The resources shared are intended for you to use as you think through your instructional planning, and are not intended to be used directly with students. Always check your district policies prior to sharing resources with your students.
Image from casel.org
As we near the end of the school year, try to take time to stop and consciously reflect. Throughout the year, sometimes it can be difficult to take a moment for yourself and think about all that you have personally learned and accomplished. Be sure to build in time for this before the year ends!
Use the following prompts to help you reflect on your own journey this year:
What have you learned about yourself this year? (As a teacher, as a person, as a learner, etc.)
Which of your values and strengths really shone through this past year?
What are you PROUD of?
What new strategies, resources, or tools did you learn and use? (Think about instructional delivery, assessment, student choice, etc.) Which were most effective and how do you know?
What, if anything, did you need to unlearn this past year?
What will you bring forward with you into next school year and beyond?
Your students have also experienced, learned, and grown tremendously this school year! Perhaps you might be able to build in some time for them to reflect on their growth as well before this year comes to a close. You can use the following resources as a starting point:
Check out different prompts and reflective ideas in The Importance of Student Self Reflection.
Have students reflect on and affirm their values and strengths.
Use this tool to help you brainstorm reflection questions that you can pose to your students.
Have students self-assess their executive function skills by taking a survey and then setting goals for next year. (Use/adapt our sample primary, elementary, secondary surveys and/or our executive function assessment.)
Perhaps you would like to explore and implement gratitude journals.
This self-awareness tool is intended for students to reflect on their emotions. Teachers can facilitate student self-awareness by asking probing questions.
SEL and the EF That Supports It
The components of social and emotional learning are supported by the foundational skills of executive function. This resource maps the executive function skills, as defined by Dr. Nancy Sulla in Building Executive Function: The Missing Link to Student Achievement, with CASEL's framework for social and emotional learning.
When implemented in a student-focused learning environment, PBL promotes many, if not all, of the social and emotional learning competencies. So, if your goals are SEL and PBL, why not connect them? This tool will offer just a few examples (you can, I'm sure, think of even more) of how PBL experiences promote SEL.
Navigating tests, whether big or small, can feel overwhelming at times. As you gear up for any assessment, explore these resources, carefully curated to help you and your students every step of the way.
Interactive Review Games: Create review games like Jeopardy, Kahoot, or Quizizz where students can test their knowledge in a fun and competitive environment. These platforms allow you to customize questions based on the material being tested.
Escape Room Challenges: Design an escape room activity where students must solve educational puzzles and challenges related to the test material. This hands-on approach promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills while reinforcing key concepts.
Peer Teaching: Encourage students to become teachers for a day by allowing them to prepare and deliver short lessons to their peers on topics they need to review. This not only reinforces their own understanding but also promotes collaboration and peer learning.
In addition to Peer Teaching, consider implementing Small-Group Mini-Lessons tailored to address specific skills your students require. Offer flexible sign-up times or extend personalized invitations to targeted mini-lessons, ensuring every student receives the support they need to excel.
Real-world Connections: Relate the test material to real-world scenarios or current events to make it more relevant and engaging for students. This helps them see the practical implications of what they're learning and fosters a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Check out some of the April PBLs below or MyQPortal for additional PBLs!
Creative Projects: Assign creative projects that require students to apply their knowledge in innovative ways. For example, in language arts, students could write and perform skits based on a book they've read, or in math, they could create a board game that incorporates mathematical concepts.
Mindfulness and Stress Reduction: Incorporate mindfulness activities or relaxation techniques to help students manage test anxiety and stress. This could include deep breathing exercises, guided meditation, or simple stretching routines.
Bald Eagles: A Symbol for Change
In this NGSS-aligned life science unit, students explore the impact of climate change on bald eagle populations. They will gain an understanding of the basic science behind climate change and projected effects to temperature and precipitation patterns. Based upon this learning, they will generate hypotheses about the impact of climate change on bald eagle behaviors and habitats. They will design models to test their hypotheses and analyze the outcomes to draw conclusions about the possible impact on bald eagle populations. Finally, they will present actions at multiple levels (school, community, state, national, global) that could support the bald eagle population, and they will design an infographic to convey these ideas to an audience of their choice.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt introduced the New Deal in response to desperate times caused by financial insecurity as a result of the Great Depression. Today, some are calling for a Green New Deal in response to the Earth's changing climate and its impact on fragile ecosystems. In this authentic learning unit, students use the IDE Corp. Design Process to develop an innovative solution aligned with the recommendations in the Green New Deal resolution presented to Congress in early 2019.
According to poet Dana Gioia, modern poetry has become a subculture that no longer speaks to America at large. In this unit, students will examine the characteristics of poetry that make it relevant and use an online platform to help revitalize poetry and reintroduce it into popular culture.
