Recalibrating in 2024: Reflecting, Refreshing, and Revising

As we wrap up 2024, I reflect on a tough year - really, a tough couple of years. The pandemic exacerbated problems in our world and made protecting medically fragile people challenging. My family went through both known and not public challenges, which forced me to realize that not everyone has good intentions. More often than I'd like to believe - people can be mean. Still, there are so many people and experiences for which to be grateful. I am hardwired always to see the best in every person and to make meaning from our everyday experiences. Despite a few bumps in the road, I am hopeful and still seeking the good.

New years and new semesters are tangible fresh starts that encourage us to reflect and recalibrate our mindsets and goals. A mindful and intentional recalibration of our mindsets can help us to move forward and grow as people, teachers, and learners. What does recalibration look like in the classroom?

(Thanks to Rob Martinez for writing a beautiful book called Recipes for Resilience and for sharing his passion and joy with other educators)

First - it starts with considering where we've been.

As I think about where I've been, I have focused on asking myself purposeful questions:

• What worked well this year?
• What didn't work?
• What caught me by surprise?

Growth often happens in unexpected moments. I recently listened to the Hidden Brain podcast by Shankar Vedantam, in which we discussed "How to Be More Creative." One of the caveats of this podcast was that inspiration is often found in unexpected moments but is still the result of a purposeful thought process. We are frequently most innovative when we allow ourselves to cultivate our creative potential - when we have space to think, reflect, and consider. Another takeaway from this podcast was that our ideas and inventions do not occur in a vacuum. We need people to move forward. 

A takeaway from what didn't work is that I must surround myself with the right people. I have learned that stepping away from people who use my talents or expect me to give all of myself to them but do not reciprocate or show up when I need them is okay. Still, loving others and using my gifts can create great spaces for students. We are capable of so much, and we must find ways to refocus and redirect our energy to make a positive impact.

Something that went well this year was taking risks and chances. One of the most powerful experiences of my educational journey was being a part of the Google Innovator program. Shout out to #CHI24. After spending several months not feeling like myself, I applied to this program literally HOURS before the deadline. I have always wanted to participate in this professional learning program, and I was so blessed to be chosen as one of the 50 participants. Being in a room of inspiring and passionate educators was electric and reminded me that there are incredible people in the world who want to share, learn with, and lift others up. I am so grateful for this group of people and will definitely have to write another blog post on how this experience recalibrated my thinking and gave me back my joy.

 

(Shout out to the Sparkle Squad)

Through reflection comes renewal and refreshing our energy.

As an educator, I have always believed in servant-hearted leadership. As a collective, educators are here to support, guide, mentor, and teach others skills that will allow them to have a happy and healthy life. In my realization of this aspect of education, I have learned, though, that we cannot pour from an empty cup. We have to:

• Pause and rest.
• Reconnect and understand our why.
• Prioritize our families and ourselves.

When we rest, we are more productive and happier, which allows us to recenter ourselves and remind us of our purpose - or our why. Pouring into my family and creating spaces for my children to thrive, learn, and grow has helped me grow as a person and an educator. By prioritizing my family and trying to prioritize myself, I am starting to understand my goals and gifts more than ever. Rest is important; I see that now. Rest allows us to ignite our creativity and foster new ideas.

With rest and rejuvenation comes a reset to move forward.

Between Christmas and New Year's is a great time to set realistic goals. Now, I am not fond of "New Year's Resolutions" or lofty goals that quickly fade before January is over. Starting smaller and shifting our thinking are great ways to improve. This year, I learned that goals are not about the finish line; goals are guides to help us along the way. Being flexible is essential. Life happens, and sometimes it hurts. Learning to adjust and adapt has helped me immensely this year.

As teachers, adapting to our changing students can help us to improve and shift our practices. Collaboration and community are ways to reset and grow collectively. Some new teaching practices I hope to implement in 2025 involve more lit circles, ethical use of AI, and more communication experiences for students (podcasting, peer reviewing, presentation, etc.). Resetting our strategies can help us serve and stretch our students better. 

Revision means looking ahead like any good author during the writing process.

Practice makes progress - not perfection. For me, I will continue to learn and grow. My husband and I started creating again. We have a new season for our podcast, and we are co-directing a children’s show. We are fueling our creativity and exploring how to make safe and meaningful spaces for people to learn and grow. I will continue to take risks and put myself in spaces that challenge me to give my talents, stretch my thinking, and provide me with opportunities to lift up others. 

