Teaching

Fostering the Standards for Mathematical Practice

christopherwooleyhand Best Practices, Teaching

Since the adoption of the Common Core Standards, many states have been working to foster math instruction that incorporates the Standards for Mathematical Practice.  These standards are viewed as the key practices that need to be in place in every math classroom, every day:

1.  Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2.  Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3.  Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4.  Model with mathematics.

5.  Use appropriate tools strategically.

6.  Attend to precision.

7.  Look for and make use of structure.

8.  Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The challenge for school leaders and teachers is understanding what these practices look and sound like in the classroom.  What do we have to do in order to foster the Standards for Mathematical Practice?  The following suggestions are gleaned from several sources (see links below) and should encourage a conversation around what effective math instruction looks like:

-Students should be talking with and interacting with each other every day.

-Math should be about real life problems, not isolated skills.

-Students need support and practice in learning how to communicate mathematical ideas.

-Manipulatives and technology should be used when they enhance understanding.

-Assessments should reflect the way math is being taught.

-Strategies to promote the practices should include giving students the answer to questions and asking them to decide what the question is; having students make up problems that meet some pre-determined criteria; and posing “What if?” questions about what might happen if a change is made to the quantity or any other aspect of a given problem.

-Students will need consistent strategies for reading problems and determining what the question is asking.

Practice number one might be our biggest challenge.  How do we get students to persevere in math?  Teachers can support perseverance through modeling and teacher talk.  A combination of practice, scaffolding, and encouragement can build a foundation for the resilience our students will need to meet success in math.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/

What Should I Look for in a Math Classroom?

http://www.utdanacenter.org/mathtoolkit/support/look.php

Implementing the Common Core Mathematical Practices

http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol8/805-parker.aspx

What does a literacy-rich classroom look like?

christopherwooleyhand #mdeschat, Early Childhood, Teaching

Early literacy efforts are, needless to say, an ongoing concern for school districts across the US and the world.  The pendulum on what methodology is best has swung in enough directions to make the average teacher dizzy.  What constitutes good reading instruction?

The International Reading Association adopted standards in 2005 that are research-based and worth revisiting.  The IRA recommends that effective early childhood educators:

  • Recognize the importance of language and literacy experiences relative to achievement
  • Integrate early literacy experiences into the curriculum
  • Connect physical, emotional, and social goals in the language and literacy curriculum
  • Develop appropriate language and literacy standards
  • Create a language and literacy program that is culturally competent
  • Participate in professional development opportunities to stay up-to-date on evidence-based practice

For more info, see the IRA link below:

http://www.reading.org/Libraries/position-statements-and-resolutions/ps1066_preschool.pdf

The question we must continually ask ourselves is, “What do those standards look like in the primary grades?”  What would an observer “see” in the classroom that demonstrates those standards?  The third bullet above is a poignant reminder that early literacy skills are best honed in a classroom that capitalizes on the social, emotional, and physical connections to learning.  Yes, strong literacy skills are a must for every teacher, but if they are unable to connect with students on a personal level, their success will be limited.

The other theme running through the IRA’s recommendations is that language and literacy are complementary skills.  Students in the primary grades must be exposed to a language-rich environment.  Reading skills will grow much quicker and deeper in a dynamic classroom that promotes discussion, movement, play, theater, and student autonomy.  A teacher who structures the classroom for student-choice will develop the independence in students that they need to succeed in life.

What do you expect to see in the primary grades when it comes to reading?  What indicators tell you that a classroom is literacy rich?  Join #mdeschat this Thursday 8PM ET and share, or add a comment below!

3 Tips for Building Teacher Leadership

christopherwooleyhand School Leadership, Teaching

Good schools have good leadership.  Great schools have great teacher leadership.  We can all think back to the day when the single heroic leader model was the norm.  This was the era of the authoritarian principal who ruled with a firm hand.  They were the only “expert” in the building and they used their influence in every aspect of management.  Some of those dinosaurs remain, but much like the dinosaurs, they are headed for extinction.