Purposeful Questioning - Read this article, which is about prompting students through questioning to ensure that the questions are practical, relevant, and rigorous.
Five Levels of Facilitation Questions - Use this tool to pre-plan higher-order thinking questions. Brainstorming questions in advance can help you think through how to plan to differentiate instruction, challenge students' thinking, and keep them in "flow."
Facilitation Roadmap - Students working independently or in small groups and you're not sure what to do? Use this "roadmap" to help you provide the right facilitation at the right time!
Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Generate Engaging PBL Units
Anchoring the Learning blog post - This blog post reviews the 6 different Ps of PBL.
In Search of the Perfect Problem - Use this tool to support you in generating ideas for creating an authentic, complex, and open-ended problem or challenge for your students. It contains sample questions you can use to start.
Effective AI Prompting for Enhanced Learning - Use this resource to learn effective tips for when you want to prompt AI.
Authentic Performances for Problem-Based Units: A Brainstorm - This tool contains a variety of products based on learning style. It can help give you ideas for what you want students' end product to be.
ChatGPT - The original chatbot that catapulted AI into everyday conversation. It’s important to note that version 3.5 is free, but only knows data through September of 2021. The paid version (4.0) is up to date.
MagicSchool - This robust tool has a chatbot similar to ChatGPT, but it also has various tools to help you create a lesson plan, rubric, math story problems, unit plan, assessments, and much more. It even has some fun items like a joke creator and a song generator!
Creating Analytic Rubrics
Holistic vs. Analytic Rubrics - Learn the difference between holistic and analytic rubrics.
Creating a Rubric Step-By-Step - Follow the steps in this tool to create an analytic rubric for your PBL/ALU.
Moving Students Toward the Expert Column - A well-crafted analytic rubric presents varied ways to move from the Practitioner column to the Expert column. This tool provides teachers with four options for designing Expert level criteria.
Rubric to Assess an ALU - Use this second row of this rubric to assess your own analytic rubric!
Tips for Using Rubrics to Facilitate Learning - You have an analytic rubric for the end product. Now what? Use this tool for tips on how to USE the rubric in your daily instruction.
Mapping Out the Instructional Activities for Your PBL
Creating a Learning Map - Use this tool to help you work backwards from the PBL end product. It takes a step-by-step approach to planning, starting with the learning goals and identifying varied resources for learning for each.
5 Types of Instructional Activities - This resource describes the 5 types of instructional activities, as well as provides examples and further tools to support each type.
Understanding the Scaffold for Learning - Use this structure to brainstorm various ways for students to learn the core content skills/concepts associated with the PBL. A screenshot of this tool is also in the image to the right.
Scaffold for Learning Template - This is a blank scaffold for learning you can use when planning for your PBL.
☝️ The 5 Types of Instructional Activities
The Facilitation Roadmap
Using Data to Differentiate
Four Types of Formative Assessment - Review four categories of formative assessment, applications to lesson planning, and specific examples.
Using a Content Facilitation Grid to Help Drive Instruction - Teachers can use this structure to gather formative assessment data. Observable data is coded to describe student mastery and plan for future instruction.
Blank Facilitation Grid Template - Use this blank template to create your own facilitation grid.
Facilitation Roadmap - In the LATI Classroom, the educator shifts to a masterful facilitator of learning. Use this "roadmap" to help you provide the right facilitation at the right time.
Five Levels of Content Facilitation Questions - When you are a masterful facilitator, you spend a majority of your time working with students one-on-one, in pairs, or in small groups as students are working on differentiated activities. As students are working on their activities, you'll want to have a set of leveled questions to ensure that each of your learners is progressing toward and beyond content mastery.
How to Create a How-To Sheet - How-to sheets provide students with direct instruction regarding targeted skill development. Students follow the directions at their own pace, reread as necessary, and refer to diagrams or examples that have been included. Use this tool to create your own how-to sheets students can use.
How to Design a SGML - Skill (and, at times, concept) instruction can be provided to a small group of like-ability or like-interest students through a brief, targeted lesson. Use this resources to help you plan your down small-group, mini-lessons (SGMLs).
How to Create A Learning Activity - In student-driven classrooms like the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom, the educator moves away from presenting the content to designing a more differentiated learning environment. Students then engage in instructional activities aimed at a targeted concept or skill. Use this tool to design a learning activity to teach, re-teach, or move beyond a certain skill.
How to Plan for Screencasts and Podcasts - Videos, screencasts, and podcasts are audio and/or visual recordings in which educators may provide direct instruction to students while also differentiating learning opportunities to meet individual student needs. Use the following activity to design a video, screencast, or podcast.