As we enter 2024, we must refresh our mindset and recalibrate our thinking continuously. Recalibration is a cycle of following our values and goals. What will 2025 look like? I'm gearing up to present at conferences, including IDEA Con and ISTE, in June. I will put myself out there again and take every experience in this new chapter as an amazing opportunity for growth, purpose, and impact. Here's to making it matter.

From Passive to Active: Transforming Icebreakers into Engaging Experiences

The 4th of July has blasted past with its usual fanfare and sparklers. While most of us still have the month of July to enjoy our summer schedules, the turn of the calendar often leads to preparing for the start of the school year. In search of fresh ideas for the upcoming school year, 

I stumbled on a Twitter post pleading with educators to reconsider using icebreakers to kick off the beginning of the school year. Why are icebreakers often so dreaded? How might we build rapport with our students and new teams without inciting the awkwardness and anxiety among everyone in the room, often associated with icebreakers?

Building rapport is about focusing on relationships and creating a positive environment. Yes, there are inherently bad icebreakers, and typically I have encountered them in graduate courses, in which the entire classroom knows each other, and the instructor is new. We have to go around and awkwardly share the same information we have already shared with each other, and it takes way longer than it should. When an icebreaker calls for one speaker at a time in a room full of 20+ people, the experience becomes passive and nerve-racking as a spotlight is put on one person at a time. 

Instead of asking every person in the room to share one fun thing about their summer break, icebreakers can become powerful and memorable shared experiences that encourage participants to collaborate, share, and learn how to work together. Instead of making people recite information aloud that they could write down a notecard in two minutes and calling it an “icebreaker,” get creative. Ask the group to actively work together to complete a task or solve a problem. These active icebreakers challenge participants to use communication skills for a purpose. They have the ability to thaw out any chilly or preconceived notion about icebreakers. 

For the last decade, I have hosted a summer camp for speech team that is more focused on team building and leadership than competing in high school forensics. During these camps, I have worked with my coaching team to create experiences that forge friendships, promote critical thinking, and build bonds. These activities were experiences that led to powerful learning experiences that positively pushed students out of their comfort zones and into a space in which they could learn and grow. So what makes an icebreaker work? 

Active participation is important. 

The first day of the school year is exhausting. Students (and teachers) are inundated with information, rules, and expectations. If they are sitting and not actively engaged, they will become passive, and the information being shared with them will not be retained. Instead, they will leave the classroom or the meeting tired and anxious, still wondering what the upcoming school year will bring. Talking at people is not an effective communication strategy (although sometimes necessary).

Instead, start with a challenge. Break people into smaller teams and give them a task to accomplish. I love to start with the spaghetti challenge. Recently a teacher shared math and engineering challenges that encourage people to build and create with me. Scavenger hunts and escape rooms also work nicely. Some of my favorites include:

1. Toxic waste: Students have various materials and have to remove tennis balls from the center of a circle without stepping into the circle. 

2. Toxic river: Students must figure out how to cross a "hazardous river" with limited supplies and work together to navigate obstacles. 

3. Puzzle challenge: Students are divided into teams. They have some of their puzzle pieces, and other pieces are hidden throughout the room. Their pieces are mixed in with other teams' pieces. They have to find their pieces and negotiate for others with other teams. 

4. Magic carpet: Students all stand on a tarp. They have to flip the tarp without stepping off the tarp. 

Note: These activities can be scaled and adjusted to meet any classroom's space and time constraints. Most of these activities can take less than 15 minutes, but the connectivity they foster is an incredible investment in student buy-in and engagement. 

Dave Burgess’s Teach Like a Pirate has a lot of ideas for hooking students with various strategies. I recently led a PD using his book. Check out these slides for more icebreaker ideas and videos that I use with my own students, or check out his book. 

Find a way to encourage students to build something or use creativity to solve problems. In the time they take to create together, they will start talking, laughing, and creating memories. While they may or may not be successful in solving the problem, they will be engaged with others. After connecting with others, they will be more comfortable talking and engaging with a larger group. 

Questions and conversations should extend beyond the surface. 

After working together in smaller groups, participants are more likely to open up and engage in self-disclosure. I still use either a notecard or Google form to gather information from my audience. I want to know the details, and I want to find ways to connect with them individually. 

