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Congratulations to the Class of 2026 on all of your accomplishments! It is truly a pleasure and honor to see you grow over the course of your years at WPI and watch you development into wonderful people, friends and colleagues. As we watch you cross the stage we know that your hard work in the classroom will now be applied in your chosen place of work, career and future endeavors. I wish you all the best and never forget where your teaching journey began!

Wishing you a bright and beautiful future,

Jamie Ramsdell

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Accommodating Students with Disabilities in the classroom

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Accommodating Students with Disabilities in the classroom

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While the majority of a student’s program should be as closely aligned with the general education curriculum as possible, some accommodations and modifications may be necessary. Listed below are some suggested ways to aid students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) learn more effectively at home or at school. Selection from these and other possibilities must be based on the individual needs of each child.

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While the majority of a student's program should be as closely aligned with the general education curriculum as possible, some accommodations and modifications may be necessary. Listed below are some suggested ways to aid students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) learn more effectively at home or at school. Selection from these and other possibilities must be based on the individual needs of each child.
Information and ideas from a multidisciplinary team, including the parents and student, are important for developing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that meets the unique needs of each student with learning disabilities. A carefully developed multidisciplinary approach will make classroom instruction meaningful for students.

1. For some students who read slowly or with difficulty, a "read-along" technique may be used with taped texts and materials to allow learning of printed materials.

2. For students with memory problems or difficulty taking notes, a fellow student might share notes; the student might tape the lesson; or the teacher might provide a copy of the lesson outline.

3. For students who read below expected levels, educational videos and films or talking books can provide the general information that cannot be acquired from the printed page.

4. For students with short term memory problems (e.g., understand math processes, but have short term memory problems that interfere with remembering math facts), a table of facts or a calculator could be provided.

5. For students whose handwriting is slow, illegible or includes many reversed letters, a cassette recorder or a computer with word processing software could be used for written work or tests.

6. For students who have difficulty with spelling, a "misspeller's dictionary" or computerized spell checker can help make written materials readable.

7. For students who have difficulty reading cursive, small, or crowded print, typed handouts, large print, or double spaced materials can help.

8. To develop memory and listening skills, poetry, rhymes, songs, audio-taped materials and mnemonics may improve performance.

9. To teach spelling, the teacher might use a multi-sensory approach that combines saying, spelling aloud, and writing words.

10. Ways to improve vocabulary and comprehension can include a student-developed file of vocabulary words and the use of word webs and visual organizers to relate words and ideas heard or read on paper. A dictionary or thesaurus, suited to the child's learning level, is also an excellent tool for building vocabulary, spelling and reading comprehension.

11. For students who have difficulty organizing time, materials and information, a variety of approaches can be used, including:

a quiet, uncluttered homework space

alarm watch

purchased texts that can be marked with a highlighter

a homework assignment diary coordinated between home and school

study skills instruction

a personally-developed date-book or scheduler

12. For students who copy inaccurately, but need written practice to solidify learning, changes that may help include: leaving a space directly under each word, phrase or sentence, or having handouts on the desk for those who can't copy from the blackboard or take dictation accurately. For left-handed students, place the list of words at the right margin. For students whose writing is large, provide enlarged spaces for "fill in the blank" activities.

13. For students who seem to process auditory information slowly (e.g., not fully understanding questions asked, recalling needed information, or forming an appropriate answer), be patient. Allow sufficient "wait-time for the answer or provide the questions in written form.

14. Oral and written language should be taught together as much as possible. Illustrations in a book being read should be used to generate conversation, vocabulary and concepts that will relate to what is to be read. Material that is read can be translated into a verbal summary, a word web, a visual organizer, or a computer presentation.

15. Students who find reading slow and difficult may benefit from supplementing the subject matter being read with video tapes, DVDs, captioned TV programs, or computer software.

More on Reading

Since reading is central to learning, children who do not learn to read by the second grade are likely to struggle with learning throughout their lives. Reading assessment should include skill levels in decoding, fluency and comprehension.

As children learn to read, they learn how spoken and written language relate to each other. Thus, the components of a reading program must also relate to one another, engage all children and meet their individual needs. Reading activities may include:

Listening to good stories and books, appropriate to the child's age, read aloud daily

Language games that encourage identification of rhyming words and creation of rhymes

Instruction and practice in phonemic awareness, alphabetic knowledge, alphabetic principles, decoding strategies, vocabulary acquisition, fluency and comprehension

Additional reading instruction in a small group or tutoring setting

Before/after school and summer school classes

Teaching Mathematics

Theories on mathematics disabilities view spatial visualization and verbal skills as critical. These two skill areas are important for anyone learning mathematics, but are especially important for students with learning disabilities. These areas should be heavily emphasized in the teaching and remediation of mathematical concepts and skills.

An individualized education program in mathematics would concentrate on developing concepts and skills within such strands as: numeration, geometry, measurement, collection and interpretation of data, estimation/mental computations, patterns and relations and word problems/applications. Concepts are best introduced with "hands-on" concrete materials. Knowing one-digit facts is important, but work with paper and pencil algorithms should not be emphasized, since calculations can be done with calculators if memory or sequencing is a problem.

Estimation strategies are often taught as mental computations skills are developed. Students should be encouraged to draw illustrations and representations whenever possible. They should consistently discuss, read and write as they solve more complex computational and word problems. For students with learning disabilities, confidence in the practical applications of mathematics to everyday life is also very important.

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Accommodations, Techniques and Aids For Learning

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While the majority of a student's program should be as closely aligned with the general education curriculum as possible, some accommodations and modifications may be necessary. Listed below are some suggested ways to aid students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) learn more effectively at home or at school.

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Greetings!

The Graduate Commencement (5/14) and Undergraduate Commencement (5/15) ceremonies are fast approaching, and we need many volunteers to help make these important events run smoothly for our graduates. Roles and responsibilities range from helping to line up the graduates to guiding families and loved ones, assisting with wayfinding, and more.

Please consider volunteering on May 14th for our Graduate Commencement from 1pm until 8pm or on Friday, May 15th from 11am until 6pm. Please note that these time frames may not represent your particular role or end time as there are a variety of volunteer opportunities such as greeting, providing directions, supporting behind the scenes as well as lineup for full day or half day shifts.

If you are interested in assisting with either ceremony date (or both!) please complete the interest form below by April 17:

2026 Commencement Volunteer Sign-Up Form

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2026 Commencement - Call for Volunteers | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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Greetings! The Graduate Commencement (5/14) and Undergraduate Commencement (5/15) ceremonies are fast approaching, and we need many volunteers to help make these important events run smoothly for our graduates. Roles and responsibilities range from helping to line up the graduates to guiding families and loved ones, assisting with wayfinding, and more.

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Take a moment to look over some great opportunities to complete Professional Learning Opportunities in the Northeast Noyce Network!

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Northeast Noyce Professional Learning Network

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Northeast Noyce Professional Learning Network

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Professional Learning Opportunities - Northeast Noyce Professional Learning Network

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MTEL Test Information Guides

The test information guides provide general and field-specific information, including:

Suggestions for preparing to take the test

Examples of test-item formats and ways to approach the test items

Sample test items and responses

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The test information guides provide general and field-specific information, including:

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Try these pointers to help your resume rise to the top—and land your dream job!

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Try these pointers to help your resume rise to the top-and land your dream job!

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Teaching requires that you must lesson plan! Lesson plans are the intentional steps of your lesson written down along with the language objectives, content objectives, activities and assessments. Lesson planning will take time to develop and practice. Take moment to check out these 10 tips and tricks to have awesome lesson plans!

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A Beginner’s Guide To Lesson Planning: 10 Tips For Success

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Are you a first-time teacher looking for some guidance on lesson planning? If so, this blog post is just for you!

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As part of the MA DESE's commitment to providing resources to support Educator Preparation programs as they implement the newly revised Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP) and Performance Standards for Teachers (PST), this list of resources has been compiled by The Reading Circuit and EdLighten Solutions.

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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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The goal of the Massachusetts public K-12 education system is to prepare all students for success after high school. Massachusetts public school students are leading the nation in reading and math and are at the top internationally in reading, science, and math according to the national NAEP and international PISA assessments.

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Educators use artificial intelligence to support, not replace, the human connection in learning.

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How AI is Changing the Way You Teach | NEA

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Educators use artificial intelligence to support, not replace, the human connection in learning.

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All That Pacing - How do your lessons flow?

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All That Pacing - How do your lessons flow?

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Are you feeling the results of so many snow days in your classroom? How is your pacing being impacted by so many interruptions? Take a moment to read over some ideas of how to improve your classroom results even though you experience the reality of uncontrollable schoolwide interruptions.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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The March MassCUE Newsletter is here, and it’s packed with ways to engage, lead, and grow this spring. Inside, you’ll find a spotlight on our March Featured Educator, open applications for the 2026 MassCUE Classroom Grant, and details on the Spring Board Elections. We’re also sharing upcoming free virtual events, partner opportunities, and important save-the-dates

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In response to the challenges educators currently face, MassCUE has developed a series of self-paced, hybrid style opportunities! Our Tech4You workshops offer flexibility to both participants and instructors, while continuing to include the critical content and strategies required of today's hybrid, face to face and remote teaching environments. More information may be found HERE. [...]

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MassCUE is the state's leading organization for educators with a passion for digital teaching and learning. Having served educators in Massachusetts for over three decades, MassCUE provides rich professional development, networking and learning opportunities for all educators - ranging from classroom teachers, school-based administrators, technology and digital learning directors and superintendents.

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Thu, Apr 30, 8:30am - 3pm EDT

Worcester Technical High School

Worcester MA, United States

Worcester's Stories of Adversity and Healing (WOOSAH) is WEC's official Equity Summit, bringing together educators, youth workers, advocates, and community leaders who are committed to creating learning environments where all students feel seen, supported, and able to thrive.

Grounded in the theme “Putting ourselves in the shoes of our students,” this summit invites attendees to deepen their understanding of how trauma, adversity, and out-of-school experiences shape learning, behavior, and educational outcomes.

Through storytelling, research-informed discussions, and shared reflection, attendees will explore what it truly means to lead with empathy and to center students’ lived experiences in education.

Participants will engage with powerful local stories of adversity and healing, learn from practitioners and thought leaders in trauma-informed education, and examine how policies and systems can either hinder or support student success. The summit will emphasize healing-centered, culturally responsive approaches that move beyond awareness and toward meaningful change.

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Worcester’s Stories of Adversity and Healing (WOOSAH)

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An Equity Summit focused on educators, youth workers, advocates and community leaders who want to learn more about the impact of trauma on learning.

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Not sure who to ask for help when it comes to any practicum questions? Please activate the Triad with the following information attached.

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In a sea of job applications, how do you make sure your cover letter isn’t just skimmed over but actually grabs the reader’s attention? A well-crafted cover letter can be the difference between landing an interview or getting lost in the shuffle. But writing a memorable cover letter that stands out requires more than just filling in the basics.

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In this age of digital recruiting, do you really need to write something to accompany your resume or job application? Is writing a cover letter really important?

