"We all need to feel validated and often lose sight of our strengths and talents because the brain is wired with a negative bias."

I even checked with Chat GPT and sure enough, yes, our brain is wired with a negative bias.

Therefore, I would like to begin each day with positive affirmations. The purpose of this would be to set goals, reflect, and to kickstart our day rich with possibilities and purpose. When students enter our rooms already defeated, it is hard for them to care and do well in school. I want to set them up to succeed and to believe in themselves.

"Maslow before Bloom"

2). High School Math

3). Formative assessments are used to check student understanding throughout the lesson. It should help guide instruction in the moment and it does not require us to wait until getting an assignment to determine if the students "got it" or not.

4). I tend to use the same formative assessments over and over such as ticket out the door, think-pair-share, and whiteboards. Using the list from the RPDP formative assessment strategies, it gives me more ideas to mix up the assessments that I would use. During instruction I would like to try having students summarize another student's answer, as it may help them see a different approach to the problem, but also summarizing the steps can help make sense of the process. A self-assessment at the beginning of a unit or lesson could be helpful to identify what prior knowledge the students are bringing in. I also like the idea of contemplate and question. I typically ask if they have questions, but I think it would open up more discussions for the students to formulate their own questions. It also encourages them to ask questions and think as they are going.

 I changed my attitude/opinion about...

 I became more aware of...

 I was surprised/shocked by...

 I related to...

This is great because I usually do this at the end, but its important to see what students think or know about the topic DURING the lesson.

Purpose: provide focus and grab attention

Article: 50 Real ways to re-engage learners in an era of distraction and boredom.

One strategy is to take students' interests into account when planning units. I could incorporate the skills into what the students like. For example, if the students like superheroes, I could design a super hero training camp, while still focusing on the skills I want them to master.

Another strategy is to use varying modes of presentation. I can use verbal, visual, and kinesthetic modes, rather than solely kinesthetic. I can use posters, labels, videos for visual learners. For more verbal learners I can try to make the activity reflect a story or theme. (secret agent dodging lasers, instead of "noodle tag.")

This was a list of language frames to use to provide students feedback. It included frames for students needing a little push, those that easily succeed and all that are in the middle. I think these Growth Mindset language frames are great! As teachers we sometimes forget to provide feedback or we get stuck always saying the same thing over and over out of habit. This list is very useful. These frames can be a guide as we provide specific feedback to students.

Even though the document states the strategies are for grades 6-12, there are several strategies listed in the Formative Assessment Strategies that I have used over the years. My favorites are K-W-L, Four Corners, Individual Whiteboards, and Numbered Heads. I'd like to implement Quick Writes and Quick Draws.

The article entitled “Strategies to Build Intrinsic Motivation” examined research and made applicable suggestions to create an atmosphere that promotes autonomy, accountability and motivation. Interestingly, one critical component researchers found for building intrinsic motivation was cognitive dissonance, characterized by creating opposing thoughts. The article explains that the creation of cognitive dissonance is uncomfortable for the mind and thus creates self-persuasion. 

While the article suggested several strategies for creating intrinsic motivation in this manner, one strategy I would like to employ in my classroom is inviting students to form two lines prior to the beginning of the day. One line for students who are “ready to learn” and one line for students who are “going to misbehave”. Once the students have made a selection, their selection forces them to examine their choices and exercise self-persuasion by not acting or behaving in a way that is contrary to their initial selection. 

The idea is that each week, students share their biggest failure, such as something that didn’t go as planned in academics, projects, or personal goals. As a class, we talk about what went wrong, what could be learned from the experience, and how to try again with new strategies.

Purpose
Build family connections and motivate students by highlighting positive behavior and effort.

How I’d Use It
After PE class, I’d send a note through Class Dojo or a quick call home when a student shows great sportsmanship or effort. A simple checklist would ensure every child is recognized, boosting motivation and home-school partnership.

I read Strategies to Build Intrinsic Motivation by DAVID PALANK. Finding ways to build intrinsic motivation is very interesting to me. The suggestion of Remind by Asking is intriguing to me. I tend to ask student what they are doing or why they are doing something (they shouldn't be doing) rather than asking them what they SHOULD be doing. I also liked the idea of publicly sharing goals. I am going to be more careful with my wording when redirecting students and start having them write a monthly goal for themselves that they will share with the class. Then at the end of the month we can see who accomplished their goals.

