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Making School a Safe Place for LGBTQ Students

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Making School a Safe Place for LGBTQ Students

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Depending on where you live, you might think we've reached a point where society has truly embraced people of all gender and sexual identities, making the topic of LGBTQ rights kind of a non-issue. The truth is, for many LGBTQ students, discrimination and harassment are still a daily reality, and school is one of the main places where they experience these things.

A 2015 national school climate study conducted by GLSEN, an organization focused on ensuring safe and affirming schools for LGBTQ students, found that over 85 percent of these students have experienced verbal harassment and 66 percent have been discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. As a result of feeling more isolated and unsafe, many of these students miss school, avoid bathrooms, and stay away from locker rooms. Students who experience more victimization are also more likely to have lower GPAs and to report feeling depressed.

And it's not just other students who create this hostile climate for their LGBTQ peers. Over half of the more than 10,000 students surveyed reported hearing biased remarks from school staff, and school staff often fail to intervene when they hear these remarks at school.

The good news? Overall, the number of students who report being harassed or discriminated against is declining. The climate is improving across the board, but for many students, it's not happening fast enough.

What Teachers Can Do

As educators, we set the tone for how our students treat each other. No, we can't control everything, but we can do a lot to influence the climate in our schools and make sure our classrooms are places where all students feel welcome.

The best place to learn more about the specific things you can do is on GLSEN's website, and I've posted two of their best resources for teachers below, but to get you started, I've pulled some of the most important steps teachers can take. I also interviewed Becca Mui, GLSEN's Education Manager, to contribute her insights to the podcast.

These tips, pulled from resources created by GLSEN and my interview with Mui, will give you a good start toward making your school safer and more welcoming for LGBTQ students.

1. Educate Yourself

If you do not personally identify as LGBTQ or spend time in that community, you'll be a much more effective ally if you commit to listening and learning about the issues. "A huge portion of support is staying educated," Mui says, "so things like listening to podcasts or just reading some blogs about LGBTQ people and continually learning about that can help you become an ally and an advocate in your school."

Making an effort to use whatever terminology is currently embraced by the LGBTQ community is another important way to show respect.

"It's always helpful to have a shared language when you're talking about identity," Mui explains. "One of the things that is tricky about LGBTQ and trans identities when people are not part of those communities is that that language is changing, specifically the language we're using to talk about gender."

This is a challenge even for people within the LGBTQ community. "It is literally my job to be connected, to be supportive, to know what's going on," Mui says, "and I'm constantly finding out that something's been updated, something's been changed." She recommends viewing language as an always evolving process. "Having the attitude that we use the language we have and we are open to learning that something's been updated can be really useful."

With that in mind, let's start here by looking at the acronym LGBTQ:
L = Lesbian G = Gay
B = Bisexual
a person who is attracted to two genders, or people with your gender and other genders Q = Queer
also an umbrella term to describe sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression that doesn't conform to heteronormativity a male-identified person who's emotionally or physically attracted to other males
a person who is female-identified who is emotionally or physically attracted to other females
In some spaces, the term "gay" is used as a general term to describe the LGBTQ population as a whole, but GLSEN is trying to move toward language that's more inclusive, rather than placing gay men at the center.

T = Transgender (or "trans")
an umbrella term for people whose gender identity doesn't match the sex they were assigned at birth

The opposite of transgender is cisgender (abbreviated as "cis"), someone whose gender identity is aligned with the one they were assigned at birth.

"Historically, (this term) was used as a slur," Mui says, "but there is a power in re-claimed words, and we find that across different types of marginalized identities, the power to take a word that has been used negatively and say, 'This is mine' that a lot of young LGBTQ people are feeling."

Another term that comes up frequently in discussions of LGBTQ issues is heteronormativity, which is defined by the Queer Dictionary as the belief or assumption that all people are heterosexual, or that heterosexuality is the default or "normal" state of human being. In our schools and our society at large, we often come from a heteronormative place, speaking of the LGBTQ population as the "other," which communicates to our LGBTQ students that they are deviant or unnatural. We'll talk more about that a little bit later.

To learn more about terminology and other important issues, download GLSEN's Safe Space Kit below.

GLSEN Safe Space Kit
A Guide to Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender Students in Your School

2. Check Your Biases

As with any kind of advocacy, it's crucial to understand your own background and biases. "All of us, LGBT and non-LGBT, have learned messages about LGBT people," reads a passage from the Safe Space Kit. "What were the earliest messages you received about LGBT people and where did they come from? Were they positive, negative or neutral? Understanding the messages we receive can help us identify our own beliefs and biases that we can then challenge, helping to make us stronger allies."

The GLSEN Safe Space Kit provides a "Check Yourself" exercise that will help you take a close look at your own underlying beliefs.

3. Teach Inclusively

The things we teach and how we teach them can send important messages to our students about whether or not they are valued as they are. "So much of our language is gendered in ways that we're not really thoughtful of," Mui explains. "Just saying, 'Boys and girls,' and not really thinking about who we're saying that to, or addressing the compliments that we're giving to students, really thinking about how are we using language, how are we making space in our language for students to identify and be whoever and however they want is a really important step."

Here are some things you can do to make sure you're nurturing your LGBTQ students in your instruction:

Include a variety of gender representations.
When students are presented with a narrow picture of gender roles-and they don't see themselves in any of them-they develop a sense early on that something is wrong with them. GLSEN's Ready, Set, Respect! toolkit for elementary teachers (link below) encourages teachers to make sure that classroom books and materials include diverse families and people whose careers and other life roles don't conform to gender stereotypes.