The postmodern principal recognizes that schools have no chance of success unless leadership is a shared commodity.  The job is just too big.  The need to develop teachers as leaders is a generally accepted premise in most school districts.  The challenge, of course, is how to do it.  How can school systems and individual schools harness the skills of their teachers to improve instruction and raise student achievement?

Here are three thoughts that school leaders may want to consider when developing teacher leaders:

Include Everyone

School leaders who select the teacher leaders in their building automatically limit the potential for success.  Everyone can lead in some way.  If teachers aren’t considered part of the leadership team, then they are unlikely to be a part of a school’s success.  Principals who are perceived as having “their people” create a climate of acrimony that leaves many on the outside looking in.  Leadership opportunities must be given to everyone.

Identify and Capitalize on Strengths

We expect teachers to know the strengths and challenges of their students.  School leaders must do the same with their teachers.  This can be done formally (surveys) or informally (conversations/observations).  Either way, school leaders can capitalize on that knowledge when developing their school improvement plans.  Every teacher should be offered and encouraged to have their moment to shine.

Trust

School leaders must take a leap of faith and trust teachers.  Sometimes, that trust must be given before it is earned.  Most principals want control over the sharing of information in their buildings.  They want to make sure that instruction is consistent and focused.  Trusting teachers and their expertise will actually enhance quality instruction.  Teachers want to be included in the important decisions related to instruction.  When school leaders exclude teachers, they eliminate the potential for innovation.  Innovative teaching comes from a school climate that fosters risk-taking.  If principals are willing to trust their teachers, the ideas will come pouring out.

Building teacher leadership is one way that school leaders may be able to ensure long-term success.  School leaders come and go.  Turnover and change are inevitable.  When leadership is shared, the transition to new leadership is much smoother.  We owe it to our students and their families to utilize the knowledge of our teachers.  Let’s replace those dinosaurs with a new generation of resilient and inclusive leaders.

The Way of Mindful Education

christopherwooleyhand School Culture, Teaching

This book review, by Christopher Wooleyhand, appears in the November/December edition of Principal magazine.  Copyright 2014 National Association of Elementary School Principals.  All rights reserved.

The Way of Mindful Education: Cultivating Well-being in Teachers and Students.  Daniel Rechtschaffen.  W.W. Norton & Company, 2014, 318 pages.

How much better would your school be if the teachers in your building were focused, attentive, and compassionate?  Extend those same thoughts to students.  Would your school be the ideal learning environment if your students were trained to handle the stress and trauma that can keep them from realizing their full potential?  In The Way of Mindful Education, Daniel Rechtschaffen offers educators the tools to develop classrooms and schools that cultivate attention while promoting kindness toward ourselves and others.

​Rechtschaffen, a therapist and founder of the Mindful Education Institute, has trained educators around the world.  He discusses the history of mindful education and provides the reader with ample research supporting the benefits of this unique approach.  According to Rechtschaffen, mindfulness was given birth after World War II when the World Health Organization commissioned a study on the psychological health of European children.  Researchers and educators finally began to understand the emotional needs of children in context to their academic and worldly success.  Rechtschaffen presents the science behind mindfulness to support its use in education.  He believes that mindfulness, “[c]ultivates attention, compassion, happiness, and relaxation and decreases impulsivity, anxiety, and other emotional states.”

​After establishing the credibility of mindfulness, Rechtschaffen goes to work on teachers first.  He encourages teachers to begin a personal journey toward mindfulness that will serve as a good example to their students.  Readers may be tempted to skip this section and move onto how mindfulness can be applied in the classroom.  Rechtschaffen would suggest that we have to, “[t]ake care of ourselves and cultivate our own mindful practice, and what we need to embody our practice in the world.”

