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"Compassion as a Classroom Management Tool"

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"Compassion as a Classroom Management Tool"

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September 2017

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As the school year progressed, my interactions with my students changed. I became more comfortable with demonstrating my love and respect for them, and my classroom management strategies became centered on compassion instead of consequences. When my students could see that I cared about their lives and well-being, they were better able to trust me. And that meant I could request more of them, and expect more in return.

All of the pre-service pedagogy and theory I had learned about wrangling a class of twenty-three 14-year-olds for 90 minutes became infinitely more applicable once my students knew I had compassion for them. Here are some things I learned that first year.

Show You Care

I began teaching under the incorrect assumption that my students would somehow naturally know that I cared deeply about their success and livelihood. Many students, especially ones who are prone to behavioral issues, expect the exact opposite from teachers, and it's important to establish that you're different from their expectations.

The simplest way to demonstrate to your students you care and have compassion for them is to tell them often and in different ways. Genuine praise for tasks, asking questions about their day, and sharing with them tidbits from your life are excellent ways to show students you care.

Another way to do this is by attending extracurricular events when your students are involved. Making the effort to support your students in a non-classroom environment can be extraordinarily meaningful.

Assume Students' Lives Are Complicated

When a student acts out, it's often a reflection of problems in their lives outside of the classroom. It's key to be compassionate to these students as they learn to face tumultuous issues in their everyday life.

Teachers can show compassion by avoiding classroom management techniques that humiliate students or force them to address their behavior in a public setting. Speak to students in private, and always ask them how things are going.

Behavioral issues in the classroom should cause teachers concern for their students' well-being, and we should work to understand what's going on in their lives. Even as adults, when we have disruptive life events it's challenging to maintain a cheerful attitude at all times.

Each Day Is a Clean Slate

Forgiveness is critical to classroom management through compassion. If a student feels as though they're constantly reminded of their past errors, they'll feel as though they are permanently labeled a "bad kid."

When we forgive students for making mistakes, realizing that there are many factors in their lives that lie outside the school, we can make each day a little better than the one before.

And holding grudges against students who have made poor or hurtful decisions is tiring and wastes time. For the sake of your own happiness, it's crucial to forgive and forget student behavioral issues.

The Difference Between Compassion and Friendship

Demonstrating compassion for your students is not the same as wanting your students to like you. Many new teachers fall into the trap of desiring their students' approval, especially when teaching older students who are close to the teacher in age, but that can lead to a lack of mutual respect.

To show compassion to students is to take the time and effort to understand their perspective, while continuing to make choices that are best for their learning experience. Showing compassion does not mean you're a student's friend-it means you care about their progress and are invested in their future.

By itself, compassion is an important life skill. As a part of classroom management, compassion can enhance the effectiveness of any strategies you would normally put in place. Compassion gives students an opportunity to trust your choices and have faith in the requests you make of them. Classroom management procedures and explicit instruction are important, but students who know you're invested in them are more inclined to respect you and follow your lead.

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Compassion as a Classroom Management Tool

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As the school year progressed, my interactions with my students changed. I became more comfortable with demonstrating my love and respect for them, and my classroom management strategies became centered on compassion instead of consequences. When my students could see that I cared about their lives and well-being, they were better able to trust me.

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November 2017

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There are few things my students hate more than taking notes-and I don't blame them. Hardly anyone enjoys taking notes. No matter the energy of the teacher or the diligence of the student, it's extraordinarily easy to lose focus while listening to long, uninterrupted lectures.

And lectures are often as boring for teachers as they are for students. Few teachers like to hear the sound of their own voice for an entire class period.

Taking notes is a necessary component of many classroom curriculums, as lecturing is arguably the most effective way to get information to students quickly, but we can try to enhance the activity. These three strategies help make taking notes more fun and engaging for students and teachers.

1. Walking Notes

Many teachers, myself included, rely heavily on PowerPoint or Google Slides for displaying notes while lecturing. Instead of the usual teacher-as-presenter and student-as-listener format, try printing out your presentation and posting it all around your classroom or an available hallway. Using clipboards or books as a hard surface, students can take notes by hand while walking around and viewing the slides. If you have a large class, consider printing and posting two copies of your presentation so students have the option of moving if there are too many students taking notes at a slide.

This strategy is an easy way to incorporate more physical activity into the classroom, especially during a usually sedentary activity like note taking. It works especially well when students are learning information that doesn't rely on a linear order of delivery (e.g., the six traits of writing, the parts of a cell, etc.). I give my ninth graders a graphic organizer so they know which slides they've taken notes on and which they haven't.

Another benefit of this strategy is that students can work at their own pace. Set up a review tool for students who finish taking their notes earlier, so they can practice and apply what they've learned. My students make flashcards or use their laptops to access a premade Quizlet game.

