the knee by a cool twenty-six years.
Before the former 49ers quarterback literally took a knee during the national anthem to raise awareness about police brutality and social injustice, I had already begun the practice, albeit for a far less political purpose.
As a waiter at a local Pizza Hut, I started the unorthodox practice of taking a knee when I took orders. Regardless of who was in front of me, I just thought it was easier, and more comfortable, to take a knee and write the orders on my pad while leaning against the table. For me, it was about ergonomics because standing and writing were awkward, and because I have terrible handwriting, I needed to lean on something to ensure I would be able to understand what I wrote minutes later.
At one point, my boss called me over and asked why I took a knee. I explained, and he just looked at me and said, “But it looks weird. I’d rather you stand up.”
Now, at 19, I wasn’t about to make a stink. He was my boss, and I needed the part-time job. Still, as I look back on it, what difference did it make? I would argue my customers appreciated me meeting them on their level instead of making them look up at me like some deranged, pizza-wielding, megalomaniac.
A few years later, as I started my teaching career, I took a knee all the time. When I would stop by a student’s desk to offer feedback, redirect, or check in, I would take a knee. Now, in year twenty-four, I still find myself on bent knee, despite one of them being ravaged by arthritis and a torn meniscus, and I make sure to start on day one.
Whenever I meet our new kindergarteners during summer meet-and-greets, I always take a knee when I offer my hand to introduce myself. The action has become as involuntary as a sneeze; the reaction from kids invariably features disarmed smiles and enthusiastic high-fives.
As conversations in education continue to focus on equity and access, we need to be mindful that our students first associate equity with their access to us. Providing a model of those two complex concepts ensures kids can see and feel each Immediately.
But it’s much more powerful than that when you consider that children are forced to look up to grown ups as a matter of course, their little necks perpetually craned to get our attention. Taking a knee flips that script in such a way that balances power, something children experience rarely.
Ultimately, we are all just grown-up versions of the children who once had to look up to people all day. Some of us still do. But no one should have to.
**Interested in writing a guest blog 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
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As educators, we need to make more time for self-care. In order to bring our best selves to our classrooms and our schools, we must make time for our needs each day. Over the holiday breaks, making time to do some normal things like catching up with family and friends, and sleep in late, are good ways to recharge over the summer break.
When we have these breaks, it is easy to get into a new daily routine, finding time for all of the things that we wanted to do but couldn’t fit into our schedules throughout the year. It may take a few days to adjust, but I find that in a short amount of time, I am well into my winter break routine of catching up on some work and enjoying the extra time with family. The days are still filled but on a more relaxed schedule. Many take advantage of the extra time and lack of a set schedule to engage in personal and professional development. Whether it is a time to travel with family and friends or something more professional like attending conferences or taking a class, we all find ways to fill all of that extra time. We get used to a new routine, and likely feel pretty good about our improvement and feel some balance until August arrives and educators return to their classrooms, hopefully, recharged and excited for the new school year.
This has been a challenging year and educators can quickly become burnt out trying to prepare everything and keep up with the changes. We can struggle with finding balance and making time to keep up our personal and professional growth during the school year . So how can we still do ‘all the things’ and stay balanced and find enough time for ourselves?
Here are ten ways to add in more time for you and to be more productive each day:
Connect. We are surrounded by so many people each day in the midst of thousands of interactions. But how many of those interactions are truly meaningful and give us the needed time to pause, lean in and really listen? Are we able to connect with family, friends, students, and Professional Learning Networks (PLN)? Find a way to connect every day. Make time for family first. Share a meal together, go for ice cream, take a walk, watch TV, or play a game. Family time is critical; remember to make time for your ‘school family,’ too. Whether it’s by greeting students at the door, spending time in the hallways or the teachers’ lounge, or using social media to connect through messaging, make time for those moments. Find at least one person to connect with each day. It helps to keep us grounded and gives us access to a constant support system.