The short answer: Yes!

Yet, far too often, job seekers treat the process of writing a cover letter as an afterthought to submitting a resume. Or they don't bother to write one at all.

Your cover letter is your introduction to a prospective employer. It's also an opportunity to make a great first impression and to showcase why you'd make a great hire. So don't squander it.

These days, it's unlikely a cover letter, like your resume, would be something you'd print and mail to a hiring manager. In fact, it may not be a letter at all. The savviest job seekers will include the modern equivalent of a targeted cover letter in the body of an email message or an online job application.

Take a look at these tips for writing a cover letter that will convince hiring managers and HR professionals to call you for an interview.

First thing about how to write a cover letter

Don't rehash your resume. Your words should do more than restate salient details from what's already in your resume. The cover letter is where you should promote yourself, describe your ambition and express your enthusiasm for a new role and company in a way that is distinct from your resume.

Check out this brief checklist of important functions of a targeted cover letter:

A cover letter specifically relates your skills and experience to the job description and requested qualifications.

It explains why you would love to have the job in question.

It shows you've done research on the company, by commenting on its mission or key leadership.

It finishes with a call to action that invites the hiring manager to follow up with you regarding the job opportunity.

Use fewer words to say more

The barrage of information coming at all of us today has created attention spans that are shorter than ever before. Cover letters are no exception. Managers are often inundated with applications, so economy of words matters.

In fact, keep it brief with a three-paragraph format, using each paragraph to focus on an aspect of your application.

1. Start with an attention-grabbing introduction that expresses your enthusiasm about the position and the company. If you have a referral, drop their name here.

2. This is your sales pitch where you address your top skills, accomplishments and attributes, and explain why your qualifications relate to this particular role or company.

3. Finally, restate briefly how you can add value, thank the hiring manager for their consideration and initiate the next step by saying you'd like to follow up with a call or an interview.

For more details on that last paragraph, read about how to write a cover letter closing.
Tailor your cover letter to a specific job

Don't use a one-size-fits-all cover letter template for all the positions you apply for. If you do, you're missing the point: Only a letter that's targeted to the job at hand will make a positive impression.

Write a cover letter employers can't ignore by tying it to the elements of the job that match your unique skills and experience. What are they asking for that you're especially good at? What would make your contribution unique? Those are the points to stress when writing a cover letter.

Just as important, gather facts and figures that support your claims. For example, if you're applying for a managerial role, mention the size of teams and budgets you've managed. If it's a sales role, describe specific sales goals you've achieved.

In addition to highlighting your talents, you can further personalize your cover letter by demonstrating your familiarity with the specific industry, employer and type of position.

Be proud of your past accomplishments
SUBMIT YOUR RESUME
Companies want confident employees who love their work. They know these are the people who tend to perform better, serve as stronger team members and have greater potential to grow along with the business.

Draw attention to specific examples of projects you've worked on that make you an ideal candidate, and don't hesitate to brag a little about your most pertinent achievements. Consider adding a sentence or two - or even a bullet list, as long as you're not duplicating your resume - of key achievements backed up with quantitative data. Did you increase revenue by identifying tax savings worth $50,000 a year, win six design awards, quadruple the company's social media following? Here's the place to mention it.

Address the hiring manager personally

How would you feel if you got an email addressed, To Whom It May Concern? Just as you personalize your resume to the role, you should also address the cover letter to the person actually hiring for the position, as opposed to Dear Employer. If it's not spelled out in the job posting and you can't find it on LinkedIn, be proactive and call the organization's main phone number and ask for the name and title of the hiring manager.

If you're still in school or just out, your career services office may be able to help you identify the right contact at a company.

Use keywords from the job description

Many employers use resume-filtering software that scans for keywords and evaluates how closely resumes and cover letters match the preferred skills and experience. That means your cover letter should incorporate key phrases you've identified in the job description - if they honestly match with your background and strengths.

During the writing process, carefully review the job ad for the type of degree required, the number of years' experience needed, and desired software skills, organization and communication abilities, and project management background.

Throw in numbers and examples

If you want to know how to write a cover letter that stands out, show how you've had a measurable impact on an organization. Did you bring in new clients, make a process more efficient, spearhead some campaigns? Provide specific numbers, percentages to show growth, or a range or estimate to quantify results.

Offering examples can also help you illustrate what you've achieved or elaborate on the specifics. Show, don't tell, whenever possible when you describe what you've done and what you can bring to your next position.

More 'don'ts' when writing a cover letter

Don't overshare - Showing some personality is generally fine, but keep the focus on your career. Stick to pertinent facts and omit personal details unrelated to your ability to perform the job.

Don't go overboard with self-celebration - Employers expect job candidates to use the cover letter to toot their own horn. (That's the whole point, right?) Instead of bragging about being the "world's best UX designer" or a "marketing superhero," job seekers should provide concrete information that conveys value and impact. Bold statements are OK, as long as you back them up with facts.

Don't make demands - Zero in on what you can do for the employer, not what you hope to gain from the company. It's both presumptuous and off-putting to cite salary demands before you've even landed a phone or video interview. The same goes for bringing up the perks and benefits you expect.

Don't fail to follow directions - Employers often provide specific instructions in the job ad, such as submitting your resume and cover letter in a certain file format or referencing the job title or requisition number. Before you upload your letter or hit the send button, reread the job posting to make sure you've done everything the employer asked so you don't raise red flags.

Proofread your work

Last, but decidedly not least in these suggestions for how to write a cover letter, proofread your work. After you've made a strong argument for your candidacy and given your letter a final polish, ask a friend or family member with a strong eye for typos and good grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to review it. Include a copy of the job posting to make sure you've hit all the right points.

Then do it. Press send!

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Writing a Cover Letter That Will Stand Out

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Is writing a cover letter a thing of the past for job seekers? Far from it. Discover how you can convince hiring managers to call you for an interview.

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If you need ideas of what can or should be changed in a classroom this article is helpful with tips and suggestions. What is the best timing for reconsidering routines?

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4 Old Habits I Pruned From My Teaching Routine

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By reconsidering your teaching patterns—from how you grade to where students sit—you can remind yourself of the value of flexibility and trying new things.

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Lead real classrooms. Build leadership skills. Make a lasting impact.

The Generation Teach Summer Teaching Fellowship is a summer fellowship for high school and undergraduate students who want to lead real classrooms, develop transferable leadership skills, and make a meaningful impact on students.

99% of Generation Teach Teaching Fellows report developing skills they will use regardless of career path.

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Helping Multilingual Students in the 21st Century.

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Helping Multilingual Students in the 21st Century.

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When it is time to enter the classroom for your student teaching you must be prepared to support all learners, especially students that speak multiple languages. Take a moment to learn more about WIDA and the student supports for Multilanguage learners.

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WIDA's asset-based approach to each student

The WIDA  Can Do Philosophy reflects the foundational belief that everyone has valuable resources they can use to support their own and others' learning. Linguistically and culturally diverse learners, in particular, bring a unique set of assets that enrich any learning community.

Multilingual learners come with knowledge and skills in multiple languages. With appropriate scaffolding, these assets can become a robust foundation for content-area learning and language development. By exploring and focusing on what language learners can do, educators can engage learners of any language proficiency in meaningful learning that meets standards-based instructional goals.

WIDA believes that multilingual students enrich not only the classrooms in which they learn but also their school, districts, and the nation. WIDA strives to promote the Can Do Philosophy in its work with a wide range of stakeholders: from classroom teachers to national policy makers.

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WIDA's asset-based approach to each studentThe WIDA  Can Do Philosophy reflects the foundational belief that everyone has valuable resources they can use to support their own and others' learning. Linguistically and culturally diverse learners, in particular, bring a unique set of assets that enrich any learning community.

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Libraries: MTEL Preparation & Other Teacher Exams: Getting Started

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Information about preparing for the Massachusetts Tests For Educator Licensure (MTEL)

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Take a moment to practice for the MTEL for free!

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The practice test may help you become familiar with the structure and content of your actual test. Your practice test results should be used as one indicator of potential strengths and weaknesses in your knowledge of the content covered by the actual test.

Free Practice Tests

Practice tests are available for free for many fields, and some fields also have practice test appendices with multiple-choice question analyses.

Links to practice tests and appendices, as applicable, are provided below.

Links may open PDF documents

Interactive Practice Tests

Preview the computer-based test experience with official interactive practice tests. The fields listed below have an interactive practice test available. For National Evaluation Series™ tests for which practice tests are available at the time of registration, the practice test will be provided automatically at no additional cost during registration beginning December 5, 2023.

Note: The Communication and Literacy Skills Reading subtest and Writing subtest interactive practice tests provide the same set of items as the Version 2 PDFs in an online, interactive format.

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The practice test may help you become familiar with the structure and content of your actual test. Your practice test results should be used as one indicator of potential strengths and weaknesses in your knowledge of the content covered by the actual test.

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The creator of the well-known framework explains how it helps teachers evaluate the cognitive complexity of a task or assignment—and clears up some misconceptions about it.

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The creator of the well-known framework explains how it helps teachers evaluate the cognitive complexity of a task or assignment-and clears up some misconceptions about it.

Question: What is the 37th digit in the number pi? (No calculator or googling allowed!)

Coming up with the 37th digit of pi is a very difficult task. But it's not a complex task. In our classrooms, it's important that we know what makes a task complex versus difficult so that we can effectively address the rigor or depth of K-12 academic expectations. One of us (Norman Webb) developed the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) framework in the late 1990s precisely for this purpose: to categorize expectations and tasks according to the complexity of engagement required.

DOK provides a common language that can be used to determine the degree to which the complexity of cognitive engagement, explicit in academic standards, is being translated into appropriate learning opportunities and assessment tasks. Because today's academic standards emphasize conceptual understanding and authentic application of disciplinary practice, evaluating complexity of engagement is more important than ever. This article explores how teachers and administrators can use DOK to work more efficiently, effectively, and purposefully when they design curriculum.

DOK IN THE CLASSROOM

In general, lessons and courses are anchored in academic standards. Even for coursework that is not standards-based, teachers design curriculum based on learning objectives. To use DOK in your practice, start by looking at the standards (or other learning objectives) that anchor a lesson. What is the complexity of cognitive engagement required for success? When interpreting a standard, you can use the full DOK definitions for a specific content area. These general key questions can also help:

DOK 1: Is the focus on recall of facts or reproduction of taught processes?

DOK 2: Is the focus on relationships between concepts and ideas or using underlying conceptual understanding?

DOK 3: Is the focus on abstract inference or reasoning, nonroutine problem-solving, or authentic evaluative or argumentative processes that can be completed in one sitting?

DOK 4: Is the focus at least with the complexity of DOK 3, but iterative, reflective work and extended time are necessary for completion?

Evaluating the complexity of an expectation or task. When using DOK to evaluate educational materials, think about the degree of processing of concepts and skills required. For example, recalling the names of the state capitals is a low-complexity task. Retrieving bits of information from memory requires a minimal degree of processing of concepts. Either it's in there and can be accessed... or it's not. Similarly, correctly executing a multistep protocol is a simple task: There are specific steps to follow, and the protocol is either completed correctly... or not. As another example, we may ask students to use the standard algorithm to add two three-digit numbers or to follow specific, ordered steps to properly focus a microscope.