​It is in the final two chapters that Rechtschaffen shares the “how to” of mindfulness.  These chapters describe the mindful classroom and the mindful curriculum.  The reader will gain a clear sense of how mindfulness can be employed in any classroom.  Rechtschaffen outlines the qualities of a mindful teacher and the essential ingredients of the mindful classroom in his closing chapters.  Most importantly, he provides the reader with ample resources and lessons that can be used immediately in the classroom.

​While the concept of mindfulness may initially seem complex and unconventional, it is a low-risk, high reward approach to helping teachers and students manage the stresses that impact their daily performance.  That alone makes it worthy of consideration by any school leader who values the emotional needs of students and staff members.

Tips for successful parent-teacher conferences

christopherwooleyhand Best Practices, Teaching

November is parent/teacher conference month in many school districts across the United States.  Conferences give teachers the opportunity to have a face-to-face meeting with parents and discuss student progress from the first quarter of the school year.  What should teachers remember as they prepare for conferences?  What should parents expect to learn from their conference?  I asked several principal colleagues to share their sage advice.

What is your best piece of advice for teachers as they prepare for conferences? 

Try to hear your message through the ears and hearts of the parents.  Parents send us their very best and whatever you are saying about their child you are saying about them, too. Be honest, be respectful, be kind. – Pat Keffer @psikeffer

Start with one positive, even if it seems like a stretch.  Listen to their concerns, but keep them on track. – Donna Usewick @dsusewick

Always start with a positive and don’t overwhelm parents with constructive feedback.  Pick a few things the student needs to work on (the big rocks) and focus on those items. Also, try to be specific about what they can do to positively influence the change needed. It is also helpful to provide some information about major curricular shifts within the Maryland College and Career Ready standards. – Jason Otte  @fishingfan24

I encourage teachers to have a written plan for what they want to share and be consistent with all parents – share something positive (a snapshot of their child during the school day), areas of concern, how the parent can provide support at home, and offer an opportunity for questions.  Student work should also be available for the parent to review.  Above all, it is important for the teacher to be positive and engage the parents as partners in their child’s education. – Sue Myers @SueMyers1984

Come prepared—jot down notes before the conference about the child that include positives and opportunities for growth.  While we want to celebrate all students’ successes and special traits, we want to encourage growth in all students.  Providing parents with specific strategies and areas to focus on supports student learning and pulls parents into the magic of learning. – Rachel Amstutz @rachelamstutz

Be prepared.  Make sure you know the student themselves, not just the work they do.  Rehearse what you are going to share about school wide initiatives. -Amanda Salveron @APACSalveron

What should parents expect to learn from their conference with the teacher?

Parents should understand the strengths of their child as well as the areas of need…academically and socially, and specifically how the parents can help and support. This would require an understanding of the expectations that the teacher has for the child and class, again, academically and socially. – Pat Keffer @psikeffer

Parents should have a good overall picture of progress.  Teachers need to make sure that parents know that this is 10 or 15 minute conversation and that constant communication is the key. – Donna Usewick @dsusewick

It would be my hope that parents would walk away feeling positive, with a better understanding of what specifically their child needs to work on, as well as some information about major educational shifts that could impact their child. – Jason Otte @fishingfan24

Parents should expect to learn their child’s current skill level in all academic areas as well as specific strengths and next steps.  Expect to leave with strategies to begin using immediately at home to help move your child to the next level! –Rachel Amstutz @rachelamstutz

Parents should learn about what the teacher is doing to meet the needs of their individual student.  They should also learn how they can be supportive of their student at home. – Amanda Salveron @APACSalveron

Conferences can be a stressful event for parents.  Here are some final tips to help reduce anxiety as parents prepare for their conference:

• Ask your child if there is anything that s/he would like you to discuss with the teacher
• Jot down notes on what you would like to discuss at the conference
• Arrive promptly or a few minutes early
• Begin with positive comments about the teacher or classroom
• Be open-minded to suggestions from the teacher
• Take notes about what is discussed to share with your child
• Express appreciation for the conference
• Keep to the allotted amount of time

 

Thanks to my awesome PLN for providing great advice about parent-teacher conferences!