Have a routine. Sometimes it comes down to just having a little bit of consistency in each day. Maybe this means setting aside a specific time to read in the morning, listen to music, respond to emails, or simply reviewing your schedule for the day. Personally, I find that having these activities during the day is one way to keep myself in balance. Knowing what my day holds or starting each day with a certain task like reading a blog keeps me accountable for taking time for myself.
Choose one. There are so many choices we have for activities that are worthwhile for our mental and physical well-being. Our days become quite full, and the worst thing we can do is overwhelm ourselves by trying to do everything. Some good advice I received from a friend is to simply choose one thing. Get outside and walk, meet up with family and friends, whether once a week or as often as your schedule allows. Try to pick one activity per day that will be good for your well being.
Disconnect. We all stay connected by a variety of devices. Technology is amazing because it enables us to communicate, collaborate and access information whenever we need to. However, it disconnects us from personal connections, takes away a lot of our time, and can decrease our productivity. It’s beneficial for us to make time to truly disconnect. Whether you leave your device at home during a vacation or simply mute notifications for a period of time during the day, it’s important to take a break. Pause to reflect, and be fully present with family and friends. Personally, I struggle in this area but have been more intentional about taking a break from technology.
Exercise and movement. Think about the students in our classrooms and the learning experiences we create for them. Do we have them stay seated in rows each day or are there opportunities to move and be active? Finding time for exercise and movement is important to our well-being. Go for a walk, have a dance party, or use an on-demand or online exercise program. Get up and moving with your students, and take learning outside whenever you can. Exercise has so many benefits that even setting aside 10 minutes a day is a great way to boost energy and mental wellness. Invite a friend or colleague to join you and hold each other accountable.
Time to rest. Just like exercise, it’s also important to get enough rest. How many times do educators stay up late grading papers or writing lesson plans, and get up extra early to prepare for the day? We can’t bring our best selves to our classroom if we are tired. Lack of sleep and quality rest will negatively impact our mental and physical health. Our students and colleagues will notice our lack of energy and possibly even mental clarity, so we need to ensure time for sleep to receive the positive benefits!
Reflection. It is important that we model lifelong learning and the development of self-awareness and metacognition for our students. This involves setting aside a period of time where we reflect on our day, the progress we made, the challenges we faced, and even epic fails that we might have experienced. Finding a way to capture these reflections whether in a blog or journal or using an audio recording to listen to later, are all great ways to track our progress. Then we can revisit our reflections and ask ourselves, “Am I a little bit better today than I was yesterday?”
Learning. Education is changing every day. There are new topics, trends, and tools that make keeping up with everything tough. There are so many ways that we can learn today that don’t take up too much time, however. While traditional professional development training and in-person sessions are useful—especially for the opportunity to connect with other people—the reality is that carving out availability to do this on a regular basis is a challenge. Instead, find something that meets your schedule. Whether it’s listening to a podcast or participating in a Twitter chat once or twice a week, watching a webinar, reading a few blog posts, or joining a group on Voxer to discuss what’s on your mind and ask questions about education. There are many ways to learn on the go!
Celebrate. Make time every day to celebrate something. Whether it’s a positive event in one of your classes, something one of your students did, recognizing a colleague, validating your own efforts or just a random celebration, focusing on the positives will impact your well-being in the long run. No matter how big or small, the steps toward success and achieving goals and even some mistakes should be embraced and even celebrated. Modeling a celebration of the learning process, especially from failures, sends a positive message and is a good model for students.
The power of no. It’s amazing how difficult it can be to say no. Educators are often asked or volunteer to assume additional responsibilities like sponsoring a club, joining a committee, chaperoning an event, or participating in other school events. There are so many things that comprise our role as educators and with our passion for teaching, it can be difficult to say no, especially when it comes to education and our students. But as hard as it is, sometimes it’s the best choice. Think about what is most important to you and the limited time that you have. I focus on why and how my participation or acceptance of whatever it is can benefit my students and the school community. Saying no is tough, but it is more than reasonable to say no sometimes. We have to do what is best for ourselves, so we can do what is best for our students.
These are just a few ways I’ve tried to maintain more balance and be more effective and productive in my work. We have to start each day with a focus on self-care, because that is how we can make sure that we are bringing our best selves into our classrooms, into our schools, and home to our families each day.