How to Design a Learning Center - Use this tool to design a learning center to teach, re-teach, or move beyond a certain skill.
As Regents week is upon us, it's essential to provide the best support to students as they prepare for these important exams. Here are some quick tips to help ensure their success:
Stay Informed: Make sure students are aware of the exam schedule and locations.
Last-Minute Review: Encourage a final review of key concepts and formulas.
Healthy Routines: Emphasize the importance of proper sleep, nutrition, and hydration.
Mindful Stress Management: Teach students relaxation techniques to manage test anxiety.
Time Management: Remind them to allocate time wisely during the exams.
Positive Encouragement: Offer words of encouragement and support.
Stay Hydrated: Keep water bottles handy for students to stay hydrated during exams.
Bring Necessary Materials: Ensure students have all required materials like pencils, pens, and ID.
Double-Check Answers: Remind them to review their answers if time permits.
Post-Exam Support: Be available for questions or concerns after each exam.
The beginning of a new year is a great time to have students engage in self-reflection. What goals have they accomplished so far? What can they celebrate? What are some intentions they have for themselves for the remainder of the year, and what are some steps to get them there? Below are some tools that can help students engage in self-reflective practice:
The Importance of Student Reflection - This tool explains the "why" of student reflection and gives some examples of reflective routines you can build into your class.
The Great Virtual Learner Rubric - This rubric supports students in understanding expectations regarding behavior, protocols, interactions with fellow students, and more. It also provides students with a means for self-assessment and reflection.
Impulse Reflection Graphic Organizer - This graphic organizer will help students think through what they did, how it affected them, how it affected others, and what they can try next time to better manage their impulses.
Values and Strengths Affirmation - Self-awareness is one of the five core competencies in social and emotional learning. It is also integral in building executive function skills. This activity supports older students, teachers, administrators, and/or other adults in recognizing and affirming personal strengths and values.
Norms (MS and HS) — These are sample norms you can use or modify for whole-class, small-group, and independent work. There is a specific column for students who are working at home.
Sample Norms in a Virtual LATIC High School — These were specifically made for a LATIC virtual high school; that's you! 😉
Guidelines for Engaging in Group Discussion Protocols — See these sample guidelines that you can use with students whenever they engage in any type of discussion protocol.
Below are some sample discussion protocols you can use with students:
Save the Last Word for Me — This protocol allows each students to share their ideas from a given text.
PMI Protocol — This protocol stands for "Plus, Minus, Interesting Ideas/Questions." Students can use this protocol to help support consensus building and decision making.
Socratic Seminar Inner-Outer Circle Template — The second and third page of this template also contain questions/feedback forms so that students can reflect on how they did in discussing. You can use it or revise to serve your purpose for discussing.
How to Create a Discussion Protocol — Use this to create your own discussion protocol!
What AI tools have you used? Try the ones below and let us know how you like them! Or sign up for a coaching spot and we can show you how to use them!
Diffit - Diffit is focused on creating a variety of materials based on a topic of your choice, a URL to an article, or text. You can choose the grade level for the materials and it creates a reading passage, summary, vocabulary words, and assessments. Watch this tutorial to see how it works!
MagicSchool - This robust tool can help you level texts, create math story problems, generate text-dependent questions, create a choice board, and much more! It even has some fun items like a joke creator and a song generator. Watch this video for more information.
Using a Content Facilitation Grid to Drive Instruction - This tool provides questions to consider as you design your content facilitation grid, as well as tips for using it.
Blank Facilitation Grid Template - Download a blank copy of the facilitation grid on Excel to make your own!
Are you preparing for your student-led conferences? Student-led conferences are not just about showcasing academic achievements; they're an incredible chance for students to shine a light on their whole journey. Beyond grades and subjects, these conferences empower students to reflect on their executive functioning skills — the superhero toolkit that powers their learning. From time management to organization, these skills are the unsung heroes behind academic success. Encouraging students to self-assess and reflect on their executive function strengths and areas for growth during these conferences paves the way for a holistic view of their progress. Consider incorporating the executive function survey below into your student-led conferences this year! Reach out to anyone on your IDE team if you need access to MyQPortal!
Differentiation
Learners come to the classroom with varied learning styles and readiness levels. Therefore, it is necessary to create diverse learning experiences. This tool explains and provides examples of a differentiation strategy intended to reach all learners in your classroom. Check it out!
At our November 7th PD Session,
we also reviewed these 9-Box Grids
to gather ideas for how we can differentiate instruction.
Tips and Ideas for Implementing the Efficacy Notebook
Efficacy Notebook - Insight
How to set up your Efficacy Notebook
Using ChatGPT for ALU (Authentic Learning Unit) Design! 💻