Proactive Classroom Management

“I want to be better at classroom management.”

A familiar thought for many teachers at the start of each school year (including myself). So, what does it take? Rather than being reactive, classroom management systems must be proactive. They exist in order to teach students how to function within the classroom space. Why? Children thrive in more structured environments where the expectations are appropriate and clear.

Here are three ways you can be more proactive in planning your classroom management systems:  

Convenience Is Key

When setting up one of my first classrooms, I found an idea on Pinterest – designing a magnet board to know when students were “present,” “absent,” or had gone “out of the classroom.” I even allowed students to customize their own magnet. I was all for this new system… for about a week. Why didn’t the excitement last? The system didn’t work because my students walked into the room with an armful of materials to put away (folder, homework, snack, water, the list goes on), and moving their magnet just wasn’t convenient for them.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that when setting up your classroom and establishing routines, everything should be convenient and simple. My magnet board was quickly replaced with an attendance routine that utilized the free app, ClassDojo. Not only were students able to use the app to check in and out every morning, but the information was saved at the end of the school day.

While the Pinterest ideas may be charming –you must ask yourself – do they really work for my students?

 

Investment Is Worth It

I visited a kindergarten classroom recently where the students were just beginning to use iPads. Pulling the teacher aside, I asked if the students were responding well and if they were able to use the technology effectively. She reminded me of the deliberate sequence of lessons that it took to prepare them for such an activity, and I couldn’t help but smirk. I have always admired her calm approach to teaching such a young age group so I stuck around to watch some of the rollout for myself.

Understanding the value of establishing good routines, the teacher was in no rush to move onto the next lesson. Instead, she took the time to break steps of the routine down to their absolute smallest parts. For example, rather than simply telling the students where to access their headphones, the teacher modeled proper handling and care. She consistently reinforces these procedures and her students have become increasingly independent.

An “expert board” identifies students who are particularly skilled in a certain area so they can support their peers.

 

Independence Is Possible

Just as a plant will grow in the proper conditions, so too, will a student. Established routines should include opportunities for students to become independent leaders. Why not try instituting an “expert board” to identify students who are particularly skilled in a certain area? In the picture to the right, the teacher identifies “expert” students who could offer support to their peers in need. As students begin organically working together, the classroom runs more seamlessly. Not only does this promote leadership among students, but it also allows them to lean on each other for support – a skill they must possess in the real world.

 

 

Is your classroom running as smoothly as it could be? If not, it’s never too late to examine your own classroom systems. Strong classroom management doesn’t happen by accident. It is a result of thoughtful procedures that are convenient, consistently reinforced, and dependent on students. Take the time now to be proactive and start thinking, “I am better at classroom management.”

What else is required to build more proactive classroom management systems? Add your ideas in the comments or on Twitter via @EducateLLC!

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3 Ways Tech Can Create an Authentic Audience for Students

Authentic learning is an instructional approach that gives students opportunities to explore real-world challenges with projects that are tangible and relevant to the learner. These experiences allow students to see the purpose in their work and have been shown to increase student engagement. This type of learning should also provide students with an authentic audience, giving them a chance to have someone – outside of their teachers and parents – show practical interest in their work.

Create a diorama for a book report. Design a poster board for a science fair project. Write a creative short story that you submit directly to your teacher. Complete worksheet after worksheet on a math skill.

What do all of these things have in common? All of us in the adult world probably remember doing similar projects when we were in school. While they may be memorable learning experiences, they are not authentic learning experiences.

Last year, I took a new approach to a classic creative writing assignment and told my students they would publish their completed short stories on Wattpad, a story sharing website. From the onset of the project, my students were significantly more enthusiastic knowing their work would be seen by real people outside the classroom. They were meticulous in their writing and eagerly sought feedback from their peers and teachers.

Real-world tasks and audiences can enliven any assignment. Here are 3 twists on classic projects that provide students with both:

3 Projects with Authentic Audiences

Reinvigorate the research paper by turning it into a research blog.

Researching is an incredibly important skill. Now, more than ever, it is critical for students to be able to determine the reliability of sources, analyze conflicting arguments, and develop their own opinions based on research. But let’s be honest here, aren’t most research papers are only read by a few people, usually just the student and teacher?

