Advice for new teachers

Hello, colleagues!

Graduation is upon us! I love this time of year because the weather is (usually) pleasant, people are all nostalgic, and teachers are reflecting on the end of the year. Last weekend I was perusing Buzzfeed when I came across an article with advice, for new teachers, from experienced teachers. That really inspired me to share some information that I have for new teachers. Even though I don't know everything about teaching (I've only been teaching twelve years),  I have learned a lot over the years and can often anticipate what will go wrong ahead of time.

So here is what I think new teachers need to know about teaching.

1. Expect to want to quit. Teaching is HARD. You don't realize how difficult education is until you have your own classroom. You have to be "on" as a teacher every moment of every day. It's exhausting. Compound that with learning new teaching strategies, with building curriculum, and with the massive amounts of grading that you have. You will have days where you're at school until six, and you find yourself falling asleep as you drive home, and then you wake up on the couch with a full glass of wine that you forgot to drink. It will wear you out and will eventually make you want to quit. But if teaching is what you want to do, and you know you still love, don't leave. Know that the longer that you teach, the better your arsenal or strategies and lessons will get. You won't have to prep as much. And if you combine that with effective grading policies, it will get easier. 
2. Find a healthy work-life balance. This is something that every teacher struggles with, myself included. But it is achievable. I'm someone who separates my professional and personal lives quite a bit, so I try to keep school work at school. I realized over time that I couldn't grade at home for both struggling to work at home and because I needed the separation. But it's not healthy to stay at school incredibly late either. I made a rule for myself that I would work, at school, every day until 4. I would leave school at 4, and whatever wasn't done, wasn't done. This also helped me learn to prioritize what work was essential. I also visited new and charming coffee shops in town on Saturdays where I would also do school work and get caught up from the previous week. This schedule allowed me to have my weeknights for reading or watching tv, it promised me Friday and Saturday nights for going out to eat and spending time with my husband and friends, and gave me a full Sunday for grocery shopping, watching football, and meal prep for the week. 
3. Reach out to your PLN. PLN stands for personal learning network. This network is where you learn everything that you can about teaching. My PLN consists of my very close colleague friends, in-building colleagues that I admire, other teachers that I've met through trainings and classes, and teachers that I follow on Twitter. I insist on being around other teachers that are like-minded but push me to think and work outside my bubble. A new teacher will probably struggle with finding a PLN to start, but a new teacher should find a mentor in-building. This mentor should guide them through what they need to know about the school but also about being a new teacher. A new teacher may want to find more than ONE mentor. I've been lucky enough to mentor new (and not new teachers) because they believed I had the information that they were looking for. A new teacher should also sign up for Twitter ASAP. It's a perfect (and relatively safe) way to ask any and every question!
4. Build relationships with your students. This is something that I still struggle with (it's easily my biggest weakness as a teacher). Get to know your kids. Find out what they like. Try to build real-world "stuff" into your curriculum as much as possible. Talk to your kids. Listen to your kids. Give them your time and your attention. Be a parent, a counselor, a friend, and an adult. Give them advice. Sometimes repeat that advice over and over. Stick up for them. Tell them when they're wrong but admit when you're wrong too. Forgive and forget. Remember that every day is a new day. Believe that every student can succeed (even if they fail your class). 
5. Don't be afraid of making mistakes and don't be fearful of jumping into the deep end. I make mistakes EVERY day! I've told students to "tap that" (when talking about iPads), I've said some unsavory things to students in anger, and I've gotten defensive to parents when they have simple questions. I've also learned how to incorporate iPads into classrooms, I've built curriculums from scratch (twice!), and I've presented at local and national conferences. As a teacher, you must take risks to grow and mature. As you do so, you will make mistakes, and some of them will be terrible. But you have to evolve and change. Being a stagnant teacher isn't great. In your class, students will stop engaging and will start being compliant. 
6. Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast. Sometimes you have to start small to get big. This was probably one of the most frustrating things for me to learn. I wanted to be an excellent teacher right away. I wanted everything to be perfect (and easy). That's just not how teaching is. I think I realized this when doing flipped learning. I was never trained in flipped learning, and sort of stumbled and bumbled my way through. It was when I was explaining to another teacher about the process when she said, "It's just so easy for you." I told her that I needed five years to really grasp flipped learning in my classroom, and I realized it took me FIVE YEARS. Even now, with broadcasting, I've designed a great base that I can use for the remaining years to come, but there's still more to do. As I see new students and realize what skills they're lacking, I then have to design new lessons and create new quizzes. I want to self-pace a lot of my curriculum. I need to differentiate my curriculum for new special needs students. I want to change my work into Hyperdocs so that it's all located in one place. But I can't do all that this summer. I can do bits and pieces so that my curriculum evolves over time. 

