Getting Started with Station Rotation

As a high school speech teacher, I believe in the benefits of a noisy classroom. Not only do I struggle to sit still myself, but I think my students (Mostly seniors and larger than me) also have difficulty with prolonged periods of sitting at desks. When we moved online due to COVID-19, I tried to incorporate physical or mental movement to allow for brain breaks, increased concentration, and a release of extra energy for deeper learning. As we returned to in-person classrooms, I wanted to continue using these shorter bursts of learning that allow students to acquire knowledge, practice, and demonstrate mastery in various ways.

To do this, I started sharing templates and ideas with colleagues who were also seeking ways to engage students in multiple modalities (online, in-person, whole group, individual, etc.). Through all of the changes related to COVID-19, I realized that I was creating stations for my students. These stations empower students to drive their learning, accommodate different learning styles, and allow me to spend more time with individual students.

Through collaboration with other teachers in my school, I learned more about how stations can enhance classroom learning and how they can be adapted to fit the needs of the students, the lesson, the content, and the context of the learning situation. Stations are flexible and allow teachers to create unique experiences for students and adapt to meet the goals of a particular lesson.

When I started using stations, I felt overwhelmed and thought they would take a lot of time to develop. However, after working through a few mini-station lessons with students, I realized that stations were often just a reimagination of activities and experiences I had already created in the past. I also realized that I needed to train and prepare my students for this learning experience. To help students stay on track and reflect on their learning, I use an accountability sheet (typically digital). This sheet encourages students to evaluate their learning and collect or create artifacts of their learning. These sheets can be used to study for a summative assessment or to support writing an essay later in the unit. The accountability sheets also allow me to assess the effectiveness of the learning experience.

I plan to further explore in 2023:

1. Station creation, 

2. Keeping students accountable during stations,   

3. And turning stations into playlists.

So, why might teachers consider using station rotation in 2023? Station rotation allows for differentiated instruction because activities can be tailored to meet students' needs, abilities, and interests. It also allows for flexible pacing and the opportunity for students to revisit activities or experiences as needed. Stations may include student choice, which leads to even more differentiation.

In addition, station rotation increases engagement because students have multiple activities to complete and a limited amount of time to do so. This can help keep them focused and interested in the various learning experiences they are completing. Station rotation also increases opportunities for collaboration because students are often placed in small groups and asked to work together on tasks. This helps foster teamwork and interpersonal skills.

Finally, station rotation is flexible for both teachers and students. Teachers can craft activities that meet the needs of their students and assess student learning in real time. Students may have flexibility over their pace and place of learning and the opportunity to revisit formative assessments or activities as needed. Station rotation can also be a fun and engaging way for students to learn, leading to increased motivation and retention of information. Overall, station rotation is a useful strategy for teachers looking to engage their students in various learning activities and experiences.

Want to learn more about station rotation? Check out this station rotation PD resource:

Becoming Canvas Certified

My district planned to slowly roll out our new learning management system before the pandemic. Six months later, when the pandemic forced us all to move to online learning, they decided to break the dam, let the waters loose, and dive right into the deep end of the Canvas pool. While the subsequent year was overwhelming and left many teachers feeling like they were barely keeping their heads above water, it was the right decision. 

As the school’s instructional coach, I worked non-stop as I often supported extremely panicked teachers trying to get instruction to remote students during one of the most challenging years of our lives. Ultimately, this experience led to empowered teachers who know Canvas better than they ever could have imagined, progressed our district’s mission, and allowed students to have more access to education from anywhere and at any time. 

To hone my skills even further, the instructional coaches in my district decided to take the Core 1: Foundational Frameworks Course in 2021. While I was familiar with Canvas, taking a course from the student perspective broadened my understanding of the user experience. One of us decided to continue and complete the six-course series to become a Canvas Certified Educator. I paused, overwhelmed with pandemic teaching, but returned to the experience after she finished and won a free course package. 

Being a student and seeking new experiences can always help us grow. Would I recommend this certification for teacher-leaders using Canvas? Yes. Even if you’re familiar with Canvas, the experience can come with unexpected lessons. It took about five months to complete all of the courses, as I took one course at a time, but I found the workload manageable and appropriately paced. 

