Back to School 2019: Teacher of the Year

Being a recognized local, state, or national Teacher of the Year is a distinguished honor. That being said, just about all of us (except my VT TOY sister @SusanKochVT!) won’t be selected as Teacher of the Year, but I recently saw this tweet from @tattedteacher that sparked this blog post:

A-ha! We are each and all the teachers of the year for the students we work with.  We are their teacher of the year.  One thing I love about this shift in mindset is that it focuses on what’s ahead. It’s not about recognizing accomplishments or awarding service. It’s about creating culture and building relationships. 

August Anxiety😬

When setting up and decorating the still-clean classroom, or selecting our best day-1 outfit, we get the same nervous excitement about our first day of school, but it can be easy to lose sight of their first day.  Houdini is often credited with saying that a magician is merely an actor playing the part of a magician. We all know that this couldn’t be further from the truth in education, but we have all seen or worked with teachers who have fallen into that similar trap, spending lots of energy, time, attention, and money to set the scene, when setting the tone might be the higher priority. 🎩

👔Learning Unleashed

I’ve been known to say to my tie-wearing colleagues, “nice leash,” just to bust their chops, but there is actually something to it. We all like to look professional, but I have yet to find a student who takes me more seriously or connects more deeply when I’m dressed to the nines. To stretch the concept further, losing the tie brings about learning unleashed. It also implies a potential energy waiting to burst. De-prioritizing the costume of a teacher and the Pinterest-worthy decorations begins to answer the question, are you more interested in being the teacher or being their teacher?

It’s not the outfits, marker boxes, devices, or even the curriculum that sets the tone and starts to create the culture of a classroom.  It’s the experiences that frame learning and opportunities to apply understanding that bring learning to life, and it’s no different for an 9 year old than it is for an 19 year old. 

👩🏼‍🎓In gearing up for the new school year (and new school!), I’m also dropping my daughter for her first year at college. Similar to her older brother, I found some wise advise through the search process. In visiting her school of choice for the first time, the President of Roger Willams Univ. presented the results of a recent Gallup poll of 30,000 recent high school graduates that asked what they were looking for in their college search. Again, the ideas and wishes for learning aren’t all that varied between 9 and 19 year-olds. 

👨🏻‍🏫👩🏼‍🏫 Professors Who Make a Difference

Students are inspired and engaged by educators who demonstrate personal connection, investment and visible passion for their craft. This holds true for just about every teacher I've met too.  We are all inspired by our colleagues and mentors who influence and impact the lives of those around them.

🖐 Hands on Practice

Students need authentic opportunities to apply thinking. This includes opportunities to fail, build and rebuild understanding, whether its digital tools, physical models, or writers’ journals. Demonstrating learning can’t be a once-and-done showcase or line-item checklist. 

🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏻‍♀️Mentors on Campus

Learners look to each other, and all students benefit from peer relationships that model academic, social, and emotional health. I’m moving to a k-5 building and I can’t wait to involve 5th graders as mentors for younger learners, particularly when in comes to digital citizenship. They carry a credibility that no grown-up can match when it comes to sharing safe practices, online behaviors, and responsible use. 

Campus Involvement 

Students need to feel purposeful and valued. When we provide authentic purposes for engagement and involvement, engagement happens at a new level. 

-engagement, purpose, inclusion

🕵🏽‍♀️👩🏻‍🌾👨‍🍳👨🏻‍💻👨🏾‍🎨👩‍🔬Internship Experiences

While we may not have the same types of internship opportunities as higher ed folks, we can design experiences for students to apply and extend learning beyond their classroom walls. Whether it’s being a resource online for another class, blogging for their class or school, or being part of a “student help-desk” for IT expert help, we can begin to engineer experiences with real audiences, real recipients, and real reasons to...

Preparation for Life After Graduation

We may not be sending our kids right out to the workforce, but that doesn’t stop every student from approaching the end of each school year with bittersweet butterflies about what’s next and their preparedness for next classes, grades or schools. Students hunger for an understanding of what’s next and how the skills and understanding we hope to build serve to support a spiraling structure that counties to climb. 

The hopes and dreams of learning are ageless. We all want to experience the joy of discovery, a sense of purpose, and opportunities to make our mark in the world. This is our gift, to make these hopes and dreams come true in our learning spaces. You are the teacher of the year: their teacher of the year!

Be Edventurous: Choose a Curriculum of Courage

💡Curiosity + 🚀Courage + 📚Curriculum = Edventure

✨Creation + 🚧Curation = 🗺 Treasure Map

"Be Bold and Mighty Forces Will Come to Your Aid"

This Goethe/Basil King line is most known for its use in the music film Almost Famous, and to me it’s about risk-taking and fearlessness. It’s about finding the courage to be adventurous, trusting that help will find it way to you as you need it. Fear or anxiety can be a motivator as much as an inhibitor as long as we can identify what’s got us nervous. A healthy fear of the unknown or anxiety about rolling out an untested idea can inform our practice and make us that much more attuned to detail for reflection afterwards. If we aren’t building, improving, or reiterating strategies, we get stuck in repetition of one-off experiences, no matter how cool they may be. The adventure comes from diving in and immediately considering how to improve the next dive. 