2. Students Teaching Students

Provide students with a list of questions that would previously have been answered by a lecture you would have given. Have them pick a question they're interested in and, either individually or in pairs, research it. To ensure the information the students use is valid, you may want to provide them with a reputable text set. This ensures that they'll be using quality sources and takes up less class time than finding sources. Finally, have the students teach each other the answer to their question. Students have observed hundreds of lesson plans, and they often have great ideas for their own.

While you can require students to teach their peers in a variety of ways, I set the following requirements for my students: They need to have a five-minute presentation, a short review game (bonus points if it gets listeners out of their seats!), and a five-question quiz as a formative assessment for the audience. When students think about content from the perspective of the teacher, they comprehend it much better than when they simply take notes.

3. Fact Checking

For this method, give your students a copy of notes similar to ones they would take during a lecture. Then inform them that several facts within the notes are incorrect. At this point, it becomes the students' job to be investigators of the content you have provided and sift fact from fiction. To add an element of collaboration to the lesson, have them work in pairs. You might also consider rewarding the first three to five groups of students who correctly adjust the notes with a small, meaningful prize. The competitive aspect will motivate students to work efficiently and deter them from divulging their findings to everyone around them.

This technique for note taking requires teamwork, evaluation skills, and common sense. Students must consider what information in the notes is probable and what isn't, and then find the correct information as a replacement.

Like walking notes, this lesson benefits from having a review or application activity after students complete it. Students who finish earlier will have more time to review the content in class as they wait for other students finish fact-checking their notes.

There are days when taking notes is simply unavoidable. With all of the content that needs to be delivered and the limited time of a class period, note taking may be the simplest, quickest way to share knowledge. These three lesson strategies may make the process more engaging for your classroom, as they have for mine.

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There are few things my students hate more than taking notes-and I don't blame them. Hardly anyone enjoys taking notes. No matter the energy of the teacher or the diligence of the student, it's extraordinarily easy to lose focus while listening to long, uninterrupted lectures.

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"Thriving in Your First Years as a Teacher"

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"Thriving in Your First Years as a Teacher"

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December 2017

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It is a universal truth that early career teachers are overwhelmed. Between classroom management issues, lesson plans, and grading, we're oftentimes drowning. With all the pressure to simply survive our first few years of teaching, doing anything else in the name of improvement may seem impossible. As a second-year teacher, I have days when I find myself treating life's necessities, like sleeping, as if they were optional activities.

We want to become better teachers, but it can be exhausting. These are low-stress, realistic, and enjoyable ideas that you can use to squeeze being a better educator into your hectic new teacher life.

Developing as a Teacher in the Early Years

Write reflectively: Simply by writing about your classroom experiences, you're already developing yourself as an educator. Writing is widely recognized as a tool to alleviate stress and manage anxiety. It's important for teachers to write as a way to vent about stressful days, grow from mistakes, and appreciate successes. Challenge yourself to write for 10 minutes each day. I don't pressure myself to write well-I just write. Whether you invest in a journal or start a blog, the act of writing is worth your time.

Record things you want to change: Create a document specifically designed to record your mistakes and plans for improvement. Whenever a lesson plan goes awry, jot down a note about how to make it better in the future. My own document is entitled "Things to Do Better for Next Year" and includes notes about remaking assessments, adjusting my grading categories, and other fixes that will make my next classroom experience better. Not only does this give you guidance for future lessons, but you now have a comprehensive list of items to accomplish over the summer.

Observe other teachers: New teachers are often required to observe veterans, but we shouldn't stop there. Even after you fulfill your observation obligations, make time to email different teachers in your building that you admire and let them know you want to stop by their classrooms to see them in action. Most teachers will be glad to work with you and to talk afterward about your thoughts and observations. We get better at teaching when we talk productively about our practice.

Learn a new skill: Making time in your life to learn about something you're interested in can help remind you what your students encounter every day in your classroom: As much as it can be exciting to learn something new, it's also scary. It's important that we regularly look for chances to experience life the way our students do, so that we can be empathetic to their situation. For me, it was learning how to sing. After months of voice lessons, I auditioned for the local theater's summer musical and made the ensemble cast.

Take charge of your PD: There are many ways you can be proactive in your professional development (PD). Social media websites like Twitter and Pinterest provide an entire network of teachers seeking discussions and other opportunities to connect. On Twitter, the National Councils of Teachers of English hosted an educational chat on mentor texts where I learned about using New Sentences from The New York Times as a tool to help students analyze literature.

A simple way to take control of your PD is to read books on pedagogy. Ask a few of your coworkers to join you and start an informal PD book club. Any teacher would benefit from reading The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley. This book provides an excellent month-by-month guide on how to create an atmosphere of improvement in your classroom.

Another classic way to develop professionally is to find a nearby education conference and interact with other teachers. Listening to inspiring keynote speakers and being involved in breakout sessions is a great way to re-energize and learn. When I went to the Mid-America Association for Computers in Education conference in Manhattan, Kansas, I learned about single-point rubrics, using memes as short writing assignments, and the glorious design capabilities of Canva.