Other advice that I have for teachers? 

• Learn about different DOK (depth of knowledge) levels and don't be afraid to challenge your students. 
• Understand what differentiation is. You will have students at all levels, and you need to meet them where they are. That includes ELD and SPED students. 
• Sometimes you just need to throw your lesson plans out the window.  
• Be the adult in the room.
• Watch other teachers teach. 

Thanks for reading! I hope that you all have a lovely summer! I'll see you next school year :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

End of year reflections

Good morning, colleagues! This week I was sitting and watching my students collaborate while making their broadcasting segments. I realized, now that it's the end of the year, that I should probably blog about how my school year went!

I had some large shoes to fill in my the broadcasting position. The teacher who left, to become a full-time filmmaker, was beloved by the students and set an excellent precedent for the job. I knew that I wanted to put my own touch on the broadcast, so my focus for the year was to have students design stories that involved as many Skyview students as possible. Here's what went well:

All three classes worked together to produce the weekly broadcast. I set up a Google Doc script at the beginning of the year. The doc was accessible by all three of my classes. This allowed all three groups to work together to design the script because they could all see each others' work. This also drummed up excitement as students saw other ideas, were inspired, and then pitched concepts to me for later broadcasting segments.

Students had choices when picking weekly stories. Because I have three classes, I didn't want to favor one more than the other. Every week a different group picked "first" for broadcast segments. Students selected their top three choices for the videos (using a Google Form), then I put them into groups based on their decisions. 99% of the time the students got one of their top three choices. Because I rotated which class picked first, everyone got their first choice at some point (including being anchors!). Also, if a student or group pitched a topic to me, I ensured that they got that idea as their first choice.

The script layouts worked really well. I ended up having to build brand new scripts for Broadcasting 2.0. I knew when making the scripts that students would need guidance and structure, but I still wanted students to always have the ability to present their voice. I realized, over time, that some stories were very similar. I recognized that I could build a script template that could be reused over and over. I then put together that I could grade those scripts the same way! Once I developed a model, then I would plan a Marzano scale for proficiency grading. The script template gave the students structure for what they needed for proficiency but was flexible enough to allow for student creativity.

There were new students on the broadcast each week. To get student and teacher "buy-in," I created a Google Form that teachers would use to sign up their classes for the weekly show. Part of the video included teacher and student interviews. I would work with my students each week to pick new students that have not been on the broadcast. Then, to build community, I would have my students put the interviewee's name on the screen. That is a start to how people get to know each other. First, you have to learn their name. I also partnered with Yearbook to have access to their photos. We did a photo slideshow every week as a) a preview of the yearbook at the end of the year and b) so that more students could see themselves in the broadcast.

More school stories. As I said in my previous section, the broadcast is meant to build a community in the school. When dealing with middle school students, we have to walk a fine line between creativity, being outlandish, focusing on the school, and not being boring! I knew it was important for students to see themselves in the broadcast instead of just the broadcasting kids. I knew it was essential to design stories that focus on what's happening in the school. But I also want to honor MY students and provide them with the opportunity to be creative and have choice and voice. When I put the broadcast script together, I would always include some sort of original video. Even though a video is creative, if it's about a topic that the kids care about, then it will matter to everyone, though it may not be school related.

Added extra touches. I wanted kids to take ownership while also learning about all of the different jobs that are required to make a broadcast. I taught all of my students how to use GarageBand on the computer and iPad. I wanted students to design music so that, in some cases, they take ownership of the video they are creating. I also taught my students twenty-three different camera shots to try to add variety to the videos they produce. I also added extra school information like sports scores and daily announcements. My colleague who does daily announcements even thanks the broadcasting kids on Friday for saying them! I wanted to make sure my students were still seen in the broadcast, so they put the credits at the end of the show on top of videos of them dancing or being silly. I even let them put bloopers at the end of the broadcast for extra fun.