A person taking these courses may gain valuable insight into our students’ experiences by being a student in the process.

Student view is a helpful feature in Canvas, but it can be limited. Being an actual student allowed me to practice submitting assignments, viewing feedback, and working through a module. I noticed what I liked and would have liked from a course, noted the design features, and observed how the timing of discussions/feedback impacted my learning. During the experience, I also noticed embedded features, including audio and video. I appreciated how these resources affected my learning and started adjusting my courses to improve the student experience. Being a student challenges us to reflect, and I truly appreciated this aspect of taking these courses. 

Exploring and navigating a Canvas course can help us to build more aesthetic and intuitively designed courses. 

Aesthetics impact how much time people spend on a page. The tl;dr of it all can turn students off from using resources. Also, students might shut down or become frustrated if something is hard to find or if there are too many ways to access an assignment. Creating a consistent look and flow to the course homepage, modules, and assignments improves accessibility. Using tools like Canva to beautify or enhance the aesthetics can make pages seem more professional and polished. The better the layout, the more engagement will occur. 

Speaking of engagement, using resources embedded in Canvas pages can spark new ideas about how we might create richer resources for our students. 

I love embedding a Padlet or a Google Slide into Canvas. Creating rich embedded resources that students can explore, reference, and read makes the learning experience more accessible. While taking these courses, I found new ways to share resources with students. Genially is a tool that I had not used before these courses. I appreciated how cleanly it was embedded in the page. I also learned how to create tabs in Canvas, which will take my course design to a new level. I am still working on this feature and exploring how I might use it to share my daily agenda slides, and this feature would only have been on my radar if I had taken these courses. 

While I learned a lot about Canvas from these courses, I was also able to explore instructional design theories beyond a single tech tool. 

In addition to learning more about the LMS, I gained perspective on various instructional strategies. Participating in a self-paced course may encourage Canvas-certified educators to explore blended learning strategies and instructional practices that may not have been used before. I had a choice and voice in what I learned and what I produced to demonstrate mastery. I was able to explore mastery pathways and work at my own pace, and I was able to connect with others asynchronously through Canvas discussions. 

If you’re looking to hone your Canvas skills and are in a teacher-leader position, this certification may be the right fit for you. While, at times, I felt a little isolated working at my own pace, I truly enjoyed the self-reflection process. I also appreciated the aesthetics and course design, which helped me create two Canvas courses for workshops that I led last summer. We can learn from every experience; if you’re seeking to become better acquainted with what might be with Canvas, check out the Canvas Certified Educator courses. 

Amplifying and Celebrating Every Teacher's Voice

 "We rise by lifting others." 

This quote attributed to Robert Ingersoll reminds me that the best leaders know how to empower others to be leaders themselves. We are stronger when we use our strengths to improve a school, organization, or community. One of my goals this school year is to find new ways to amplify and spotlight my colleagues. I teach in a building that is incredibly high achieving and equally humble. From academics to athletics, teachers are leading students to success. While these successes seem easily achieved, they come from hard work, hours of overtime, and a constant desire to learn/grow from our teachers. I am in awe of my colleagues and want to find ways to empower them and make them feel as deeply appreciated as they deserve to feel. I am in awe of the teaching and learning I am surrounded by each day and am excited to see that continue to grow in 2023. 

So how do we showcase the humblest of teachers? Give them a platform. 

This year, with the help of my fantastic assistant principal, I have encouraged a sit-and-snack series that features different teachers who typically do not volunteer or want to be in the limelight. Using blended learning as the core of the six topics that will occur throughout the school year, I have worked with division leaders to find people to feature and encourage them to take on the leadership roles they deserve to experience. So far, we have held three of the six sessions and will continue them next semester. We have covered the following:

• Blended Learning within the Walls

• Station Rotation

• Choice Grids and Playlists

We will continue to explore facets of blended learning with:

• Formative Assessments

• Side-By-Side Grading

• The Flipped Classroom 

  

Teachers from the world language, science, social science, and English departments have shared out strategies and ideas that work in their classrooms. Next semester, we will feature special education, math, English, and social science again. Having different departments share reminds us that impactful instructional strategies can work in any discipline. We can inspire and share regardless of the disciplines we teach. 