Group neutrally.
Out of habit, teachers will often divide students into "boy" and "girl" groups. This can make students who don't conform to gender-based stereotypes feel uncomfortable and isolated. The Ready, Set, Respect! toolkit recommends that instead, we divide students more neutrally by birthday month or by numbering them as 1s and 2s.

Evaluate your speech and materials for heteronormative and gender-normative bias.
In casual conversation, in the examples we use while teaching, and in our materials, we often communicate assumptions about gender and sexuality: Boys are attracted to and will grow up to marry girls (and vice-versa), girls will naturally prefer activities like shopping while boys will naturally be interested in athletics, and so on. All of these send the message that there is only one way to be "normal" and that students who don't fit these descriptions are abnormal. As you talk, teach, and look at your materials, ask yourself whether you're communicating these messages, and find ways to replace them with more inclusive examples.

Include positive representations of LGBTQ people in your curriculum.
"Whatever curriculum that is," Mui says, "there are usually people involved in that, whether that's the people you're listing in a math problem or the histories that you're teaching in a history class, there are ways to bring about diversity. Integrating that into your learning helps all of your students to learn more about the world and it helps LGBTQ students see themselves in their learning." GLSEN has resources on LGBTQ history that can help with this. As with all resources, teachers should preview these material before offering them to students. GLSEN serves K-12 students, and you will know best which activities and lessons will meet your students' needs. When sharing facts about LGBTQ history, it's important for educators to balance a positive influence and celebration of icons and leaders while not hiding the truth behind historically important events.

Ready, Set, Respect!
GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit

4. Be Visible

Let your LGBTQ students know that you are an ally by displaying some visible sign of your support. Hanging a rainbow flag or a Safe Space Poster or Sticker in your classroom can accomplish this. GLSEN's Safe Space Kit points out that this kind of visibility affects students more than we might even realize. "Even if students don't come to you directly, the kit says, "research shows that just knowing that there is a supportive educator at school can help LGBT students feel better about being in school."

5. Respond to Anti-LGBTQ Behavior

When students experience harassment in your presence, take action. Simply saying something like "That language is unacceptable," is enough to acknowledge the act and stop it. The Safe Space Kit includes more detailed information on turning incidents like these into teachable moments and how to respond in more specific situations, like when a student says "That's so gay." But the most important thing to remember is to not ignore it. "Remember," says the Safe Space Kit, "no action is an action - if an incident is overlooked or not addressed it can imply acceptance and approval."

6. Support Students Who Come Out

As you make yourself more visible as an ally, students may be more likely to come out to you about their sexual orientation or gender identity. This important and sensitive conversation needs to be handled carefully, and the Safe Space Kit offers detailed advice for teachers.

Their most important advice is to listen. Instead of assuming that you know what the student needs or that their situation will be similar to that of other LGBTQ people you have known, treat each student as an individual and just let them talk. Ask them what they need and how you can help. You can give GLSEN's new Coming Out Resource to students who are thinking of sharing this part of their identity. It may be useful to let students know about hotlines they can call to get out-of-school support. The LGBT National Help Center at glbthotline.org has a collection of numbers that can help.

Remember that this student is trusting you with confidential information that you should not share until they are ready. To be on the safe side, talk to your administrator and guidance counselor about what your school policy says about confidentiality. If it doesn't go far enough to protect the rights of students, work to change that. Policies regarding confidentiality should also take gender identity into account. GLSEN provides guidelines for these considerations in its Transgender Model District Policy: "It is critical that parental/guardian approval is never a prerequisite for respecting a student's chosen name, appropriate gender, and pronouns... Staff should take guidance from and work collaboratively with the student to ensure that the student remains safe, both at school and at home."

7. Support a Student GSA

GLSEN's research has shown that the existence of a student GSA, or Gender Sexuality Alliance, can go a long way toward improving a school's climate for LGBTQ students. "Those need to be started by students," Mui explains, "but asking students if that's something they want support around" can be a good place to start. A GSA will also need a faculty advisor, so offering your services in that way can make a GSA a reality in your school.

8. Revisit Your School Policies

Making sure that your school's anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies include language specific to sexual orientation and gender identity can also improve your school's climate, and GLSEN's research has found these types of policies to have significant impact on quality of life for LGBTQ students. Part of your work as an advocate is looking into these policies and working toward real change. Use GLSEN's Model Policies as a reference: www.glsen.org/modelpolicies.

9. Educate Your Colleagues

Apart from being more vocal and open with your own support for LGBTQ students, you can also conduct your own workshops for colleagues. The Safe Space Kit includes a sample 20-minute presentation teachers can give to school staff. GLSEN also offers in-person professional development. "We are a national organization, but we also have 40 local chapters which are amazingly volunteer-run by humans who are really dedicated and fantastic in this work," Mui says. "They're doing this work on the ground, and so we support them here from the national office with resources." Click here to view a map of local GLSEN chapters.

