A Thankful Heart

According to the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkley and positivity psychology research anywhere, gratitude is a feeling that enhances an individual's mindset, strengthens relationships, and creates a positive environment. Expressing gratitude and appreciation validates the actions of others and reminds us that we are not alone in this world. We are better together.

As an instructional coach, one of my goals is to show and express gratitude to my colleagues. Working in a school and with hundreds of students can keep us busy and sometimes focused on our specific disciplines or duties. Having time to stop and witness what is happening in other departments or ends of the school is nearly impossible. Still, when the opportunity arises to express gratitude, the significance of that interaction loudly echoes.

In my role, I am fortunate enough to have time to step outside of the speech communication world for a few minutes. As I work with other teachers throughout the school, I have witnessed incredible teaching and learned more about my personal finance than I could ever have imagined! I have participated in crime scene investigations, seen station rotation in a mathematics classroom, and gone on una Búsqueda de tesoros (or a scavenger hunt) in Español. I am blessed beyond measure and am inspired by my colleagues every day. Witnessing so many actions has reminded me that I need to continue to prioritize gratitude as that feeling will promote collaboration, increase people's motivation to give to others, and will make coming to school even better.

How do we show gratitude to our colleagues when there isn't time to breathe on some days?  The answer is simple.

Post a celebratory comment on social media.

Most schools have a designated hashtag and encourage community members to use it to perpetuate noteworthy ideas, messages, and actions. To spread that attitude of gratitude - use it! Post and share inspiring lessons, students, and acts of service. When we demonstrate to our students that social media can be used to build others up, we model positive digital citizenship and encourage them to do the same. Hashtags links are wonderful ways to track awesome occurrences and people and can be used to celebrate a community even further. Web applications such as Visible Tweets and Twitterfall are great for displaying live tweets during meetings, classes, and even social gatherings. #Thanks

Share food.

Food is the way to nearly anyone's heart. Having food at a meeting automatically improves people's comfort levels but also encourages them to talk. Anytime I lead a professional development session, I bake my mother's famous white chocolate chip, chocolate chunk cookies. They have been called hockey pucks, hell cookies, and pieces of heaven all in the same sentence. My colleagues have come to anticipate their arrival at school, and while certainly scolded me for bringing them two days before Thanksgiving, I know they lifted spirits; They encouraged people to take a moment to stop and chat.  There is power in food - especially cookies baked with love. Whether it is baking cookies, sharing a formal meeting, or merely offering another person a few M&Ms sitting in a jar on a desk, sharing food shows gratitude and is a culturally-rooted tradition that invokes feelings of joy and appreciation.

Compliment often and sincerely.

Sincere and specific compliments can turn a person's day around. Even this week, I was in my head, and a colleague helped me work through my thoughts by reminding me of my strengths. She stopped her work because I needed support and provided specific examples of actions I had done and the ways I had contributed to the school. I could not have been more appreciative at that moment and grateful for her kind words. Our words matter. Using them to support and encourage others to start a chain reaction. Because of my colleague, I was able to reframe my mindset, and I worked harder to make the days of others even better. Compliments may seem insignificant, but they can be everything to a person having a tough day. Even on the best days, a specific and direct compliment that comes from the heart is a beautiful way to spread joy.

Write a quick note.

Post-its are plentiful in the education world. Walk into an office, and a pack will be accessible in an arms reach. As such, taking the time to jot down a quick thought or leave a message is a wonderful surprise for the recipient and then is often hung or displayed in some way on that person's desk. Serving as a permanent reminder that someone is grateful is a small emotional boost and encourages that person to continue to be spread greatness in the world.  While sharing compliments are powerful, notes last longer and are visible. After working with a colleague one-on-one or if I walk past a person's room and I see a lively lesson, I try to write a quick note to express appreciation and let them know that they are seen. The act of validating others is invaluable to perpetuating positivity, and the impact of walking to someone's desk to drop off a quick note not only boosts your step count but also creates a ripple of cheerfulness.

Allow yourself to stop for a moment to appreciate the greatness around you.

Slowing down and being still are incredibly difficult for me. As Newton's first law of motion states, I will not stop unless an external force (typically my family) makes me, but I have learned in the last two years that pausing to reflect and appreciate others is worthy of our time. Being present with others in conversation, whether it is school-related or not, is the most important action that we can do each day. What is in front of me deserves all of me. I am grateful for the people that have been placed in my life, and the best way I can express this notion is to make the moments I have with the people I encounter my most important priority at that time. Not only does this action end up saving time in the long run (As one can "create time" by doing something right the first time), but it also validates that person beyond measure, and really, we all simply want to be seen and heard.

I see you. I hear you.