In contrast, tasks that require abstract reasoning and nonroutine problem-solving are highly complex. For example, tasks that involve analyzing multiple alternative solutions with consideration of constraints and trade-offs or building original evidential arguments require significantly more processing of concepts and skills than do tasks that must be completed via recall.

For example, we may ask students to develop an engineering design solution to a problem they identify. We could have students write or present a research-based argument about what time school should start and end, taking into account different perspectives of students, families, and staff. Overall, complexity of cognitive engagement depends on multiple factors, including the degree of processing required, the degree of intricacies (interconnected parts), and the extent to which the work is concrete versus abstract.

Appropriate use of DOK differentiates difficulty from complexity. Although complex tasks (like analyzing alternative solutions or building an evidential argument) are likely to be difficult, many difficult tasks (like correctly following a multistep protocol or memorizing state capitals) are not complex. Overall, difficulty depends on multiple factors, including the amount of effort required, the opportunity for error, and the opportunity to learn. "What does a fossa eat?" is a very simple question. But for someone who has never had the opportunity to learn what a fossa eats, it is also a very difficult question-unanswerable, in fact.

Use of DOK can help ensure that tasks that are intended to be complex are, indeed, complex (and not just difficult). It is also important to recognize when difficulty is inherent to a task. For example, long division and use of standard English punctuation may be difficult, but they are also tasks that students are typically expected to master.

AVOIDING MISINTERPRETATIONS OF DOK

As DOK has become a widely used tool in the United States and beyond, a variety of misinterpretations have inevitably emerged. For example, a frequently reproduced and highly misleading graphic (known to some as "the DOK wheel" and to others as the "wheel of misfortune") attributes verbs to the different levels of DOK. This graphic suggests that a verb can be used to determine the complexity of engagement required by an expectation or task.

For instance, according to this graphic, the verb identify indicates a DOK 1. That could surely work in some cases-imagine having students "identify the circle in a group of shapes." But now imagine having students "identify a strategy for addressing attendance issues using data from multiple sources." Obviously, the complexity of these two tasks is significantly different despite using the same verb. To determine complexity, we need to look beyond the verb and consider the full scope of an expectation or task.

Another common misrepresentation is seen in progression or stair-step models that depict DOK as a hierarchy like Bloom's or Maslow's. But learning does not necessarily progress "up" from simple to complex. Consider mathematics: We often have students work conceptually with an idea before we introduce a more simple, rote approach. For example, we typically have students work with manipulables and form conceptual constructs of the idea of area before we introduce the equation l x w = a.

If you have ever used project-based learning (PBL), you have likely seen that a student may dive into work on a DOK 3 problem only to discover a simultaneous need for a DOK 1 task, like looking up a definition or taking a measurement. In fact, the use of a complex problem to motivate a need-to-know for lower-complexity goals is a core rationale for use of PBL.

Misrepresenting learning as progressing from simple to complex can be harmful if students who struggle with low-complexity tasks are held back from the rich, engaging, complex educational opportunities that we know promote learning. Ensuring access to complex learning opportunities for all students is foundational to the equity-focused goals of standards-based systems.

Incorporating DOK into practice can start by using the simple questions included here to ensure clearly and commonly understood learning targets. Then, the same process can be applied to the questions, tasks, and prompts we use in lessons and assessments. By defining and naming the DOK of the different components, we can work with greater focus and intentionality to check that the complexity of engagement explicit within those learning targets is carried through in the classroom.

And, by the way, the 37th digit of pi is 4.

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An Inside Look at Webb's Depth of Knowledge

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The creator of the well-known framework explains how it helps teachers evaluate the cognitive complexity of a task or assignment-and clears up some misconceptions about it.

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Is taking feedback from another team mate or mentor teacher a difficult process? Do you have too many reactions while the other person is still speaking? Take a moment to look over these tips and improve your reception of important feedback.

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How to Receive Feedback: 6 Tips for Receiving Feedback Well

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It’s normal to feel defensive when you receive critical feedback, but feedback is crucial for improvement. We share tips to help you take feedback better.

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A compilation of websites, videos, blogs and articles supporting teachers in the classroom with active supports for our ML students.

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A great article with some pro tips on supporting your teacher candidate in the classroom and beyond!

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5 Ways to Effectively Support Preservice Teachers

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While trainees are in practicum, it’s important for mentors to provide clear feedback, moral support, and practical demonstrations.

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This website will be temporarily unavailable on Thursday, March 4, between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. eastern time, for system maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. Test center closings due to COVID-19 (coronavirus)   Where local guidance permits, Massachusetts-based Pearson VUE-owned test centers (PPCs) have resumed administering the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure.

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For many students, asking for help feels like admitting defeat. They’ve been conditioned—by experience, by peers, by a culture obsessed with effortless success—that needing help means they aren’t good enough.

But here’s what research tells us: The most successful people don’t go it alone. Elite athletes have coaches. Great writers have editors. Innovators and leaders surround themselves with mentors and collaborators.

So how do we rewrite this script? How do we make seeking help not just acceptable but expected? Research points to three effective strategies: modeling, structure, and communication.

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In my classroom, I used to see it all the time: students who needed help but wouldn't ask for it. Some would stare at their work, hoping for a sudden spark of clarity. Others would tap their pencils, waiting for someone else to break the silence first. A few would avoid the task altogether, convincing themselves that struggling alone was better than being "that kid" who asked for help.

With a few intentional shifts in classroom culture, I saw students go from silent frustration to actively seeking help. The problem wasn't their ability. It wasn't even their motivation. The real barrier? Social norms.

For many students, asking for help feels like admitting defeat. They've been conditioned-by experience, by peers, by a culture obsessed with effortless success-that needing help means they aren't good enough. But here's what research tells us: The most successful people don't go it alone. Elite athletes have coaches. Great writers have editors. Innovators and leaders surround themselves with mentors and collaborators.

So how do we rewrite this script? How do we make seeking help not just acceptable but expected?Research points to three effective strategies: modeling, structure, and communication.

1. Modeling: Lead by Example

Humans are social creatures, hardwired to take cues from those around us. If students don't see their peers seeking help, they assume it's something people just don't do. But when help-seeking becomes visible, it starts to feel natural.

Consider a study that found that people were 270 percent more likely to litter in a messy parking lot than in a clean one. Not because they wanted to litter, but because their surroundings signaled that it was normal. The same principle applies to learning: If no one asks for help, students assume it's not "what people like them do."

To break this cycle, I use Living Walls-classroom boards where students post sticky notes with questions, strategies, and insights. At first, they hesitate. But as soon as one student takes the leap, others follow. Seeing a peer admit confusion and get a response makes asking for help feel like a shared experience, not an isolated risk.

Another strategy that normalizes help-seeking is " problem-solving speed dating." In this activity, students rotate through rapid-fire discussions, tackling challenges out loud. Within minutes, help-seeking isn't a private struggle-it becomes just part of the learning process.

The key here is that if we want students to ask for help, we can't just tell them to. They need to see it in action.

2. Structure: Designing for Engagement

The design of a space shapes behavior -often in ways we don't notice. Straight rows of desks signal isolation, while round tables invite conversation. Similarly, embedding help-seeking into classroom routines can transform a culture of silent struggle into one of active collaboration.

For example, a study found that hotel guests were 19 percent more likely to reuse towels when told that most others did. The behavior didn't change-only how it was framed. The same principle applies to learning: When help-seeking is the norm, students adopt it naturally.

Student-led help centers reinforce this mindset by rotating students as Help Desk experts, shifting the teacher's role from sole problem solver to facilitator. Instead of waiting for help, students take ownership, supporting one another and strengthening their own skills.

To implement this, select students per lesson or unit to serve as Help Desk experts, ensuring that they demonstrate proficiency first. Train them to guide peers using questioning techniques, and provide resources like unit maps and learning walls. Designate a Help Desk area, or use badges to identify experts.

Establishing an "Ask three before me" rule-students ask three peers for support before asking the teacher-fosters independence and collaboration. Gather feedback to refine the system, and celebrate experts with small incentives. Over time, this shifts the classroom from teacher-centered to student-driven, reinforcing shared responsibility for learning.

When help-seeking becomes an expectation rather than an exception, students stop hesitating and embrace collaboration as the norm.

3. Communication: Changing the Narrative Around Help-Seeking

The biggest reason students don't ask for help isn't ability-it's perception. Too many see it as a sign of weakness rather than a strategy for success. But the way we talk about help-seeking can change everything.

Research shows that students with high self-efficacy -those who believe effort leads to improvement-are far more likely to seek help. The problem? Many students don't see themselves as capable of getting better.

One way to change this is by sharing real stories of improvement. I regularly invite former students to talk about how they struggled but succeeded by seeking support. They record or write these responses; I have built a "Why Getting Help Matters" folder from these records. I regularly share stories from this folder with my students. When students hear, "I failed my first essay, but after working with a tutor, I got an A on the next one," it changes their perception of who asks for help.

Another powerful tool is the Lingering Questions exit ticket. At the end of class, students write down one question or concept they're still struggling with. I emphasize that their questions make me a better teacher and help shape the next lesson. I collect their responses, identify common themes, and use them to create targeted classroom stations and lesson materials that directly address their concerns. More important, I make it clear to students that their curiosity and questioning drive our learning process. By openly acknowledging how their input improves instruction, I reinforce the idea that seeking help isn't just useful-it's essential to growth.

Ask, Learn, Succeed: Changing the Classroom Norm

By making help-seeking visible, expected, and celebrated as a strength, we transform the classroom from a place of silent struggle into a hub of shared learning. Students no longer view help as a crutch; instead, they recognize it as a powerful tool for success.

And when that shift takes hold? They don't just ask more questions-they start answering them. Learning becomes collaborative, curiosity thrives, and students step into the role of both learner and leader.

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Why Students Don't Ask for Help-and How to Change That

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These three simple shifts can help students realize that asking for help is an expectation in your class and boost their self-efficacy.

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Quality Scope and Consistency for TC's on the CAP Rubric

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Quality Scope and Consistency for TC's on the CAP Rubric

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Helping our PS/SP determine the readiness thresholds on the CAP Rubric

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Take a few moments to determine your teacher identity. Reflection is important to develop the skills a teacher needs to support yourself and students! The article linked below will give you some great ideas on different ways to reflect on your teaching experiences. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-reflective-practices-help-teachers/

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Be sure to find a fun way to introduce yourself to your new students! Grab some ideas and be creative! Your students are looking forward to meeting you!

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If you're looking for a new and creative way to introduce yourself to students this year, we've got you covered! We gathered lots of terrific ideas, including some from teachers on the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. They range from quick and easy options to some that will take some planning, but they're all great ways to start the new year off on the right note.