🏇Horse Sense🐎

In this year’s Preakness, the horse Bodexpress bucked his jockey as the race took off. At that moment, there were so many wild, dangerous, or tragic outcomes that could have followed. As it turns out, the horse ran the race without its rider!  He was eventually safely corralled after the race concluded. So what’s the connection?  

Washington Post

If we are quick to assume disaster when the unexpected strikes, we can miss the opportunity for rare moments. Just as twitter lit up with Bodexpress memes and he became a very temporary folk horse-hero, we respond best to surprises that disrupt routines and have an underdog to root for. When a lesson tanks (some always will), when the power goes out, or when the bee flies in the room, we should be ready to run with it, just like Bodexpress did!

Next Top Model

Classrooms that seem to have the most active and engaged learning happening usually have leaders who model what they want to see in students. Mitch Resnick’s Creative Learning Spiral is a strong model for this, characterized by stages of imagine, create, play, share, reflect. Whether it’s launching new curriculum content, or exploring our own creative projects for our classes to watch, if we can demonstrate (even through our own personal modifications or interpretations) the Creative Learning Spiral stages in action, we help to create the environment and showcase the competencies that facilitate the creative process. 

Make Experience, Not Excuses

It can be tempting to avoid the types of innovative learning activities that are (by definition) new and different. Combined with content that may be less comfortable (think Hour of Code as a recurring sidestep for many) and some teachers prefer stick to the routine. How does that help every learner (including the teacher) stretch and grow? Everyone has too much on his or her plate- too many initiatives, demands, reports, and emails.  If it comes from a place of creativity and passion, teachers always find room for magic. Even when objectives and content seem handed down and overwhelming at times, there is opportunity to shape that delivery into experiences that are meaningful, memorable, and measurable. Never let the curriculum get in the way of learning!

Some of the most engaging learning opportunities have no precise manual or script to follow, yet the result can be a unique and memorable shared experience for the teacher and for the learner. Genius-hour, genius day, passion projects and PL are all student-centered and student driven. Yes, it’s harder to plan and prepare for more flexible or open-ended activities, but the level of engagement and student agency is apparent by just watching students work. 

👻Who You Gonna Call?

Be brave enough to face and even vanquish the ghosts that haunt our classrooms and hallways. These aren’t spooky ghosts, but the spectre left behind from previous teachers and administrators. Any educator who has to fill the shoes of his or her predecessor has a tricky task, and it seems that the stronger shadow (for better or for worse) that the previous character cast, the harder it can be to emerge from it. Sometimes it’s easier to establish who we are through the lens of who we aren’t, for students, colleagues, and ourselves. The ghosts in our classrooms may also be of our former selves, our own former teachers, or the teachers that parents wish us to be. Some are friendly and some are scary, but pretending they’re not there is what will haunt us.

Inclusive, Exclusive, Excusive, or Reclusive?

Excusive - Can you think of that colleague who is often making excuses, or self-handicapping (I'm not tech-savvy, etc)? 

This is less about humility, and more from professional or personal insecurity. This educator resists feedback because they know they won’t like what they hear, and avoids any observation or demonstration for fear of scrutiny. The result is usually kids getting short-changed. This teacher avoids risk and change, and falls into “the way it’s always been done,” at the cost of innovation or opportunities for their kids. 

Exclusive - This is more than just the person who guards their privacy. I’m talking about that character who falls into self-promotion over peers or even student performance. There’s a fine line between showcasing student performance and showing off fancy teaching. Pride can be a dangerous and damaging element in our business. We all want to have our efforts recognized by our peers or administrators, but when it starts to look like professionals siding against or apart from each other, nobody shines. 

Reclusive- This character is often stuck, or resistant, to the point that students are deprived of opportunity or access. This is not an indictment on that teacher. In fact, it’s generally a measure of self-protection behind the fear or doubt.  We all have our hermit phases, whether it’s trying out a new unfamiliar initiative, launching a unit or project before it’s quite ready, or playing catch up with endless compliance tasks.  There’s security behind closed doors, but it can be easily habit-forming and distancing. 

Inclusive- This educator finds strength through collaboration, and clarity through communication. It’s not enough to know that collaboration and teamwork enhances everyone on a team, but this person is the connector, the one who facilitates the communication and collaboration. 

Know Better,  Do better
I love this quote from Maya Angelou. It’s empowering in driving our own growth, while also validating our current practice from a strength/asset mindset, rather than constantly comparing ourselves to others. 

It’s not every teacher’s job to teach him or herself each new initiative, tool, or technique. In fact, the faster the landscape of digital tools and practices evolves, the wider the gap seems to stretch between what has always been done, and what innovative approaches can be integrated to transform teaching and learning. At the same time, we see the rise of edcamps, online learning, and platforms like TPT, where professional development is personalized by the participant. These environments also flip the delivery of pd content, where classroom teachers, the practitioners, become the experts (and some making a decent side-hustle). This is innate coaching, peer to peer, in a shared constructivist model.