After our station rotation sit-and-snack, I had three teachers already trying the strategy in their classrooms the next day. From English discussions about To Kill a Mockingbird to Intro to Business, learning about investments, teachers moved desks, grouped kids up, and stole my number card holders to denote the station numbers. (Note: I prefer the tall ones often seen at weddings. Amazon has a ton of choices!). The application of the strategies and ideas shared at each of the first three sit-and-snacks has been immediate and interdisciplinary, which is exciting to see. 

In addition to our sit-and-snack series, I have found quieter ways to celebrate people. 

Writing cards is one of my favorite pastimes. People often chuckle and tell me that these cards (and often little gifts of appreciation) are unnecessary, but I beg to differ. The energy and gratitude that goes into a card or token of appreciation carry with a person. It gives them the energy and drive to keep going forward. In a time when burnout and anxiety are rampant, these small acts put good into the world and can build a culture of kindness, compassion, and care. 

Celebrate on a larger platform.

The final way I have started to give a platform to others is through a podcast that my friend Cori and I started this semester. Teach in Ten is a podcast that amplifies our district's great teachers and instructional strategies (Listen to our pilot and episode one). So far, we have interviewed five individuals from all of the buildings in the district. Using this experience to connect and communicate with others, we want to continue celebrating great teaching while encouraging others to continue to share their excellent work. 

Amplifying teachers' voices can have several benefits. We hope this podcast can help create community among colleagues across a larger suburban district. Teachers often become silos, focused on our classrooms and to-do lists. Short messages and sharing sessions can bring people together, spark conversation, and remind us how vital collaboration is. It's all in the timing and the way the message is presented. 

By sharing their stories and insights, we can showcase their excellent work and give others a platform to keep those conversations going. Sometimes people need a little extra encouragement to get started in that sharing. We become better when we lift up and celebrate others. I cannot wait to find new ways to amplify and celebrate my colleagues in 2023. 

Spreading Coaching Cheer at the End of the Semester

I  am going on five years of being an instructional coach. During that time, educational technology significantly shifted. Because of the pandemic, teachers adopted new technologies and teaching approaches out of necessity. Many of these teachers might not have ever considered making shifts in their practices but did so to reach students in the room and on Zoom. Also, my district adopted a new learning management system during this time. While this adoption was initially going to be a slow roll-out, COVID changed our plan overnight. 

I spent the final day of the semester sitting by a "roaring fire." In the large faculty commons area, I sat all nestled with cheer in hopes that my colleagues' gradebooks and Canvas close-outs would soon smoothly appear. I projected the fire (and wished the office was warmer) and invited colleagues to stop by to finalize whatever they still had to do. Luckily, I was given only a few challenging problems to solve. What I enjoyed most was chatting with colleagues as they walked by, laughing with division leaders as we tried to tie up the semester with a neat bow, and celebrating the fantastic work of my friends. 

So how do we get to an ending like the one I had for fall 2022? Build strong relationships. 

1. To build relationships,  instructional coaches must be available. 

We all have full plates. This year, our students' needs and our to-do lists have pulled us in many directions. Instructional coaches must appear available regardless of how long the to-do list is. Whether that be hosting drop-in times, walking through the halls at the right moment, or attending meetings - coaches need to be seen and accessible. Visibility promotes trust and more engagement, which ultimately increases the usefulness of any coach. 

2. In addition to availability, communication can build trust. 

Good communication is key to building strong relationships. Coaches should be clear and concise in their communication and listen actively to the needs and concerns of teachers. This semester, I have often reflected on when to communicate and what to share. 

Teachers need to be ready and receptive to hearing certain messages. For example, around Thanksgiving, teachers want to start thinking about wrapping up the semester. One-pagers about summative assessments and formative reviews are more powerful in November than they are in mid-September. 