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Looking for a new book to read? Many stories from educators, two student chapters, and a student-designed cover for In Other Words.
Guest post by Lee Ann Raikes, @mastereducator @MRS.RAIKES/MES
Teaching is difficult. Studies have shown that some teachers have taken on symptoms of PTSD because they become so engrossed in each of their students’ lives. If you are human, it is bound to happen. One of the reasons I chose to pursue this profession was to inspire and empower our future generations to be bold enough to follow their passions regardless of any obstacles that stand in the way. Easier said than done when most of our students come to us with some form of past trauma that can hinder their desire to learn and grow both as an individual and a student. The students who need us the most are the ones who never miss a day of school and the students who challenge us the most. While I still struggle some days in finding a way to maneuver through the behaviors my students may present, I have found ways to make my life, as well as my students’ lives, in and out of the classroom more bearable.
I am a huge proponent of whole child education and realizing the importance of building relationships with my students. I am also a very passionate and emotional human being. I made myself physically and mentally ill because I could not find a way to help the most challenging students understand their potential. They would fight me every step of the way. The harder I tried to support them, their behaviors would escalate. After many conversations and battles, it all became so clear. These students were so afraid that I would let them down and give up on them, as so many others have. An epiphany of sorts, but that didn’t make my job at hand any more comfortable. Sadly, there were days I wanted to give up. I knew I couldn’t go on this way, so I began researching what I could do to transform learning in the classroom and improve my mental state. I am known as a very energetic, happy, and positive individual. My students feel comfortable in my classroom and know they can come to be at any time, but I knew I needed to find strategies that would better prepare me for dealing with obstacles that would impede learning and growth over the school year.
Like it or not, I, as the adult in the room, set the tone. It all begins with a mindset. If I am saying to myself I am going to have an awful day, then I will. If I hold preconceived notions about my students, that is a disservice to them. I would sabotage my day the moment I woke up by putting thoughts in my head that possibly weren’t even going to occur. Not only was this unfair to myself, but my students as well. I would engage in negative self-talk, which led to having a terrible day. I would think during my first period about a student I wouldn’t see until 4th period and how awful he was going to be. When he would enter the classroom, and he was having a great day, I already had it in my mind he was going to misbehave, so I would react negatively instead of correctly praising him for engaging appropriately. How wrong is that? Trust me, students felt any vibes I was putting out there, whether positive or negative. If I wanted to continue to grow as an educator and connect with my struggling students, I had to change.
For about two years now, I have followed the strategies of a growth mindset, the power of positive self-talk, and writing daily affirmations. I have brought these strategies into my classroom as well. My 7th graders had no idea that challenges grow the brain. They didn’t realize that the more they said they hated math, the harder it would be for them. They felt they were labeled by grades or the services they received; therefore, they wouldn’t give their best efforts. By visualizing where they wanted to go, it made the process of achieving their goals more bearable. Now, we as a community of learners catch ourselves before letting negative words or thoughts come off our lips or enter our minds. Just by teaching the students about the brain and the power of a positive attitude and mindset, I have seen substantial growth in my students academically and as humans. Yes, I prepare my students for meeting academic goals, but more importantly, I want to prepare them for life. Life is hard, but understanding positive thinking’s benefits and power can make difficulties easier to handle.
Reflecting is a powerful tool. I knew I could do better and find ways to deal with the teaching profession’s emotional aspects. Ask yourself, are you sabotaging your day? Do you hinder your relationship with your students or colleagues based on preconceived notions? Do you limit yourself based on negative thinking or a bad attitude? It matters! I challenge you to wake up each morning and start the day with positive self-talk and carry that into the world. You will find a sense of inner peace, and the negativity you encounter won’t consume you. Research has shown that people who are positive thinkers add years to their lives. We are what we say we are. Who are you choosing to be?