Giving students the opportunity to turn their research paper into a blog post expands their audience dramatically. It’s hard to overestimate the impact a larger audience has on a student’s writing. If they know that their relatives, friends and other members of the school community will read their writing, they work more carefully and thoughtfully. You can even build student excitement by hosting a publishing party to celebrate the date that their writing goes live!

A blog post also allows students to practice important technical skills like how to incorporate pictures and digital media in their writing and how to cite sources digitally.

Consider using Blogger, WordPress, or another blog platform to expand your students’ authentic audience and deepen their investment in writing.

 

Reconsider the geometry worksheet by turning it into a design project.

Have you ever heard a student in math class ask, “When am I going to use this in real life?” It can be a fair question since much of math work is abstract. If students are only practicing math within the pages of a workbook, it can be hard for them to see its relevance.

One possibility for bringing math to life is having the students design something and present their mock-ups to peers, teachers, or the principal. Students could use geometry and algebra to design a school garden or a playground. They could even use their newfound skills to solve real-world problems, like redesigning a classroom or the cafeteria set up to create better traffic flows.

Consider using Google Drawings or even free 3D design software like Tinkercad to aid your students in creating designs that use real-life math work, which they can present to an authentic audience.

 

Refresh the book report by turning it into a digital book review.

Book reports allow students to practice valuable skills: summarizing, critiquing, analyzing, and synthesizing.  These reports have reemerged in modern life as book reviews on Amazon and other sites. Consider allowing your students to practice these skills by posting their review online so other interested readers can learn about the story.

Good platforms for this include:  GoodReads for older students as well as Spaghetti Book Reviews and Share What You’re Reading on Scholastic for younger students.

 

These are just a few ways to turn traditional classroom projects into more authentic experience. When trying these new ideas, be aware of your school’s privacy and Internet policies to ensure the safety of your students. If you’re questioning something, you should run it by your school technology lead or principal.

Do you have other ideas for revamping classic assignments and connecting students with authentic audiences? Add your ideas in the comments or on Twitter via @EducateLLC!

Written by George Ganzenmuller, @EdTechGeorge

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A Community of Innovative Educators

What do you get when teachers from New Jersey, Brooklyn and the Bronx sit at the same table? If you are expecting a punchline, we are sorry to disappoint. This is exactly what we saw last year during Google Teachers’ Lounge – teachers from diverse settings coming together to solve classroom challenges and make new connections.

The Bronx teacher spoke about her challenges in supporting an English Language Learner who struggled to keep up during lessons. Before long, her colleagues from across town jumped in to help and hatched an innovative idea. In order to better support her student, the teacher could dictate her lessons directly into a Google Doc. In this way, the student could see the words come to life on the page, all the while continuing to participate in the lesson. “Amazing things happen when teachers have the opportunity to share ideas like this!” said the New Jersey teacher.

Google Teachers Lounge

Last year, teachers from across the city gathered for Google Teachers’ Lounge to share how they effectively use technology in the classroom.

A space for teachers:

We created Google Teachers’ Lounge last year, in hopes that teachers would want to come out and collaborate after their busy school days.  As it turned out, interest in all six of our events exceeded capacity. We were continuously amazed to see how energized teachers were, even after a long day of teaching. These events made us realize that teachers needed spaces like this to learn, connect, unwind and just have fun. We were also excited to give teachers in our client schools the opportunity to meet each other (and debate who was the best Educate coach). It was always a goal of ours to create a community of educators, and last year proved teachers need these spaces.

This year, we are excited to launch several new initiatives to continue to grow our community of innovative educators so that together we can maximize our impact on student success. This community will be called the Innovative Teaching Co-op and will provide teachers with the support they need to invigorate their instruction with new ideas and best serve their students.

Here’s how you can join the community:

  1. Join the Innovative Teaching Co-op Facebook Group – Join us on Facebook to discuss challenges and successes, or just talk about your day. Meet other teachers virtually, grow your network, and get invited to exclusive events.
  2. Subscribe to the Innovative Teaching Newsletter – Once a month, you will receive an email with recent Educate blogs on instructional best practices, tips for leveraging tech in your class, and upcoming professional development opportunities.
  3. The Innovative Teaching Co-op Monthly Meetup – Every month starting in November, we will be traveling to exciting spaces in NYC. We will honor what worked best in our previous events – a laid-back atmosphere, informal learning, food/drink, and always leaving with a next step for your classroom.