Be kind to yourself: Practicing self-care is essential to your continual improvement as a teacher. If you're not taking care of yourself, you cannot be the teacher your students need. By making good choices that lead to a healthy mind and body, you'll enable yourself to have a happier teaching experience.

Ways to accomplish this include eating healthy, exercising, and doing activities that you enjoy outside of education. Yes, grading is important, but so is spending time with family, watching that new show, and walking the dog. To keep my head above water, I do guided meditations each morning using an app on my phone. This calms me down and lets me start each day fresh.

When trying to be a better teacher, the key is to not be hard on yourself. Teaching is a tricky and time-consuming job. No one has perfected it yet, and you won't be the first. While improvement should always be somewhere on your radar, it doesn't need to be a massive overhaul of your livelihood. Try even just one of these ideas for self-improvement.

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Thriving in Your First Years as a Teacher

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It is a universal truth that early career teachers are overwhelmed. Between classroom management issues, lesson plans, and grading, we're oftentimes drowning. With all the pressure to simply survive our first few years of teaching, doing anything else in the name of improvement may seem impossible.

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March 2018

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Among the many challenges facing early career teachers, grading can be especially daunting, so we've collected some pointers to make it easier.

New teachers have a lot to be excited about. They've embarked on a fantastic journey of meeting students, creating lesson plans, and beginning an extremely meaningful career. On the downside, one aspect of teaching that causes more dread than excitement for early career teachers is grading.

Grading is a cumbersome task for all teachers, but for early career teachers it can be debilitating. We know we need to give timely and relevant feedback, and we know grading is important, but how can we make the process easier on ourselves? These are some tricks of the trade that may help new teachers struggling with grading.

7 Grading Tips for New Teachers

1. Don't grade everything: Depending on the curriculum expectations for your school, you may be in a position to determine what is and is not worth going in the gradebook. Use that power. It's OK to not grade an assignment or to give credit for participation.

After teaching a lesson that required students to complete multiple writing assignments, I complained to a fellow English teacher about the hours I had spent reading the work. They were surprised at my complaints-rather than grade every assignment, they had only graded one.

2. Cycle your feedback: It's tempting to spend enormous amounts of time commenting on student work. And it's true that good teachers give good feedback. However, it's OK to not give feedback to every student on every assignment.

I like to systematically cycle through the students to whom I give feedback. For each assignment I give to my five sections of ninth grade English language arts, I choose a single class for which I'll spend extra time writing out detailed comments. For the next assignment, I choose a different one.

3. Have students grade other students: Sometimes new teachers forget what an amazing resource students can be. Instead of spending hours grading your students' work, you can spend 15 minutes of class time having students grade each other.

It's important to address expected behaviors as a class before letting students give feedback to their peers. Spend time instructing your students about what is helpful, specific feedback versus generic comments or statements that are better left unsaid. As one of my students put it, it's the difference between "That sucked!" and "You could do better if you...." Once your students are ready to evaluate each other constructively and kindly, let them, and give yourself a break.

4. Use technology wisely: Technology can make the lives of teachers infinitely easier. If you have the available equipment, administering formative assessments like quizzes or exit slips via Google Forms, Edmodo, or Kahoot! can save you oodles of grading time.

Additionally, you can alleviate the strain of grading by giving students the technological resources to do better work.For example, I will regularly give my students the chance to use grammar checking websites like Grammarly or Paper Rater before turning in their writing. Prior to this, my students and I talk extensively about the limitations of these tools-every once in a while, they're just flat wrong. A caveat to this tip is to consider what you want your students to focus on for a particular assignment. If you want students to check their own grammar (or their peers'), you might not want them using websites like these.

5. Don't assign busywork: Although it can be tempting to assign sponge activities to fill time, only give students impactful work that develops their skill sets. Just as I want to use my time grading assignments that matter, my students want to complete work that matters. By avoiding assigning meaningless work, you can ensure that everyone's time is spent optimally.

Ask yourself: Does this assignment enhance the lesson or the students' understanding of the lesson? If the answer is no, toss it.

6. Use rubrics: Rubrics can be a phenomenal tool when grading. Rather than question your reasoning for your assessment of each student's assignment, you can take some of the mental work out of it. Did they do this? Check. Did they do that? Check. You'll make grading easier for yourself by giving them solid feedback that you've already considered.

Another perk of this tactic is that you can give your students the rubric before they even begin the work. That way, they know the expectations they need to meet in order to succeed.

7. Grade whenever possible: We teachers know the definition of busy better than most. But there are still moments in the classroom that can be taken advantage of as time for grading. Whenever students are working independently, teachers should be grading.

It's important to grade wisely: Don't sit at your desk with your head down, completely unaware of the classroom. Instead, find an open desk, preferably one next to a student who struggles to focus, and grade there. Periodically get up to circle the room, ask if anyone needs help, or give direction as needed. But use every bit of your workday to knock out as much grading as you can.