I want you to think about the last time you watched a movie where the main character looked like you, lived in a community like yours, or came from a similar background/culture. How often do you come across stories or texts where one or more of these characteristics are present? For some, the answers to these questions are that it happens all the time. For others, the answer may be rarely, if ever. Now imagine that you are a student in a school where the history that you learn is not the history of the culture that your family comes from, the scientists and mathematicians that you learn about don’t look like you or come from similar backgrounds, the literature that you read, music you hear in band, or sports that you play in PE don’t reflect your experiences or heritage. How do you think this would make you feel? This is a reality for many students that walk our halls and form our school community and this is why culturally responsive teaching is so important!
Culturally responsive teaching validates and affirms the culture of students in our schools/classrooms and incorporates that culture in meaningful ways in both the learning and the environment. It’s not enough to simply make mention of a race or culture or to change the names in a word problem so that they’re “ethnically diverse”, CRT is about leveraging and growing students’ existing funds of knowledge by connecting to diverse personal experiences. The following examples are simple ways to develop culturally responsive environments in your classroom:
Connect learning to background knowledge – Take the time to learn more about your students’ homes, community, and interests. Parent & family surveys are a perfect way to learn about your students and their backgrounds. Think about providing the survey in multiple languages and in multiple formats so that it is accessible in multiple formats. Once you have this information, USE IT! Don’t just file it away in their student folder…incorporate these gems into the learning environment.
Create a library of non-fiction texts that focus on student interests and make them available in different languages that represent the home languages of your students.
Create a “Netflix” playlist full of documentaries showcasing diverse people, cultures, and countries, historical events from around the world, nature shows that highlight plants, animals, and natural phenomenon in different continents.
Bring the community into the classroom – connect social studies concepts to neighborhood events and/or landmarks, explore science concepts taking place in their backyards or local parks, engage in learning walks to identify geometric shapes in architecture.
Play music during transition periods that reflects students’ heritage or favorite genres.
Encourage cognitive routines that foster critical conversations- Ask students to think critically about the relationships and connections between concepts or phenomenon.
Have your students engage in word play that’s both cognitively demanding yet fun. Taboo and Scrabble are great ways to build vocabulary about concepts students are learning while simultaneously repositioning the student as a leader in the learning by developing student agency. You may choose to have students do this by sharing the vocabulary terms in different languages, by having them define the term used in their own words, or by connecting the terms to something that they have experienced in their life.
Engage students in literature analysis by comparing the central idea of traditional texts in ELA and Social Studies to popular music and poetry (there is a library of songs as well as other resources that can support this type of learning at Get Free Hip Hop Civics Ed).
Provide texts that share diverse viewpoints and experiences to spur discussion about socially relevant topics that effect our community. These texts should provide avenues for students to think critically about current and past events in a classroom environment that provides a safe forum to share sensitive and thought-provoking concepts.
A critically important aspect of culturally responsive teaching is that these experiences, methods, and strategies do not become a single activity that you check off a to-do list once a trimester…these practices should become routine and be practiced over and over again throughout the school year and across the campus. A culturally responsive environment acknowledges that everyone brings something to the learning table and that everyone’s voice and experiences are incredibly valuable.
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**Interested in writing a guest blog for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here.
Looking for a new book to read? Many stories from educators, two student chapters, and a student-designed cover for In Other Words.
Inclusive feedback for learning is like a flower. A flower is both fragile and resilient. To thrive it needs good conditions, such as good soil.
Who is the learner in the feedback process? It is the student. But it is also the teacher. Both students and teachers can thrive with inclusive feedback for learning.
The roots
The roots of the feedback flower are the inclusive principles and values that underpin inclusive feedback practices such as:
Accessible
Dialogic
Iterative
Respectful
Timely
Personalised
Developmental
The Petals
To be multidimensional, feedback should come from a variety of sources. In the flower analogy, these are the four petals which form the 360° wide-angle view.
Self
Inner feedback is very valuable to develop self-efficacy. We ‘talk to ourselves’ about our learning, during the learning experience as well as once it is completed. If we journal or blog – articulating our inner feedback – our ongoing inner narrative becomes more explicit and is more easily shareable.