All of these actions will send a message of love and acceptance to your LGBTQ students-those you know about, and especially those you don't. Committing yourself to taking even a few of these steps can make such an incredible difference, impacting students' mental health, their safety, their academic success, and their overall quality of life. It just takes one person to start tipping the scales, to start moving a school culture in a more inclusive direction; I very much hope, for the sake of the students who need you, that you'll be that person. ♥

ONE MORE RESOURCE: LGBTQ+ youth face more than double the risk of experiencing homelessness compared to their nonqueer-identifying peers. In the last decade, many organizations have formed to help these young adults and children, providing support and resources so they can have somewhere safe and stable to live. To address this issue, Architectural Digest Reviews created this guide to housing assistance for LGBTQ+ youth.

There's more where this came from.
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Making School a Safe Place for LGBTQ Students

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Discrimination and harassment are still a daily reality for many LGBTQ students. Here are some things teachers can do to change that.

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It's time for school. The bus will arrive any minute. Maybe today will be the day!

But then you hear it: "Mom, I don't want to go to school."

Your heart sinks. Here we go again. Every day it's the same conversation. The same conversation that usually ends up in tears, missing the bus and late for school again.

"You'll be fine, honey!" you say cheerfully. "There's nothing to worry about!"

But your words fall on deaf ears. Your child is fully convinced that everything will NOT be ok and that there are PLENTY of things to worry about. Sighing, you sit down on the couch, wracking your brain for something more helpful to say.

If your child struggles with anxiety, you know the challenge of finding the right things to say when he or she is worried. It's not easy to connect without making the fears worse, while at the same time offering support and encouragement.

Are you curious how you can help calm an anxious child?
Today, my good friend and parent coach, Nicole from Imperfect Families, is here to give some amazing tips on how to respond to your anxious child.
Rather than telling your child "You'll be fine," or "Don't worry about it," try one of these phrases the next time your child is feeling worried:

What to Say to Help an Anxious Child Calm Down

"What do you want to tell your worry?" Explain to your child that worry is like an annoying "worry bug" that hangs around telling them to be worried. Create a few phrases, then give them permission to talk back to this "worry bug." They can even be bossy: "Go away!" or "I don't have to listen to you!" Use silly voices, and try it loud and quiet.

"Can you draw it?" Many kids cannot express their emotions with words. Encourage them to draw, paint or create their worries on paper. When they are finished, make observations, and give them a chance to explain the significance: "That's a lot of blue!"

"Let's change the ending." Anxious children often feel stuck in the same pattern without a way out. Help them see different options by telling their story, but leaving off the ending. Then, create a few new endings. Some can be silly, but at least one should be realistic for your child. Focus on your child conquering their fears with confidence!

"Which calming strategy do you want to use?" Work proactively to create a long list of calming strategies your child enjoys. Practice them during the day, at random times when your child feels calm. When your child feels a worry sneaking into their thoughts, encourage them to pick something from the list.

Anxiety and worry look different for every child. Not every one of these strategies will work for your kids. You are the expert on your child. If you try something and it makes their worries worse, don't panic. Just pick something else from the list to try next time. Eventually, you will find a few phrases that are effective for sending a calm, encouraging and empowering message to your child.

When My Worries Get too Big is a great addition to add to any library if you have a child who worries or is anxious. Engaging and easy to read, this illustrated children s book is filled with opportunities for children to participate in developing their own self-calming strategies. Children who use the simple strategies in this charming book, illustrated by the author, will find themselves relaxed and ready to focus on work or play!

The Superkids Activity Guide to Conquering Every Day is chocked full of empowering tools and strategies to beat the worries and fear. A first of its kind, the book is written to the child and gives them the science and language behind why they do what they do, while giving them tools to fill their toolbox to conquer each and every day.

Changing Your Anxious Child's Inner Thoughts...

The truth is...

Kids are constantly being told they aren't good enough, not smart enough, not calm enough, just plain and simple...

not enough.

What would happen if instead of telling kids they are not enough, we changed the way we saw our children and we changed their inner language?

My new book, The Superkids Activity Guide, is aimed to empower ALL kids to speak up, share their superpowers and learn why they do the things they do so they can advocate for themselves!!

The book has a manifesto that I stand behind 100%. I believe all children should believe these things about themselves and often wish I had believed these things to be true as a child myself.

This is a small excerpt:

"Go ahead and say it, so you believe it: "I am a SUPERKID."

There, didn't that feel good? Go ahead and say it one more time, just to make sure it sinks in: "I am a SUPERKID."

Before you start to think of all the reasons you can't possibly be a superkid, I want to stop you. You see, even the most famous rock stars have doubt and don't believe in themselves every day. This doesn't mean they are any less super. And even superheroes have struggles and pitfalls. That doesn't make them any less super, either. The truth is, despite your struggles, your mistakes, or your bad days...YOU ARE A SUPERKID. The Superkids Manifesto is yours. I want you to own it.

You are unique.
You are adventurous.
You are spirited.
You are creative.
You are fierce.

You are a SUPERKID.

You are going to conquer the world and I am going to help you every step of the way... "

In order to make this movement touch every corner of the globe, we need YOU!!!
Click Here to Join the Superkids Movement Today!
Print this Free Phrases Cheat Sheet to Help Your Anxious Child in the Moment

This post comes with a free printable to help with you in a bind.

I have made a simple printable for you that has all of these phrases in a simple and easy to display format. Place it on the fridge, in a frame or even in your child's calm down spot so they remember them as well. Don't get caught struggling to remember your options!

This printable simplifies it!

Here is a sneak preview...

Download Your Free Printable

1. Download the checklist. You'll get the printable, plus join my weekly newsletter! Click Here to Download and Subscribe

2. Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock would be ideal.

