By Tyler Wedemeier, Student-Centered Instructional Coach
Over Thanksgiving break, my two children (Emmett, 4, and Eve, 1) and I enjoyed a warm Friday at the park. Emmett's newest game is "The Ground is Lava" and the park gave our living room furniture, dining room furniture, bedroom pillows, and everything else that can be climbed on, a much needed break. At the park, there was a pretty good distance between two platforms. This was the only time he had to come in contact with "lava". He finally decided he would try to jump the distance. As I was making sure my independent one year old wasn't going to fall off anything, I grabbed his hand in attempt to help guide him to the other platform. It was like a slow motion movie where the car jumps the canyon. In this case, the car didn't reach the other side. Emmett's shins met the side of the platform as he came in contact with the ground. In shock, tears rolled down his cheeks and he wailed uncontrollably. After some consoling, Emmett sat up and said, "I want to try that again." Watching Eve learn to move has been an inspiring and painful six months. What started as face-plants while trying to crawl has now become face-plants as she tries to run. Most times, she picks herself up smiling or giggling. I think she is proud of herself for making it a few more steps each time. With wintertime now here, Eve must master being on the move in snow pants, boots, a big coat, gloves, and hat. She is basically a walking marshmallow. While outside in her new attire, Eve fell every third or fourth step. She was not as happy about her face-plants this time around, but she kept getting up and moving forward. I share these stories for two reasons: 1. I hope they bring a smile to your face as you think about young loved ones you know. 2. I found this to parallel the school year. There is no denying this year has been a challenge. Every third or fourth step seems to bring about a new challenge to tackle. T his week, we have entered "snow pants season" with the transition from face-to-face learning to remote. For many it feels like it is the biggest challenge yet this year. Throughout this week and the other challenges that arise this year, may you lean on those that support you and perhaps after some consoling say, "I want to try that again!"
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By Liz Fox, Collaborative Teacher I’ll be honest, as a child of the ‘60s, calling attendance on Zoom made me feel like one of the hosts of Romper Room. To move to the 21st century, I knew I could expand my efficacy as a teacher by learning more about ways to utilize Zoom. So I asked my colleagues to share and did some digging myself. For those still concerned about privacy basics, this is a good place to start. To avoid Zoom fatigue, read this. For tips on how to best present yourself online, here are some stylist tips.
I’ve been diving into the social-emotional aspect of Zoom as well, learning about the power of allowing students to collaborate. One article described the power of friendships to increase student engagement and learning, while another discussed ways to build community online. Just this week one of my favorite bloggers shared a bunch of ways to promote engagement in and out of the classroom in her latest post. One thing I enjoyed doing during Zoom meetings is asking students to share one good thing in the chat before leaving the meeting to complete the assignment. I also used breakout rooms for students to discuss with each other answers to questions I posed, and then I asked them to verbally share with the whole group. Next week I plan to have a record of their contributions. I was inspired by this post from a fellow English teacher who used Padlet for just that purpose. I share with gratitude what colleagues added to the conversation: Fellow collaborative teacher Allysen Lovstuen had some great tips:
Brett Wilker added this tip: “I would suggest setting up polls to conduct with your students. They pop up on the screen and you can collect formative data on what they are thinking to use in your discussions and then they have to pay attention to the Zoom in order to see them come up.” Another member of the DHS math department Paige Hageman shared this: “I started scheduling small group conferences with students during class time. This was a good way for me to check in with them or reteach a topic to a few students at once. It's also easier for me to get to know them in smaller groups! At first I let them sign up for their own time, but now I am only scheduling them for students I need to talk to. If they don't come to their conference time, I count them absent for the 'B' part of class. They can also share their screen with me so I can walk them through how to turn something in or find a missing assignment. If they need to keep working but want to stay on so they can ask you questions, you can put them in a breakout room by themselves.” Gina Holthaus added: “I’ve tried breakout rooms, and when I’ve entered into their rooms, they seem to be having good discussions. They don’t always notice me right away, so that helps me to know if they’re focused on the discussion at hand.” Here are some other tips I have collected from various educators over the past few months:
I hope that some of these suggestions will work for you during these unorthodox and challenging times. Do you have any Zoom tips that have worked for you? Please share in the comments! |
AuthorsDCSD Teachers, Instructional Coaches, Learner Advocate, and Collaborative Teachers Archives
April 2024
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