All in all, this year was a success for my students and for myself. I never thought that I would have a job in broadcasting (especially after eleven years as a social studies teacher), but I was excited to have this opportunity. I'm just taking it all in!

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Grading Policies Evolved

Hello, colleagues! Are you guys tired? I know I am - it's the end of the year, and I just spent eight hours at our last track meet of the season yesterday. I'm also frustrated... we had students that couldn't compete in the competition because they were ineligible. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a teacher more than I'm a coach, so I've seen it all through my own classes. Students do fail assignments which cause them to fail classes. I've also had students fail my class and be ineligible. However, one thing I noticed this year is students failing a class due to strange grading practices.

Instead of blogging about what I think my colleagues are doing "wrong," I'm going to post about grading practices that I've changed over the years due to reflection and research.

1. No zeroes. A zero in the grade book implies that a student has LITERALLY DONE NOTHING. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Is that ever the case? Sometimes, sure. I've given kids zeroes on flipped learning because they never started it. Other than flipped learning, I did not give students a zero. If you look at a standard grading scale, an F is between a 0 - 59%. That is an enormous gap. If a student does not turn in an assignment, they still did work in class. Did they do 59% of the work? Usually, they did more, but just didn't turn in the assignment! A student should not fail a class because of one task. Give students a chance to be successful even if they didn't complete one project.

2. No late grades. Students have all sorts of reasons for turning in work late, stemming from them not wanting to do the task, to having a sibling get sick, or due to a family celebration. Should a student be penalized an arbitrary 10% because they turned an assignment in one day late? I don't think so! If students can prove that they know the information, and they meet the criteria of the rubric, then they deserve a better grade, even if it's overdue.

3. More formative assessments. Does this mean I should get rid of summative assessments? Absolutely not; they have a time and a place. Should a kid's grade suffer because of one test for an entire quarter? That's a tough one, but I would argue that it's also crucial that a teacher checks for understanding throughout the unit. Those checks should also be considered assessments, even if they are formative assessments. I would always know if a student would fail ahead of time because of all of the checkpoints that were done along the way. Also, if a student demonstrates quality understanding on a past formative assessment, then the grade should be changed. The student may have achieved proficiency at a later date, but they still exhibited mastery of the content.

4. No more "fluffy" grades. Students do not receive participation points. All students have to participate in my class whether it's by raising their hand or collaborating with a colleague. I also stopped grading assignments based on how they looked. My rubrics would have one category for "basic requirements" (like a specific minimum time or that it had the 10 pieces of criteria), but all of the other categories were based on research and content presented. Do I want a pretty project turned in? Sure, but I also want the students to show me and tell me what they know and what they learned.

5. Behavior does not equal achievement. Every day is a new day. Students act out for various reasons. There is no reason to "punish" a student by giving them a low grade. Grades should be reflective of student achievement, not student behavior. Yes, we want our students to be able to communicate, collaborate, be creative, and think critically. Human beings learn through practice, so if you want your students to learn to communicate, give them time to talk. Students don't need a grade to know if they can talk to other people.

The problem with sharing this information is that I definitely sound like an insufferable know-it-all. Do I have all of the answers? NO! I've evolved as an educator over the last twelve years (and will continue to grow as I teach). I just feel like these changes made a difference in my classroom. I want all students to have the capacity for success to have a promising future.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Work that matters to you.

Hello, colleagues! This week I've been thinking about my job change (prompted by my yearly teacher evaluation) and how I love my new job. I enjoy this position because I feel like I'm making a difference! Making a difference fits in with my personality (which I blogged about already). It's important to me to feel like I'm making a difference because it means that my work is meaningful. I can see the impact that my class is having on my students, the rest of the students in the building, and on the staff members. So, in this post, I want to talk about HOW to create meaningful work! Why is it so important?