3. Place it on your refrigerator.

Note: If your child's worries are impacting their school functioning, sleep or eating habits, or are negatively impacting their daily routine, seek support from a mental health professional.
Nicole Schwarz is a mom to 3 little girls, a Licensed Therapist and Parent Coach. Check out her blog, Imperfect Families for more positive parenting tips and learn more about how Parent Coaching can help you find solutions to your parenting challenges.

Check out these Parenting Resources from Nicole:
Parent coaching sessions
Loving an Anxious Child
How to Break the Cycle of Anxiety in Your Family
Need More Help with Your Anxious Child?

I have been researching for the last two years to find the best resources for calming an anxious child and I think I have found some pretty amazing secrets that I can't wait to share with you!

Finally, you want to build your toolkit. You can't possibly anticipate every problem that will occur or everything your child will worry about. But you can be prepared. That's where Calm the Chaos | The Behavior Workshop comes in.

Registration for Calm the Chaos : The Behavior Workshop (a FREE 4 part video series) is closed right now, but you can get on the notification list. It will be starting May 2018.

Here's the link: CLICK HERE for the Behavior Workshop

Kids that struggle with anxiety are often mislabeled as shy, emotional, sensitive and moody. What if we could change the way the world saw these kids, and better yet... change the way they saw themselves?

For simple games and activities that enable you to see your child as the Superkid they already are, instead of feeling lost, confused and in a constant battle with your child, please consider The Superkids Activity Guide to Conquering Every Day.

Click here to get your copy of the best-selling book today.
What started as a simple guide with 75 simple crafts, games and activities to help adults and kids manage the most difficult parts of the day (mornings, wait times, mealtime, playtime, learning, and nighttime),The Superkids Activity Guide has quickly become a movement, reaching millions of people on Facebook alone.

The Superkids Movement and Activity Guide is aimed to empower ALL kids to speak up, share their superpowers and learn why they do the things they do so they can advocate for themselves!!

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13 Powerful Phrases Proven to Help an Anxious Child Calm Down

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It's time for school. The bus will arrive any minute. Maybe today will be the day! But then you hear it: "Mom, I don't want to go to school." Your heart sinks. Here we go again. Every day it's the same conversation.

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The 80/20 Rule Maximizing Innovative Teaching Practices

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The 80/20 Rule Maximizing Innovative Teaching Practices

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What makes the biggest difference in your teaching? If you hop online to the places where teachers hang out and ask that question, you will hear a bevy of answers. It only begets more questions. Is project-based learning the way to go? How about Genius Hour? Flipping the classroom? Inductive method? Constructivist approach? Teach Like a Pirate? Too many choices can be paralyzing, and the only thing a teacher knows for sure is how much they don't know. There's a simpler way. You don't have to be everywhere and do everything to be a better teacher. You don't have to spend every free moment chatting away on Twitter, reading blogs and going to every EdCamp within a 60-mile radius. You can preserve your most important resource - your time. You just have to follow the 80/20 rule.

The Pareto Principle

In 1906, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto found that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. When applied more broadly, others noticed that roughly 80% of the effects came from 20% of the causes. It has become a popular principle in management and business. Microsoft fixed the top 20% of the bugs in its system and 80% of the crashes were eliminated. In health care, 20% of the patients use 80% of the health care resources. Ask any dean of students, 80% of the discipline problems come from roughly 20% of the student body. The Pareto Principle suggests that a few things produce the majority of results. Find out what is vital, ignore what is trivial, and you can maximize results.

The 80/20 Rule in My Teaching

As a high school English teacher, I want my students to be critical readers and thoughtful writers. That's what matters most. The methods to achieve this goal are varied and plentiful. But what are the few things that can produce the biggest results? Here are three aspects of my teaching that dominate my focus. 1. Ask Better Questions Why It's Important - Albert Einstein once wrote, "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." If I can ask deep, thought-provoking questions that value what my students have to say - not what they think I want to hear - I can help them develop a discerning eye for the reading and writing we do. What I Do - I like interview shows like 60 Minutes, Charlie Rose, and Alec Baldwin's podcast, Here's the Thing. Rose is a master of asking questions and offering few answers. In each episode, he's fascinated by each guest's wisdom, experience and insights. He knows how to probe their thinking. I seek to achieve the same fascination and desire to hear what my students have to say. See Questioning in Action:

2. Be a Captivating Speaker Why It's Important - In some studies on the likability of a speaker, words account for 7%, tone of voice accounts for 38%, and body language accounts for 55%. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. To captivate my students' attention, I've focused on how I present the material. What I Do - I watched this TedxED Talk by Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a Pirate, and it made me rethink everything about how I offered my lessons. See Speaking in Action:

3. Provide Meaningful Feedback Why It's Important - For many students, feedback is akin to criticism. Perhaps this is why so many essays end up in the garbage when students leave class. Feedback is seldom practised with any enthusiasm. Yet feedback is not criticism; instead, it is a caring and supportive act. It's a signal that a teacher is dedicated to providing a constructive way to help students reach a higher level. What I Do - A few years ago, I stopped writing comments on students' papers. It took up 80% of my grading time and few students used the feedback I gave in the margins. Now, my time is better spent conferencing. Instead of comments, I put a grade on the paper and attach a rubric. When students ask about their score - which they always do - I tell them to conference with me. This allows me to have a meaningful conversation with them about their writing. It allows for a give and take. I can hear their thinking and they can hear mine. It is much more effective than what I was writing in the margins. See Feedback in Action:

What are the few things that you can focus on that can dramatically improve your teaching? I encourage you to share your ideas in the comments section below.