Others
This is to enhance peer-learning. For students ‘others’ can be fellow students; for teachers, these can be colleagues and the students themselves.
Top-down
For students, this is feedback from teachers and other educators such as librarians. For teachers this is feedback from line-managers, principals or anyone ‘above’ them in their institution.
Research/literature
For the students, this the body of research of the discipline that they are studying: learning what the ‘experts’ in the field say – and discovering the present boundaries of the discipline – helps the students situate themselves within their field of study.
For teachers, engaging with current educational literature (generic or subject specific) provides indirect feedback on their own professional practice and expands their pedagogical horizon.
The Leaves
How, in practice, can we educators receive and give this type of inclusive feedback?
One very effective way in which the feedback flower can thrive, fed by inclusivity values, is through the use of journaling, storying and blogs (one of the leaves at the base of the flower). This applies to all disciplines.
Learning feedback activities such as these promote pausing and reflecting; they constitute a personal, safe space; they are context rich; they help learners re-focus, articulate and share their learning experience.
Journaling can effectively be integrated into the course. Teachers can plan a dedicated journaling time towards the end of every lesson: everyone is invited to blog or journal for about 15 minutes. Each student’s inner feedback written in the form of blog/journal can then be shared, discussed and used for ‘comparative’ learning. It can be used for formative and summative assessment submissions; it can also be part of an ongoing, life-long learning portfolio. And it constitutes very rich feedback for the teachers.
To build trust and truly model a learning mind-set, teachers should also journal at that same time: to articulate, record and share their inner feedback on the lesson, the cohort, their own learning, successes or missed opportunities in the learning that just took place. This enhances teachers’ feedback literacies.
The pandemic has accelerated and emphasised the need to review assessment and feedback processes. Teachers must design learning experiences that enable and enhance feedback literacies through inclusive, learner-driven processes. Feedback literacies are situated. The emphasis is now on engaging and learning from feedback – rather than simply about teachers giving ‘good’ feedback. For all these reasons, storying, journaling and blogging are powerful, effective ways to encourage 360° inclusive feedback for learning.
Baughan, P., (2020) On Your Marks: Learner-Focused Feedback Practices and Feedback Literacy. [ebook] AdvanceHE. Available at: click here [Accessed 17 September 2020]
Nicol, D. (2019). Reconceptualising feedback as an internal not an external process. Italian Journal of Educational research, 71-84. Available at: click here [Accessed 17 September 2020]
Winstone, N. and Careless, D. (2019) Designing effective feedback processes in Higher Education, London: Routledge
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Looking for a new book to read? Many stories from educators, two student chapters, and a student-designed cover for In Other Words.
Earlier this school year, I thought about how I could be more consistent in my classroom. When I say classroom, I mean all aspects of where I engage in my work and not simply my physical classroom space. Some areas that I wanted to focus on were the building of relationships, making better and more consistent connections with families, and designing a comfortable and welcoming classroom space for my students.
I think about each of these, I see them as “spaces” where we interact and exist together. I recognize that as educators, there are a lot of different spaces that we need to create and stay connected within. Being able to find the best ways to stay engaged in each of these spaces is important, especially with busy schedules and demands of the work that we do. Having the benefit of digital tools that can assist us also makes it easier to provide more for our students and their families, both in and out of our classroom space. So what are the spaces that educators need to create and engage in?
A Professional Learning Space
For educators, it is important that we really look at our professional learning space differently today than we may have in the past. For myself, having been an educator for many years, I did spend the first 15 years of my career mostly in isolation. While I engaged in opportunities for professional development within my school or attended a local conference periodically, those were the only types of professional learning spaces that existed for me—because I limited myself. What is worse, is that I also placed limits on my students by not putting myself out there to connect, to learn new ideas and methods to bring back to my classroom. Years ago, finding learning spaces and making time to engage in them was more time consuming with fewer choices available. Today, we have access to so many different and more accessible professional learning spaces. We can find something that meets our interests and our needs especially when it comes to time and place. What are some options?
ISTE offers Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) focused on specific topics related to technology and roles in education. It is a great space to become connected and to share ideas and connect classrooms.