The members of Educate LLC team are rolling up our sleeves to bring this community to you because it is our greatest privilege to work with teachers in our schools, and as former teachers ourselves, we know how challenging this profession can be. Let’s not do it alone. Let’s work together, and be together, so that together we can bring the greatest success to our students.

 

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5 Ways to Build Better Student Groups

Student group work is an integral part of 21st-century classrooms, but figuring out the most effective way to distribute your class can be perplexing. Make this most of this classroom opportunity and try new ways of matching students with these five strategic ways to build meaningful student groups:

Student groups will allow more peer collaboration in the classroom.

“Most great learning happens in groups. Collaboration is the stuff of growth.” – Sir Ken Robinson

Readiness Student Groups

Use student achievement data to cluster students in a variety of ways. Heterogeneous groupings allow you to pair students who have already mastered the content with those who could benefit from peer coaching. Homogeneous groupings are great for differentiation because they allow teachers to push the high performers with more advanced work while also freeing up more class time for groups that need more time with the teacher while others work independently. Building these groups can be as simple as using a spreadsheet to sort scores from a recent assessment and grouping students accordingly.  

Style Student Groups 

We know that every student learns differently so have your class take a learning styles inventory survey and group students based on the results. You can design unique learning experiences for auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning groups. For example, an elementary math lesson on illustrating fractions could have one group of visual learners drawing while another group of tactile students manipulating tangram shapes.

Interest Student Groups

Allow students to opt into areas of interest. This approach is especially effective for literature circle as it allows students to self-select books or activities that match their passions. Students in interest groups are likely to be highly invested in the content, and self-selection can add an additional level of student ownership. Crafting a student survey (or copying this survey we made using Google Forms) at the start of the school year can be a great way to begin planning for interest based groups. 

Characteristic Student Groups 

Consider the many other identifying characteristics of your students, and you might come up with some creative new classroom groups. You can use any variable from date of birth to favorite color and everything in between. For example, you might kick off the year by grouping students based on their previous homeroom teacher or simply their favorite ice cream flavor.

Random Student Groups

While methodological grouping is an effective way to focus learning experiences, sometimes it is fun to build totally random groups so students get a chance to interact with different peers. Apps like Team Shake and Class Dojo’s Group Maker allow teachers to create randomized groups of any size almost instantly (and can help you manage those groups too).  

 

There are many ways to facilitate peer learning by creating small groups of students. Whatever method you try, be sure to monitor student performance to understand which groupings are most effective. Don’t be afraid to try new groups too! Change will keep your group time feeling fresh and exciting.


Teachers, what other ways do you group your students? What approach leads to the most student success? Let us know in the comments!

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How’s Teaching? – Take Back Summer Conversations

For educators like us, we’re constantly asked about life inside the classroom. No matter who inquires about teacher life, these conversations can sometimes feel repetitive and perfunctory. It’s time to flip the script and refresh the way both you and your community think about teaching. Rather than regurgitating the same stories from the past school year, use these conversations as a rewarding opportunity to learn from those around you in a way that can actually enrich your teaching this fall.

How is teaching?

Here are four people you might encounter this summer and how to make these conversations more meaningful and authentic for both of you.

Supportive Friend

This may be your childhood bestie working in a completely different industry who supports you unconditionally but knows very little about what it really means to be a teacher. Your friend has already heard of the many ups and downs of the past school year, so why not ask them for input as you get ready for the new year. Your family and friends all use tools that did not exist when they were in school. Use this as an opportunity to understand what skill sets are really critical for youth to develop to prepare for the future workforce.

Flip the conversation and ask: What are the major skills you wish you had learned before graduating high school? What technology do you use most in your industry today? 

Professional Acquaintance

This could be the new professional acquaintance you met at a summer professional development who teaches in a totally different community from your own. Teachers often compare and contrast campus and district life, so use this as an opportunity to learn about the innovative things happening in their classroom.

Flip the conversation and ask: What do you plan to do differently in your classroom this year? What technology resources have provided your students with the best learning experiences? 