Brian Sztabnik teaches AP Literature and Composition, Creative Writing, and Public Speaking at Miller Place High School in New York. His podcast, Talks with Teachers, has consistently been a top-ranked show on iTunes. He is the College Board Advisor for AP Literature and Composition, and won the Educators Voice Award in 2015 for Education Commentator/Blogger, given out by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences. His first book will be released this fall: The Best Lesson Series: Literature. Follow him on Twitter: @talkswteachers.

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The 80/20 Rule: Maximize Your Potential in Less Time

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What makes the biggest difference in your teaching? If you hop online to the places where teachers hang out and ask that question, you will hear a bevy of answers. It only begets more questions. Is project-based learning the way to go? How about Genius Hour? Flipping the classroom? Inductive method?

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Growth mindset has been a buzzword in education for quite awhile and I think a lot of teachers and kids are already familiar with it. But I've noticed a pitfall that seems to occur fairly often.

Growth mindset is introduced to students near the beginning of the year and then the curriculum demands seem to take precedent. When you have so many skills you have to teach and so many standards for kids to master, it's hard to remember, much less make time to talk about growth mindset.

Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can infuse growth mindset into what you do on a daily basis. These are regular practices that help you ensure students will:

Be willing to try new things

Stick with hard tasks and not give up

Push themselves to do their best work, not just what's "good enough"

Believe in themselves and their own ability to learn

All of these traits are things we can help develop in our students by teaching them about how their brains work.

You see, many students enter our classrooms believing they're either smart or not smart, good at reading or math, or not good in those areas. This belief that our basic qualities like intelligence and talents can't be changed is called a fixed mindset. Often our students figure: W hy bother trying at something that's hard for me? I'm not naturally good at it and I can't really do anything about that.

Our students may not realize that their brains have the ability to change and grow through their experiences (neuroplasticity). Students need us to teach them that the human brain is like a muscle that can be trained through repetition and practice. When students realize this, they develop a growth mindset: the belief that abilities can be developed through commitment and hard work.

And once they have a growth mindset, they can learn anything.

Because a growth mindset is a way of thinking, it's important for students to have continual reinforcement of that mindset. And infusing growth mindset mentions and practices into your daily routines is one of the simplest ways to do it.

Here are 6 simple ways to help students re-train their brains to overcome a fixed mindset and default naturally to growth mindset-oriented thinking patterns.

Want to listen to this post instead of read?

This post is based on the latest episode of my weekly podcast, Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers . A podcast is like a free talk radio show you can listen to online, or download and take with you wherever you go. I release a new 15-20 minute episode each Sunday and feature it here on the blog to help you get energized and motivated for the week ahead. I'd love to hear your thoughts below in the comment section!

1. Introduce learning activities by explaining how they are designed to benefit kids' brains.

For example, when you teach students how to do collaborative learning activities, tell them that talking about what they've learned helps them own and process the information better, and grows more dendrites.

When you teach water fountain procedures, let kids know that their brains need hydration in order to function well, and remind students of the benefits of drinking water.

2. When kids make mistakes, respond in casual ways that help them rebound.

When we overreact to mistakes or get frustrated with students' inability to internalize classroom routines, we undermine our message that learning is a process and failure is a natural part of that process.

Make it your goal to respond to students' mistakes with patience and nonchalance. Remind students: Each time you practice this routine, your brain is getting stronger and it will be easier for you to do it the next time.

When kids forget what to do, let your tone and facial expression communicate: Mistakes don't upset me. We can fix this, and fixing it together will make us both smarter.

3. Get student input on creating helpful classroom displays that reinforce learning.

You don't have to start the school year with a perfectly decorated classroom - leave space for students to create and suggest displays! Throughout the year, ask questions to find out what students would like to have as a reference in the classroom to help them maintain a growth mindset and take ownership of their learning.

Would students like to make an anchor chart with strategies they can use when they get stuck?

Do they want to display growth mindset vocabulary words and definitions so they can try to use them in their conversations?

Or maybe they'd like to display some of their reflections about or strategies for learning to help other kids in the class?

4. Use specific feedback and helpful vocabulary that guides students to identify how they achieved success.

We give tons of positive feedback and praise as students first start learning new skills and expectations, but we don't always point out the character traits students demonstrated in order to experience that success. Integrate growth mindset vocabulary into your daily routines and continually point out when students demonstrate those qualities.

You might say, "This was hard for you, but you persevered and now, you've almost got it!" or "You had a setback when your strategy didn't work, but you found resources to help you. You showed a lot of resilience and it paid off!"

You may even want to end the school day on a daily basis by having students turn and share ways they have shown grit that day (or struggled to show grit and brainstorm strategies for doing better tomorrow.)

5. Model growth mindset so kids can see it in action on a daily basis.

Show students how to respond constructively to setbacks and failures. Let kids see how you brainstorm solutions and different strategies to try when a piece of technology doesn't work, you can't find something you need, or a surprise fire drill prevents kids from finishing a task.

Allow students to see that you are willing to learn and try new things, even when they are hard for you, and be honest when you try things in the classroom that are out of your comfort zone. Let students see that learning new things, taking on challenges, and rebounding after making mistakes are all a natural part of life and help train your brain to grow stronger over time.