1. Do a Teacher Feature on school social media

Lots of schools use their social media accounts to introduce teachers, like this example from @tstlongview. Propose the idea at your school, suggesting they do a teacher a day in the weeks leading up to back-to-school time.

2. Have last year's students introduce you

This fun learning activity not only allows your current students to introduce you to next year's class, it gives you a chance to get feedback about how this year has gone! See how this teacher runs the lesson with her students.

3. Send postcards to introduce yourself

No time for a full letter? Try postcards instead. "I took a picture of me playing fetch with my trusty golden retriever and sent it to each of my new students over the summer," James C. shares. "On the back, I wrote a short note introducing myself and telling them how excited I was to have them in my class." See how The Techie Teacher uses this idea here.

4. Show them a slideshow

Lots of teachers use a slideshow to introduce themselves. We've made it even easier to create one with our free editable template-grab it here!

5. Introduce yourself with a quiz

First-day quizzes are a really popular way to introduce yourself to students. Kahoot even has an easy-to-customize template just for getting to know your teacher! Lisa T. does a slideshow about herself on the first day and then follows up on the second day with a quiz to see how much they remember.

6. Share your talents

Students expect the usual bio intro-I'm Ms. Smith, I've been teaching for 10 year, etc. But why not open with a bit of pizzazz by sharing one of your unique talents with students? Play a song on your trumpet, pass out cookies you made, display a quilt you made. Opening up with something personal will encourage your students to do the same.

7. Plan a meet-the-teacher escape room

OK, we admit this is going to take some work. But it's a surefire way to amp up student excitement from day one! Set up an escape room to help kids learn more about you and explore the classroom at the same time. See how Mskcpotter does it here.

8. Play 20 Questions

After a brief introduction, open the floor to students' questions about yourself and the coming year. This is a great way to reveal students' wishes and hopes for the year as well as any concerns that are lurking beneath the surface. Be sure to have a "pass" option if students ask any questions that are too personal for you so you can deflect with good humor.

9. Use a student-created brochure

Emily F. lets her previous year's class help her introduce herself to incoming students. Then she gives a quiz to see if kids really took the time to read it! "At the end of the year, I have my students make a brochure for next year's students. If the kids read it, they get a lot of answers to my quiz questions right." Looking for a template? We like this one from Teacher Trap.

10. Decorate a Bitmoji virtual classroom

Whether you're teaching in person or online, Bitmoji classrooms are a fantastic way to show off your personality. This one from The Social Studies World of Ms. J has clickable images to take students to different important links. Learn how to create your own here.

11. Read, run, and write

Get your students working collaboratively and focusing on their writing skills right away with this activity from the Busy Teacher . Write a list of facts about yourself-your background, family, hobbies, etc.-and post several copies of the list in the front of the room.

Divide your class into small teams and give each team a sheet of paper. One student in each group will stay at their desk while the others take turns running up to the board, reading and memorizing as much as they can before running back to the student at the desk who will listen and write down what they're told. The first group to correctly write down the full list wins.

12. Build a word cloud

Word clouds are fun to make, and you can use this as an activity for all your students on the first day if you like. Make your own using instructions from Happy Hooligans using words that describe your background, hobbies, style, and more. Plus, check out these free word cloud generators for teachers.

13. Set up a question-and-answer match

Fourth grade teacher Lori Silviera shares this fun activity: "I make Q and A's on index cards about me," she says, "and then the students try to find a classmate who has the answer or question that matches the card they get. After they partner, the person with the question reads it and then the partner that has the answer reads it to the rest of the class. For example: How many pets do I have? (One cat named Lenny)."

14. Make a photo book to introduce yourself

Start the year by reading your kids a book that's all about you! Heidi J. says, "Last year, I made an 'ABC' photo book on Shutterfly and included one thing about myself for each letter of the alphabet. (And yes, I really had to stretch to figure out 'X' and 'Q.') After reading it to my students on the first day of school, I left it in the classroom library. The kids read it over and over again throughout the year." Learn how teacher Sarah Chesworth uses her autobiography with her class here.

15. Create a Fakebook profile

It's not a great idea to show students your real social media pages. Instead, create a "Fakebook" profile, like teacher Marissa Q. does. Use the free online tool, or mock up one on paper, sharing interesting facts, photos, and other info about you that you're comfortable with kids knowing.

16. Model a survey

Try this fun and educational activity from the Art of Education. Student questionnaires/surveys are a great way to get to know your students, and for students to have an opportunity to share things with you at the start of the school year. Ask things like, "Do you have a nickname or middle name that you go by instead of what is on the roster?" "What is your preferred pronoun?" "How do you like to receive feedback?" etc. We like this list of questions from the Inspiration Board.

17. Let students research your life

Introduce yourself to your students with a lesson on gathering info from trustworthy primary sources. "I give students a stack of primary documents from my life (letters, report cards, class pictures, etc.) with all the sensitive information blacked out," eighth grade teacher Phil L. says. "I ask the students to create a timeline from that information, hypothesize about what happened in the gaps, and draw conclusions about the kind of person they think I am."

18. Try a game of This and That

Your new students will love this hands-on "get to know you" game from Amateur Craft Hour. The game begins with the first person securing a ball of yarn to their wrist. Then, they choose a stick with a word written on each side-for example, fame and money. They choose which one they would prefer. Then, they ask those who would make the same choice to raise their hand and toss the yarn to one of them. Play continues until the yarn has woven quite a web illustrating that we are all connected in some way.

19. Hold a scavenger hunt

Jan R. expands on the research activity by turning her students into detectives. She puts all the documents in envelopes marked TOP SECRET and stashes them around her room. She even gives them magnifying glasses to read the fine print! Use the free printables from Moms & Munchkins to make this even more fun.

20. Introduce yourself in a movie

It's a bit more work, but teachers point out that you can use these to introduce yourself again and again. Plus, a movie works in both regular and virtual classrooms. Many teachers already have access to iMovie on their school computers. Learn how to use it here.

21. Introduce yourself on Flip

Flip (formerly Flipgrid) is the best interactive tool you're not using yet. It allows teachers and kids to record and safely post short videos ... and it's completely free! Record a Flip video to introduce yourself to students, then have them do the same. Whether you're teaching in person or online, this is such a fun way for everyone to get to know each other.

22. Let them do the math

Sneak a little math review into your teacher introduction with this clever idea! Come up with a series of facts about you that can be represented in numbers, then turn those into math problems. This works at a variety of grade levels, and kids always get such a kick out of it! Learn more from The Magnificent Fourth Grade Year.

23. Design a T-shirt

Wear your personality on your sleeve! Draw the outline of a shirt and decorate it with information about yourself. Have your students do the same and then use them to adorn your room, like Counseling Corner does. (Feeling ambitious? Decorate and wear a real T-shirt instead!)

24. Draw a name map

Mapping is an excellent writing strategy, and you can teach the concept early on with a fun name map. Create one to introduce yourself on the first day of class, then have your students do the same. Find out more from TeachWithMe.com.

25. Put together a name tent

Name tents work in traditional or virtual classrooms. In an in-person classroom, prop this on your desk for the first week or so. Online, post the image during breaks or leave it on the corner of the screen. (Kids can do this activity too!) Learn more from Spark Creativity.

26. Give them the scoop on you

Is there any cuter way to introduce yourself to your students? If you really want to guarantee yourself the "best teacher ever" award, you could have an ice cream sundae party to go along with it! Learn more from True Life I'm a Teacher.

27. Let your star shine

"Every week during the year, one student is Star of the Week and they get to display a collage of their favorite things in the classroom," says Judith G. "For the first week, I'm the star and my collage allows my students to get to know me." Use this example from Amanda Hager on Pinterest for inspiration.

28. Dress the part

"I know my students think of me as a bit of a geek (hey, what can I say, I'm a math teacher!) so I totally geek out for the first day of school," admits Greg S. "I wear a pi T-shirt and thick glasses and really play up the geeky math teacher thing." Want to go all out? Try these teacher dresses that make you look just like Ms. Frizzle!

29. Play Red Light, Green Light, getting-to-know-you style

Here's a fun twist on the classic "Two Truths and a Lie" (another teacher-introduction favorite). Line kids up on one end of the room or playground. Stand on the other side, and make a statement about yourself. If students think the statement is true, they take one step forward. If they're wrong, they go back to the start! The first student to reach you is the winner. Learn more about this unique way to introduce yourself from Rulin' the Roost.

30. Write an autobiographical poem

This idea comes from Brianna H., who says, "I like to do an autobiographical poem. I do a model about myself to use as a guide for them. Students write their own using the template and then write it on construction paper and cut out images to create a collage around it." See this project in action from Melulater.

31. Show them you're one part of the puzzle

Use this cute idea to introduce yourself and create a terrific back-to-school bulletin board all at once! Personalize your puzzle piece with pictures or facts about yourself. Have kids do the same, and put all the pieces together to make a terrific mural for your classroom. Learn more from Supply Me.

32. Assemble a picture collage

Use pictures to make a collage that tells kids about you with pictures instead of words. "We do a Get to Know Me in Pictures," says Paige T. "I made one for myself and I introduce myself to the whole class using mine." If you really want to get creative, make your collage in the shape of your silhouette. Learn how from Kix. (This works online too- try it using Padlet.)

33. Map out a timeline of your life

Draw a timeline on the whiteboard before you introduce yourself, suggests Jan R. As you share facts about yourself from different points in your life, have kids come up and add those events to the right place on the timeline. Make it even more fun by adding photos from your life, like this one from Surfin' Through Second.

34. Craft a get-to-know-you cloudburst

This simple and colorful craft lets students know what's important to you. Have them make their own so you can get to know them too. Hat tip to GuysTeachToo on Instagram for this idea.

35. Write a Mystery Box essay

Dawn M. explains, "I put 3 items that represent me in a bag and use it to teach the 5-paragraph essay format. Each item is one paragraph of my essay. Then I share my essay with the kids and pull each item out while reading that item's paragraph." She follows up by having kids write their own introductory essays using the same format. See how one teacher uses this activity at Welcome to Room 36!

36. Pop an emoji bubble

We love this clever little game that works with Google Slides and is perfect for virtual or traditional classrooms. Students pick an emoji and "pop" the bubble, and you answer the question to tell them a bit about yourself. Kids can play too! Get the game from SSSTeaching on Teachers Pay Teachers.

How do you introduce yourself to your students? Come share your ideas and get advice on the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

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36 Unique Ways To Introduce Yourself to Students This Year

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Make a meaningful first impression when you introduce yourself to students using these engaging ideas. Your students can use them too!

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Communication and Literacy MTEL Test Registration

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Communication and Literacy MTEL Test Registration

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Teacher Candidates - You need to register for the Communication and Literacy MTEL test. Check out the linked website for how to register, what to study for and when you can take the test. Don't wait! Register as soon as you can!

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Communication and Literacy Skills (101/201)

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Teacher Illness and How to stay healthy!

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Teacher Illness and How to stay healthy!

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Teachers often need to focus on their health and self-care. As many TCs head into the classroom and new TPP candidates start their teaching journey, pay attention to these health focused tips!