Clueless Stranger

This might be a person you meet at a coffee shop or a friend’s party who knows very little about the world of education. This individual very well may comment on how easy teaching must be, especially when you are out on summer vacation. Push your new friend to consider how they too can support student development. You might have even just identified a new student mentor!

Flip the conversation and ask: What are your go-to tools to enhance, organize, or streamline your own life and work? How could a student use these same tools to get the most out of their education?

School BFF

This is the one teacher friend who really gets you. You may not see each other every day during the summer, but keeping up with them is an important way to mentally prepare for the new school year ahead. You and your school BFF will inevitably reminisce on the past year, and focusing on victories is essential. When you catch up, think about how you both can build on what went well during the previous year rather than agonize over anything that went wrong. You and your campus buddy can prepare for next year by capitalizing on good summer vibes.

Flip the conversation and ask: What was your biggest win last year, and how can we take that one step further this year? What are you trying to learn before the new year begins?

 

These are just a few of the people you may encounter that will inevitably ask you about your work. Similar conversations happen in every industry but can be particularly meaningful for educators. When you encounter summer small talk, use these moments as an opportunity to reflect and motivate yourself ahead of the coming school year.

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GTL April Edition, Let Our Powers Combine: An EdTech Think Tank

riding a bike

There is a saying that goes, “Being a teacher is easy. It’s like riding a bike. Except the bike is on fire. You’re on fire. Everything is on fire.” It paints quite the picture. Even someone who has never set foot in the classroom can picture the chaos of this image. The saying is meant to be somewhat comical, but there is an ounce of truth in it. For instance, just as you ride a bike, you never forget what it means to be a teacher.  Throw a former teacher into a classroom full of chaos and she/he will have the students working together and learning within the first 15 minutes. It just feels natural. That same teacher will go home at the end of the day (probably hours after the school bell has rang) and want to collapse on the couch. Teaching is the opposite of easy; it’s hard and it’s exhausting.

I saw a interesting infographic recently, which stated that teachers make an average of 1,500 educational decisions every day. Educational decisions. That number doesn’t include the emotional decisions teachers make for the well-being of their students, nor the professional decisions teachers make in attempt to balance their work lives with their personal lives. And it certainly doesn’t include the vast number of decisions teachers make around the integration of technology in the classroom. I don’t know about you, but the chaos in that original image has seemingly become a reality.

 

“let our powers combine”

I wish I could tell you there is “one size fits all” solution to this chaos – Maybe a magical bean for a teacher to plant, to aide in her escape through the classroom window? Unfortunately, while I haven’t tried that one myself, I have a hunch that it wouldn’t do the trick. However, I can tell you that it doesn’t have to be quite that chaotic.

You deserve support. You deserve to be surrounded by a community of educators whom you can lean on when you need them most. In short, you deserve your own version of the Planeteers. In the midst of the chaos, it is important to remember the wise words of Captain Planet and, “Let our powers combine.” After all, who knows the challenges of teaching better than a fellow teacher?

Here are some practical (and efficient) ways to form your Planeteers:

  1. Start up a group text with your friends from work (FFW). I can’t tell you the number of times that my own FFW chat thread has saved not only my sanity, but usually hours of Googling the problems that I personally don’t know how to solve.
  2. Join a Professional Learning Community (PLC). Google+ is a great platform for online communities and an easy way to connect with others, ask them your questions or share your own expertise. Google Educator Group (GEG) NYC is  a good place to start. Google+ not your thing? Facebook has some good teacher groups, too; Teachers Helping Teachers Grow is on my personal newsfeed.
  3. Jump on Twitter. Create a snazzy handle for yourself and start reading tips from the educational greats; I recommend searching out lists which include multiple educators, such as “Influential Educators v2” by Edbaria. New to Twitter? Check out this intro video.

 

they’re among us

If it were up to me, each teacher would have their own educational guru. This guru would sit in the back of the classroom each and every day, waiting to answer any and all questions the teacher may have without judgement. During an observation, the guru would make sure all technology worked appropriately and all students had a pencil that was sharpened prior to the lesson. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, it sort of is, but if this GTL event taught me anything, it’s that the experts are among us.

