(I wrote the following post for Wipebook after they sent me a free FlipChart. Since it's been a hot minute since my last blog post, I thought I would share the post here.) I am always looking for better ways to engage my students in deeper thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving. A couple of years ago I “discovered” dry erase pockets/shop ticket holders (lots of teachers had been using them a long time before I did) and immediately fell in love. I loved that students were so much more willing to show and explain their thinking on a dry erase surface than on a piece of paper. If ..read more

 It's Christmas Break! I'm pretty certain I will not get 12 blog posts done for #MTBoSYuleBlog, but I do have a couple of things I want to reflect on while I have a few days to reflect.  This particular post has been simmering in my brain for a while, but I haven't had time to compose it. As I have blogged about many times before, I'm a big believer in students having the ability to improve their understanding of a concept, demonstrate that to me, and then earn points back on a test grade. Several years ago I implemented a broad retake and redo policy. It was a great policy, but th ..read more

 It's been a hot minute since I've made a blog post! We transitioned from hybrid to full in-person learning; we've now transitioned back to hybrid learning. I have had a couple of things I want to blog about but just haven't had or made the time. One of the biggest things that has happened in my classroom is a change I've made in my flipped lessons. I realize I am extremely late to the party, but I began using Edpuzzle! While there are always students who "click through" a video and simply copy things down without any thought about the material or engagement with the instruction, it see ..read more

Week before last I asked students some feedback questions about hybrid learning. We are pivoting off of hybrid this coming week, so I really should have written this post last weekend, but the information I received is still relevant, as I will continue to use some of the things I implemented for hybrid learning AND I feel it is very likely we will have to move back into hybrid learning at some point. I've said it before, but I love gathering student thoughts. Yes, they think and communicate like young teenagers, but I always get good information and ideas from them. I asked students about f ..read more

 Students started school about three-and-a-half weeks ago (it feels like it has been much, much longer). Of all the things that can be said about this school year (and there are many), one of the biggest surprises to me is that it is the quietest school year ever. We are currently on a hybrid A/B schedule, so we have roughly half of our students in the building at a time. Of course it would be expected to be quieter than "normal." But it's not just "quieter." It's quiet. Sometimes silent. The halls are quiet. Our counselor has been playing music between classes to inspire some energy. A ..read more

 A month ago I described my rough, untested plans for structuring my classes and assignments for the not-yet-started school year. Wow...it's hard to believe that was a month ago! It was a few days before teachers started back to school and a couple of weeks before students started. In that post, I described my ideas for the use of a Weekly Planner template by SlidesMania. Students have been in school (in a hybrid format) for 2 weeks. We've had devices and in digital instruction for a week. So...how's it going? Short story: I like the planner. Issues I've had ..read more

 Today was our first remote learning day for the entire brick-and-mortar student population. Students don't have devices, yet, so we sent assignments home with them. Teachers had a faculty meeting this morning and then had time to clean and plan and prep for next week's full-on hybrid learning. I accomplished everything I hoped to accomplish for the day and felt quite productive. I mapped out my plans for next week and prepared materials and activities last weekend. This morning I printed out those materials and made copies. Keeping up with what needs to be copied and how many copies ne ..read more

  Students are in the building! I said I wouldn't actually be convinced we were having school until teachers and students were actually in the building. And it happened! I have felt that if I got to meet my students and lay some sort of foundation, it would make any time we have to resort to full distance-learning (if/when it happens) much easier. I am SO thankful we have been able to start in person! It was the weirdest and quietest and longest start ever. Kids are in masks and 6 feet apart most of the day. They - so far - seem a little inhibited all of it (that might change over t ..read more

 Today brought another slight change to some guidance about the upcoming days. After I had "finalized" plans and "knew" what I was going to be doing. It's all good; I'm going to be able to use what I planned. But I'm finding that, even though I KNOW to expect change, I still have that brief, mostly-internal, panic moment. And today, in the moment of frustration, I had the thought, "The target keeps moving." As I thought about that statement, I realize it is true for EVERYONE trying to make plans and decisions throughout and because of the global pandemic. As more data is collected, new t ..read more

 Educators everywhere are experiencing rapid changes. Start dates, the format of instruction, and health recommendations and procedures are all fluid and - at times - revised daily. Teachers in my district returned to school last Friday and were met in the first fifteen minutes that our start date was being pushed back a few days (again) and that students who chose "traditional" (in-house) instruction would now receive "hybrid" instruction, with half of the students receiving instruction at school for two days while the other half attends classes remotely. One day a week is a "deep clean ..read more