Training vs Coaching 

In thinking about my role as a coach, I am deliberate to push away from the title of a trainer.  To me this shift is all about switching from How to Why.  This also directs the encounter from being transactional (service provided) to  relational (facilitating partnership).  As educators, we are aware of the SAMR model (substitution, augmentation, modification, redefinition) as it relates to tech adoption/integration, but I came across this tweet from Joli Boucher that applies the model to coaching, and I think it's awesome! It demonstrates the continuum from a more directive to facilitative approach that promotes partnership and collaboration in professional development, all with the ultimate goal of impact on student learning. My own goal as an instructional coach is to constantly improve and evolve in my capacity to engage, enable, and empower my peers to take risks and seek Edventure!

Theory of Educational Relativity

Is there a secret formula for engaged and effective teaching and learning?

Well, there is one formula that has unlocked some of the answers to life, space, and time as we know it, so this post applies that same formula to the world of teaching and learning. This is my Theory of Educational Relativity.

More specifically (and with apologies to Albert Einstein), this theory expands to become a theory of relativity, as well as relatability and responsibility in our  teaching lives. In looking at the formula, I've swapped a few elements and ideas into the mix. Here goes:

E

Experience

Experience is everything. The experience of our own education is our foundation of how we first encountered teaching and learning. The student-experience is what we are lucky enough to be tasked with creating. We can engineer experience and craft moments that ignite learning. That’s when we witness these other Es: Empowerment, Engagement, Empathy. When these elements come alive, so does learning.

M

Moments

Experience may be everything, but it’s built by moments. Some moments are transformative, while others are also small and personal. If you’ve read my blog before, you know about my 3 Ms that I like to say build those powerful moments. The alchemy is in the intersection of student learning that’s Meaningful, Memorable, and Measurable. A teacher can have a great lesson that hits one of these elements, but when all three intersect- that’s the sweet spot, that’s the magic of moments that ignites learning.

To get back to Einstein, a moment can be considered a point in time and space, so thinking about our building and classrooms, how well (or flexibly) do we approach time and space? What are our variables when it comes to educational time and space? Personalized, Blended, and Flipped learning begin to shift conventional thinking about both components. There’s a reason flexible seating or redesigned learning spaces feel revolutionary, and it’s because they break traditional structures to explore new depth and dimension in student learning.

I don’t mean that we are entering a different dimension in the twilight zone sense, but an increased depth of knowledge, or flexibility in students’ opportunities to show what they know in authentic and meaningful ways. This shift brings emphasis on student competency and understanding over compliance and completion. 

C 

🎶 Somewhere Beyond the Cs 🎶

I’m a big fan of the 4 Cs (communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking), but that’s just the start, and since Einstein reminds us that the C is squared, here’s the exponential connection. It’s my belief that those are the “student 4Cs,” while there are additional 4Cs (school 4Cs). These are Culture, Compassion, Connection, Climate. 

If we want our students to experience learning through their Cs, our buildings and classrooms should function to provide learning environments that actively foster and promote culture, compassion, connection, and climate. That’s where empowerment and empathy emerge, and that’s where student agency begins.

While we may not be unlocking the secrets of the universe, I hope this post can serve to shift thinking about our own relativity (the perceptions and perspective we bring), relatability (the connections and relationships we create), and responsibility (the opportunity we face to impact a student’s learning trajectory and their experience of learning). We escape the black holes that distract us or keep us from our forward progress, and avoid the wormholes of time when we catch ourselves doing or saying the exact things our own teachers said to us! Teaching in the moment may not be rocket science, but sometimes it feels like it. When we can bring Einstein's equation to life in our own classrooms and building, time can stand still, and learning  happens at the speed  of life.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

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With a fresh foot of snow still on the ground, it may not be the easiest time to visualize thriving gardens, but this post isn’t about our backyard crops. It’s about cultivating growth in our learning spaces. We can’t control the weather, but we can condition soil, protect our plants, encourage growth and reap harvests. And just like avid gardeners share and compare their tips for establishing and maintaining healthy gardens, this post looks to lessons from gardeners to help our classroom gardens grow. 

Signs of Life...

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In his book Watering Rocks, Dave Maurer cautions against “watering rocks.”  Maurer explains his leadership advice by advising, “Don’t spend too much time trying to fix something that you can’t fix.” 

While it may seem like a bit of a harsh metaphor, I’ve received that exact advice in my coaching role. It’s a warning to not exhaust your own resources with some “at the expense of your superstars.” I will admit, I have mixed feelings about Maurer’s advice. While I understand the idea of leveraging time and attention where it’s most impactful and welcome, I don’t think there are many “rocks” in our profession.  It worth mentioning, any stroll along a river’s edge or shady forest will also prove that nature finds a way to provide growth even on the roughest rocks. 

At the other end of the spectrum is Julie Wilson's description of growing bamboo. In her book, The Human Side of Changing Education: How to Lead Change With Clarity, Conviction, and Courage, she explains:

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It takes approximately three to four years for a young bamboo plant to establish a large a solid root structure underground before it starts growing significantly above ground. It would appear that not a lot is happening for a long period of time. But, after three to four years of consistent watering and care, that very same plant can grow several feet overnight. This work if changing the education system is just like the bamboo growth; it require patience and time- and it also requires faith.

This speaks my language more than the the rocks metaphor. It’s a living model of a growth mindset. There's a difference in belief, purpose, expectation, and understanding.  Wilson's book and message is all about effective leadership through compassion and courage, rather than control and compliance, certainly the right environment to cultivate healthy growth.  