 

As a teacher, we are surrounded by others who face the same challenges and concerns we do on a daily basis. They may not be teaching directly next door, but they are there. I promise. Perhaps these other teachers have discovered an innovative way to keep students on task when using technology. Maybe they even have some tips on how to scaffold technology for younger students. I won’t know until I ask.

 

 

Ask on your FFW text thread, or your PLC, or even on Twitter. All it takes is a simple sentence: “Hey, I could use some tips on…” and maybe, just maybe someone will show up with a bucket of water.

 

Feeling a little shy? Here are some freebie-tips!

Click to access a summary of the edtech issues and solutions from,

Let Our Powers Combine: An EdTech Think Tank

 

Written by Emily Kirsch, @Ed_Tech_Em

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GTL March Edition, Breaking out of the Box: Students as Innovators

diy

After months of dealing with an ever-dying battery, blurry classroom pictures, and limited hard drive space, I gave in and bought a new Android. It always amazes me to see just how quickly technology advances itself and this phone has been no exception. The first time I scrolled through the Facebook app, I was instantly mesmerized by the videos which automatically began to play. As much as I hate to admit it, I must have watched at least 10 clips of recipes and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects that first day.

When watching these videos, one cannot help but adopt a DIY attitude – an inner voice that claims, “I could totally do that.” Some people adopt a DIY attitude to save money, others simply enjoy the opportunity to flex their creative muscles. Even as I write this, I have a DIYer friend who is beginning the stages of building his own dining table. And, why not? In this day in age, with easy access to resources and experts (in person or virtually), more and more people are exploring the world of DIY.

“every child has a genius”

One fascinating thing about DIY is that it gives people the time and space to explore skills they would not necessarily use on a daily basis. It requires them to think outside the box and to stay motivated, even as unexpected challenges arise. During our March GTL event, Breaking out of the Box: Students as Innovators, we explored the work of a true DIY educator, Steven Levy, author of Starting from Scratch: One Classroom Builds Its Own Curriculum.

Famous for his innovative nature, Levy offered his students in Massachusetts the tremendous opportunity of designing their own curriculum. He even identified his “ideal classroom” as one that was completely empty on the first day of school. He wanted to allow his students to create a space that fit their needs. Why was Levy such a strong believer in “starting from scratch”? He understood the unique power of innovation. Levy recognized that when you give students the time and space to explore, you will begin to discover that “…every child has a genius”. Although this idea is not new to me, I cannot help but smile and nod agreement. As young as Kindergarten, students begin to realize their strengths and weaknesses. Michelle knows she is good with numbers and John knows he is a better reader, but what about the skills not found in a textbook?

“Brian’s” genius was professional wrestling. He wasn’t interested in learning to be a better reader. In fact, he struggled to write more than three words in his writer’s notebook. (Anyone out there find this familiar?) So, I did what any teacher would do, I begged him to write more. When that didn’t work (of course it didn’t), I knew I had to change something. I hopped online and began to teach myself all I could about professional wrestling. I read articles and watched videos, familiarizing myself with the “pros” and began to surprise Brian with wrestling-related questions in his notebook. His three words turned into a sentence and before I knew it Brian was writing a paragraph. Turns out, all I needed to do was ask the right questions.

Are you using innovation to support your students in discovering their “genius”?

Interested in learning more about Steven Levy? Check out his book (one of my personal favorites)!

 

small steps = big innovation

During this edition of Google Teachers’ Lounge (GTL), participants explored ways in which they can build innovative practices into their instruction. From discussing flexible classroom seating to learning about digital makerspaces, teachers figured out what worked best for them. One of the best takeaways of the evening was that innovation does not have to mean “starting from scratch”. There is no need to throw away those boxes of curriculum that are in your closet; instead, start small.

Build in innovation by offering students a menu of options. Let students choose how they want to show their understanding of a concept. A Google Slides presentation that includes graphics? A letter written from a character’s point of view? Maybe they could even record their thinking when solving a math problem. Offering these options allows students to draw from their “genius”, while still providing adequate data for a teacher. Most importantly, it allows students to become DIYers, while staying within the confines of that pesky pacing calendar.

Ready to break outside of the box and take on the attitude of a DIYer?!

…Because you can “totally do this” – Check out our full list of resources here!

Written by Emily Kirsch, @Ed_Tech_Em

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