 

Isn’t it time for an elementary TOY, Maryland?

christopherwooleyhand Early Childhood, Teaching

According to educationbug.org, there are 1,424 public schools in the state of Maryland.  More than half (866/60%) of those schools are elementary level.  With a little investigating at localschooldirectory.com one can discover that there are 33,000 elementary teachers (K-5) in Maryland and 24,544 secondary teachers.

The question I have is, if there are nearly ten thousand more elementary teachers in Maryland than secondary teachers, why has there only been one elementary level Maryland Teacher of the Year in the last eleven years?  This puzzling pattern is not just a state issue, but a local district issue as well.  I can’t remember the last time an elementary teacher won the county teacher of the year award in my district.

I am not suggesting that there is some kind of nefarious plot against elementary teachers, but there may be something as deeply disturbing afoot.  Have elementary teachers become the Rodney Dangerfield’s of education?  Is there a lack of respect for what elementary teachers do?  Are secondary teachers selected more often because they tend to specialize in specific content areas?  I have more questions than answers, but I am hoping that respect is not the reason.

I have great admiration for what middle and high school teachers accomplish every year.  They make an impact on the lives of students that often determines the direction they will take as young adults.  Yet, no one can tell me that their accomplishments are more meaningful or important than what elementary teachers do.

I get the sense that the people who sit on these selection committees think elementary teachers spend their days wiping noses and tying shoes.  While our teachers do those things gladly, they also provide innovative instruction in science, technology, reading, math and many other areas.  Elementary teachers form the foundation that middle schools and high schools build on.  Without that foundation, our educational system would crumble.

I am hopeful that selection committees across Maryland (and other states) will be diligent in evaluating candidates fairly.  Fairness starts with giving equal weight to the level that candidates represent.  Being a middle or high school teacher should not give one an advantage over elementary level candidates.  Perhaps members of the selection committees should spend a little time in an elementary school.  If they are brave enough to, it won’t be long before this conspicuous disparity is rectified.

Why Should Educators Blog?

christopherwooleyhand Reflection, Teaching

I began blogging a year ago today. This is my 70th post in a calendar year. I was never the type to keep a journal. When I was eleven years old I was given a diary for Christmas from my mother. I dutifully wrote in that diary for six weeks, then my entries trailed off to nothing. Maybe it’s a guy thing. We’re just not a reflective gender. Nevertheless, I started writing Common Sense School Leadership on October 7, 2013.

For me, Twitter was the “gateway” from micro-blogging to full blown blogging. The connections and conversations I had with educators across the globe motivated me to better understand the issues that connect us all. Twitter helped me find my voice. It is a great venue for trying out ideas with an audience that is generally supportive and interested in a meaningful dialogue.

There are thousands of blogs out there. Mine is nothing special. So, why bother? Why spend the time writing about issues in education? Here are three reasons you might want to consider blogging:

1. To grow

Blogging makes you think deeply about your views and beliefs. Who knows how many people will read your blog? While we may hope that others find our musings at least minimally interesting, our growth comes through the writing process. The more you write about topics that you are passionate about, the more you understand yourself.

2. To connect with others

The opportunities to connect with colleagues are often limited by our schedules. How often do you have time to discuss important educational issues with others? Blogging (and reading others’ blogs) expands your learning circle. When you share your blog with others, you meet people from all over the world. The only thing you have to do is dedicate your time, energy, and willingness to the process.

3. To learn

The concept of professional learning is being redefined. It’s no longer about attending an “event.” Blogging cuts out the middle man. It gives you direct access to innovative thinkers and doers. You no longer have to wait for someone’s book to come out or for a great speaker to present at your favorite annual conference. Many blogs focus on the practical aspects of our profession. This means that you can get tips, suggestions, and ideas in real time, when you need them- no waiting necessary.