Beyond the Garden Gates...

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Nature provides sunlight, soil and rain, but these are only the basics. To stretch the metaphor, our schools provide curriculum, stocked classrooms, and the tools to teach and learn. But who carries the water? These who are the cultivators, providers, nurturers all in service of growth. They don’t mind getting hands dirty, literally at ground level cultivating, weeding, and dependably watering. 

Any search for gardening tips yield list after list of recommendations and “Top 10” tips. The first search hits featured guidelines from Growingagreener world.com,  Fine Gardening, and The University of Minnesota Extension. The following topics titles (and quoted passages) are taken straight from their links.

🌱 Test Soil  

The University of Minnesota Extension explains that, "Soil is a living ecosystem—a large community of living organisms linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows." 
The better we understand our students and their unique needs, the better we can tend to their growth. 

🍃 Add Organic Material/Provide Nutrients 

Our education nutrients are that mixture of curriculum and instruction that promotes and cultivates growth. Our professional craft mixes and maintains the continued balance of nutrients to promote learning and growth. 

🍂 Keep it Covered

A critical component of our job is to create an environment that is safe and encourages new growth. Providing a “protective layer” allows us to conserve the resources that support healthy learning while sheltering from some of the more unwelcome environmental influences. 

💧 Apply the Correct Fertilizer

     Don’t overfertilize

 Just like there will always be new techniques, products, or tools to help tend to our classroom gardens, there’s no such thing as educational Miracle-Gro.  Growth rates are unique among every plant and we shouldn’t expect anything otherwise. Applying the correct fertilizer is all about selecting best practices, effective strategies and appropriate resources to support learning and “stimulate growth.”

⥁ Rotate Crops

Experienced gardeners rotate crops to allow species to share resources and nutrients. Placement, grouping and rotation respect and benefit from a diversity of crops and their unique nutrient requirements. The most effective flexible learning environments rely upon similar benefits!

🌞 Don’t crowd plants

Consider flexible learning spaces.  Thriving gardens allow room to grow, including the parts of the plant you can see and those that may be hidden beneath the soil. The same goes for our learners!

Soil compaction and disturbance such as  tillage can eliminate these important microenvironments. This makes it hard for plant roots to penetrate the soil, absorb water and nutrients, and interact with beneficial microbes.

Disturbing soil also disturbs weed seeds, exposing them to light and increasing germination—in other words, more weeds! (extension.umn.edu)

🐛 Keep an Eye on your Bugs 

      Use Patience with Pest Control

Enough said...

💦 Water Wisely

Finally, Fine Gardening says it best: Also remember that more isn’t necessarily better when giving your plants a drink.

🐝

Don’t forget our pollinators. These are the often unseen, but critical, visitors who provide the fertilization, nutrients and supports that strengthen and reinforce steady and measurable growth. Whether we are the home gardener, the buzzing pollinator, or the busy worker tending to field after field of others gardeners’ crops, we all know our job isn’t about the harvest or yeild. We can learn (or even measure) from what our students produce, but just like gardeners tend to their soil and crops through days, weeks, and seasons, educators are in it for the long haul. We have our own growth measures that can only come with daily care and routine tending, noticing (and responding to) subtle signs of stress or capitalizing on rapid growth opportunities. 

Link to Dave Maurer podcast 

http://www.bossbuilderpodcast.com/e/22-watering-rocks-how-to-fail-and-succeed-as-a-leader-with-dave-maurer/

Working With a Cast of Characters

It's not that everything I learned comes from Seinfeld, but there is definitely a Seinfeld story, reference, or character for most occasions.  This has been the most entertaining post yet, recalling all of the ridiculous scenes and sayings.  It’s the characters that this blog post is about.  Besides your students, who surrounds you in your professional life?  Who’s your Kramer, barging in with zany ideas, and who’s your George, requiring more attention and effort than you often have patience to give?  And of course, who’s your Newman?

Jerry Seinfeld is the ultimate observer. He observes, muses, and criticizes every bit of his life and surroundings.  As a comedian, His professional life is isolating, but his daily life is consumed with a constant traffic flow, often ridiculous interruptions, and cast of even more ridiculous characters. Can you identify?

Elaine is the consummate teammate. She will do anything for her friends, but isn’t afraid to push back- literally. She is a challenger without being discouraging. Elaine is comfortable in her own skin (you may recall the dance), brutally honest,  and endlessly patient with her friends’ antics. Every PLC could use a dose of Elaine to keep things real. 

Kramer is a dreamer and an innovator. Who else would install a garbage disposer in the bathtub?  When we talk about designing flexible space, Kramer takes the cake. Remember his hot tub apartment installation, or his his Merv Griffin talk show set? Kramer is an artist and a designer, from his fusilli-pasta sculptures to coffee-table book about... coffee-tables!  Then there is also the fact that most of his schemes are totally crazy, but he believes. That is an innovator’s mindset after all and every school or classroom could use his a little Kramer mojo!

George is the face of a fixed mindset. George has firm opinions and views and does not react well to deviation. While George’s go-to pessimism may not be advisable, there is a characteristic of a healthy skepticism that we can all use to evaluate any new situation, initiative, or product that may come our way to be sure it’s in the service of learning. 