Grading can be daunting for those of us who are new to teaching. There were many times when I fell so far behind in my grading that I had to devote entire weekends simply to catching up. Since I've been using these ideas, my grading load has been significantly more manageable. Hopefully, with these tips in your back pocket, you'll grade more effectively and with less stress.

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Among the many challenges facing early career teachers, grading can be especially daunting, so we've collected some pointers to make it easier. New teachers have a lot to be excited about. They've embarked on a fantastic journey of meeting students, creating lesson plans, and beginning an extremely meaningful career.

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May 2018

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When I started writing a blog, I felt like an imposter. It was as if I was pretending to be a "writer." When I hit the publish button on my first post, I was sure that some sort of writing police were going to burst through my webpage with red pens clutched in their hands. "You're not a writer!" they'd bellow. And I would have agreed-I did not feel like a writer.

But as a teacher, I was a writer. In fact, I was writing every day. All teachers are writers-we write emails, lesson plans, newsletters, assignments, and so much more.

We may not often think about it, but there are many benefits of writing for ourselves and for an audience, and there are many venues for publishing our work. The first step to accessing all these benefits is to accept a simple truth: We're already writers.

Writing Reflectively Helps Us Grow

Writing reflectively is a quick but impactful way to improve both our professional and personal lives. We can process successes and plan improvements after failures when we document our days.

In his book Learning by Doing, Oxford professor Graham Gibbs suggests that writing reflectively can be extremely helpful for cognitive growth. When we write about questions like "What went well today? What could have gone better? How will I change my actions in the future?" we improve ourselves.

Keeping a journal is one of the easiest ways to access the benefits of reflective writing. Challenge yourself to achieve a reasonable writing goal each day at a time that consistently fits your schedule best. My life is generally calmest in the evenings, so I try to write for 10 minutes before bed.

Writing Helps Us Empathize

Writing can help us become better writing teachers. We're able to empathize with our students' positive and negative experiences as writers when we write ourselves.

The goal is just to write-not necessarily to write well. Writing is hard for everyone; writing well is near impossible. But that's the beauty of writing-that intense feeling of struggle when we're putting pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard, is not exclusive to teachers. Our students feel it, too. And being able to have authentic conversations with students about the hardships of writing creates a more supportive writing culture in the classroom.

Each year, I have my students write short stories following the structure of the Heroic Journey, and I write alongside them. One time, my hero was a stressed mother and her journey was taking her three kids to Taco Bell. It was a valiant tale of love, loss, and quesadillas, but it wasn't going to win any awards. But in part because we shared the writing experience, my students and I had productive conversations about our writing processes.

Writing Helps You Spread Your Voice

Writing is a cost-effective way to share our ideas, and there are many opportunities for educators to have their voices heard.
Writing About Education-Related Topics
You can also inquire about writing opportunities with the educational organizations you're part of. The National Council of Teachers of English, for example, has a blog that accepts proposals from guest authors.
Writing About Non-Education-Related Topics
You could also start your own blog using free platforms like Weebly, Wordpress, Wix, or Blogger.

The practice of writing consistently has made an incredible difference in my life. Embracing the identity of a writer has made me a more reflective and empathetic teacher.

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How Teachers Benefit From Writing | Edutopia

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When I started writing a blog, I felt like an imposter. It was as if I was pretending to be a "writer." When I hit the publish button on my first post, I was sure that some sort of writing police were going to burst through my webpage with red pens clutched in their hands.

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"Strategies for Teaching Argument Writing"

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"Strategies for Teaching Argument Writing"

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December 2018

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Three simple ways a ninth-grade teacher scaffolds argument writing for students.

©iStock/monkeybusinessimages

My ninth-grade students love to argue. They enjoy pushing back against authority, sharing their opinions, and having those opinions validated by their classmates. That's no surprise-it's invigorating to feel right about a hot-button topic. But through the teaching of argument writing, we can show our students that argumentation isn't just about convincing someone of your viewpoint-it's also about researching the issues, gathering evidence, and forming a nuanced claim.

Argument writing is a crucial skill for the real world, no matter what future lies ahead of a student. The Common Core State Standards support the teaching of argument writing, and students in the elementary grades on up who know how to support their claims with evidence will reap long-term benefits.

Argument Writing as Bell Work

One of the ways I teach argument writing is by making it part of our bell work routine, done in addition to our core lessons. This is a useful way to implement argument writing in class because there's no need to carve out two weeks for a new unit.

Instead, at the bell, I provide students with an article to read that is relevant to our coursework and that expresses a clear opinion on an issue. They fill out the first section of the graphic organizer I've included here, which helps them identify the claim, supporting evidence, and hypothetical counterclaims. After three days of reading nonfiction texts from different perspectives, their graphic organizer becomes a useful resource for forming their own claim with supporting evidence in a short piece of writing.

The graphic organizer I use was inspired by the resources on argument writing provided by the National Writing Project through the College, Career, and Community Writers Program. They have resources for elementary and secondary teachers interested in argument writing instruction. I also like to check Kelly Gallagher's Article of the Week for current nonfiction texts.