These icebreakers are often ineffective because the information seems to go nowhere. The information written out by the participants is not revisited or referenced. You must close the communication loop if you ask students to provide information. That information needs to be used. Also, if you ask students to self-disclose information, you have to share information, too. Answer your own questions, show students the depth of information you hope to gain from them, and encourage students to share more. Students want to be seen and valued. They do not want to bear their souls to the whole class on day one, but they will share quite a bit with you in a more individual non-threatening way, like a Google form or even a Pear Deck, where they feel more anonymous. (Here's a resource to spark some question ideas).

Here's a mini PD presentation on Questions of the Day.

Initial experiences promote exploration and spark curiosity. 

An icebreaker doesn't have to only occur on day one. These icebreaker activities can build on each other. They can reveal a clue or allude to a puzzle the next day. I love questions of the day (Here's a template). Theming of the questions or using questions to spark even more curiosity about a topic or theme increases student engagement. They will want to return to find the next answer or finish a project they've already started. Digital escape rooms make great teases for future lessons. Finding ways to keep the mystery going and encourage students to wonder about a lesson or idea brings excitement and makes the icebreaker worth doing. 

Group reflection leads to more authentic connections. 

After completing a challenge, debrief. Talk about the experience and encourage students to consider the lessons learned. These tasks have instructional value and classroom connections, but students will only identify them if we discuss what we learned. These conversations are valuable and can lead to group reflection about the learning process, classroom expectations, and being an active citizen. 

Icebreakers don't have to be passive or designed for extroverts only. They can be meaningful and used to foster rapport. If an icebreaker sounds dreadful or awkward to you, skip it. Instead, find an activity or design an experience in which you can be an active participant too. Students will buy in if a teacher is having fun, being silly, and showing the power of self-disclosure. It's okay to have fun in the classroom, and it is certainly okay to be goofy. If you are willing to have students laugh at you, they are far more likely to listen to you. These types of icebreakers are certainly worth our investment. 

References:

Bonnie, Emily. "Ultimate Guide to Team-Building Activities Your Team Will Actually Like." Wrike, 22 Apr. 2022, Ultimate Guide to Team-Building Activities Your Team Will Actually Like. Accessed 8 July 2023.

"Build a Tower, Build a Team." TED, uploaded by TED Conference, Feb. 2010, www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower_build_a_team. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Burgess, Dave. Teach like a Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator. San Diego, Dave Burgess Consulting, 2012.

Davies, Rebecca. "50+ Questions to Get Kids Talking and Build Community." Differentiated Teaching, 2023, www.differentiatedteaching.com/discussion-questions-to-build-relationships-with-students/. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Garber, Peter R. 50 Communications Activities, Icebreakers, and Exercises. E-book ed., Amherst, HRD Press, 2008.

Stokes, Katie. "15 Engineering Challenges Kids Love." Gift of Curiosity, www.giftofcuriosity.com/engineering-challenges-for-kids-steam/. Accessed 8 July 2023.

Rethinking Success: Shifting the Focus from Achievements to Personal Growth and Development (Part 2)

"Why would you want to be an English teacher?" This was an actual question I was asked when I was in high school. Be anything else BUT an English teacher was the message I received. The concern was that English is a popular subject, and I would need help finding a job. Note: Never let someone convince you not to pursue your dreams and passions.

Why English? I come from a family of math and science teachers, and I am the only humanities teacher. My love for literacy derives from my desire to connect and empathize with others. In the early oughts (2000s), the STEM push consumed the conversation around education. While I love and value STEM, my passion has always been empowering all learners to share their stories, create innovative ideas or projects, and collaborate with others. These soft skills, often considered secondary to other disciplines, are the foundation of academic, professional, and personal success. Regardless of the discipline we teach or pursue, how can we help our students find success?

Students must be encouraged to set goals for personal growth.

Both organizations and individuals write SMART goals in the business world (and in education). However, a Harvard Business Study found that of the top MBA students from their program, only 3% had written down their goals. Of course, the study going that the percentage of individuals who had written down their goals earned 10x more money than the 97% combined.