So, what’s keeping you from blogging? Not enough time? That’s the one thing no one can give you more of. Blogging can be done any time of the day. You just have to decide it’s worth it. You have value. You have great ideas. We need to hear them. Give it a try!

Six Tips for Growing Good Readers

christopherwooleyhand Children, Early Childhood, Teaching

I wrote following article for Forest of the Rain Productions this week (www.forestoftheraineducation.weebly.com)

In 2000, the National Reading Panel issued a report that served as the basis for reading instruction across the United States.  Many NCLB initiatives used the Panel’s report to justify a very narrow definition of reading instruction.  Their findings suggested that the best approaches to reading incorporate:

  • Explicit instruction in phonemic awareness
  • Systematic phonics instruction
  • Methods to improve fluency
  • Ways to enhance comprehension

Fourteen years later, as we prepare for the Common Core era, schools are hopefully shifting their focus to a broader and more comprehensive view of reading instruction.  Something significant has been lost with recent school reform efforts.  The creation of formulaic reading programs has moved schools away from fostering a lovefor learning in their students.

Before you can interest a child in unlocking the sounds associated with letters, you must at least light a candle of interest.  If you want children to become fluent readers who also comprehend, then show them how reading unlocks the world.  Schools wishing to elevate student success should encourage parents and teachers to consider the following tips on growing good readers:

1.      Talk to them

Vocabulary development and reading skills are linked processes.  The more you read, the better your vocabulary, the more you engage in conversation, the better you’ll be able to read.  Busy parents must take the time to talk with their children about a range of subjects.  Teachers must give their students opportunities to talk with their classmates.  While we can all appreciate the value of peace and quiet, our children will become better readers from ample opportunities to talk.

2.      Read to them

Oral comprehension supports the growth of independent reading skills.  Parents of young children should be reading to them every night.  Teachers should build read-alouds and books on tape into their daily instruction.  Older students also benefit from listening to others read.  You can turn the table on them by having students record themselves for others to listen to.

3.      Model good reading

Children tend to value what the adults in their lives show enthusiasm for.  If you want your child to be a reader, you have to model it.  Talk to them about the books you are reading.  Share your excitement about your favorite genre.  Have a quiet reading time in your home or classroom where everyone is reading at the same time.  Involve the extended family in sharing their reading interests.  Invite guest readers to the classroom to share their love for reading.

4.      Ask Questions

Questioning is the starting point for reading comprehension.  Good readers are constantly asking questions as they read.  Young readers should be encouraged to share what they are thinking as they are reading.  Reinforce questioning before, during, and after reading.  As children improve their questioning skills, raise the level from explicit to implicit questioning.

5.      Take them places

Background knowledge is vital for growing good readers.  Every trip a parent takes their child on, no matter how long or short, should involve literacy moments.  Trips to the store, to the park, or to the gas station can all provide teachable moments for parents.  Point out signs, letters, and numbers as you travel.  Have your child help you with the grocery list.  They can “read” it to you as you shop.  Children need to see the connection between reading and the real world.  The more background knowledge a child has, the better prepared they’ll be when the demands of reading get harder.

6.      Go to the library

You can never expose a child to too many books.  Our public libraries are tremendous resources for parents and teachers.  Many have very liberal policies when it comes to checking books out.  Your local library probably sponsors a summer reading program and many offer homework help for school-aged children.  In hard economic times, public libraries offer parents affordable and often free resources for growing young readers.

Good readers become great readers through a process that is part art and part science.  While phonemic awareness and phonics should be components of good reading instruction, we must remember to build a love for reading in our students.  A love for reading blooms in students who are exposed to a variety of literature using methods that actively engage them.

Let’s think of it this way:  the stem, leaf, roots, and flower are the phonics/phonemics of reading, the love for reading comes from the soil, sun, and water we supply.  If we provide the best of both for our students, they will surely become lifelong readers.