Moves of Argument Writing

Another way to practice argument writing is by teaching students to be aware of, and to use effectively, common moves found in argument writing. Joseph Harris's book Rewriting: How to Do Things With Texts outlines some common moves:

Illustrating: Using examples, usually from other sources, to explain your point.

Authorizing: Calling upon the credibility of a source to help support to your argument.

Borrowing: Using the terminology of other writers to help add legitimacy to a point.

Extending: Adding commentary to the conversation on the issue at hand.

Countering: Addressing opposing arguments with valid solutions.

Teaching students to identify these moves in writing is an effective way to improve reading comprehension, especially of nonfiction articles. Furthermore, teaching students to use these moves in their own writing will make for more intentional choices and, subsequently, better writing.

Argument Writing With Templates

Students who purposefully read arguments with the mindset of a writer can be taught to recognize the moves identified above and more. Knowing how to identify when and why authors use certain sentence starters, transitions, and other syntactic strategies can help students learn how to make their own point effectively.

To supplement our students' knowledge of these syntactic strategies, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein recommend writing with templates in their book They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. Graff and Birkenstein provide copious templates for students to use in specific argument writing scenarios. For example, consider these phrases that appear commonly in argument writing:

On the one hand...

On the other hand...

I agree that...

This is not to say that...

If you're wary of having your students write using a template, I once felt the same way. But when I had my students purposefully integrate these words into their writing, I saw a significant improvement in their argument writing. Providing students with phrases like these helps them organize their thoughts in a way that better suits the format of their argument writing.

When we teach students the language of arguing, we are helping them gain traction in the real world. Throughout their lives, they'll need to convince others to support their goals. In this way, argument writing is one of the most important tools we can teach our students to use.

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Strategies for Teaching Argument Writing

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Three simple ways a ninth-grade teacher scaffolds argument writing for students. ©iStock/monkeybusinessimages My ninth-grade students love to argue. They enjoy pushing back against authority, sharing their opinions, and having those opinions validated by their classmates. That's no surprise-it's invigorating to feel right about a hot-button topic.

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February 2018

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Sign up for our daily EdTech news briefing today, free.

For teachers, being asked to be a school leader to our peers seems like a loaded question. What does being a teacher leader mean? We don't want to direct our fellow teachers, demand they complete tasks or offer unwanted feedback.

Fortunately, being a great teacher leader requires none of those things. Instead, teacher leaders are characterized by their ability to support their peers. A successful teacher leader is not worried about being seen as better than those around them; rather, they seek to make the school a better place by helping their colleagues whenever possible.

Here are a few tips on how to be a teacher leader:

Show interest in other classrooms

Interacting with other classrooms is one of the most important parts of any teacher leadership role. And yet, we struggle. We are all guilty of closing our doors and neglecting to interact with anyone outside of our hallway. Classroom management is key, but so too is professional learning.

Recently, I was speaking with another teacher when I realized I had no idea where her classroom was located. How could I support someone I had not invested in? Take time out of your day to become involved in, or simply to observe, other classrooms.

My school has implemented a Pineapple Chart, a learning community calendar where teachers mark dates when they are open for classroom visitors. This is a great way for offering planned opportunities for others to observe other classrooms unobtrusively. Take the time to show support for the amazing teaching and learning happening all around you.

Help out when needed

When the call comes to help another teacher, it is shamefully easy to ignore it. We're busy people. This is just one of the hundreds of emails we get each day, and you will not be the only one to pretend it doesn't exist.

If a teacher needs classroom resources, coverage for an hour or two or help putting together curriculum plans, trust that they're in need of a helping hand for a good reason. If you can, help them. Not only are you acting as a teacher leader when you support your other teachers by responding to their needs, you're also setting a tone for the type of culture you want to create among the faculty at your school.

Advocate for growth

Change is one of the most frightening aspects of education. As soon as I feel I have mastered my curriculum, administration has new requests, standardized testing requirements evolve or standards are revised. While change and growth are not always synonymous, it's important that teacher leaders give new policies their best chance.

I was staunchly opposed to a new textbook rollout for our high school, but upon reading the text, it had several stellar short stories by diverse authors. Keep in mind, teacher leaders should not bend to the will of the system on every occasion. An educator's main goal is to help students learn, and policies that hurt our students should be discouraged. However, it is often true that teacher leaders support more initiatives than they oppose.

Listen purposefully

In the modern world, communication has taken a back seat to screen time. With social media vying for our attention, many of us have forgotten a critical skill: listening. Creating meaningful relationships through listening to your peers is integral to being a teacher leader.

Listen purposefully when you talk with other teachers. Be aware of eye contact and body language, and ask relevant questions to show your colleagues you are listening to understand, not just listening to respond. Listening seems like such a basic skill, but showing empathy to your coworkers will enhance the workplace for the better.