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The seasonal flu hit San Ysidro High School math teacher Kathleen Monagan just before Thanksgiving break. She was only surprised she'd avoided it as long as she had.

"I get a lot of wipes. I use sanitizer like it's going out of style, but I just feel like, you know it's gonna be impossible," Monagan said from her couch in San Diego. "Other people and kids have been sick since September, October, and so when I finally got it, I was like, 'OK, OK. It's time.'"

Schools are expected to face an array of seasonal bugs this winter, from common colds and influenza to COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), viral pneumonias, and even pertussis-the "whooping cough" or "100-day cough." Teachers, studies show, are both at higher risk of catching the latest bug and more likely to continue working while sick than other professionals, even health care workers and flight attendants.

Whether teachers can "put their own mask on first" and stay healthy can make the difference in both curbing outbreaks and keeping up instruction.

Teachers are both uniquely vulnerable to, and can have more resilience to, seasonal bugs, said Dr. C. Buddy Creech, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases and the director of vaccine research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

They experience more stress than other professionals, which can reduce their immune system's ability to ward off illness. And they get exposed to pretty much anything that comes down the pike, experts say.

"When we look at influenza annual epidemics, what we definitely know is that where it all starts is in schools. Kids get a little [virus], they take it to school, and all the people within that environment are the ones at risk," said Jason Newland, the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Nationwide Children's Hospital at Ohio State University.

Schools have always been one of the chief hot spots for spreading respiratory and other viruses. A hundred years after the school-accelerated spread of the 1918 Spanish Flu, U.S. schools closed their doors in an attempt to curb COVID.

Teachers and administrators got a lot of practice in basic infection control during the COVID pandemic-such as hand-washing, sanitizing, and mask-wearing-but schools have not kept all of those protocols for more recent respiratory outbreaks, even severe ones, Newland said.

"We've had a big increase in mycoplasma pneumonia, or 'walking pneumonia,'" Newland said. "Tons of people have had it, but I don't think that triggered anybody to say, 'Hey, we should probably have people put masks on.'"

Likewise, while many schools recently upgraded their heating and air conditioning systems, Creech said many don't circulate classroom air frequently enough to keep teachers from getting sick from a roomful of sneezing students.

For the most part, it is now up to individual teachers to decide whether to stay home or mask up when they get sick. Compared to other professions, teachers are more likely to work through illness-and many teachers also say they don't feel empowered to take their available sick leave.

For her part, Monagan hunkered down with humidifiers and blankets for a few days and counted her blessings. "I mean, at least it's not COVID," she said. "I'm taking that as a win and trying to just be positive about that." She was already planning how to catch up on work when she got back to class.

Creech and Newland said teachers can do a lot to keep themselves healthy this winter:

Remember lessons learned. "I go back to what we've learned during the pandemic," Newland said. "We learned that washing our hands, wearing a mask, and staying apart when we're sick and being vaccinated was our greatest protection."

Think broadly about immunizations. Some viruses, like RSV, previously thought of as primarily dangerous for young children, have in recent years caused more severe symptoms for older adults, too. The doctors recommended teachers make sure their vaccinations are up to date not only for COVID and flu, but also illnesses like RSV, pertussis, and measles.

Recruit extra cleaning. Getting students in the habit of wiping down their frequently used surfaces at the end of each day can help reduce the spread of fomites-bits of viral particles. "Think of when a student picks his nose and rubs it on the desk," Creech said. "There's been a great deal of attention in the schools that I've worked with on more substantial cleaning efforts of those high-touch surfaces, because most of these pathogens can live for hours to days to even weeks."

Use alternate instruction. All of the virtual learning tricks teachers learned during school closures can be helpful. Many teachers like Monagan said they post lectures and assignments to online platforms, which can make it easier to keep instructional continuity for student who are home sick, as well as the whole class when the teacher is out.

Even if teachers do get sick, that frequent exposure may help boost teachers' immunity in the long run-one reason why new teachers, and teachers of younger students, often get sick more often than veteran teachers, Creech said.

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Cold and Flu and Walking Pneumonia, Oh My! How Teachers Can Stay Healthy This Winter

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Teachers are more vulnerable than other professions to colds and the flu. Experts talk about how to stay healthy.

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Not sure how to prepare for your student teaching? Take a moment to look through this site with great tips and tricks to plan for success!

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Realize that you are not alone. Keep in close contact with your classmates who are also student teaching. Share stories about what is working well and what may be frustrating you. By exchanging your successes, you will be adding to your own "bank" of good ideas. By listening to others' frustrations, you will gain the wisdom on how to avoid creating such situations in your own classrooms. And, by sharing your frustrations, you will gain advice from someone removed from the situation. Join a social networking site targeted toward teachers to expand your contacts. Try NCTM's Facebook or Twitter, to start.

Initiate a conversation with your cooperating teacher before your assignment, if possible, about your learning preferences and expectations. Offer to join to help decorate the room for a new semester! Consider showcasing mathematical artwork of your students, such as tessellations, or post some problems for students to think about. It will be helpful to exchange expectations in advance, so that you can both be sensitive to your differences. On the other hand, be yourself! Don't conform to who you think your supervising teacher wants you to be; rather, take advantage of the support that he or she has to offer as you mature into your own teacher.

Prepare yourself by reading instructional magazines and offering lesson suggestions to your supervising teacher, even before you start doing the teaching yourself. This shows that you are not only engaged in observation, but are also looking for ways to engage the students. It demonstrates that you are advocating for the students' learning by going above and beyond the requirements. For ideas, check out NCTM Illuminations lessons and activities.

Set up an observation schedule early on. Avoid a situation where the supervising teacher takes advantage of you being there and leaves the room frequently. Make it clear that you value his or her constructive criticism, and that a lot of your learning depends on these conversations and reflections in addition to the teaching practice itself. Review the tips on reflection and an example specific to your grade.

Ask to rotate around the room and work with students as they complete assignments or work through problems in class as soon as you are comfortable, to help transition from observation to teaching. You will gain students' trust and reduce the anxiety of solo teaching the entire class when the time comes.

Take care of yourself! Make sure that you are getting enough rest, eating well, and exercising. Wash your hands more often, and don't forget your vitamins. You will be subjected to more illness in the classroom because you will be in contact with more people than you are accustomed to. Build up your immunity before the stresses of student teaching have a chance to bring it down!

Ask questions to get to know exactly what you will do when students misbehave. Doing nothing and trying to "be cool" will gain less respect than if you set up an environment with clearly defined rules and consequences. Try to be consistent with other teachers' rules. Tweak them as necessary as you gain experience of your own.

Be early, not on time. Punctuality is very important as a student-teacher, and even more as a supervising teacher. Show your cooperating teacher that you are ready for your own classroom by arriving early to get organized and greet the students as they enter. If you arrive right on time, you are setting a bad example to the students, and will also be putting your supervising teacher in an awkward situation- wondering if you will be there and be prepared.

Prepare a letter to introduce yourself to your students and parents in advance, if possible. Include your zeal and personal motivation for teaching, a few of your interests, and your educational background and goals for your student teaching experience. Limit it to the front of a page. Allow your supervising teacher to edit the letter before mailing it out. Contacting parents before they have a reason to contact you is critical to ensure a constructive relationship.

Always err on the side of dressing too formally. Dressing too casually is unacceptable in the professional world, and you are now in it! Embrace your newest opportunity by dressing in business casual wear. Especially for younger teachers, over-dressing may help set you apart and gain you respect from your students and colleagues. It is possible to be professional, comfortable and stylish at the same time.

Get to know the office and custodial staff. If there is something that you need outside of the classroom, these will be the ones you are running to! Stop by and say "Good morning" on your way in. They will alert you of any happenings that day, and you will gain extra support that can come in handy some days.

Share your interests and capitalize in the classroom by showing off your talents! If you are an artist, select a project where your students will be creating mathematical works of art. If you have a craft hobby, create a mathematical construction with your class. If you are a football player, have a discussion about the math and physics in your sport. Students will be more receptive to your teaching as you build relationships by sharing experiences and interests - ultimately, allowing students to get to know you. They will be more apt to share in class dialogue if they feel comfortable talking and don't feel like you are judging their responses all the time.

Invite the principal to watch a lesson that you are excited about. It would be great to have your supervising teacher AND your principal's recommendation upon completion of student teaching; and inviting the principal not only shows your confidence, but also gives him or her something to talk about in your recommendation.

Consider doing your first professional development activity with your supervising teacher. Besides attending those scheduled by your school or district, consider going to an NCTM conference to attend the New Teacher Strand.

Be extremely careful when talking about students and teachers. You never know other people's relationships to the students that you are working with. It's great to exchange stories about your first semester in the classroom, but be careful not to say anything negative. Even when talking about your experiences with your college professors, it's still a good idea to leave the students' names out of your conversation. Don't join in the gossip in the lounge, either. Although you may feel like it helps you bond with some teachers, you will be burning bridges with others. You will be respected by all if you just stay out of it.

Send thank you letters to your supervising teacher, your principal, and anyone else that had an impact on your learning experience. It is important to continue the relationships as you continue through your teaching career. Having someone to ask a quick content or pedagogical question to and to share the stresses and successes of teaching is important. Friends in other businesses or industries will not value these as your "math teacher" friends will, so make the effort to keep them.

Smile! This makes more of a difference than you can imagine. Smiles are contagious. Others will react to you in a more positive way if you appear friendly and approachable! This includes your students, other teachers, office staff, and even the principal.

For more reading on being a successful beginning teacher, check out the Empowering the Beginning Teacher series or the Mathematics for Every Student publications for your gradeband: Elementary, Middle School, and High School.

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Start Student Teaching Successfully! - National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

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Get some tips to help make the most of your student teaching experience.

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Preparations for your student teaching experience should include a Teacher Planner. A teacher planner will help you to stay organized and well planned. There are many to select on Amazon - but the link will take you to a personal favorite! Start thinking about how you will complete your plans and what your personal planning style includes!

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Aug 2025-Jul 2026 Deluxe Teacher Planner Notebook 8.5x11 Daily Weekly Monthly Organizers with 7 Periods, Pocket Folder, Dated Calendar, Page Tabs, Bookmark and Planning Stickers (Teal Gold Marble)

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Amazon.com : Aug 2025-Jul 2026 Deluxe Teacher Planner Notebook 8.5x11 Daily Weekly Monthly Organizers with 7 Periods, Pocket Folder, Dated Calendar, Page Tabs, Bookmark and Planning Stickers (Teal Gold Marble) : Office Products

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Challenging, culturally responsive assignments can create a dynamic that supports students’ language development and critical thinking. Take a moment to learn more about the brain and the impact of neuroplasticity and multilingual learners.

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Challenging, culturally responsive assignments can create a dynamic that supports students’ language development and critical thinking.

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Although calling a parent on the phone has its drawbacks, the benefits often make it worthwhile. Consider the following three benefits to picking up the phone rather than sending an email to a child’s caretakers.

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Although some calls may be stressful, using the phone can enable clear communication, saving teachers valuable time.