12th grade Math

I chose the Growth Mindset Feedback Tool. I love the talking about Growth Mindset with students, and this tool will provide me with many statements/phrases/sentence starters to express the to students what Growth Mindset entails. An example from the tool that a teacher might say is "You might be struggling, but you are making progress. I can see your growth." I like that it is a positive way of thinking about learning and that it includes everyone at every entry level.

I plan to use this strategy during our ELA block. After reading a text, I can ask a variety of comprehension questions. Students will rotate through the inside-outside circle format, discussing their responses with different peers. This not only makes learning more interactive and fun, but also allows every student the opportunity to share their thinking.

An added benefit is that students will get to interact with classmates outside of their usual friend groups, helping build a stronger classroom community.

The 6 big strategies are

1. to give 1 clear, do-able direction, wait for 100% compliance, and then layer the next step

2. Keep consequences minimal

3. Match curriculum to ability to minimize misbehavior

4. Rehearse transitions

5. anticipate problems and be creative

6. Positive communication home

The little things are:

1. Reward good behavior

2. Never punish the whole class

3. Build anticipation to hook students

4. Shift the mood with humor, music, etc.

5. Look for positives

6. Show enthusiasm, be extra

7. Name the good - say out loud what you enjoy about the class

8. Hold boundaries - don't look for students to meet your emotional needs?

9. Offer forgiveness and fresh starts

10. Give choices

11. Set public behavior goals

12. Establish routines - predictability reduces chaos

13. Acknowledge reality - if things are ,off say it and reset focus

10th Grade/World History

Build Motivation

This article discusses how extrinsic motivation to do tasks quickly lose their effectiveness because students are not choosing to do something on their own. However, it also offers ways for teachers to allow students to choose to do task on their own. We know when a person does something of their own intrinsic reason they are more likely to still with a task. One way offered by this article s asking students what they are to be doing rather than telling them. By changing this it allows students to keep their autonomy of choice. I think this would work well with high school students because they do like to have choices.

4th Grade

General Ed

I always struggle with giving students group work because it's hard to get all group members engaged and on task. After reading though the Tips to Improve Group Work, the one tip that stood out to me was common approach tip #4, which is to read all directions and step to the group. Instead, the tip was to tweak it and give TIME to the group members to read directions and repeat it to peers. I think giving them the time is the key. Usually, when I see a group struggling, my first instinct is to start helping them. For example, I had my students today working in groups to answerer a writing prompt. As soon as I saw that the groups were struggling I started to guide them and direct them to the answers. After reading Tips to Improve Group Work, I realized I did not give them enough time to read the prompt and think about the questions being asked. So the Tips to Improve Group Work will definitely help with my group work!

Collaborative teaching methods help students retain more knowledge and stay motivated. This approach also cultivates important interpersonal abilities, such as leadership and empathy, which are valuable for academic projects and future careers. This collaborative approach also builds self-esteem and social skills, particularly for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and can introduce cooperative learning strategies like Jigsaw, where students become experts on specific topics and then share their knowledge with their peers. According to the article, this can help to introduce different strategies of learning such as Jigsaw learning, which I frequently foster student collaboration in my classroom through structured activities like Think-Pair-Share and group projects. To ensure all students, including non-verbal learners, contribute meaningfully, I assign specific roles within each group. Technology is also integrated to support shared work. Designing tasks that require students to work together to solve problems or create products fosters communication and critical thinking, preparing them for future challenges.

I would use Kagan strategies in my classroom to promote active engagement and collaboration among students. For example, I could incorporate Think-Pair-Share at the start of a lesson to activate prior knowledge and get every student thinking and speaking right away. This structure ensures that all students are involved instead of just a few raising their hands. I could also use Round Robin or Rally Robin during group work to give each student a chance to contribute ideas, which keeps students focused and minimizes off-task behavior. These cooperative learning structures build accountability and make learning more interactive, which helps maintain attention and creates a positive classroom climate.

Additionally, I would use Kagan strategies to build students’ communication skills and confidence. Shy or reluctant students often become more comfortable sharing their ideas in smaller groups before speaking to the whole class. Strategies like Numbered Heads Together encourage students to support one another and ensure that everyone understands the content, which promotes both metacognition and processing. After group discussions, I could include time for students to reflect on what they learned and set goals for their next steps. By embedding these structures regularly, students would develop collaboration skills, stay engaged, and take greater ownership of their learning.

An important part of intrinsic motivation is the students learn to make goals, track, make adjustments, and know they are in charge of their successes. Data binders are a great tool for students to do this in. Teachers should motivate and remind students of the steps, provide time to track and reflect, and encourage them. The more students practice this and see success from their hard work, the more students will take ownership of their learning and have intrinsic motivation.