For her to work smarter not harder she linearly looks at her school day. She mentally acknowledges what she expects of her students and other staff in her room. She focuses on her systems and routines, making sure students are able to be independent and successful.

Advice: Can be a difficult position, as a new teacher take the help and guidance from others. School systems run on staff connections and sharing resources.

Social-emotional and self-regulation is not only for the younger kids, all ages need to work on it.

Addressing personal biases and the types of space (equitable classrooms) you create for your students can help your path as an educator.

Teaching gives fulfillment, and purpose, and makes a difference in your community and individual students' and families' lives.

As an instructor, the engagement and pace of a class have so much to do with the opportunities to respond. The higher amount of responses the higher the amount of cognitive engagement.

Advice: teach to the test. We should start with our assessment, what do we want our students to know. Tells us what our instruction needs to include. Keep the end in mind.

A good teacher is a good coach.

Why teach: you won't know until you meet your kids. You have the opportunity to pour life into these kids everyday.

Work Smart Not Harder: Make the kids do everything. The more they can do the less you have to do. Allowing students to assess each other. Sticky notes. Dry erase boards. Quick easy assessments.

Advice to new teachers: Relationships. Nicknames: come from interacting with your kids, and getting to know them. Creating connections between students. Asking about students and their lives. Working with students, moving around the room, meeting them on their level. You can never do too much procedure. Go slow to go fast. When students know what you expect of them they feel like they know what to do. Don't need to run a tight ship, just one that is orderly, with expectations that are clear.

Why teach: Those smiles. Getting students to come back and enjoy school.

You need a starting point that is based on your standards, but you also need a way to continue to move your students wherever they need to go. Everyone is moving at a different pace.

To work smarter, not harder she collaborates. You work better together.

Small groups= she is able to help her students who are higher achieving and make sure they are still growing in her classroom. Students who are struggling also get that one-on-one help.

Advice- Don't walk alone. Be involved in other people's classrooms. Take everyone with you.

Work smarter, not harder: Gaining experience, using the resources around you. Data is able to show where a student shines, this can help us know how to level up the areas they aren't as strong.

Advice: Be careful who you surround yourself with, positive influences. Remember your true north. (why you chose to teach) Reflect on yourself.

Shutting out the chatter, everyone has an opinion. Take time to reflect on why you chose to teach. Try not to be on social media too much. Behaviorsnap.

Working smarter, not harder: using rubrics, being objective on your standards, not needing much homework that needs to be provided, you can use formative assessment to know what students know.

Building relationships with students, letting them know exactly what the expectations are, letting them self-assess, and peer conferencing.

Allowing students to know expectations ahead of time, helps build confidence, improvement for next time.

Advice for new teachers: Procedures and routines from the beginning. Take time to go over the basics.

Kindergarten is hands-on and fast and easy. Can walk around and assess. Toolkit allows students to be independent. Practicing routines and procedures.

Working smarter, not harder: Need a good work-life balance. Plans every Tuesday for the following week. Works ahead and always preps for the next day of lessons. Working with her team.

Advice to new teachers: be extra nice to the custodian and receptionist. Listen to your team and co-workers. Take a risk. Don't reinvent the wheel. Stay off your phone. Don't take yourself too seriously, it's okay to mess up. Leave your home problems at the door.

Representing all of your students in what you are reading. The power of real-aloud every day. Practicing your real-aloud ahead of time.

Why be a teacher? Teaching is not for everyone, it is a fun job, you can be funny. You can laugh and be silly while impacting the future. Teaching is not for everyone but everyone needs a great teacher.

Start with the standards, what does that look like, what does it mean. How does it look when applied. Allow students to know what they are expected to do or know.

Go slow to start with. They will through lots of things at you at the beginning. Take a little piece and do it the best you can. Then you take another piece. What is the smallest thing I can do to make a big difference in student learning and outcome.

Learning what makes students tick. There is a secret combination to every student, it starts with building that relationship.

The culture of your community is crucial for your growth. It is constantly changing and shifting.

Why be an educator? Having people that are caring, loving, and compassionate makes you want to hold onto them more. Having a strong impact on past students. Watching kids make something for themselves.

Work smarter not harder: work as a team, divide and conquer. Compliment your teammates. Find the leaders in your classroom you can use.

Advice for new teachers: make relationships with students, parents, staff. Take the time to learn everything about your students. Support your students in what they love. It is hard to have hard conversations with parents, but it is important. You don't have to love everybody on your staff, but you have to love something about everybody on your staff.

Find books that make a connection with you. Ones that will empower your ability to teach. Hopefully your staff will encourage you to keep reading different books, read them. Walk away with atleast a snippet, nugget, something from every book that will help you be a better educator.

Why teach: impact. You have the ability to make the impact on tons of kids. Teaching matters. We need teachers who love kids, challenge them. Teachers that will work to make a difference and work everyday to watch their kids grow.

Work smarter, not harder: have a process. Working as a part of a team is working efficiently and helping you see the whole picture for your students. Have a process and stick to it.

Advice for new teachers: respect your impact. Students look to you to form relationships. Assessment has its place, but every road leads back to intervention, what to do next.

Children are not the people of tomorrow, they are the people of today and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

Why teach: teach because kids need you. Instant impact.

4. I really enjoyed Mrs. Deena Steen. She had a lot of great advice and stories to share with us. Her stories of sticking with students even as they left her classroom were really amazing to hear. You can tell by her interactions with her students and the structure of her classroom she really cares about her student's success in her space.

5. It surprised me that so many of them said the same things, or gave advice that was along the same lines. I also loved that all of these educators are constantly working to better themselves for the sake of their students.

7. What are some go-to websites or apps that you use in the classroom?