In the toughest times, personally or professionally, it is easy to brush aside or put off showing thankfulness, but I have learned that it is in those times that expressing appreciation must be a priority. Having an attitude rooted in gratitude improves any mindset and can brighten the hardest days. I am grateful for my school family, my colleagues across my school district, and my personal learning network who continues to motivate me. Thank you for reminding me to learn more, share frequently, and give my best self in every moment that I am fortunate enough to say that I am a teacher.

Creating Padlets that Pop: Tech Tool Deep Dive

In the educational technology field, a new tech tool appears every day. During this semester, my first question to any teacher that I am fortunate enough to work with is what your learning target or goal is? Focusing on what we want learning to look like at the close of a lesson or unit can guide us in creating better learning experiences for our students along the way. Utilizing the backward design (or Understanding by Design) method can challenge teachers to focus less on the tools and more about the learning experiences that their students will encounter and complete as they develop skills and acquire essential content knowledge.

As I sit at my computer processing through my latest professional development presentation, I realize that staring at a screen for a majority of the day makes it difficult to remember to look past the technology and focus on the learning outcomes, but it is essential. The right tools need to be chosen to complete the job - not the other way around. I love witnessing teachers experiment with new tools and methods of engagement. Using a variety of strategies with students is powerful, but again, the tools and the means of arriving a curricular goal should be carefully considered.

Through the past few school years, Padlet has been a tool that I have loved using and watching evolve. This tool is a digital corkboard with endless possibilities. As it has evolved, so too have the opportunities to encourage students to drive their learning. Students can curate, communication, and create powerful learning artifacts and post them all in one page to which other students can comment, rate, and like. Contributing to a Padlet is fast and easy, and the information is quickly organized and preserved to drive future instruction.

Yes, Padlet has been an excellent corkboard tool and particularly useful when creating an entrance or exit ticket, but there are abundant uses for this tool! Taking a tool that students are comfortable using and evolving with the features can make a positive classroom experience even more impactful. Here are a few of my latest experiments with Padlet

Group Curation Tool

Group projects can be tricky. Communication among a group of more than two students can be challenging to navigate as they travel from class to class and/or swamped with after school commitments. As such, Padlet can create a useful curation tool that allows students to communicate asynchronously. Students can share links, leave notes, post videos, and even draw pictures to each other as they build a group project or complete an assignment. Students can also vote on or leave comments to each other, which provides clarity and increases the collaboration.

Notetaking Log

In subjects such as math and science, in which notes are taken regularly, have a notetaking log can help keep students organized, and also provide them with an opportunity to organize a variety of mediums. Images can be uploaded onto a Padlet and are easy to snap at the end of a class with a student's phone, Chromebook, or iPad. Saving notes that were taken in class ensures that students have access to the notes and can review them with ease. Those notes will automatically be arranged in chronological order. I recommend using the stream feature in Padlet to ensure that notes remained organized and easy to follow. Students can use the control find feature to find essential concepts and ideas faster, they can link in any digital activities, and they can even leave voice/video feedback for themselves.

Student Template

Whether students are brainstorming for an upcoming paper assignment, completing a vocabulary activity, or building a map, teachers can create a template for students to remake and use individually. For a long time, I never had students make their own Padlets, but now I love building templates and having students create portfolios or complete reflection activities using a template. When students remake the Padlet, they do have to be careful with the share settings. Having students make their Padlets challenges them to work independently and take control of their learning. It also provides a space for them to demonstrate mastery of a skill or objective in a variety of ways. Their growth can be documented, charted, and shared quickly with a link.  This tool is also relatively simple to use, which emphasizes mastering the content, not the tech tool itself.

Note: Padlet will default to "read-only" at times, which can cause frustration, but that feature can be corrected with a change of those settings.

Blended Learning Lesson

Another great use for Padlet is creating a space for students to demonstrate mastery when learning online or in a blended format. Using the shelf feature, teachers can outline a step-by-step process with their students to complete a variety of activities, connect with their peers, and reflect on their experience. Because Padlet can be accessed at any time and from any location, students can work at their own pace, use each other as resources, and post evidence of their work. I have loved playing with this structure and will be using it next semester when I take on a blended course for the first time.

Choose Your Own Adventure

I loved reading Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid. While I inevitably would perish tragically, I loved turning back to the beginning to chart my progress in the fictitious world within the pages. To pay homage to this process, I played with creating a Padlet within a Padlet as a way to give students a choice in how they might show mastery. Linking Padlets to other Padlets allows students to make connections. In my setup, I provided students with two paths that required writing and video creation. On both routes, students had to do similar activities in a different order, thus ensuring that they were showcasing their skills in a variety of ways but also helping them feel autonomy. The final Padlet took all students back together and required reflection. Being creative with Padlets can make a familiar learning environment fun and even a little exciting.