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If you are thinking about different ways to engage student writing in your classroom this is a great blog with some fun ideas of how to organize notebooks and writing prompts. There are several links at the bottom if you need more ideas.

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✏️ How to Write Every Day (Student Writing Notebooks) (1/3)

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Daily writing transforms writing notebooks to sketchbooks.

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Remember the 5 P's: Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. It may seem that teachers don't need detailed planning, mental rehearsal, cue cards or lines. However, student teachers may want to reconsider the wish to be spontaneous with the outline of detailed plans (and back up plans). Whether those plans are lesson plans, mental rehearsal, organized time or a practice lesson - student teachers (and veteran teachers) will benefit from the purpose of detailed planning. Take a moment to look over this article and find out more ways to "plan your success"

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I remember reading this quote in the coordinator's room when I started my career 22 years ago. She was particular that our lesson plan books were on her table at the start of every week. I asked for a template considering it was my first time ever working in a school; she handed over her own lesson plan book nodding her head in frustration, "Why did we hire you if you don't even know how to plan a lesson???"

I pored over her lesson plans but ended up more befuddled than before! All it had was content that was directly lifted from the text book. I trudged back to her room and mustered up the courage to ask her if I could just mention the page and paragraph numbers instead of duplicating the same content. She rained down a few warnings and got me to do 'copy-writing' work on the pretext of lesson planning!

Over time, I realised that I could just copy and paste the content into my lesson plans (thanks to the internet!). My coordinator praised me for the perfectly formatted lesson plans and I thought I was a lesson planning ninja! It was another matter that my actual lessons and my lesson plans were poles apart; after all, lesson planning was but a formality!

When I shifted to another school, the culture shock was unbearable! Here teachers were required to do curriculum planning, annual planning, topic planning, assessment planning and so on and so forth! My cut-copy-paste skills seemed sorely inadequate in this setting and I muttered in frustration, "Why did I join this school when all they want me do is planning???"

I joined the first planning meeting with great trepidation! The major agenda was framing departmental goals for the academic year. Everyone finally agreed that helping students develop their unique voice in writing and exposure to contemporary literature would be the main focus of our department. As much I enjoyed this process, I couldn't quite suppress that little voice in my head saying, "All this looks good on paper; after all lesson planning is but a formality!"

We, next set our sights on curriculum planning. The entire department discussed each subject strand and collaboratively decided the sub-skills/ topics that students were ready for in each grade. This granular approach to different strands and planning for progression of skills across different grades was eye opening to say the least!

This was followed by a spate of annual planning activities - deciding topics for each month (for every grade) and allocating requisite number of periods for each topic.

Before the topic planning exercise began, the department made a list of best practices/learning approaches and assessment strategies that worked the previous year/ were introduced in professional development workshops. Each topic plan developed was reviewed by teachers handling the grade level before the coordinator gave it a once-over.

Before I entered my first class (a grade 9 literature class), I was armed with a detailed topic plan which included specific learning objectives, flow of the content, the teaching-learning processes, key questions and continuous assessments. I was prepared not just with the content for the day, but with grouping strategies, a variety of learning aids and resources for continuous assessment.

Of course, I had my work cut out for me in terms of building a rapport with my new students; but, I had clear goals and a definite pathway. Having a well-defined plan helped me recognise what I was doing right and where I was, perhaps, faltering. This reflection and consequent re-calibration went a long way in ensuring that both my students and I enjoyed success in the classroom! The little voice in my head couldn't stop saying,"Aha!"

When I look back at these experiences, I am convinced that it is a school's attitude towards planning that plays a crucial role in the way a teacher approaches it. The school needs to provide the space, time, guidance and support to every teacher to answer these questions - What do we want our students to learn? What experiences can we provide to help them learn best? How will we know if they have learned it? The school's role becomes even more significant in the review, implementation and monitoring of these plans.

At TTF, we help drive professional development of teachers from public schools, mid-end and high-end schools. One thing we see in common is the initial teacher scepticism towards planning. Teachers claim "We know how to teach from experience!" or "Doesn't planning curb spontaneity?". As a teacher-educator, I have seen how planning can be a powerful tool for achieving organisational, professional and personal success. I find that teachers who invest time and energy on planning have a greater sense of clarity, control and creativity. They tend to drive their own learning and take pro-active measures to improve performance. There is less stress, more collaboration and enhanced decision making in schools that take planning seriously.

Education research corroborates this. In his ground-breaking study "Visible Learning", John Hattie has ranked 256* influences that are related to learning outcomes. The average effect size of all the influences he studied was 0.40 and therefore this is considered the 'hinge point'- anything greater than this can accelerate learning. According to his study, 'Planning and Prediction' has an effect size of 0.76 which makes it a very significant factor in student success! (Source : Visible Learning, 2009, * This number is continuously updated).

Good planning in education empowers teachers, enhances teaching effectiveness, ensures a coherent approach to teaching-learning across the board, addresses educational disparities, and supports robust monitoring and evaluation processes. Pablo Picasso's iconic words sum up why each educator must pay attention to planning, "Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."

Sandhya Shivaprasad
Head, Content and Training
The Teacher Foundation

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The Power of Planning - The Teacher Foundation

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"Failing to plan is planning to fail!" I remember reading this quote in the coordinator's room when I started my career 22 years ago. She was particular that our lesson plan books were on her table at the start of every week. I asked for a template considering it was my first time ever working...

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I wanted to send out the flier for the BS/MS program in Learning Sciences and Technologies to all Psychology majors and minors as well as Teacher Preparation Students.

4 undergraduate courses at the 4000 level in PSY/EDU/Math/CS/DS can double count towards the BS/MS and you can be ANY major at WPI. There is both a Research-focused Thesis track and a Coursework only degree track available.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about the BS/MS Program in Learning Sciences, please let me or Professor Shaw know! Im happy to meet with you to discuss the program!

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DESE is pleased to announce the release of the 2025 edition of the Digital Literacy and Computer Science Curriculum Guide. STEM Learning Design reviewed new and existing DLCS curricula for grades K-12 and evaluated their alignment to the DLCS Curriculum Framework. The resulting DLCS Curriculum Guide provides curriculum leaders and teachers with a list of core curricula for Digital Literacy, Computer Science, and both Digital Literacy and Computer Science.

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Organization simply looks different at the elementary level compared with the secondary level. At the elementary level, there is rarely a need to keep track of assignments. The information was posted for them on the board in the classroom where they spent their entire day. Now, they have eight different teachers in multiple rooms, scattered all around the building.

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Anyone who has taught middle school will tell you that one of the most challenging aspects is the students' struggle with organization. From their lockers to their binders and notebooks, it is a constant stream of "I can't find the worksheet from last class," "I think I lost my packet," "Can I have another copy of..." and on and on. One day as I stood before one of my classes, giving them the dates for upcoming summative assessments, I noticed that none of my students were writing anything down or adding the dates to their Google Calendars.

Organization simply looks different at the elementary level compared with the secondary level. At the elementary level, there is rarely a need to keep track of assignments. The information was posted for them on the board in the classroom where they spent their entire day. Now, they have eight different teachers in multiple rooms, scattered all around the building.

As a teacher, I wasn't giving the transition from elementary to middle school the attention it deserved. I knew I needed to develop something that would be simple, effective, and creative to help keep my students on track. That was when I came up with the idea of the Tarea Tracker (tarea = homework).

Tarea Tracker

The tracker is a simple Google Doc with a four-column table clearly labeled with the date an assignment was given, a brief description of said assignment, its due date, and the date turned in and grade received. An important benefit of a digital tracker is that my students have more than one way to access their assignments in the event that they did not have their Chromebook. I felt that I had found the answer to our problem, the Holy Grail.

When I pushed out the tracker to my students through Google Classroom, however, it fell flat. They didn't take to it at all. I was deflated. I quickly realized I had forgotten my audience. I had presented the Tarea Tracker as an option, and not a part of our classroom culture. I presented it as a stand-alone tool, not a holistic one. I needed to embed it into as many aspects of their school experience as possible.

Whole class work. I started displaying my copy on the interactive whiteboard and having them fill in their copies on their Chromebooks whenever anything new was assigned (about twice a week). I also incorporated a reminder on our daily to-do list and included it on our daily WIN ("What I Need") time calendar. As an added layer, I pushed it out to families on our school communication app and our special education resource teachers as well.

Longer time frame for homework. Another change that was a significant part of this shift was that I made the time frame for turning in work specific yet broader. Students now had four or five days to get work turned in, and even after that, an extra three days to turn in an assignment late.

Reflecting on the Homework Transformation

This holistic approach to organization and homework has been amazing. Students who historically turned in their work late or not at all are now turning things in early, and some students even use the Tarea Tracker for their other classes, not just Spanish. The tracker takes fewer steps than our learning management system: With the tracker, they can go to their Drive, type "Tracker" into the search bar, and there is the doc. With Google Classroom, they have to go to our launchpad, find the tile, find the class, then click on Classwork to get to their assignments.

My grade book is now full of actual grades, and the overall percentage of assignments turned in has improved dramatically. Additionally, more assignments are turned in early or on time, and far fewer are turned in late.

A few days ago, Tyler walked into my room with a proud smile on his face as he turned in an assignment three days early. Students who haven't experienced much success now feel a sense of accomplishment. This also has had a positive impact on their class participation.

Families now have something specific to ask their students about, allowing them to be proactive. Families now message me, asking questions like "Has Brandon turned in the blue warm-up sheet yet? I know it is due tomorrow."

After over 20 years in the classroom, I've learned to put myself in my students' shoes and to package ideas in ways that they will embrace. The Tarea Tracker works because it's integrated into our class culture in a way that can become part of the routine for my students. While the positives for students and families are the most significant, there are also some positives on the teachers' side. Resource teachers now have another detailed tool to access to support our individualized education program students. Study hall and WIN teachers are looped in. And finally, my grading has become much less cumbersome and time-consuming, and my grading folder is much less chaotic. This translates into more time to invest in my planning, collaborating, and communicating with parents and families. In addition, grade submission time goes more smoothly.

Responses are generated by artificial intelligence. AI can make mistakes.

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Getting Middle School Students to Actually Turn in Their Homework

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This simple online homework tracker helps students remember when assignments are due-and empowers them to actually complete their work.

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As a high school STEM teacher, I struggled to find a balance between ensuring that students learned the content and building social and emotional learning strategies into my lessons. But when I started teaching in a mental health facility, I found strategies that helped me strike this balance. The strategies require little prep time but make a large impact on my classroom culture and student achievement. They also translate well into a traditional classroom environment.

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Supporting Teens With Mental Health Issues

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A teacher working in a mental health facility shares strategies that general education teachers can use to ease students’ anxiety and frustration so they can focus on learning.

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I almost never accuse a student of using AI specifically. I like open questions and statements like these: “Do you know why I asked to speak with you?” “How are you handling the workload in English this year?” “Tell me what was challenging about this assignment for you.” And then I let them talk. The less I say, the more I learn.

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When Students Use AI in Ways They Shouldn’t

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Here are some ways teachers can respond when students don’t follow classroom guidelines for using AI.