6. Start formally teaching kids about growth mindset / neuroplasticity through books, apps, and other resources.

Two of the best children's books on growth mindset are Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by Dr. JoAnn Deak and Making a Splash: A Growth Mindset Children's Book by Carol E. Reiley. I also like the free online brain songs provided by the University of Washington.

If you want more structured support, I've created a complete 10 lesson unit with teacher's guide, bulletin board set, printable posters, and a 20 page interactive student journal to provide everything you need for teaching your students about growth mindset.

It's been a top seller on TeachersPayTeachers for quite awhile now and has been used in classrooms all over the country. It's designed for grades 3-6, but I've heard from 2nd-9th grade teachers whose kids have loved it. This unit is highly flexible and can be taught in any timeframe you'd like.

Once you print the materials, your prep work is done and the teacher's guide walks you step-by-step through each activity. However, the tasks are open-ended and adaptable so you can be responsive to your students' needs and adjust things easily as you go.
Want to learn more? Check out this Growth Mindset Roundup: A Collection of Tips, Strategies, and Resources. Each blogger is sharing more helpful ideas.

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6 simple ways to infuse growth mindset into daily classroom routines

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Growth mindset has been a buzzword in education for quite awhile and I think a lot of teachers and kids are already familiar with it. But I've noticed a pitfall that seems to occur fairly often. Growth mindset is introduced to students near the beginning of the year and then the curriculum demands seem to ...

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I mean...wait. What does that even look like for a teacher??
Growth mindset-the understanding that intelligence and abilities are not "fixed" but can be developed with dedication and hard work-is a concept first defined by psychologist Carol Dweck. Her research has exploded in popularity, and has trickled down to schools across the nation and beyond as students are taught that they can train their brains to learn anything.

We can all agree that one of the best ways to teach kids to have a growth mindset is to model that thinking ourselves. But as much as we'd like to believe that we're growth mindset oriented, most of us (myself included!) will likely discover upon reflection that there are old fixed mindset thought patterns that we haven't quite let go of.

Fortunately, we can examine these self-defeating thoughts and replace them with growth mindset thoughts that are empowering and energizing. See if you can recognize yourself in any of these fixed mindset traps, and practice exercising a growth mindset instead:

1) I can't admit to students when I was wrong or if I don't know something, because they'll lose respect for me.

There's no better way to help students understand that mistakes are an essential part of the learning process than to model that for them! I can create a classroom community in which I learn WITH and FROM students. As the kids watch how I respond to frustrating or embarrassing situations, they'll learn how to rebound from their own mistakes more quickly and discover what it means to be a lifelong learner.

2) I can't learn yet another new curriculum (or assessment, or set of standards.)

It will be a lot of work to learn a new way of teaching, but I'm resilient and I can do difficult things. I'm ready for this-it isn't the first time I've faced major changes in my job and it won't be the last. I want my students to face challenges head on and not be discouraged when they're overwhelmed, so I'm going to practice and model that same behavior myself.

3) Professional development is always so boring and irrelevant-they never teach us things we actually need to know.

I don't rely on others to mandate or direct my growth as an educator. I am in charge of my own learning! It's empowering when I choose to grow in areas I care about and seek out new teaching ideas and best practices. (Plus, Pinterest totally counts as PD.)

4) I wish my students' parents would stop telling me how to do my job.

I can learn something from every interaction I have with another person. I can choose to disregard the information that's unhelpful without ignoring the kernel of truth within each piece of feedback. I can choose to look past tone and word choice to see the heart of the message that can help me improve. I can create a relationship with families that encourages them to provide feedback in ways that are constructive, such as through parent surveys. Giving parents a chance to be heard gives me more insight as to how families perceive what's happening in the classroom so I can continue growing as an educator.

5) That lesson this morning was a complete disaster. My motivation is gone for the day.

I'll feel even worse if I give up on myself (and my students) and write off the whole afternoon. Instead, I can choose to put this in perspective: having a chaotic morning doesn't mean I'm a bad teacher, and it doesn't mean my students are hopeless. I can quickly identify what I can do differently next time, and mentally move on with the day. The past is over: each moment in the present is an opportunity to make a new choice and work toward a better outcome, starting right now.

6) I don't have time to reflect on my teaching, and it's not a big deal, anyway.

When I take a moment to think about what I did to make a lesson successful, I have a better understanding of what created that success. This helps me get excellent results again next time, making teaching easier AND more effective! I can create habits and routines that allow me to reflect on my teaching practice...even spending 2 minutes at the end of the day thinking back on everything that went RIGHT (and why) can make a difference in my efficacy.

7) The school year is halfway over; I can't introduce a new procedure or activity now.

This is actually the perfect time to try something new, because I've already established a rapport with this class. I can have a conversation with the kids about what's working and what's not, and together, we can come up with a better plan. It's never too late to change something that's become less effective, and my students will benefit if I show them how to continually reflect and improve.

8) Kids these days don't put any effort into their work and want everything to be easy.

Many of my students struggle in this area, but perseverance and grit can be learned! I can explicitly teach growth mindset strategies to students and help them take charge of their own learning. I can show students how to think critically about what it takes to be successful, push themselves to do their best work, and teach them to believe in their own ability to learn.

9) Some of my students are just unteachable-there's nothing I can do to reach them.