Be positive and kind

In the field of education, it is easy to get sucked into a cycle of cynicism. Apathy is a virus that can destroy the will of any teacher. Effective teacher leaders are optimistic, especially when it's difficult to be so. When every lesson plan has gone wrong, an enormous number of students have been absent and the Wi-Fi is down again, teacher leaders are still looking for ways to make the day better.

We're all human, and emotions -- good and bad -- are a part of that package. But our students need us to be there for them, even on our worst days. Similarly, our colleagues need us to be there for them, too. When we can remain positive and kind in the face of hardship, our school learning environment benefits.

What makes a good teacher leader?

Every day, teachers lead students. Teachers understand them, inspire them, collaborate with them and learn alongside them. There is no doubt that all teachers can make great leaders. It is time for teachers to take up the mantle and lead each other.

Let's dispose of the notion that being a leader means being demanding. Instead, let's promote a simple and genuine truth: the most important quality of being a good teacher leader means being supportive.

And because a teacher's job doesn't end when they leave the classroom, we'll end with one last question: how can we engage teachers to be good community leaders?
Andrea Marshbank is a second year high-school English language-arts teacher. Her students are leaders, writers and readers. Find more of her work at themarshbankclassroom.com.
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Sign up for our daily EdTech news briefing today, free. For teachers, being asked to be a school leader to our peers seems like a loaded question. What does being a teacher leader mean? We don't want to direct our fellow teachers, demand they complete tasks or offer unwanted feedback.

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June 2019

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As summer starts, I'm about to sit down with a Google Doc I created last August, before the school year started. It's called, "Things to Do Better Next Year."

It sounds like a to-do list, but it's much more than that: It's a journal I added to all school year long - and now, it's a collection of opportunities and reflections that will guide my planning for the year ahead.

Reflection is part of my daily teaching practice. Whenever I hit a snag, I write about it in the D oc. I might write something as simple as, "Make copies earlier," or as big as, "Scrap this unit. Read Gallagher and Kittle's 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents and find a way to restructure."

I also invite my students' feedback throughout the year. At the end of each unit, I ask my students to write a reflective piece on their experiences, closing with a question like, "What could have been done differently that you would have appreciated?" And I add their feedback to another, more detailed curriculum planning Doc.

This past year, my students let me know that they loved reading short stories and choosing their own reading books, but some workbook practice I gave them didn't go over well. In their reflections, they wrote, "You said the purpose of this class is to empower us as readers, but the workbooks make us feel like we're dumb readers." That hit me right in the chest, but it wasn't a bad thing. It was a chance to say, "That's a good point. I'll make that actionable!" This summer, I'll pull those lessons and find a way to teach them with more engagement and less rote work.

My Google Doc journaling system is one way I keep moving forward and growing as a teacher. Just the act of putting something on my list is an important part of my practice - once I've added it, a moment of stress becomes a promise of change.

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As summer starts, I'm about to sit down with a Google Doc I created last August, before the school year started. It's called, "Things to Do Better Next Year." It sounds like a to-do list, but it's much more than that: It's a journal I added to all school year long - and now, it's a collection of opportunities and reflections that will guide my planning for the year ahead.

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"Who Can You Trust?: Teaching Online Research Literacy"

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"Who Can You Trust?: Teaching Online Research Literacy"

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July 2018

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The CRWP Teachers As Writers Blog will feature guest posts in July in advance of the National Writing Project Midwest Conference. The NWP Midwest Conference takes place August 3, 4, and 5 in Madison, Wisconsin, and will feature presentations from NWP Teacher Leaders and Site Directors, as well as a keynote and pre-conference from the CRWP's own Troy Hicks. Today's post comes from Andrea Marshbank of the Flint Hills Writing Project in Kansas.
Google and I have a complicated relationship.

Living in these futuristic times, I turn to Google regularly for my questions. I am no stranger to yelling "Hey, Google!" at my innocuous Google Home to find out the correct pronunciation of if it's supposed to rain today, or prove my partner wrong-or right-over simple controversies.

As a teacher, I struggled with how to approach Google with my students. Is relying on Google for our questions a crutch? Is my refusal to find the thesaurus or watch the weather report a manifestation of my laziness that is enabled by Google's handiness? After much reflection, I have determined that Google is probably not evil. Or if it is, it's a necessary evil. Finding information on the internet without Google, or the use of another corporate search engine, would be incredibly difficult. So, out of hope for humanity, I'm going to go ahead and believe that Google is not 100% evil.

Google is, however, a business. And, like all businesses, it doesn't necessarily have our best interests at heart. In April, Vox reported that Professor Safiya Noble of the University of Southern California was writing a book entitled Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. Dr. Noble warns her readers about the intent of search engines (read: Google) who prioritize getting clicks, and making money, over providing ethical search results.

In one example, Dr. Noble highlights how Google's image results for searching for women of different ethnicities have incredibly different results. A Google search for the term "white women" provides pictures of, you guessed it, white women. A whole page of them appearing professional and poised. However, a similar search for "black women" sports images that are highly sexual, if not pornographic. If the algorithms can't help but create a spew of racist results, then perhaps Google needs to rethink the use of algorithms. But, I digress.