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Share Biographies About Mathematicians

Mathematicians dive into math content standards daily, but engagement plays a significant role in terms of whether the content sticks. Providing students with the opportunity to explore the lives of other mathematicians sparks curiosity, develops perspective, and increases student motivation. To launch this “Same, but Different” task, students studied the following biography picture books that were displayed around the classroom.

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Helping Kids See the Value in Building Math Skills

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Studying the lives of mathematicians can help elementary students discover a positive math identity for themselves.

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Did you know that schools require teachers to focus on Family and Community Engagement? The attached article helps to explain the need for this connection and how the State of Massachusetts looking for these connections in Teacher performance via the Teacher Evaluation process. The family and community engagement process is important for Teacher Candidates in order to be career prepared. Let us know if you have any questions!

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Pre-service Blog 36 - National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement

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Check out these topics about questioning and take a moment to look through this hand out :)

1.) Thinking about why we ask questions

2.) What kinds of questions develop thinking and reasoning?

3.) 5 Principles of Effective Questioning

4.) Planning for Effective Questioning

5.) A lesson plan sample

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Welcome to U.S. Census at School, an international classroom project that engages students in grades 4–12 in statistical problemsolving. Students complete a brief online survey, analyze their class census results, and compare their class with random samples of students in the United States and other countries.

This international program began in the United Kingdom in 2000 to promote statistical literacy in schoolchildren by using their own real data. The program is operative in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Japan, and now the United States. The U.S. component of Census at School is hosted by the American Statistical Association's Education Outreach Program and cosponsored by partner Population Association of America.

Under the direction of their teachers, students in grades 4–12 anonymously complete an online questionnaire, thus submitting the data to a national database. The questions ask about such things as the length of their right foot, height, favorite subject in school, and how long it takes them to get to school. Thirteen questions are common to every country participating in Census at School, but each country adds its own questions specific to the interests of its students. Periodically, the national data from the 13 common questions go to an international database maintained in the UK.

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In this opinion article it suggests reasons we should give students autonomy in the classroom. Students need the opportunity to try new things and seek out guidance as needed. Don't miss this important learning opportunity!

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Opinion _ Giving Kids Some Autonomy Has Surprising Results - The New York Times

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In this article EdSurge explores student math ability and their access to play time. Maybe play is more important than we realize?

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Could Play Boost Students’ Math Performance? - EdSurge News

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Research has linked long term development of math skills with certain kinds of play. For some researchers, it’s clear that American students don’t…

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What are some examples of classroom management?

Those strategies are: establishing rules and routines that set expectations for behavior, maximizing learning time, reinforcing positive behavior, redirecting o-task behavior without interrupting instruction, and addressing serious misbehavior with consistent, respectful, and appropriate consequences.

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Are Aspiring Teachers Learning Classroom Management_ It Varies

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Many of us believe we’re adept at juggling interruptions, but research tells a different story, according to Gloria Mark, Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity. “Think of your mind as a whiteboard,” she says. “Each task or topic you focus on is like writing on that whiteboard. When you multitask, you’re constantly erasing and rewriting different information.”

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7 Habits to Stay Focused in a World Full of Distractions

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Train your brain to zero in on what’s essential.

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Our students often need support to build different skills. Executive function skills are something to work on every day. Do you need ideas to help your students make better decisions, remember their homework, or improve their grades? This article can help you find new ideas to help all different types of learners!

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Simple classroom strategies can assist students with deficits in executive function skills like time management and active listening.

©Shutterstock/T. L. Furrer

Executive function is an umbrella term in neuroscience to describe the neurological processes involving mental control and self-regulation. Executive functions control and regulate cognitive and social behaviors like controlling impulses, paying attention, remembering information, planning and organizing time and materials, and responding appropriately to social situations and stressful situations.

Experts believe executive function is regulated by the frontal lobe of the brain-the prefrontal cortex. Because humans are born with brains that are not fully developed, children are not born with these skills, but they have the potential to develop them.

Some students do not develop executive functions to the same degree as their peers. For these students with deficits, additional support in the classroom may improve their development of executive function.

Offering Teaching Support

Addressing a deficit requires understanding the type of deficiency the student faces. If a student lacks knowledge, he or she does not know what to do or how to do a task. For example, if students lack the ability to regulate their impulses to speak while others are talking, the behavior of active listening should be explicitly taught by identifying examples of active listening. Educators might also create a chart with what it looks and sounds like when students are engaging in active listening.

A student may know what to do to complete a task, but may have trouble knowing when and how to apply the appropriate skills. For a student with this type of deficit, the teacher may confirm that he or she has all the required materials to complete a task. The teacher could provide a checklist with the necessary materials. For older students, the teacher could ask the students to generate the list and then gather the appropriate materials.

Metacognition: Another strategy for addressing deficits in executive function is using metacognitive language. For example, with a younger student, articulating the challenge could be useful. "I see that you are missing a pencil. You will need a pencil to complete the assignment. Where could you find one in the classroom?"

Displaying the steps or questions that students could ask themselves in the classroom is also helpful to promote independence with a skill. Students can repeat directions to a partner and then have a volunteer repeat the direction for the whole class. This process takes less than a minute but allows additional time for auditory processing and repetition for any students who may need it.

Time management: Posting schedules can be a useful tool in developing time management skills. A classroom schedule outlines the entire day and prepares students for what's coming next. An activity schedule breaks down a block of time into smaller chunks and outlines how each period will be used and in what order activities will be presented. These schedules are commonly placed in spots where every student can refer to them during the day.

Long-term assignments can be particularly challenging for students with deficits in executive function. One way to address this issue is by directly teaching students how to map out larger projects and break them down into smaller, more manageable pieces. Use a calendar to determine when each smaller assignment will need to be finished, and place the smaller benchmark goals on the calendar.

Review before new learning begins: Provide opportunities for students to review previous learning. This review may be a quick oral presentation, or teachers can pair students and have them share what they remember from the previous day.

A review might also take the form of a mind map or concept map created in small groups. Concept maps are useful graphic organizers for note taking, comparing/contrasting, and writing. Graphic organizers can be particularly helpful for students with executive function deficits because organizing thoughts can be as difficult as organizing time and materials.

Teacher interaction: Teacher behavior is also influential in supporting students who may have deficits in executive function. Teachers should check in frequently with students who are known to have deficits and provide discrete support when needed. In addition, having a caring demeanor and using positive reinforcement with students with deficits can positively affect their school experience.

Offering Environmental Support

Post a daily schedule. Clear and consistent routines and procedures offer structure to students.

Provide visual supports such as posters with problem-solving steps or routines, and color-coded schedules and folders. Consider highlighting key words and ideas in texts.

Minimize clutter and create clearly defined areas in the classroom.

Environmental support means creating a space where children can thrive. Some easy ways to help students improve executive function include:

Potential for Growth

Executive function takes time to fully develop, and it develops at different rates in different children. The prefrontal cortex of the human brain is constantly growing and changing in young children as well as adolescents. Because of the human brain's plasticity and enormous capacity for learning, it is possible to improve the executive functions of students with deficits through classroom strategies and support.

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Helping Students Develop Executive Function Skills

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Simple classroom strategies can assist students with deficits in executive function skills like time management and active listening.

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It’s no secret that burnout is an ongoing issue in education—and not because teachers aren’t resilient. Chronic underfunding, large class sizes, high-stakes testing, and unsustainable workloads are systemic issues that can’t be solved by self-care alone. These are institutional problems that require institutional solutions.

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Question: What’s One Thing You Do to Avoid Teacher Burnout?

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While the root causes of burnout are systemic, teachers still need ways to protect their well-being. What’s one practice that helps you stay grounded?

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Search for that next great opportunity on EdWeek Top School Jobs, a site exclusively for jobs in K-12 education, with over 62,000 jobs in districts all over the country. Easily find positions in teaching, administration, and support staff, and apply right there.

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Education Jobs and Career Resources from Education Week

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Search for your next job from 20,077 live job openings, or upload your resume now and let employers find you

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A teacher shares how she hopes administrators will approach the task of observing her classes and giving feedback based on what they see.

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A teacher shares how she hopes administrators will approach the task of observing her classes and giving feedback based on what they see.

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AI Padlet - AI Toolbox for Academic Research and Writing

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AI Padlet - AI Toolbox for Academic Research and Writing

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Take a moment to check out this helpful and informative padlet within a padlet :)

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Think Pair Share can be iterated several different ways. This article gives some different perspectives of ways to help students engage with each other in order to increase engagement and discourse. Think Pair Share is a great instructional practice for our Multilingual Learners and Students with Disabilities.

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16 Variations on Think-Pair-Share to Keep Students Engaged

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Teachers and students use this classic learning strategy often. To keep it from getting stale, try these tweaks.

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Moving Beyond How to Use AI - Part 1

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This is part one in a series about skills that both meet this AI moment and will outlast it. You can read part two, about lateral reading, here, and part three, about playfulness, here.
In the weeks since I last posted, OpenAI has put out two "educational resources": a student guide to writing with ChatGPT and "ChatGPT Foundations for K-12 Educators," a free online course launched in partnership with Common Sense Education. These are, at best, press releases for ChatGPT, resources that fail to put the tool in proper context and fail to offer insight into how to mitigate its flaws. OpenAI is, unsurprisingly, more interested in selling the tool than in helping educators understand the technology behind it (and helping them become more aware of all the other non-OpenAI tools they could use instead).

These resources also reflect a problem schools have long had with educational technology: focusing on tool-based tactics instead of prioritizing the durable, transferable skills that empower people to learn how investigate technology and use it in service of their own goals.

Think of it this way: In less than two minutes, you can have ten tabs in your browser open, each with a different generative AI tool that makes tempting promises about its benefits to education. Do you know enough to be able to access these tools and try their features? Can you assess how safe each one is? How valuable each one is to you and your students? Can you mix and match features across tools to design meaningful learning experiences or personalize assistance to your own context? Learning how to answer these questions is more valuable than learning "top tips" for one tool owned by one company, a tool that will, by this time next year, look a lot different than it does now.

Over the next couple of months, I'm going to write a few posts about skills that both apply to generative AI and look beyond it. These are skills that we have more research on, that we have more experience practicing (consciously or not), and that are not reliant on a single technology or other tool in order to be practiced. In a complex world defined by rapidly emerging technologies, these skills will continue to matter.

To start, I'm going to lean on Annie Murphy Paul's excellent 2021 book The Extended Mind, a title she takes from a phrase coined by the cognitive philosopher David Clark. Paul uses decades of research to debunk our "brainbound" notions of what, why, and how we think. Our brains are not input-output machines like computers; instead, we use our bodies, our surroundings, and our relationships to help us think, as extensions of the mind that strengthen our ability to build new knowledge and skills.

Consider Paul's argument that experts do not rely solely on their own minds to develop mastery, a rebuttal to the popular (and very brainbound) theory of the "10,000 hours" required for expertise: "Experts are those who have learned how best to marshal and apply extraneural resources to the task before them... They are more apt than novices to make skillful use of their bodies, of physical space, and of relationships with others. In most scenarios, researchers have found, experts are less likely to 'use their heads' and more inclined to extend their minds."