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professional connections and professional learning. Educators are using LinkedIn to connect, gather resources and even help students develop their professional identities in this space.
Twitter offers many ways for educators to connect and learn via Twitter chats happening on a daily basis, and by following specific hashtags related to education. It is a great space to ask questions, to crowdsource ideas and to build a PLN.
Voxer is a walkie-talkie messaging app that promotes instant conversation with people from all around the world. Educators use Voxer for creating small groups for a PLC, having a space to share ideas and collaborate with educators from around the world, and even for participating in book studies and virtual learning events.
A Classroom Space, Both Physical and Virtual
The look of classrooms and learning today is so different from what it was when I was a student and quite different than even five years ago. We have the potential to learn from anywhere around the world and at a time that meets our needs. We truly have the capability to provide more for our students than we’ve ever been able to before. Through the use of digital tools and purposefully leveraging technology, we can provide the support our students need exactly when they need it. The world becomes our classroom when we include some of these tools and ideas in our practice.
The physical space can look quite different when we use station rotations in our classrooms, provide more flexible learning spaces for students to learn in, and also connect our students with learning that happens in our school community. We redefine the “space” of the classroom and can provide something to meet every student’s interests and needs. We can also explore different digital tools that help us create a more accessible connection with our students and provide ongoing support when they need it. Here are some of the tools that we have used to stay connected in our learning space.
Edmodo is a digital space for students and teachers to interact in a safe learning network. It provides access to resources, has helped us facilitate global collaboration and build digital citizenship skills.
Padlet allows us to create a wall of discussion and share audio, video, music, photos and text. It has helped us to connect with classrooms from around the world in real-time interactions.
Flipgrid is great for extending classroom discussions and providing students with a comfortable way to express their thoughts through video responses. Students build comfort that transfers into the physical classroom space by being able to connect with their peers in the digital space.
Kidblog provides many ways for students to build literacy and digital citizenship skills, as well as create their online presence. It promotes class discussion and collaboration and gives students a space to share their ideas and track their personal growth in the process.
A Space for Promoting Student and Family Engagement
Being able to connect with the families of our students is critically important. In order to provide the best for our students, we need to make sure that we are building and fostering true family engagement. To do so, we must rely on the traditional methods we have used such as exchanging emails, making phone calls home or holding meetings in the school, but now we have access to doing even more. Being able to bring families in to see and experience what learning looks like for their students, to share in the learning that happens in the classroom or to participate in a student’s in-class presentation is possible through digital spaces we set up. Events held at schools such as Open Houses, or STEAM showcase events, for example, are great for showing families the amazing things happening in our schools. However, not all families can participate due to time constraints which is why having digital tools available that enable us to share these events can make a difference.
Remind is helpful for messaging and sharing photos and files with families to include them in the school events.
ParentSquare facilitates better communication and collaboration and helps to build a solid connection between the home and the school community.
Buncee is a multimedia presentation tool that can be used to design a class newsletter with audio and video, or for students to share their work with families and include it in a Buncee presentation. Using a tool like this is helpful for families that cannot attend events such as Open House.
Seesaw is a platform that enables teachers to share what is happening in the classroom with parents. Teachers can record and directly share each child’s progress.
These are just some of the spaces that we need to consider as educators today. There are many options available for creating these spaces and the best part is that we can find something to meet the needs of our students, their families and ourselves.
**Interested in writing a guest blog for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here.
Looking for a new book to read? Many stories from educators, two student chapters, and a student-designed cover for In Other Words.
This is hard. I was very tempted to have that be my entire post as that is how so many people, including me, are feeling these days. I am always very solution focussed and generally very positive. That hasn’t changed, but I am trying to adjust how I approach solutions and celebrations. I am trying to listen to more, acknowledge that this is hard, recognize amazing work frequently, encourage everyone to take several deep breaths, and then offer as much support as I can to help. I have also been reaching out for help from my incredible support system. I need it. This is hard for everyone.