His name is Newman.  We know those characters who predictably difficult to collaborate with. We may not have an individual nemesis like Newman, but it’s always helpful to identify (and prepare for) those whose effort may not align with our own.   

 There's only one Soup Nazi. It’s critical to identify those whose instinct it is to say no and shut us down. When you've been teaching long enough, you learn crafty ways to ask for things! Hopefully nobody is as severe as “The Soup Nazi,” but it always helps to strategize and prepare how to approach asking for something. 

No matter what the occasion or mood, Jerry always has a warm greeting for his Uncle Leo.  It’s a great reminder to set the tone and acknowledge or welcome whoever walks through your classroom or office door with a warm "Hello!" 

Mr. Costanza is extreme. He is loud and shares every bold idea, but he is also charismatic and creative (he invented a holiday, after all). In our classrooms or offices, Frank serves to remind us that elevating the tone, raising the voice, or intensifying the mood never helps to resolve conflict. 

Mrs. Costanza keeps Frank in check. While she can escalate any situation in an instant, Estelle capably deflects or returns his zaniness, and makes her voice heard!  There always needs to be a balance of strong opinions to maintain a dialogue.

Kenny Bania is comically optimistic. He is the character that sees “gold, jerry” in any material. While his judgement is questionable, his enthusiasm wins the day and models attitude over aptitude when necessary. Sometimes we all just need that cheerleader who tells us our ideas are gold.

J Peterman is full of himself and clueless, but somehow innocently, and wildly successful. He has no sense of the work others do in service of his position. We see these characters and remember to never lose focus on the service of learning, or why we got into this business in the first place- for them, not us!

FDR is the ultimate grudge. Kramer’s toxic and timeless grudge with Franklin Delano Romanowski (over receiving the evil eye) serves as a cautionary tale to let go of old bias, gripes, or differences before they turn into epic battles. 

Bob Cobb: he desperately wanted to be called “Maestro.” He is the ultimate example of someone who cares way too much about his title. We have heard it before: Leadership is action, not position. The Maestro would serve to get over himself and pay attention to those around him. I hope this doesn’t sound too familiar!

Jimmy was a pretty brief character, but memorable because he always referred to himself in the third person. While this is awkward and always distancing in a classroom, it also calls to mind the need for perspective. Sometimes we need to step outside of ourselves and our situation for an objective view. Just don’t be the narrate what you see!

Jack Klompus is another extreme personality. He is a neighbor/acquaintance/antagonist of Jerry’s parents and equal parts judgemental and short-tempered.  Jack is the example of finding misguided value and over-attachment to old ways and physical things (Astronaut pen? Cadillac?) to the point of resentment and damage to people and relationships.  Jack is another reminder to let go of the little things.   

Aaron spoke softly, but closely! Proxemics refers to our interpersonal space and physical closeness. Nobody models the discomfort of that space invasion like the “close talker.” We all know those students (or staff) who just don't seem to have that natural sense of space, and you can feel it instantly.  

Lloyd Braun shows there’s always someone to compete with.  Regardless of his character, personality, or even mental health, Lloyd Braun was always Mrs. Costanza’s model for how George should act and behave. Consequently, George could never shake the shadow of self-judgement against Lloyd.  Serenity now!

Puddy- Sometimes you just can’t judge a book by its cover, but then sometimes you can. I suppose Elaine saw something in David Puddy that made her crew put up with him.  He reminds us to try our best to trust the judgement of those we trust, even when we have doubt! 



This post was inspired by an awesome session I attended at the ETT conference by Dr. Beth Holland and David Quinn in which we were all reminded that "we are all Martys and we are all Georges." Thank you Beth and David!

**All characters and photos from Seinfeld, NBC-Universal

T

BIG 5Oth POST!

This is my 50th blog post! To celebrate, and because I like to pretend I'm a rock star, I've worked to put together a Greatest Hits package.  This post is an array of  ideas, favorite quotes, links, tips, and tricks.  I've provided links and resources for inspirations and influences, and hopefully credited all appropriately! Thank you to you, my few and loyal readers!

1. Shaping culture and climate.  There are varied definitions and perspectives on culture vs climate, but most share common themes. Culture usually surrounds values and beliefs, while climate often reflects perceptions and meanings. Marilyn Watson and Jeff Hodges share that "culture is the way things are done around here," while climate is "the way we feel around here."  When it comes to how one informs or influences the other, I especially appreciate Todd Whitaker's point: "Climate is the measure and culture is the change agent." How can you become an agent for climate change?

2. "I’m not asking permission to be awesome, and I’m not apologizing for being passionate." Brian McCann says it best.  Be bold do what's right for your kids.  Take chances and create exciting experiences that students (and you) will always remember.  Bring purpose to passion and you will always be headed in the right direction.

3. Failing forward
In one of my first and favorite posts, I wrote about John Maxwell's work with failing and failure. I believe that our students need opportunities to exercise behaviors and apply skills in context and for purpose. They also need the chance to make mistakes and fix them. Accountability and responsibility are about empowerment and self-growth, not punishment. Our role is to create moments when our learners can connect thoughts and feelings, and when those feeling are uncertainty, frustration, or even failure, students have authentic opportunity to practice self-regulation skills and strategies.