Despite all the compelling evidence of the value of extending the mind, Paul finds that schools and workplaces don't know about, much less encourage, the skills and strategies people need in order to extend their minds effectively. She outlines a number of them in her book, and I recently reread it in search of potential applications to generative AI.

One of the primary worries and objections I hear about generative AI is "cognitive offloading," using our external environment to reduce the cognitive load of a task. This has been a concern with technology for decades. For example, we no longer know how to do certain kinds of math because of the calculator. Or, we no longer know how to navigate effectively because of GPS. Or, nobody knows anybody's phone number anymore because we have contact lists on our mobile devices. The concern is that offloading results in overreliance on technology and thus loss of skill and knowledge.

But certain kinds of offloading have well-documented benefits. What Paul calls "continuous offloading," like writing in a journal or taking daily notes, has been shown to result in deeper and more creative thinking. Graphic organizers and mind maps help us rely on sources beyond our own memory. Physical gestures help us remember (think about people who do math on their fingers). Simply talking about or debating an idea with another person reshapes and extends our own understanding.

Generative AI can be used as a tool for positive offloading. I think about a student I met who takes pictures of her handwritten class notes and uploads them into ChatGPT to help check for clarity and generate review questions. I think about how Stefan Bauschard uses AI with his debate students to externalize process arguments as they compose them. I think about a teacher I work with who asks his students to use voice-based AI tools to sharpen their ideas and build confidence for class discussions. In my own work, I recently wrote about how using NotebookLM revealed connections and ideas in my own work that had not occurred to me.

To extend our minds, Paul argues, "we should endeavor to transform information into an artifact, to make data into something real -and then proceed to interact with it, labeling it, mapping it, feeling it, tweaking it, showing it to others." Humans are more effective at dealing with the concrete than wrestling with the abstract.

In education, so much of effective pedagogy is making the abstract concrete for students. We do demonstrations in science class, we use graphs and visualizations in math, we do reenactments and role plays in language and history classes. The power of artifacts is why examples are such effective learning tools. Paul cites the work of Ron Berger and his emphasis on models of excellence. If you watch his "Austin's Butterfly" video, you can see the impact a good example has on a young person's understanding of "excellence."

This is an area where generative AI can be an assistive technology. At the most basic level, interacting in a text-based chat with AI moves the thought from the brain to the screen. You get to read and react to something rather than simply think about it. I've seen teachers create galleries of models and examples with generative AI, where before it would take them hours to create just one or two. I've seen both students and teachers use image generators like Adobe Firefly or audio generators like Eleven to see or hear text or concepts in new ways. These uses of generative AI focus on its ability to produce content quickly and in many different formats. Instead of thinking for us, it helps us concretize our own thoughts.

Our brains are designed to think spatially. I love Paul's explanation that humans evolved to look at a landscape and find a path through it. This spatial orientation of our brains is why devices like memory palaces, concept maps, and data visualizations are so appealing and effective: they organize information into spaces that our brains are built to navigate.

In an educational context, Paul cites learning activities like sketching, mapmaking, diagramming, and creating charts and tables as research-based extension tasks that help students process and remember. Using Post-It's in classes or meetings allows us to visualize our thoughts and literally move them around. Even using our hands to try to make a shape out of an idea has been shown to clarify thinking.

Generative AI's multimodal capabilities can be helpful in this area. I meet teachers and students who use AI to help them reformat prose into bullets, tables, or outlines to make it easier to understand. AI can take diagrams or other spatial tools we create ourselves and help us improve them, annotate them, or imagine ways to use them for deeper thinking. In my own work, I use AI graphic tools like Claude's Artifacts and Napkin not to create amazing visualizations-which they never are-but rather to try to see something I'm reading or something I'm thinking about in new ways.

This one is a bit of a trick. Not all of Paul's ideas can or should apply to generative AI; in fact, many of them demand the rejection of technology. For example, one proven extension strategy is to "alter your state," which means physical movement or changing your environment, a literal stepping away from the task at hand in order to engage your mind and senses in different stimuli. The long walk I take every day with my dog is an essential element of my work; many of the ideas you read about in this Substack occur to me when I'm on that walk, not when I'm sitting at my computer messing around with AI.

Another extension strategy is to "re-socialize," which essentially means to bring your thinking to another person and talk about it. I suppose you could use this strategy with generative AI by asking it to question or reframe your ideas, but as Leon Furze writes, these tools are trained to be sycophantic, so you would have to explicitly prompt bots to push against your ideas. In addition, Paul emphasizes that learning from interacting with humans includes being aware of emotional, physical, and other non-verbal reactions in us and the other person. For some extension strategies, the fact is we need a physical environment and other human beings.

Paul's book is a good reminder that part of our response to generative AI and to educational technology in general should be learning when not to use it, when a tech-free approach to thinking is not just useful, but preferable. What's important, Paul argues, is not that we prioritize certain extension strategies over others, but that we embrace the "loopiness" that makes us human: moving in and out of our brains to help us think. We need to make loopiness a habit, embedding extension activities into everyday experiences for ourselves and our students. Some of these might involve technology like generative AI. Many will not.

This was a connection I made between Paul's book and Ethan Mollick's book about generative AI, Co-Intelligence. Human brains do not work like computers, and large language models do not work like human brains. Mollick argues that the power of generative AI lies in our ability to use it to extend our own minds. To do this, we must 1) act based on the understanding of what AI is good for (and not good for) and 2) exert agency over AI by acting as a "human in the loop."

Generative AI is a powerful and complex addition to the ecosystem of assistance in which we and our students are immersed, assistance that includes, but is not limited to, technology. When students want assistance, they look to their teachers, but they also look to family members, peers, tutors or coaches, the internet and social media, the library, and, now, generative AI. When educators want assistance, they use many of the same tools. What makes this assistance "right" or "wrong" is a question that is far bigger and more important than generative AI. The long-term question here is not "how to use ChatGPT"; it's how to teach people to identify meaningful, healthy assistance and use it to extend their minds.

I did two online events with Toddle, and the recordings are free to view. The first is a video podcast episode where I discuss the ideas, strategies, and tools I prioritize in my work with schools. The other is a webinar for technology leaders on "Selecting the Right AI Tool for Your School."

The International Baccalaureate (IB) has released a document with 13 AI scenarios and how IB teachers should respond to each one.

If you're interested in a direct response to OpenAI's ChatGPT guide for students, I liked Arthur Perret's "A Student's Guide to Not Writing with ChatGPT."

Pooja Agarwal, an expert on retrieval practice, offers eight prompts for teachers to push student thinking beyond what a chatbot might feed them.

"This is the ongoing blind spot of the 'AI is fake and sucks' crowd. This is the problem with telling people over and over again that it's all a big bubble about to pop. They're staring at the floor of AI's current abilities, while each day the actual practitioners are successfully raising the ceiling." Casey Newton with a helpful reminder that a lot of AI skepticism is its own kind of hype. Look closely, and you'll see a lot of other, real reasons to be curious and worried.

I am a passionate advocate for student journalism. Here's just one more example of why it matters: the Harvard Crimson found that almost 10% of Harvard's recent undergraduates come from just 21 high schools.

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AI Skills that Matter, Part 1: Extending the Mind

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First year teachers - and future teachers! Here is some great advice from a Teacher of the Year!

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Advice for New Teachers From a Teacher of the Year

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Try implementing four simple ways of thinking to help guide you through your evolution as an educator.

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Moving Beyond How to Use AI - Part 2

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AI Skills that Matter, Part 2: Lateral Reading

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What does it actually mean to “critically evaluate” LLM output?

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Moving beyond How to Use AI - Part 3

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AI Skills that Matter, Part 3: Playfulness

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What if we explored a serious topic by taking it less seriously?

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Did you register for the MTEL? Have you considered studying for the test? MTEL certification is a great tool to leave with when you graduate! Check out these study tools so you can have success and leave WPI as a certified teacher; an amazing option as you make your way towards graduation!

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The top 6 ED Tech tools to try in 2025!

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6 Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2025 | Cult of Pedagogy

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Three AI teacher assistants, a curated collection of math activities, a website-building curriculum, a site for helping students change the world, and more.

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Education news, analysis, and opinion about efforts to engage parents and community members in the education of young people.

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Education news, analysis, and opinion about efforts to engage parents and community members in the education of young people.

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Take a moment to learn more about the Noyce Teaching Scholarship!

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The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program provides funding to institutions of higher education to provide scholarships, stipends, and programmatic support to recruit and prepare STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 teachers. The program seeks to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in high-need school districts.

The program consists of four tracks: Track 1 - Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarships and Stipends (S&S), Track 2 - NSF Teaching Fellowships (TF), Track 3 - NSF Master Teaching Fellowships (MTF), and Track 4 - Noyce Research. In addition, there are Capacity Building awards, which may lead to the development of full proposals in Tracks 1-3. NSF encourages partnerships between four-year institutions and two-year institutions, providing pathways leading to STEM teacher certification.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) works with the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to identify and disseminate information about effective practices and strategies for attracting, selecting, and preparing new K-12 STEM teachers and retaining them in the STEM teacher workforce. Our work includes:

Co-sponsoring and implementing the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program annual conferences,

Highlighting the accomplishments of the NSF Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and community through webinars, workshops, and social media,

Developing and maintaining an NSF Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program website, and

Organizing proposal preparation workshops.

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The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

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The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program provides funding to institutions of higher education to provide scholarships, stipends, and programmatic support to recruit and prepare STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 teachers. The program seeks to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in high-need school districts.

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Take a moment to look for some job opportunities in Education.

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Education Jobs and Career Resources from Education Week

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Search for your next job from 20,294 live job openings, or upload your resume now and let employers find you

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MTEL Communication and Literacy Test Information Video 

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MTEL Communication and Literacy Test Information Video 

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Need more information about the MTEL Comm & Literacy Exam? Take some time to watch this informational video to help you plan and register!

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MTEL: Communication & Literacy Skills Exam

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An excellent study video for the Writing Subtest!

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MTEL Prep Session: Communication and Literacy Exam, Writing Subtest

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An excellent study video for the Reading Subtest!

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MTEL Prep Session: Communication & Literacy Reading Subtest, Part 1

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Here are all the links and tabs you need to support your Teacher Candidate!

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Here are some notes on the Gradual Release Timeline

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Graduated Responsibility How-To Sequence '25

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DESE Designed Guide to Teacher Candidate High Quality Feedback.

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The PDF version of the CAP Guidelines for TC's and the State of Massachusetts.

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Volunteering with TriTogether gives you the opportunity to make a large impact in a small amount of time, virtually.

What does tutoring with TriTogether look like?

Tutoring sessions are around one hour a week

We ask that you commit to at least the student’s entire school year to avoid any more unnecessary interruptions in their education

Our students are all located in Massachusetts, but all sessions are held remotely, so our tutors can be anywhere in the United States

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Interested in volunteering? Fill out this form and join our mission!