While money does not buy happiness, having a clear direction and purpose can lead to a more fulfilling life. Teaching our students to write goals down physically is crucial. Where we might miss the boat as educators, however, is that we need to teach students to write smaller, more tangible goals. We want our students to dream big and reach for grandiose ideas. When a goal is set too far in the future, it becomes too much of a reach, and the drive to achieve that goal can fizzle.

I love the image above. Shorter goals and small steps toward a grander goal yield better results. We must show our students how to manage, set, and reset their goals so that they feel the energy to accomplish a task. That seemingly micro feeling of success will yield even more success moving forward.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear reminds us that "Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement." If we teach students to become just a little better each day, before they know it, they will feel transformed in their skill sets and will want to continue to grow.

We must foster a culture that maintains a positive mindset.

To succeed, we must also fail. Feeling like a failure can produce frustration and tension. Students look to us to see how we react to our failures. If we become overwhelmed when technology doesn’t work, for example, we demonstrate that it is acceptable to become angry if something doesn't go our way. Of course, we all have moments of anger and frustration, but as educators, we must be aware that our students are always watching (just like our children). They will react to setbacks in the same way that we do. The "do as I say, not as I do" mentality is a generation or two ago. If we want our students to have a positive mindset, we must start by evaluating our own.

How can we foster a positive mindset in our classroom?

1. Celebrate positive behaviors. Identifying what our students are doing and how those actions are positive can help students to recognize what behaviors will lead to successful outcomes.
2. Embrace struggles and problem-solve together. Discussing how to problem-solve provides students with a framework to refocus and reset after a failure. It is important to learn, reflect, and grow.
3. Identify the lessons learned. Talk through what was gained in a situation and use experiences to move forward.
4. Show gratitude for the people and experiences that have helped us become who we are today and who will continue to support us moving forward.
5. Focus on the word yet. When unpacking a situation, the word yet allows us all to understand that if something doesn't go our way, it means we are still learning and growing. Even though our desired outcome hasn't happened yet, it is still possible, and we can still see the positives in any situation.

I love Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote, "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." I often remind my students and myself that even though not every day is exciting or life-changing, every day provides us with an opportunity to learn, grow, and build relationships with others. When we learn to appreciate and embrace those initial steps joyfully, we become stronger and find meaning in everyday experiences.

Preparation is key.

We must prepare our students for the challenges they will inevitably encounter by helping them take a realistic look at the circumstances while finding the nuggets of hope in the face of adversity. We must prepare our students to hear no, receive a rejection, and handle criticism gracefully. They will face rejection in many ways; we all do. What they choose to do in those moments will determine their success. Failure is a gift, but one needs to learn how to handle the package to reap the rewards of the lessons that this gift can teach.

Part of success is recognizing and understanding how to move forward from loss and rejection. Success is about navigating the obstacles and rethinking, recreating, or redirecting our path. I want to continue to empower my students to find meaning in their lives and experiences, accomplish their goals, and, most importantly, experience the joy of living a life that brings them meaning and purpose.

Someone told me boldly that I'd never find joy as an English teacher. While they may have been well-intentioned, I did not allow them to stop me from pursuing my dream. I understood that I might hear no. I recognized that I might not succeed on the first try, and that belief strengthened me.

NOTE: I was hired very early in the job hunt (before spring break), within 24 hours of my interview. My first principal told me not to interview at a neighboring school in the same district, which I was set to do the next day. Post spring break, I received calls for interviews from over a dozen different school districts. I was definitely going to find a job.

Again, don't ever let anyone discourage you from reaching your goals. While the vision of success in my life has shifted over the years, and that definition might shift for others, we can help our students see the steps they need to take to reach their goals. We can empower our students by helping them to shape their understanding of success and take those first steps.

References:

Acton, Annabel. “How to Set Goals (and Why You Should Write Them Down).” Forbes, 3 Nov. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/annabelacton/2017/11/03/how-to-set-goals-and-why-you-should-do-it/?sh=104307bd162d.

Clear, James. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. Cornerstone Press, 2022.

Rediscovering What You Need (And Stealing from the PIRATE)

What do you need? 

This year was surprisingly challenging. Many educators are struggling with behavioral issues that they haven't experienced since their first few years of teaching, if ever at all. We are all still in the recovery phase of the pandemic despite the feeling that we have closed that chapter. 