3. Seesaw is a game changer!  It's THE tool I've seen consistently used to enhance instruction, capture creativity, archive thinking, and allow students to demonstrate their learning.  Talk voice and choice rolled into one!

4. Makerspaces and Maker movement is about a mindset.  It's not just spaces, materials, or spaghetti towers. Design thinking should be embedded throughout the curriculum with authentic purpose. Kids don't need to be brought anywhere special to suddenly apply design-thinking.  STEM projects and maker challenges happen best out of isolation, as part of a student's curricular day, and with reflection, iteration, and concept application!  This is when a spaghetti tower becomes more than just a spaghetti tower!

5. From Content Consumption to Content Creation:  Whether it's creating their own Kahoots, recording Flipgrids, or posting to Seesaw, our students have never had the tools they do now to shift from consuming content to creating it.  In addition, they are curating their demonstrations of learning in journals and portfolios, annotation and commenting all the while, building their digital footprints and digital citizenship. 

5. Doink is awesome!!  When it comes to Greenscreen apps and solutions, there's only one game in town (and happens to be in our town!)  Doink is the simplest-of-use apps to accomplish surprisingly complex and creative images or video.  I've had more fun with this app than any other in my career. I have also seen more application and extension of ideas than I ever expected, from preschoolers working at Dunkin's for the letter D page of their alphabet book, to a student "reporting" from the Freedom Trail to share info about her location. rather than creating a boring old building-bio chart.  

6. Old dogs can learn new tricks!- This blog post was about my own growth-mindset challenge to learn how to solve a Rubik's Cube! I've been very proud of this accomplishment in life, while also frustrated by having to practice regularly or suffer lost steps from memory in my aging mind!  It was a great exercise in learning a particular skill in a way that was unfamiliar, took practice and time, and most certainly required a shift from a fixed mindset.  I like to tell friends that if they can memorize 7 or 8 phone numbers, memorizing the same amount of algorithms to apply to the cube is no different.  You just have to want to do it, and figure out how to teach/train yourself in the new skill.

7. It is what it is= I give up.  These 5 words kill innovative thinking and creativity.  How often have we said, “It is what it is,” when we are really saying that we give up, we have no voice, or it’s just worth the energy to do anything about it?  This is also another opportunity to shift a fixed mindset, either your own, or that of those around you that control the circumstance.  My boxes quote is all about trying to work within and without those very circumstances:

8. Teaching Is Learning Twice: The first time I heard this Joseph Joubert quote, it knocked my socks off.  It's so obvious!  When we create opportunities for students to pair/share, make tutorials, record "instant replays" or create their own video recreations of hands-on demos for next year's lesson, we are empowering the learner to become the leader.  We are giving authentic application and transfer of learning experiences with purpose and for an audience.  

9. Voice and choice is an invitation, not just a buzz-phrase.  When we offer (real) choices, and create (real) opportunities for students to exercise their choices, we need to be prepared to respond.  It's what I call our "new RTI"- response to invitation.

10. Leadership is action, not position.  It's said quite a bit, but look around your building or district and notice the quiet leadership, the mentors, the change-agents who are keeping momentum, feeding the climate.

11. Blogging is cool.  With my 50th blog post, I've decided I can call myself a blogger with a certain confidence.  I don't have a massive readership, but as I remind anyone I can convince to blog, my primary audience is myself  The practice of formulating, shaping and publishing a cohesive theme or thought is a professional practice that has been challenging, rewarding and professionally empowering. Anyone who is thinking about starting (or continuing) a blog should just do it!

12. Presenting is a tune up.  Whether it's at a national conference, a local tech-day, or just a staff meeting spotlight, everyone should make presenting a part of their professional toolkit.  It's a great opportunity to articulate the what and why of our craft that we never give time to discuss.

😀13. Everyone loves a sticker, spotlight or shout out.  There's a reason badging is so popular right now.  Kids and adults love to be acknowledged for continued learning, growth, and success.  Badges or stickers are just measures of growth, but an important component of self-monitoring and empowered learning.

14. Practice over product.  This is my mantra.  As a coach, my role is to always keep the conversation on teaching and learning practices, not particular devices, tools, or tricks.  This is a great article my Katie Martin that keeps it real.  We always want to focus on students and student learning, and this simple reminder always keeps me headed in the right direction.

15. We are surrounded by experts.  It isn't the teacher's responsibility or role to be the only content exert in our kids' lives.  When students can search and find facts faster than we can teach them, we should utilize every resource within reach or search to provide authentic meaning and context for their learning, not just their knowing.

16. Tough truths push us.  Facing tough truths is a powerful way to reflect on practice.  The most powerful quote I refer to in any presentation is by George Couros.  He says, "Never hold a student back based on what you don't know." That was a punch in the gut to make me realize that by choosing not to continue to grow or evolve was limiting opportunities or experiences for students.

17. Conferences inspire.  Going to MassCUE was my first step toward a shifted role and evolution as an educator.  I had been to workshops and seminars, but it was going to a conference and steering my own professional development aligned to my own needs, skills, and interests that got me hooked.  Being around other attendees, all of whom had chosen and wanted to attend was also a shift.  It's hard to capture momentum and lightning with a captive in-service audience or a tech day that falls on cyber-Monday! Finding a community of like-minded and motivated peers is inspirational.