Step 1. Work. Continue to work. Go to work every day.
I am lucky that I enjoy my job. I don't love waking up early, and I don't love going in to work every day, but I like it more than I don't. I am also lucky that I have a job that excites me and is a little bit different every day. I'm also passionate about making people better, so I throw myself into my career to make my students better people. I care about education, and I care about how to educate people, so I am continually learning new ideas to use in my classroom.

Step 2. As you work, what makes you excited?
I was also lucky in that, after six years of teaching, I was asked to be on a 1:1 iPad team. I threw myself into digital education and how it can be useful. I got excited about using technology in the classroom.

Step 3. Start to focus on what makes you excited. Focus on that excitement and research to learn more.
I decided that I wanted to become THE iPad teacher. I wanted to be 100% paperless, and 100% focused on the device. I wanted to become the teacher that everyone came to for advice on using tools seamlessly in the classroom.

Step 4. Dig into your excitement and pull out those pieces. Get specific. Find the meaning.
I realized, especially over the last two years, that using technology wasn't always the answer. Figuring this out shook me to the core. But I realized that I cared more about educating children than just using a device in class. So I focused on excellent strategies to use in the classroom, with technology or without. I focused on being a fabulous teacher that uses technology a lot.

Step 5. If your excitement wanes, try something new in your life. Get excited about it.
After five years of being on a 1:1 team, I was burning out. I was working TOO hard because of my passion for education. Sometimes it's hard to be a "black sheep" and an innovator. I paved a singletrack trail, seemingly by myself, and didn't have a support system. I knew I had to take a step back and be passionate about other things. I regularly went to yoga, I bought a new camera for my photography, I read more books more often (and not about education).

Step 6. If your excitement continues to wane, go back to your work. Then repeat steps 1-6.
Then I had the opportunity to move to a new position - one that is concrete and provides real-world skills for students and also allows me to share my passion for education with my colleagues.

I would like to think that every teacher wants to make a difference and wants their work to be meaningful. I also would like to believe that teachers want their students also to be creating significant work. I've talked in the past about student voice and choice. It's become an integral part of my educational philosophy. Giving the students an opportunity in how to speak their voice provides meaning to your class for your students. Realize that you can use these same six steps with your students!

Allow students to work on open-ended topics and/or essential questions in your class. Have them do lots of work in class. Keep them busy, but don't focus them too much on one thing. Start picking their brain - what do they find interesting or exciting? Have them dive deeper into those ideas. Would you rather have a student memorize dates or make connections to someone who escaped from slavery? Would you rather have a student know all grammatical rules or write a creative story that has a well-written character and descriptive language? As their interest wanes, and they feel that they've covered the topic, move on to another unit and repeat the steps.

For students to grow (as students) and become young adults, we don't want them to worry about whether or not they got an A. We want them to create good work and be prepared for the future. Students have to produce in order to be creative. Students have to work to see what is solid work. In order for students to grow, they have to find their passions. Give students some autonomy, make their work complex, and help them find connections between your content AND who they were in the past, who they are now, and who they want to be.
Autonomy (freedom from external control or influence; independence). Give students some flexibility (e.g., student voice and choice). That doesn't mean that students to get to do whatever they want, but they should have opportunities to make decisions. Let students pitch you different options. Let students redefine your rubric. Let students invest in content that is useful to them. Let students build relationships with each other and build trust with you.
Complexity (the state or quality of being intricate or complicated). Make your students think. Give them hard questions that make them wrestle mentally with themselves and others. Force your students to think "outside the box" and present outside the box. Give students time to dedicate themselves to these tasks and support them. Make your students stretch, in your class, to be the best citizen possible when they leave at the end of the year. Set ambitious goals and help them map a process to achieve them. Don't let your students sit idly by.
Make connections (a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else). Don't let your class only be about content, objectives, and standards. They are necessary, but they're not enough. We don't live our daily lives through content, goals, and standards. We crave connections and meaning. Make your classroom a place for making bonds, whether it's to a historical figure, a data point, another person in the room, to the school, or to themselves. Let your classroom be a tangible place for the students, so they walk away with some appreciation for life.

There are a lot of ideas in this post, but in the end, we want students to come to class, to care, and to create. Hopefully, something sits with you, and you make a change for Monday. Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website