Google is a tool that can make our forays into the vast internet manageable. Our students need to know how to use it effectively while acknowledging its advantages and disadvantages. We are in such technological times that knowing how to search the internet is one of the most important skills we can teach our students. For research purposes, yes, but also for life. As educators, we want our students to problem solve. As 21st-century citizens, a good amount of problem solving is knowing how to "just Google it." We have to prepare our students with a 360-degree view of search engines, how to use them well, and when to not use them at all.

Teaching students to evaluate search engines is not a job that is limited to the computer lab teacher, the mandated digital citizenship lessons, or a one-day crash course right before the big research project. Knowing how to effectively search the internet has to be an ongoing conversation between students and teachers at a variety of ages and in all classes. We have to be willing to have philosophical conversations about open-ended questions like, When is it okay to Google for information? How can I verify that the information I Googled is true? Why wouldn't it be true? If I can't trust Google, who can I trust?

If you're reading this on CRWP Teachers as Writers Blog and are seriously questioning what this has to do with writing, I'll tell you: everything. Writing, both fiction and nonfiction, requires research. Sometimes that research is our own life, specifically when we are writing reflectively. In that case, there is no need to Google. We were there. When we write about situations that we weren't a part of, we're naturally going to turn to search engines like Google to figure out what we need to know. Our students will, too. We need to prepare them.

Searching the internet for trustworthy sources is incredibly important. Our students need us to spark these conversations for them to consider. I'm excited to have more conversations about Googling and online literacy when I meet with other educators at my presentation at the NWP Midwest Conference in August. My session is entitled, "Who Can You Trust?: Teaching Online Research Literacy." I hope to see you there! If you can't make it, here's a link to my slideshow.

Andrea Marshbank is a high school English teacher in Kansas. As a Teacher Leader for the Flint Hills Writing Project, host of an education podcast called The Suggestion Box, and the sponsor of her school Writing Club, Andrea is constantly looking for ways to positively contribute to the education community. Find her blog at themarshbankclassroom.com and more information on her podcast at thesuggestionboxpodcast.com .

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Who Can You Trust?: Teaching Online Research Literacy

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The CRWP Teachers As Writers Blog will feature guest posts in July in advance of the National Writing Project Midwest Conference. The NWP Midwest Conference takes place August 3, 4, and 5 in Madison, Wisconsin, and will feature presentations from NWP Teacher Leaders and Site Directors, as well as a keynote and pre-conference from the CRWP's own Troy Hicks.

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"The Thing to Remember About Conferences"

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"The Thing to Remember About Conferences"

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November 2016

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Conferences are a traffic intersection. They are jam packed, a five lane road that crosses a one way street with a slow light. There are jaywalkers and honkers, texters and screamers. On occasion, someone gets out of the car, slams the door self-righteously, and we all watch in fascination. While conferences may seem as streamlined as meeting in a room and listening to others talk about teaching, they are as complex and chaotic as anything else.

You come to a conference with your entire life pushing behind you. The eighty-seven essays you have yet to grade, your distraught about meeting the in-laws for dinner, the pressure of knowing your own presentation is a mere hours away. These stressors press in at you from all sides and you must be careful to remember to breathe. As much as you want conferences to be as clear cut as: sit down, learn, and talk when you are instructed to, they aren't. They can't be. They're checking emails and quietly taking phone calls outside of the room. They're stressing about finding parking in downtown St. Louis and trying your damnedest to keep track of every receipt. But in some ways the glory of conferences is found in this cacophony. Waiting in line for twenty minutes at the Marriott Starbucks, you meet a fellow English teacher who also desperately wants to know, what is blended learning? When a woman compliments your lanyard, so you sit at the same table as her, and now you're exchanging email addresses and laughter. Turning in your seat to find a photographer holding a lens inches away from your face, and when he cracks a joke about staying calm, you can't help but smile even though you're pretty sure you were supposed to stay still. Appreciating the work of your presenters who painstakingly cut out colorful fish with writing prompts on them and wore goggles with pride to stay in their 'writing flow' theme. These moments are meaningful. In these tangled messes that are conferences, they are the sweet gems that motivate the rest of the experience.

I forget that sometimes. I forget that while, sure, the sessions are going to be helpful and the speakers will be insightful, it's the people I meet who will make this conference outstanding. It's these small moments where smiles and conversation sneak in between the sessions and sometimes burst the sessions themselves wide open like a pinata of happiness and learning and education. Conferences are clustered and busy and they are beautiful. In the same way that I listen to city traffic to put me to sleep at night, the buzz of this conference lull me into bliss. It is a mindful moment of learning. We are all here to meet with each other for only a moment. This is simply an intersection, in our winding journey; it is only one stoplight that seems to go by unusually fast.