Our community has been asking questions about how we are supporting the mental health of our students right now. It’s a question we should be asking every day all year long whether we are in a pandemic or not, but this time has undoubtedly brought the concern to the forefront more than ever. As I compiled the list of what our team has done over the last several years to support learners’ mental health, it was staggering to see how much we have added and embedded across contexts. We have added licensed therapists to each school site that see learners through their insurance and help families who don’t have access to insurance apply for it. Some of those therapists also co-teach in classrooms and have office hours for staff so they can problem solve how to best help learners. We have classroom teachers all over our district embedding social-emotional learning lessons and Mindfulness into daily instruction. Our teachers spend a lot of time building relationships with our learners and offering them opportunities to build relationships with one another. We have a school counselor, social worker, and/or a school psychologist at each school to work with staff, learners, and families. We have Hope Squads at all our secondary schools so our learners have peer to peer support.
Our professional development has also included training over the last several years in understanding trauma, culturally responsive practices, restorative practices, empathy and design thinking to solve problems, Zones of Regulation, Universal Design for Learning, innovative classroom practices, and many more. The idea is that staff members (including teachers, administrators, secretaries, assistants, recreation staff, facilities, and food service) have a wide array of tools to use in our schools to understand and empower all learners. They often get to choose sessions that are important to them or suggest topics on which they would like professional development as we want all staff to feel empowered in their work. We have also tried to build a lot of support for our staff through coaching as they need to feel our support to make it all work.
Now, we are trying to make education work in the middle of a pandemic. Our learners are all virtual right now. We are anxious to see them back in school and were optimistic a few weeks ago that we could start bringing them back a few days a week until our health metrics took a turn for the worse. We meet regularly with our local health department to discuss safety and are furiously planning safety measures and logistics for the time when we bring our learners back into physical schools. In the meantime, our recreation department has opened camps for elementary students and students with special needs that families who need care and/or support with virtual instruction can access. The camps can be kept small and can spread out across large spaces while providing a needed resource for some of our families in the safest way possible.
Our teachers are more stressed than normal. Our families are more stressed than normal. Our learners are more stressed than normal. Our administrators and coaches are more stressed than normal. Everyone is feeling disconnected from one another. The unpredictability of the current situation is overwhelming for all of us. The length of time this has gone on with no foreseeable end in sight is making it even more challenging. We are also headed into the cold and flu season with the weather getting colder, which means fewer opportunities to be outside. We have all had to adapt and do it quickly. It can be done, but this is hard. It is okay to say that out loud and recognize it.
I am really proud of the work we have done to shift the learner experience over the last several years, which is serving us well in virtual instruction. It does not make this less stressful on our team, but many of them have been adapting and shifting for years so they have tools to do it. We have been very purposeful in finding ways to meet teachers and administrators where they are and encourage them to make small steps that add up to big ones. As a district leadership team, we have tried to share the message that we are here to support our schools in any way we can to empower our learners to be ready to live life on their own terms when they graduate from our system. We are now forced to make shifts at warp speed and shift more frequently than we would ever normally ask people to do. It means instead of just support to grow as professionals; we had to start thinking creatively about how to take some things off their plates.
Our teachers have the option to teach from home or school during virtual instruction as we trust them to know what is best for them. We have built more planning time into the day at each level and shifted our professional development days to be planning and self-directed time for teachers. Purposeful professional development with choice for teachers is still a key element of our strategic plan, but that needs to look different right now. Instead of planning required sessions for all staff to attend, we shifted to self-paced courses that teachers could choose from and complete at their own pace and time. They could also choose not to select one at this time if they didn’t feel it was something they could take on. We will circle back to those staff later and build professional development support for them when they are ready for it and as they need it throughout the year.