Meet Chris Shriver-Edcamp Baltimore Co-founder

christopherwooleyhand #mdeschat, Teaching

cshriver

Edcamp Baltimore (@EdcampBmore) will be held Saturday, September 27th on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.  Co-founder, Chris Shriver (@ccshriver) sat down with #mdeschat to discuss her passion for technology, teaching, and the edcamp movement.  Chris will guest host #mdeschat on Twitter this Thursday, September 18th, 8PM EST.

You serve as a Digital Learning Specialist at Garrison Forrest School.  What are the roles and responsibilities of your position?

As a Digital Learning Specialist, I work directly with students and faculty in the lower division of my school.  My main responsibility is teaching a class called Imagineering (a hands-on STEM class with a focus on building and problem solving) in grades PK-5.  I also work with teachers to help implement technology in their classrooms.  We are a Google Apps for Education school with a 1 to 1 program in grades 4-12, so we have many opportunities for collaboration and curriculum enhancement using digital tools.  I also often help with faculty training during our in-house professional development days.

How has technology changed since you began your career?

This is a tough one to answer, at least succinctly.  My teaching career has had two phases, one before children and one after.  The first phase ended in 1996 with the birth of my oldest daughter.  At that time, I was teaching English to non-native speakers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the world of edtech for me consisted of not much more than word processing and email, all of which was accomplished in a lab, students and teachers alike.

When I re-entered the classroom (at my current school) in 2006, I found myself at a 1 to 1 school where every teacher was assigned a personal computer (a big change from 1996!).  There was a lot to learn, but fortunately, I consider myself a life-long learner.  After a few years as an assistant teacher, I became the Digital Learning Specialist for the Lower School.  I was fortunate to have a classroom that was technology-rich (I was in a Mac lab with an interactive whiteboard, and we were piloting the classroom use of iOS devices in our younger elementary grades).  However, as I look back even these short 4 years, I realize a lot has changed.

In 2010, I taught technology in isolation in a lab.  Students came to me, and we learned tools for the sake of learning the tool.  Sometimes, what we did in the lab was an extension of what was happening in the classroom, but that was often not the case.  Two years ago, we decided to close the lab (we needed additional classroom space) and move my work with the students into the homerooms.  This allowed the projects to be directly tied to what the students were doing in class.

We were successful because now my class time with students deals very minimally with websites and tech tools.  That is part of what happens now in the homerooms (with my support as needed).  My role has been re-imagined once again as the STEM teacher, and with it, I have a new classroom.  I teach a class primarily focused on building and creating with our hands, aided and enhanced by technology when it is the best tool for the task.  When we do have computer time, rather than websites and software, we often find ourselves learning programming.  I would say the biggest change in how we as a school view technology is the realization that we cannot simply teach our students to be consumers; we must also teach them to create.

You are a co-founder and member of the organizing committee for Edcamp Baltimore (September 27th at JHU).  How did you get involved with edcamps?

I met Shannon Montague (@montysays) in January 2012 at a Photoshop workshop at Calvert School.  We recognized one another from Twitter.  Coincidentally, she and I had plans to both attend EduCon in Philadelphia a few days later.  Although we didn’t really spend our time together at the conference, we both came away with similar experiences.  As you may know, attending EduCon is three days of meeting and connecting with the Who’s Who of Twitter.  There, both Shannon and I heard a lot about edcamps (most of the current Foundation board was in attendance).

A few months later, we found ourselves having coffee at the Starbucks in Pikesville discussing the steps necessary for putting together an edcamp for Baltimore (Shannon is a master organizer).  The excitement of what we had heard about at EduCon was contagious, and we knew we wanted to bring it to Baltimore. November 10, 2012 was the first Edcamp Baltimore.

What do you think it is about edcamps that appeals to so many educators?