With thousands of tech tools on the market, this is the one tool that I would endorse because it is versatile and intuitive. The features replicate multiple other tech platforms, and aesthetically it is appealing. If you have great ideas for using Padlet in your classroom, I'd love to hear them! We grow most when we support and connect with one another.

A Ticket to Exit

And that's my cue to exit. The five-minute bell for gym sounds throughout the whole school, and teaching seniors sometimes proves to be a challenge once that Pavlovian sound echoes quietly outside. The question becomes, "How do I motivate seniors the period before their lunch or gym period once that bell chimes?" More importantly, how do I use that time in a meaningful way to evaluate student growth and gather information to drive my instruction?

Exit tickets and end-of-period challenges are great ways to review valuable course content and keep students engaged as the clock ticks closer to the bell. The information generated from these tools can also drive future lessons in which material may need to be retaught, revisited, or revised.

Get Techie

Formative assessment tech tools are always a hit. Gamifying the student experience is a great way to motivate and re-engage at the end of the lesson. Students often become competitive and eager to participate. My favorite end-of-lesson review games are Quizziz and Quizlet Live. While Kahoot is a classic, Quizziz allows for more individualized pacing, and Quizlet Live tasks students with talking about the content as they rely on their group to succeed.

A Google Form survey quickly gathers data that can be projected to the whole class. Checkbox questions create a bar graph, and multiple-choice response questions become pie charts that help both teachers and students understand the class's progress with specific concepts and learning targets. Free-response questions can then be used to gather more individualized data and feedback.

If a teacher is hoping for more individual feedback, a tool like Padlet can quickly create a place in which students can share their reflections, links, resources, and videos. This tool can become a Flipgrid, a survey, an idea board, and more. With so much flexibility, the use of Padlet as an exit ticket provides teachers with a full picture of what students accomplished in a given period or what they might need work within subsequent lessons.

Another tech tool I have been recommending to colleagues during observations is Socrative. This webtool is older, but the auto-generated exit ticket works well in a short time frame and can gather a comprehensive look at student progress. This tool does have a quiz feature, and teachers can pre-build more extensive formative assessments, but it also has quick questions that teachers can push out at the moment. Having the data collected electronically makes it easy for teachers to reflect on the outcomes and use that information to create instructional choices for the next lesson.

Get Crafty

 As winter approaches, creating a reason for students to become active can liven any classroom. Giving students a specific prompt and a small piece of white paper, have them respond, crumple that paper, and throw it. By throwing a "snowball" around the room, students will not only have an excuse to let out a little energy but also can learn from someone else's experience. Once they catch a snowball, students should read and reflect on what another person said. Teachers could even craft a second-round snowball fight by having students read and write a response.

Another crafty strategy to evaluate student learning is to create exit bins in which students place a name tag, paper, or other items in a folder or bin that indicates whether they've nailed a learning target, are still working, or need additional help. Having a physical exit activity can encourage students to talk and reflect on class content while they leave the classroom.

My favorite crafty exit ticket is customizing post-it notes. Customized post-it notes have so many uses. I have printed rubrics or questions to consider on my post-it notes. I have also made a generic, "What stuck today?" post-it note. Students can then place these post-its on a board, on the door, or in a specific column or location to indicate mastery of the day's learning target. Students love the customized post-it, mainly when I use my Bitmoji as part of the process.

Get Talking

An active class increases engagement. Have students get out of their seats in the last few minutes and vote with their feet. Using the four corner method, students can vote on their progress of the learning targets, their opinions on course content discussed, or even share what they are in the learning process.

Students can also talk by delivering a one-minute elevator pitch selling a concept, idea, or connection they have made throughout the period. This elevator pitch is a persuasive exercise that could become a competition with students voting on the best response. It could also be a great way to share out group work or final thoughts on a debatable topic. Whatever the case may be, a quick one-minute sales pitch can make learning memorable.

If there's an extra moment in any class period, taking the time to have a social-emotional check-in with students can be helpful. Have students check in with a peer, share a highlight from their days outside of class, or celebrate positive events happening in the school community. Taking time to talk to students and build relationships will enhance the classroom climate and lead to more productive, positive experiences moving forward.

Whether we teach students all day or for only 45 minutes, sending them off in an engaging and energized way leads to wonderful conversations and classroom learning in the future. Every moment with students is valuable and should be utilized, but the manner in which those precious closing minutes are directed can vary based on the needs of the students and the class climate. It is okay to talk, have fun, and connect with one another; it is okay to build community. Planning these activities with intention can make any end-of-lesson experience a hit!