18. Twitter is a powerful tool to connect and learn.  I've seen more of my colleagues' teaching practices and ideas on Twitter than in all previous years of teaching. Twitter gives an authentic classroom view for colleagues, parents, and peers unlike anything before, and connected educators are reshaping our industry for the better.

19. Risk is the Reward.  I love seeing risk-taking for real.  I love watching a new teacher try something exciting, or a veteran teacher adding to their vast repertoire, particularly by the side of an inspirational peer.  It's not about risk vs. reward when it comes to innovative practices or shifting instructional practice.  Risk is the reward.

20. "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." This quote from Roman philosopher Seneca inspired a blog post in which I shared my ideas about anticipating and capitalizing on coincidence, but also leveraging opportunity and circumstance.  Luck doesn't just happen, but there are elements within our control to promote growth and change.

🎨 21. Visual thinking isn’t about artistry. Manuel Herrera is a great resource for sketchnoting, google drawing strategies, and other modes for making learning visible. He also love all things related to tacos and has been known to hand them out at conferences.  I had the pleasure of interviewing Manuel to learn more bout his background and thoughts on ways in which we can encourage visual thinking for (and with) our students at MassCUE's broadcast booth at MassCUE18.  Check out Manuel or Sylvia Duckworth on Twitter to learn more about the visual thinking and sketchnoting movement!

22. Peardeck is powerful. It's real-time, and totally in-context formative assessment.  I'm new to it, but the promise is evident.  It's another example of a tool that allows for something that didn't exist before.  I particularly like the social-emotional component that the "readiness" and "feelings" style template questions provide before/during/after instruction.

23. Computational thinking is a lot more than coding. It's also more than just programming robots or computer science.  It's the language of problem solving,  Providing opportunities for  our youngest students to deconstruct problems and apply systematic steps, patters, or algorithms to solve them lays the groundwork for more complex computational thinking and computer science application later on.

24. There are way more than 4 Cs. We know the big 4: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity.  I believe that the 4 Cs are equally critical to helping students develop into 21st century learners and citizens. If we want to develop these first competencies in our students, we need to foster the following in our buildings. They are Culture, Compassion, Connection, and Climate.  The blend of these elements is the foundation of student agency, empathy and empowerment.

25. Relationships matter. This is our district motto/hashtag this year.  Fostering collaboration and communication among and between colleagues, administrators and even neighboring districts removes barriers, and the more we remove walls, the better we serve our students.

26. Don't wait til the end to find out what they know.  This is another word on formative assessment, not as data points necessarily, but feedback that matters.  Practices like quick-writes, entry/exit tickets, or sketches, and tools like Pear Deck, Kahoots, and Seesaw can capture valuable information to steer instruction. Whether it’s a formal data collection swarm or a spur of the moment post or exit ticket, we have frequent mechanisms to let us know how well kids are “getting it”. But that needs to be the launch point if we are being honest with the word “formative.”

27. A wireless mouse can set you free.  Here's another simple game-changer.  Using a wireless mouse can untether a classroom teacher, presenter, or student to control his or her from any spot in the room, or circulating with a clipboard in hand.  Imagine handing the mouse to a "guest-host" student to run a class kahoot from their desk!

28. Epson freeze button.  An "a-ha" moment for so many people is this single, simple button. It just freezes your projected image, screen, or page so that your laptop is free for use.

29. Flexible learning environments are more than funky furniture.  It's about providing time and space to personalize and maximize a student's unique skills and interests for success.  In fact, any redesigned space or room that has't employed the feedback and design input from students has already missed an opportunity.

30. Digital Climate Change:  I use this title as a presentation topic for conferences to talk about our rapidly shifting and changing world, jobs, but also our opportunity and responsibility.  ISTE's CEO Richard Culatta talks about the shift of tech access to opportunity, standardization toward personalization, and students as consumers to creators. This is shift in focus and emphasis that I call our Digital Climate Change.  It's an intense, but exciting, time to be a teacher.  Kids' skills and abilities can quickly pass our ability to help them in a traditional model.  As someone recently tweaked the old saying, we are also a "guide along for the ride" sometimes"

31. Meaningful, Memorable, Measurable- I Made this graphic about a year ago when I was prepping for a talk about "creating a Combustible Classroom."  I wanted this visual to represent that “sweet spot,” that intersection of student experiences that are Meaningful, Memorable and Memorable.  Teachers have favorite (and effective) lessons that can hit one or two of these elements, but when all three intersect, that’s the magic time, the ignition, the spark.  

32. Teach like yourself!  We are constantly being encouraged to teach like a Pirate or Jedi or like our hair is on fire, but if we are not igniting our own passions as educators to teach like ourselves, we are robbing our students of ourselves.

33. Don't just collect data- look at it.  Yes, we need to know if they don't get it, but the opportunity is both empty and wasted if we don't know why they don't get it. We have so many quick and effective tools to tell us (in real-time) how kids are doing, it's more important than ever to look and listen to what they are telling and showing to adjust instruction.

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34. Emojis add interest.  I went to Tony Vincent's ISTE session on emojis and walked away with a ton of clever tips and ideas to add visual interest to any big or little activity to increase engagement.  We have existing art within our fingers' reach to add flavor and personality to any tweet, contact, post, or slide.  Hopefully this post is an example of softening a huge load of text with visual relief.   