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Conferences are a traffic intersection. They are jam packed, a five lane road that crosses a one way street with a slow light. There are jaywalkers and honkers, texters and screamers. On occasion, someone gets out of the car, slams the door self-righteously, and we all watch in fascination.

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beginning June 2018 to May 2020

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The Suggestion Box is a podcast where teachers get ideas. At The Suggestion Box, we believe in teachers teaching teachers. Each episode, we interview inspiring teachers all across the nation who have exciting suggestions about effective lessons, projects, strategies, and more. Hosted by high school teacher Andrea Marshbank and partnered with the Flint Hills Writing Project, this podcast is proud to be made by teachers for teachers. New episodes release every other Wednesday.

The Suggestion Box is a podcast where teachers get ideas. At The Suggestion Box, we believe in teachers teaching teachers. Each episode, we interview inspiring teachers all across the nation who have exciting suggestions about effective lessons, projects, strategies, and more. Hosted by high school teacher Andrea Marshbank and partnered with the Flint Hills Writing Project, this podcast is proud to be made by teachers for teachers. New episodes release every other Wednesday.

LOVE IT

I have enjoyed listening to all of the podcasts in The Suggestion Box! Keep them coming!!!

Love it!

Highly recommend.

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‎The Suggestion Box is a podcast where teachers get ideas. At The Suggestion Box, we believe in teachers teaching teachers. Each episode, we interview inspiring teachers all across the nation who have exciting suggestions about effective lessons, projects, strategies, and more. Hosted by high school...

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"Speak, Trigger Warnings, and Listening to Student Needs"

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"Speak, Trigger Warnings, and Listening to Student Needs"

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July 2018

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Abstract

English language arts is a vulnerable subject. It involves self-expression, serious reflection, and deep discussion in a way that I did not understand when completing my pre-service teaching program. Entering this profession last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the complex subjects my students were eager to write about. Excited, I grabbed ahold of their engagement. We used it as fuel. My students have written essays, podcasts, and blogs on their home-life struggles, the unbelievable pressures of high school, and the microaggressive acts of racism teachers can not quite catch in the hallways. Together, my students and I learned that writing and talking about these issues creates positive change. I loved giving my students the chance to write about and discuss hard topics in my classroom. On the days when we cleared out the mumbo-jumbo of "normal" class expectations, when we simply talked and wrote about real world issues, it was those days that were special. They were meaningful. My kids asked for more days like them, and I tried to honor that request.

Author Biography

Andrea Marshbank, Seaman High School

Andrea Marshbank is a second-year English language arts teacher and assistant debate and forensics coach at Seaman High School. She is also a Teacher Leader for the National Writing Project, a 2018 Kansas Horizon Award Nominee, and frequent guest blogger for Edutopia. Ms. Marshbank has spoken about her award-winning writing on EduTalk Radio, presented at the 2017 National Council
of Teachers of English Convention on teaching students digital literacy to improve online research skills, and at the 2017 Mid-America Association for Computers in Education Conference on using film as literature in the English classroom. Check out her blog at www.themarshbankclassroom.com
or contact her at andreamarshbank@gmail.com.

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Speak, Trigger Warnings, and Listening to Student Needs

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English language arts is a vulnerable subject. It involves self-expression, serious reflection, and deep discussion in a way that I did not understand when completing my pre-service teaching program. Entering this profession last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the complex subjects my students were eager to write about.

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beginning November 2016 to September 2018

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Andrea Marshbank is a 9th grade English teacher making her way through life one project-based assessment, Diet Coke, and puppy snuggle at a time.

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2019 to 2020

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2019 to 2020

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Copy and paste this into your URL address bar! ➟ https://tinyurl.com/marshbankprojects

Education is about access to power; I'm about empowering everyone.

Welcome, y'all! Thanks for taking a gander at my profile. I'm Andrea Marshbank (the name is right there, but I'm a Midwesterner-introductions are key!). I'm a voracious reader, ambitious writer, and amateur mountaineer. Education is my life's work, but I'm looking to work at it a little differently as I consider leaving my teaching career. I'd love to see if your education-based company is a good fit.

I'm passionate about cultivating lifelong learners at all ages, keeping up with cutting-edge technology, and building a "Ted Lasso"-esque positive work environment. Have you seen Ted Lasso? It's worth that Apple TV subscription, I promise.

Working alongside innovative, progressive, and amazing folx is my dream. I have a special interest in businesses that are remote, value their employees, and are eager to cultivate kindness in a work environment.

Let's talk! My email is andreamarshbank@gmail.com.

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Andrea Marshbank - Writer - Edutopia - George Lucas Educational Foundation | LinkedIn

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Copy and paste this into your URL address bar! ➟ https://tinyurl.com/marshbankprojects Education is about access to power; I'm about empowering everyone. Welcome, y'all! Thanks for taking a gander at my profile. I'm Andrea Marshbank (the name is right there, but I'm a Midwesterner-introductions are key!). I'm a voracious reader, ambitious writer, and amateur mountaineer.

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