I choose to believe that every child is capable of growth. I can continue to build a rapport with students and help them make progress, celebrating even the smallest wins to help us all have the motivation to keep pressing forward. I refuse to give up on any child in my class, and I refuse to give up on my own teaching abilities. I believe my work makes a difference, regardless of whether I see results.

10) All we do is test the kids. It's impossible to enjoy teaching!

I know teachers who are facing these same pressures who still love what they do-I wonder what their secret is? I can learn more about the type of mindset and daily practices that have a positive impact on my energy level and enthusiasm. I can choose to learn about, discuss, and implement strategies that help me enjoy teaching every day...no matter what.
You've only failed if you've given up. Until then, it's learning. Only had time to skim through the post? Listen on the go! This post is based on the latest episode of my weekly podcast, Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers, which is now back for Season 3! A podcast is like a free talk radio show you can listen to online, or download and take with you wherever you go. I release a new 10-15 minute episode each Sunday and feature it here on the blog to help you get energized and motivated for the week ahead. I'd love to hear your thoughts below in the comment section! NEW! Beginning with this episode, the podcast player embedded in posts will allow you to download the MP3 file. The audio is also now shareable, so you can post an episode of the podcast right to your Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and so on for your friends or colleagues. See blog posts/transcripts for all episodes Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes Subscribe to the podcast in Stitcher Click To Tweet

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How to cultivate a growth mindset to enjoy teaching more

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Of course I have a growth mindset. I mean...wait. What does that even look like for a teacher?? Growth mindset-the understanding that intelligence and abilities are not "fixed" but can be developed with dedication and hard work-is a concept first defined by psychologist Carol Dweck.

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Listen to my interview with Pooja Agarwal ( transcript):

Sponsored by Raymond Geddes and Kids Discover

We've talked about retrieval practice two other times on this site: First in 2015, when we read the book Make it Stick. Then in 2016, I interviewed cognitive psychologists Megan Smith and Yana Weinstein about the Six Powerful Learning Strategies You Must Share with Students.

In both cases, I noticed that although we were discussing collections of techniques, retrieval practice was at the core of both groups. Because it's such a powerful technique, I would think that by now it would have really taken off, that I'd hear teachers talking about it and see the term crop up in lots of education spaces, but I don't see that happening.

So I wanted to give it one more push by carving out a designated spot for it here. My goal is to help retrieval practice become a regular part of classroom practice and part of our common vocabulary as teachers. To help with this cause, I interviewed Pooja Agarwal, Ph.D., cognitive scientist and founder of RetrievalPractice.org.

What is Retrieval Practice?

Retrieval practice is the act of trying to recall information without having it in front of you. Suppose you're studying the systems of the human body-skeletal, muscular, circulatory, and so on. You could do retrieval practice by attempting to name those systems without looking at the list. Once you've listed all you can remember, you'd open up your book or notes and check to see if you got them right.

You might be thinking, This is nothing new. The whole concept of flashcards is built on retrieval practice, and flashcards have been around forever, right?

What's new is the research: In recent years, cognitive psychologists have been comparing retrieval practice with other methods of studying-strategies like review lectures, study guides, and re-reading texts. And what they're finding is that nothing cements long-term learning as powerfully as retrieval practice.

The Research

Agarwal and her colleagues studied the effects of retrieval practice with students in a middle school social studies course (McDaniel, Agarwal, Huelser, McDermott, & Roediger, 2011). Over the course of a year and a half, while the teacher continued teaching as normal, students were regularly quizzed on the material with no-stakes quizzes, meaning they wouldn't count against their grades. These quizzes only covered about one-third of what was being taught. The teacher left the room for every quiz, so she had no knowledge of what was included in the quizzes.

On end-of-unit exams, students scored a full grade level higher on the material from the quizzes than on any of the other material. The other concepts had been taught and reviewed by the teacher as they normally would; the only difference was that some things also appeared on the no-stakes quizzes, and those were the concepts students retained more fully when tested on the exam.

The very act of being quizzed actually helped students learn better.

Here's what this means for teachers: When we teach something once, then want to do something else to help students learn it better, instead of just reviewing the content, we're much better off giving something like a quiz instead. In other words, if we do more asking students to pull concepts out of their brains, rather than continually trying to put concepts in, students will actually learn those concepts better.

To read about other studies on retrieval practice, click here. For now, let's look at some ways you can incorporate retrieval practice into your instruction.

Ways to Use Retrieval Practice in the Classroom

Think-Pair-Share
This quick, low-maintenance strategy can be used at any time to have students recall information, then share it with a partner. You can use think-pair-shares with single-answer questions, or make them more open-ended, like "Think of one thing you learned yesterday about cells." Be sure to have students think on their own before turning to a partner. "It's important for students to retrieve individually as much as possible," Agarwal advises. "If you jump right into pairs, then we all know as educators that some students are retrieving and some may not be." One way to make sure all students retrieve is to have them jot responses down on paper before sharing them with a partner.

Low-Stakes Quizzes
These can be given on paper, in a Google Form, with an individual response system like clickers, Plickers, or Poll Everywhere; or by using a game like Kahoot or Quizziz. It's important to note that these quizzes are a learning strategy: Ideally, students wouldn't get scores on them at all, but if you must give some points, make them an almost negligible part of students' overall class grade.