Bulleted lists, tl;dr statements, and catching one-minute videos are far more palatable than two-page emails, too. 

3. Along with short messages carefully timed, effective coaches anticipate problems or challenges before they arrive.

Recognizing that teachers should check their grade syncing from the LMS to are gradebook of record is critical in December. Publishing short reminders and helpful tips two weeks BEFORE the end of the semester made the last day before the break a whole lot calmer and brighter. Sending out information about a vital tech update or instructional strategy, knowing that significant summatives are looming, can encourage teachers to use resources. Leaning into recency bias can help teachers to use tips at the right time! 

4. Regardless of the message or strategy being shared, instructional coaches know how to make every teacher feel seen, valued, and celebrated. 

People want to feel heard and valued. Sometimes the best coaching sessions start with casual conversations about a person's day or even a little venting, which opens the door to what is being shared. When people feel safe sharing their feelings, they are far more likely to want to collaborate and connect professionally. 

The biggest lesson I've learned as an instructional coach, which I was reminded of on the final day of the semester, is that a good coach recognizes every person's strength and celebrates her colleagues. Troubleshooting a tech tool, brainstorming a new teaching strategy, and preparing for a new semester are all secondary to our shared connections. Laughter, sharing stories, and reflecting together are far more important and forge relationships that create a robust and collaborative school community.

Sitting around a digital fire with friends is the best way to end the semester. 

12 Days of Tech-Mas: Ending the Semester with a Little Tech Fun

The end of the calendar year is a great time to reflect, set goals, and wrap up any projects of the past. The end of the semester brings about finality and allows for time to celebrate great work while also looking to get new energy into a fresh semester. 

This semester, I wanted to consider what teachers needed to wrap up a semester while also helping them prepare for another transition into a new semester. To make bite-sized PD festive, I played on the 12-Days of Tech-Mas pun popularized by many instructional and technology coaches on the interwebs. 

For me, the focus is to promote fast, fun, and practical tips. From using Canva templates to reorganizing Gmail, this quick PD project also features tips I had previously shared with teachers. The frequency of communication and the timing of the message are both important factors when delivering that information. Ultimately, I hope teachers feel comfortable accessing support, have opportunities to explore new ideas, and feel comfortable communicating with students.

 

At the end of the semester, creativity is necessary!

We all feel a degree of burnout at the end of a busy semester. Tech tools can be a quick and festive way to infuse creativity without requiring extreme talent in the arts. Canva is one of my favorite tools that help make documents, presentations, and multimedia messages incredibly professional in a fast way. This resource is intuitive, offers thousands of templates to editing tools, and provides a free educator account that gives access to even more features! I love using this tool to enhance my LMS, and documents. I even love teaching students to use it, too. Another great tool for adding flair to assignments is Joy Pixels. This extension allows users to add emojis to emails, LMSs, and can even be used to organize resources and documents. I use this tool to create signature attention lines in my emails, which makes finding resources I share easier to identify, bookmark, and save. These two tools are amazing and tools that I use every day to make work more festive. 

Communication is critical as grades begin to finalize, too. 

Communication becomes vital when we are all cramming work and grading into the final few days of a semester. Leveraging one's LMS is the best way to keep communication efficient, direct, and clear. In Canvas, I love the "Message Students Who" feature that allows teachers to filter and send quick messages to students who need to turn in work, revise, or should be celebrated for great work. These filters are fast and make frequent communication easy. In my district's gradebook, Skyward, I can create automated messages to communicate with parents and students regarding grades and progress reports. These tools serve as documentation and reliable ways to inform every stakeholder.

I also love leveraging features in Gmail that allow me to organize my communication from priority inboxes to the snooze feature; I can sort and arrange for emails to appear when I need them. These organizational features also allow this communication tool to become a to-do list. 

Finally, technology can be used to plan ahead. 

Setting up for the next semester (or even just the first week back after a break) can ease minds during a two-week hiatus from school. The more prepared a teacher is, the less anxiety one might feel after returning from the holidays. For my district, setting up Canvas courses is a popular way to feel ready for a new year. Whether building out a course in an LMS, printing out lesson plans, or simply creating a to-do list, getting ready for a new year is a great excuse to close a Chromebook and enjoy some much-deserved rest and relaxation. 