Edcamps put educators first.  We become the students, so our needs come before that of our schools or districts. We have a voice in what we want to learn.  This is so exciting because I think educators enjoy learning; after all, we have decided to devote our careers to being in the classroom.  So when we find ourselves surrounded by others like us, dedicated, passionate teachers who voluntarily give up a Saturday to learn, the feeling is pure joy.

What would you tell someone who has never been to an edcamp to encourage their attendance?

I think the biggest hurdle for most is the idea of giving up part of the weekend.  However, every edcamp I have attended has brought me into contact with some of the most amazing educators I have ever met.  I truly believe the decision to attend an edcamp will be a decision no educator will regret.   For anyone who is in need of refueling (often the reason we are reluctant to give up the weekend), edcamps are the opportunity to rediscover the joys that brought you into the classroom.  You will leave with far more than the day you donate.

What are you looking forward to most about Edcamp Baltimore this year?

I am looking forward to the people!  This has been a year of unbelievable excitement and anticipation for Edcamp Baltimore.  In the first two years, we had to do a lot of selling of the event.  This year, our loyal attendees have done all the heavy lifting.  They have tweeted and contacted colleagues, and the response has been tremendous.  We are in a very vibrant community, full of exciting innovation, and I am really looking forward to learning from and connecting with all of these dedicated educators.

A BIG thank you to Chris for sharing her knowledge and passion!

Five Thoughts on Student Engagement

christopherwooleyhand Best Practices, Teaching

Teachers naturally want their students to be engaged in the instruction they provide.  They want their students to be personally absorbed in the learning process.  The “how” of engagement can be challenging, even for experienced teachers.  Planning for active student engagement requires meticulous preparation and thought.  Most of all, it requires that teachers truly know each and every one of their students.

Teachers who know the strengths and needs of their students use that knowledge to raise the potential of their success.  They put their students in learning situations where the rewards are high and the risks of failure are low.  They don’t try to manipulate the end result, but they narrow the number of potential outcomes.

Here are five thoughts on how teachers can increase student engagement:

1. Have them teach each other.

See how high the level of focus goes when students are told that they will be teaching a new concept to their classmates.  It’s not about the fear factor, but students certainly become more engaged in classrooms that include opportunities for them to teach each other.  Of course, it has to be genuine, not contrived.  While this approach may take more time, it leads to greater retention of the material and deeper understanding of the concepts.

2. Assign authentic tasks with meaningful final projects.

Students are quickly motivated when their learning is related to topics they are passionate about.  In turn, passionate teachers can easily motivate their students by selecting lessons that focus on real-life problems and issues.  The final projects associated with problem-based learning should be meaningful.  The simplest question teachers should ask before determining the focus of an investigation is, “Who will we share what we’ve learned with and how will we do it?”

3. Promote working together.

While it may be hard to know what careers we are preparing students for, we can assume that collaboration will be a key skill for their success.  Students need training in how to work with others.  It is not a natural talent.  Consistent structures and practices lead to collaboration that flows and seems natural.  Teachers can begin with highly controlled practices and, as students assume more independence, they can exercise a gradual release of responsibility.

4. Incorporate technology.

The modern teacher has many choices when it comes to using technology as a teaching tool.  Teachers must become comfortable with learning about technology alongside their students.  Blogging, file sharing, digital media, digital citizenship, PBL, Genius Hour, maker movement, curation and many more terms have made their way into the current educational lexicon.  Start investigating the newest technology.  If you don’t, you can bet your students will.

5. Get students moving.

Students should be sitting as little as possible during the school day.  If your students aren’t moving every fifteen minutes, they probably aren’t learning as much as you want them to.  Brain-based research has clearly linked the role of movement in learning.  Where does the blood pool when you’re sitting for long stretches of time?  You can bet it’s not in the brain.  Movement breaks and physical activity re-awaken the brain’s synapses and make students available for new learning.  So, get moving!