Brain Dumps
Have students get out a sheet of paper and, within a certain length of time, write down everything they know about a topic of study. This can be done at the beginning of a unit (similar to how you'd use a K-W-L Chart), partway through as a way to reinforce learning, or near the end of a unit. Once students have completed theirs, they can exchange them in a think-pair-share or use them to compile a whole-class brain dump. Then they can return to their texts to see what they missed or what needs correction.

Flashcards
These can be a powerful retrieval tool in class or at home, but students need to be taught to use them correctly:

Once a card has been mastered, keep it in the deck a while.
Research has shown that students tend to "drop" cards out of their decks too soon after they have mastered them (Karpicke, 2009). Ideally, a fact should be successfully retrieved three times before a student moves on from it.

Actually retrieve.
Karpicke's research also found that when students see a familiar prompt on a flashcard, they have a tendency to tell themselves they know it, then flip it over to see the answer, rather than taking a few extra seconds to actually recall the answer-and ideally, say it out loud-before flipping the card over. The difference in timing is subtle, but important: Students will not get the same benefits from flashcards unless they actually retrieve the answer before seeing it.

Shuffle the deck.
Keeping the cards in the same order makes them predictable. Once a deck has been gone through a few times, it should be shuffled to make it more challenging.

For more tips, take a look at College Info Geek's excellent post on effectively using flashcards.

Tips and Cautions

Retrieval practice is not the same thing as assessment.
Although some retrieval activities might allow you to formatively assess student understanding, remember that retrieval practice is a learning activity. Again, if you must assign points for practices, make sure they will have a very low impact on student grades.

Space your practice.
Retrieval practice is even more effective if it's done in short bursts over time, rather than in a single long session. This spacing causes students to forget some of the material, and the struggle involved in trying to recall it strengthens their long-term learning.

Include feedback.
If students retrieve the wrong information, the practice won't be much good unless they find out the right information, so be sure to give them feedback as they go. This can be as simple as providing the correct answer or letting students check their texts after they have attempted to retrieve. "Part of that isn't just so students know if they got their answer correct or incorrect," Agarwal says, "but it adjusts students' metacognition," helping them get "better at estimating or judging what they know and what they don't know."

Match your practice to your assessment.
If your summative assessment for a chunk of content will be basic recall of facts, then the retrieval practice can be that simple. But it you're going to include some higher-order questions as well, then be sure to ask those same types of questions in retrieval practice.

Does it Fit with Inquiry Learning?

If your classroom is built around more hands-on, inquiry-driven approaches to learning that don't prioritize retaining specific content-structures like Genius Hour and project-based learning -you might wonder whether retrieval practice is relevant to your teaching.

Consider this: Within any of those frameworks, students still have to learn and retain discrete information. Take, for example, a student who has decided to learn Arabic as his focus for Genius Hour, or students who are studying soil pH as part of a gardening project. Both students will need to study and remember concrete information in order to make progress, so even if your instruction isn't set up in a traditional way, understanding how retrieval practice works can help you help your students learn better.

A Little Goes a Long Way

Agarwal's final piece of advice is to start small. "If a student just writes down two things or one thing they learned, and then you move on, that's okay," she says. "You'll still get benefits of retrieval without spending five minutes in a classroom discussion."

It can be a bell-ringer. An exit slip. A sponge activity. Something you do while students stand in line for lunch. Don't overthink it. Agarwal advises teachers to ask themselves this: "What is one way we can flip from reviewing information to students retrieving information? What can we do tomorrow?"

What will you do tomorrow? ♦

Learn More

Dr. Agarwal and her colleagues have put together this comprehensive guide to using retrieval practice. Visit RetrievalPractice.org/download to get a free copy for yourself. And be sure to follow Retrieval Practice on Twitter at @RetrieveLearn.
References:
Karpicke, J. D. (2009). Metacognitive control and strategy selection: deciding to practice retrieval during learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 138(4), 469.

McDaniel, M. A., Agarwal, P. K., Huelser, B. J., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger III, H. L. (2011). Test-enhanced learning in a middle school science classroom: The effects of quiz frequency and placement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(2), 399.

There's a lot more where this came from.
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Retrieval Practice: The Most Powerful Learning Strategy You're Not Using

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Nothing cements long-term learning as powerfully as retrieval practice. Learn how to incorporate it into your classroom.

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Check out this week’s link: Ian Byrd shares his greatest ideas for use with gifted students that are great for all! Byrdseed by Year

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Welcome to Byrdseed! I'm Ian Byrd and I help teachers write lessons that get kids' brains sweating! This site is almost 14 years old and is packed with 507 articles! The best way to dive in is through the mailing list.
Get The Best Articles

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Welcome to Byrdseed! I'm Ian Byrd and I help teachers write lessons that get kids' brains sweating! This site is almost 14 years old and is packed with 507 articles! The best way to dive in is through the mailing list. Get The Best Articles

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This week’s link takes you to a recent blog from Scott McLeod aka “dangerously ! irrelevant” a website devoted to technology, leadership and the Future of Schools. 10 building blocks for the future of schools

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Use this board to share links you think others would love.

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Use this board to share links you think others would love.

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Just give a quick description of what they are good for and possibly how you would use them.
~Lisa Turner

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“A hyperdoc is a digital exchange of ideas among a learning community, facilitated by an online platform such as a Google doc, slide, or other medium. Students engage with material and then participate in activities alone and/or with peers, digitally and/or analog.” (Lisa Van Gemert) Links at:  Huffington post , Cult of Pedagogy & Hyperdocs Templates