After spring break, I like to reflect on what I have learned from the current school year. I also plan my summer personal and professional improvement goals. During early April, I typically explore books I want to read, conferences to present at and/or attend, and what I want to do to recharge. This summer, my focus is both student and teacher engagement. 

My colleagues and I limped to the end of this year, and my students still needed support with their executive functioning and soft skills that were negatively impacted during the pandemic. Many of us have been stuck in a rut where we needed help identifying solutions or a way to restart the creative engines. Instead of looking to recreate the wheel, I realized in this reflection that we just needed to reenergize the great work we are already doing. The pandemic challenged us to shift our teaching strategies, create online resources that can be used to personalize the learning experience in ways we had not prior and explore many different technology tools that have enhanced the student experience. We don't need to innovate because we have spent the last few years pushing the envelope forward at incredible speeds. Now, we need time to reflect, rest, and reignite our passion for teaching. Which led me to the seemingly simple question - What do you need? 

I went to my bookshelf with my professional development books, and a familiar book caught my eye. I was surprised I actually had it on my shelf since I bought this book at least four times. People tend to borrow and not return it, which always makes me smile because I know this book has an impact. Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess caught my eye. This book, full of inspiring reminders about finding our passion as educators and bringing our best selves to our students, is always a hit with teachers. My district hosts a teacher summer camp where teachers and administrators host three-hour workshops on various topics. The summer camp I proposed and presented centered around Teach Like a Pirate and sparking the joy in teaching. When I consider my answer to the what do you need question, I know I need to be in a community with others, embrace my enthusiasm, and feel valued.

 

So what is the PIRATE method, and why does it resonate with teachers? 

PIRATE stands for - Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Ask and Analyze, Transform, and Enthusiasm. These ideas are familiar, but we often need to pay more attention to them or remember to incorporate them into our daily planning and practices. In the last few years, we have been so overwhelmed with teaching and regrouping post-pandemic that, as teachers, we don't give ourselves time to slow down and enjoy time with our students. Relationship building and rapport are what lead to classroom transformation. Being all in on a topic, lesson, or idea begets buy-in and success from our students. That "all in" practice looks different for every teacher and can be achieved by everyone if and when we give ourselves permission to jump into the deep end of joyful learning and flounder around for a moment.

What do we need? We need to give ourselves permission to fail, experiment, and play. Those practices lead to significant learning outcomes and more memorable experiences for our students.  

How can we "unstuck" ourselves? 

Simon Sinek has a fantastic TED talk on discovering our why. Why do we teach? Why do we love working with kids? Why are we passionate about the topics, ideas, and relationships we hold dear? As I was reading tweets and articles he's written, I discovered this video: A QUICK Way to Find Your Why

Instead of always trying to work alone and create meaning independently, it is so powerful to remember that we have a whole team of teachers and friends behind us. As Joyce Landorf Heatherley expresses in her work, we have a balcony full of people cheering us on and wishing for us to succeed. In my workshop, I leaned into the idea that we don't have to define our why. Instead, if we ask our balcony people to state our why for us, we can step outside of ourselves and discover something about our skills and gifts that we cannot see while feeling stuck. Asking our teacher friends to answer our why also sparks a conversation encouraging us to reciprocate and help them see their whys. This intentional conversation revitalizes our energy to rediscover our passions and strengths and encourages collaboration, support, and uplifts others. Fueling those collaborative relationships and conversations improves the culture and climate at school and can fuel a spark into a strong flame of un-stuck teachers. 

Where do we begin? 

Another question that Burgess uses in his book that I love is: "Would you want to be a student in your classroom?" This question makes me pause, and I try to ask myself every week. No, not every day is the most memorable and exciting lesson ever. Sometimes we have to provide direct instruction, and those days can admittedly be a little boring. Instead of muddling through it, we can ask ourselves how we might slightly shift the lesson or learning environment to improve the quality of our students’ experiences. 

We can find ways to engage and connect with them - even if it has nothing to do with the lesson. Those small moments and connections lead to incredible buy-in and foster a strong learning community. Burgess uses what he refers to as hooks as questions to guide teachers into considering what this process might look like in the classroom. I made a form to help teachers with the planning process and lead them to hooks that might work for their individual goals. As we recharge and refocus our compasses this summer, may we start by asking ourselves, “What do I need?” We don't need to redraw the map to great teaching completely. We simply have to adjust the sails and rediscover our wind. Passion and enthusiasm will follow.