We have encouraged our administrators to give our teachers permission to engage learners differently and focus on their interests. Academic content is an essential part of our work, but we can spend more time connecting and embed content as we go. In a collaboration session during emergency remote teaching last spring, a staff member shared how a learner went to work with his dad each day and spent a huge portion of one day on Facetime with his teacher showing her his community and what he had learned about his dad’s job. Others in that same session shared similar stories apologizing that they weren’t doing anything “academic”. My response was that what they were doing was building a sense of belonging and an academic mindset, which IS essential to academics and life success. We worked all summer to be ready for virtual instruction that was more robust than what we were able to do in emergency remote teaching last spring, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be focused on the whole child and embed time to connect as people. Teachers can find a balance synchronous time with some asynchronous time to meet the needs of learners. They can use choice boards, complete planned activities, write reflections, or work on long-term projects during the time they are asynchronous. They know their families and learners best, and we trust them to make the right decisions on finding balance.
We always want to hear feedback from our learners, staff, and community as it allows us to know what we are doing well and where we need to improve. We have sent out an employee engagement and parent satisfaction survey twice a year and learners complete a social-emotional learning survey so we can gauge how they are feeling about the development of their own skills in self-regulation, social awareness, classroom effort, growth mindset, and curiosity for the last several years. This year, we had the opportunity to offer different surveys that were much shorter for staff and families. While we still needed their feedback, we also needed a quick and easy survey for them to complete that gave us fast results so we can adjust resources and support. We added a wellness survey for our learners and do empathy interviews to ask them directly about how they are doing, if they are connected to adults and peers for support, and what they need to feel successful.
We have encouraged our principals to think about a shift in teacher evaluation as well. Our teacher evaluation process is intended to be one of self-reflection wherein the teacher sets a student learning objective for the year and a professional practice goal. The observations should be an opportunity to collect evidence towards those goals with time to check-in with the teacher to help them celebrate success and adjust the goals throughout the year. We have not always approached teacher evaluation that way but have been trying to move to a more reflective process over the last year. We get to take this unusual year to accelerate that process so observations can be done in short one-on-one meetings during which teachers can share the evidence they have collected about their own their own practice to share with us. We want to take the pressure off the formal nature of teacher observation but still get at the intent of the cycle of self-directed, continuous improvement in a way that also gives us more time to connect individually with each staff member. We have some schools trying this out in the next couple of weeks. I am anxious to hear how it goes and to find out if the change alleviates some stress for administrators and teachers.
Our teachers also had the opportunity to meet as grade levels and departments before school started to share ideas and create lists of resources they thought they would need to make this all work. We have ordered thousands of whiteboards, music kits, art kits, sensory tools, apps, and online subscriptions. We want our learners to have access to instructional materials in addition to technology and hotspots at home. We trade reading books and give out learning kits once a month in a drive-up system at most of our schools. We also added many supplies to schools as students won’t be able to share materials with one another as easily in classrooms once we are back. We’ve added some new and adaptive resources for teachers that all still align with our strategic plan but make the work more doable in a virtual or distance learning. Teachers continue to send us requests regularly as they plan engaging activities to do at home in the next few weeks. Sometimes the requests make me wonder what will come next, but mostly they make me excited that our learners are still having interactive, hands-on opportunities in our virtual world.
This is hard. Saying so doesn’t make it any easier, but it does create space for us to rely on each other to get through it. I want all our staff, learners, and families to know that we see them. We see the efforts they are putting in each hour of the day. We see that they sometimes need us to support them in new and different ways. We see that they may feel overwhelmed by the world right now and sometimes need some space to feel that. We see that we need to find even more ways to connect and listen to them. Mostly we see that they are all doing the best they can each day, despite everything that is thrown at them, to always keep what is best for children at the forefront. I love this quote by Todd Whitaker, “The best thing about being a teacher is that it matters. The hardest thing about being a teacher is that it matters every day.” Not only does teaching matter, but the people who do it each day matter too.
I am a proud mother, wife, and educator dedicated to creating experiences for all learners that are authentic and connect their time in school to what and who they want to be well beyond high school. I serve as the Director of Leadership and Learning for the West Allis- West Milwaukee School District in West Allis, WI. The thoughts I share here are my own and my reflections on our work. View all posts by Deidreroemer
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**Interested in writing a guest blog for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here.
Looking for a new book to read? Many stories from educators, two student chapters, and a student-designed cover for In Other Words.
Learning as I go: Experiences, reflections, lessons learned 