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Guiding Teachers

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Examining (and Changing) Our Literacy Beliefs over Time

Changing one’s mind in today’s educational world can feel risky. We fear looking incompetent or like we don’t know what we believe. Matt Renwick learned firsthand that when leaders share how their thinking and beliefs around literacy instruction has changed, it increases the level of respect from others.

Engaging from the Start: Considering Accessible Professional Development Experiences for a Range of Educators

Inspired by low-ceiling, high-threshold activities in classrooms, Heather Fisher offers three ways to plan professional learning so that it is accessible to a range of educators.

Developing Transcripts of Classroom Teaching with AI

Suzy Kaback provides a guide for using an AI chatbot to help generate transcripts to study explicit instructional moves. Download a progression to learn how to refine requests to create a high-quality transcript. This is the third installment in a series about using AI with teacher candidates.

AI in Teacher Prep

Suzy Kaback guides us in learning to use ChatGPT as a thought partner. She offers a compelling rationale, clear step-by-step directions, and resources to build a deeper understand of using AI to prepare for instruction. This is the second installment in a series about using AI with teacher candidates.

Meet Stevie, Our Imaginary AI Friend

Inspired by a third-grade teacher, Suzy Kaback uses AI to generate an imaginary student to engage her teacher candidates as they mediate teaching and learning through a proxy. This is the first installment in a series about using AI with teacher candidates.

Quiet Coaching

Matt Renwick offers insightful ideas about reaching colleagues who are resistant to coaching. Matt offers three steps and practical ideas to “quietly coach.”

Misreading Body Language

Matt Renwick reminds us of the benefits and dangers of reading (or misreading) body language, and offers a way to get to the heart of communicating clearly.

Make and Take…With a Twist: Incorporating Research and Play with Preparing Materials

Heather Fisher taps the power of play in professional learning. By being mindful of incorporating play into professional learning, teachers build their skills and confidence with new materials or strategies in their classrooms.

Ways to Make Positive Momentum Happen in Sticky Situations

Instructional coach Paula Fiscus finds ways to establish positive momentum in a season of combining two schools into one.

Connecting the Dots

Heather Fisher realized the possibility of connections while volunteering in the T-ball dugout. This transformed the direction of her coaching conversations as she used questioning and wait time to help teachers make powerful connections between content areas.

How to Manage Our Frustrations in Difficult Times

Matt Renwick offers an insightful perspective on how anger arises in educators, where it comes from, and what to do about it.

PL…See? Lightening Up PLCs to Increase Engagement

David Pittman reminds us of the importance of curiosity in driving professional learning communities. If engagement is waning in your PLCs, this article is a must-read!

 Bridging the Gap (Session 1): The Sold a Story Peel

Mary Brower shares a professional learning experience that peels back the layers of the Sold a Story podcast to help teachers find common ground in reading instruction. Includes a template for a guided conversation.

Building Teacher Confidence, Building Leaders: The Power of Observation

Paula Fiscus questions how to uplift more teacher leaders, and decides peer observations may be the catalyst to teachers believing they can grow and lead. Paula offers procedures, forms, and the encouragement needed to set peer observations in motion in your school

Navigating the Science of Reading: How to Hold a Professional Conversation About Teaching Readers

Matt Renwick helps leaders navigate science-of-reading conversations with these three powerful tips.

Picture It: Literacy Leaders and a Classroom Observation

In this Picture It, Ruth Ayres encourages organizing a classroom observation for a group of literacy leaders.

Six Journaling Ideas for Teacher Self-Care

Leigh Anne Eck offers six journaling ideas for those who have always wanted to keep a journal but think they just don’t have the time. Journaling is a healthy habit that leads to clarity and focus. Try one of these ideas today!

Picture It: Pebbles in Our Shoes

In this Picture It, Ruth Ayres shares a creative and effective way to acknowledge difficulties when rolling out new curriculum or initiative.

The Joy of Learning Something New (or How Trying Something New I Totally Stank at Helped Increase My Understanding of the Learning Process)

Gwen Blumberg joins the Boston Roller Derby for a series of skills classes and immediately makes connections to the way students must feel when learning the complexity of reading. She shares how the importance of learning something new (especially something we aren’t good at) helps us remember the importance of joy to learning.

Uplifting Students’ “Ordinary” Stories with Mentor Texts

In a time when lives are showcased on highlight reels of social media, Gwen Blumberg reminds us of the importance of highlighting ordinary moments as worthy writing topics.

Coaching Minute: Ask for Help

Curriculum director Inga Omondi advises the best thing for leaders to do is ask for help.

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