35. History rhymes. Mark Twain said it, and we live it.  Veteran teachers always talk about the pendulum, but the fact is good teaching will always be critical, and the next buzz/trend will likely remind us some initiatives long gone but still of value and needed again.

36. Agency is about empowerment. The March for Our Lives Movement is such a powerful example of student agency and voice.  It's well beyond the sphere of the elementary students I get to work with, but the skills (critical- not soft!) that we develop through carefully designed culture, climate, and character emphasis set the stones to build strong voices and empowered learners and citizens.

37. Access without effective support isn't opportunity- Vincent Tinto.  Mr. Tinto focuses on higher education inequity in the linked article, but his idea resonates with me across all demographics as well as initiatives.  Just providing access, money, or stuff doesn't yield results or meaningful change.

38. If you measure something with a ruler, you won't know how much it weighs.

Greg Kulowiec said it better than I ever could. Assessment can become both overwhelming and ineffective.  It's not just about having the right tool for the job, but pausing to ponder the purpose of the job itself.

39. Puts your heads together.  A headphone splitter can be a $1 solution to provide a shared viewing/listening experience for students.  Duh!

40. "You don't fatten a pig by weighing it." No clue who said this, but I love it as a caution about over-assessing and swamping ourselves and our students with constant measuring without a chance to grow. What is the goal and how formative or frequent is the measurement?  

41. Coaching isn't about me after all!  Another quote from George Couros. It has been transformation for me and my role  to consider this quote about service to assist a teacher's journey from "their point A to their point B"  I rely on the other familiar saying that my role isn't to show you what I can do, but to show you what you can do!

42. Look to ISTE.  ISTE has articulated standards for both students and educators that are framed around practices, not just skills. ISTE Standards for Educators reflect who we are and want to become, not just what we do or have done! ISTE Standards for Students are designed to empower students to develop the skills and roles their futures will require!

"43. Personalized Learning is a strategy, not a policy"- Larry Cuban.  This article (and single notion) is a crucial reminder that Personalized Learning is both and desired outcome and and instructional strategy, not a policy.  It's the how more than the what, and as an instructional strategy toward reaching a goal, It needs to live among its practitioners.

Clips video

44. Browse the Menu.  To launch my coaching role in my District, I created a "menu" of services that I could offer.  I've gotten great feedback about it, and it served several particular purposes. I wanted a paper "analog" item that could go into mailboxes, hands and bulletin boards for references.  Folks I want to reach aren't always likely to go to a website when they can pin a paper above their desk.  I also wanted a visual list of tools, tips, and topics that educators could review and realize that they are likely skilled in several already.  There's an empowerment to seeing a continuum or scope of topics and getting a better sense of where you land. Finally, I wanted it to be an invitation.  I like to only go where I'm invited, and it works best when there's a focused objective or idea to target.  Here are links to the tri-fold and single-page menu options.  Feel free to check them out!

45. "Stop! Collaborate and Listen." Vanilla Ice had more than just a monster tag line here.  It's a call, and it's the same call I hear in another favorite quote by poet Mary Oliver: "To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work." Both Oliver and Ice remind us to take pause, reflect, ask and answer.  That's when and where we grow and learn personally and professionally.  We won't notice if we aren't looking and listening.

46. Wordsmith? At ISTE 18, author Andy Weir talked about thankfully not publishing his first novel he wrote in college, during a pre-internet era.  He basically said it stunk and he's grateful it never saw the light of day.  He went on to talk about becoming a wordsmith, which too often we use offhandedly to describe anyone skilled with the gift of gab or BS.  HE reminded me that (like a blacksmith or silversmith), writing is a craft to be honed and shaped through continued practice and attending to skill.

47. Curate Curiosity.  I'm linking two awesome resources for any educator to find ideas and inspiration.  Whether is Lee Araoz's work with Genius Hour, or Brian Aspinall's Hour of Curiosity, these inspirational leaders challenge my thinking regularly on twitter and never fail to make me want to try new ideas for kids!

48. Inquire, Inspire, Include.  Local Edthought leader Kerry Gallagher wrote these words in a powerful blog post that I can no longer locate, but I have my response to her words.  She wrote about activating thinking and teaching beyond compliance, and I remember thinking that if we want to see inquisitive, inspired and interested students, we are their first and best models.  We need to lead the charge and set the tone, sharing purpose and passion for the jobs we are lucky enough to be able to do. 

49. Create Bridge-Builders.  Teachers have long treasured reading buddies or math buddies between grades.  Why not try STEM buddies for regular challenges or maker challenges?  Share the maker-mindset across ages and bring collaboration, communication, critical-thinking and creativity tasks to life.  This is bridge-building and I'm not talking about popsicle sticks!

50. Parents Shouldn't Teach Their Kids to Ski, Swim, or Do Math!  This was another early post that I loved writing.  Every parent wants to support their child's learning but can forget that just because they can perform a skill easily, it doesn't necessarily mean they can teach it effectively. Plus, students always find that extra level of cooperation and composure when working with someone other than their parent. There are certain things that should be left to the specialists. Collaboration can sometimes mean getting out of the way when necessary.