It's All in the Timing

Over the last year and a half, I hit the snooze button on my writing. Navigating The pandemic and pursuing another master's degree have fried my creative juices. From assisting my district in adopting a new LMS to navigating parenting three young children (the youngest immunocompromised), life's been more difficult than I'd like. We have all faced unique challenges, but I'm beginning to see the light. I'm ready to use my voice and write.

The greatest lesson I have learned these past few years is the importance of timing. As an instructional coach, I need to anticipate the needs of my colleagues. Educational beats ebb and flow. The cadence of a semester brings unique challenges and patterns that have teachers seeking specific instructional or tech-based resources. At certain points in the semester, teachers need engagement strategies and assessment ideas, or they might just be looking for ideas on implementing a new tech tool. 

Over the last few months, I've spent much time reflecting on the best time and day to send an all-staff email or making myself visible so that I am accessible to my colleagues, especially during the higher-stress seasons of the semester. Like the Genie from Aladdin, I want to be ready to appear at a moment's notice, ready to ask, "(Poof) What do you need?" The more accessible I am, the more trust I garner from my peers. Maintaining that trust and fostering strong relationships across the building has helped me continue supporting and navigating the changing landscape of learning during a pandemic.

So, it's all in the timing? How can instructional leaders master the art of timing?

Utilize backward planning.

Always start with the end goals. Once those benchmarks are established, working backward through the process helps to create more accurate outcomes, inspire impactful lesson plans, and can provide greater insight into what students (or, in the case of an instructional leader -- teachers) need. As I set my own classroom goals this year, I continued asking myself, "What skills do I hope my students will take with them after my class? How do I encourage them to reach that point?" These questions forced me to think about the summatives and end products, which has allowed me to create opportunities to practice skills more frequently and directly. For example -- in my semester-long speech class, I wanted students to speak more. Students complete mini-group challenges to practice the interpersonal skills they need for their unit summatives more often and can identify the why behind their actions and speech development. 

(For more on backward planning, check out this amazing blog post by Jennifer Gonzalez).

Set small daily goals.

I create a to-do list every morning (or even the night before). These to-do lists give me energy and keep me focused on what needs to be accomplished and in what order. This short process of writing out and reflecting on tasks has helped me increase productivity and effectiveness. Forgetting an important task is easy, especially in a busy environment. Taking two minutes to plan or organize the day has been incredibly beneficial and rewarding. I love using a good pen and crossing off items on the to-do list. Remember to work ahead when possible. Crossing off one little task that could be put off until today saves exponential time the next day. 

Study instructional strategies and find inspiration.

As an instructional coach, I have focused on what theme I wanted to share with colleagues. We are still recovering from the pandemic. By the end of this school year, I hope teachers can say that they understand how they can use specific skills and strategies they used during the pandemic to enhance their classrooms. As a result, I worked with the administration at my school to encourage a focus on instructional strategies (rather than tech tools) to help teachers see how they might blend in new ways to engage their students using various tools and methods. Halfway through the year, I am excited to see that there's been momentum for using stations, including student choice, and exploring different approaches to learning. 

Reading current literature and learning from peers on social media platforms or at conferences (even digital ones) has been incredibly growing and powerful. We always have something to learn and can find inspiration for incredible people near and far! 

Finally, focus on relationships. Whatever pressing task is consuming you, remember that it can wait.

At the heart of a successful school are strong relationships. Tasks can almost always wait. No matter what, I always have time for a friend (or a student). My colleagues are so important to me. As an instructional coach, I remind myself that whatever tech glitch or concern a teacher has at any given moment, that issue is everything to them. By stopping what I am doing for just a moment, I can add relief to their day. I am building trust, and more importantly, I am making a statement about what matters most. When teachers (or students) feel heard, validated, and supported, their whole world can change instantly. And that change, that change is culture-building and life-giving. 

Time keeps on ticking, but we can make them matter even more.