Sunny, With a High of Student Activity, Engagement, Participation, Communication......

I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that 

I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It’s my personal approach that creates the climate.
It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. 

As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous.
 I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. 

I can humiliate or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated 

and a child humanized or dehumanized.
-Haim Ginott

This has always been one of my favorite quotes. It hung on the classroom wall as a reminder to me during the ten years that I was in the classroom. I'm going to take its meaning on a bit of a different path today though....

Teachers are the decisive element in the classroom. Our Instructional Approach impacts the climate of the classroom as well. Like many of you, I am a reflective teacher. Beyond the specifics of the lesson, I would ask: Who's doing the majority of talking? The students or me? Majority of the Listening? Questioning? Them or me? Was I teacher-centered today, delivering content, or learning-centered, providing opportunities for students to investigate, solve problems, and acquire the knowledge? MI & Blooms were always at the heart and sole of learning, so I would reflect on those to determine if and how I was reaching all learners....

Time constraints, deadlines, looming paperwork, testing, and many of the other school initiatives often make reflection more difficult. I recall being caught up in it all and it felt easier for me to frequently deliver the content and fill their "vessels" with information.

Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.

~Socrates

I also recall the climate in the classroom at that time ~ My instruction was creating downbursts of students who weren't as engaged,  a decrease in the ability of students to focus, and a drought of students who were not thinking critically about the concepts.

My purpose is not to contrast lecturing vs. student-centered groups. I've been completely captivated in some classrooms by the passion teachers bring forth in their lectures. I've also experienced where "group work" isn't effective too. The focus is on the power of reflecting on instruction.  Would I want to be a student in my own classroom? 

If you're looking to transform your instructional approach or switch up the weather within your classroom climate a bit, I have a few resources below you may be interested in checking out. Any of these can be used as or included in your own instructional presentations or for your students to get hands-on with! It's all about what works best for you and your students ~ We'd love to meet with you on any of these to help you plan your learning journeys. There are so many options as far as whole-class, small groupings, or individual implementations.

Have fun! 

We may just be surprised at the students whom sprout, grow, and blossom from the changes in our Instructional Climate.

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CHOOSE ONE tool or strategy from the list below to try with just one upcoming lesson. 

As you reflect on your experience, feel free to share any feedback below :)

• I've already shared Plickers, Socrative, Kahoot, Oh My! as engaging ways for your students to interact with concepts, assess their knowledge, and give/receive feedback in real-time.

• Lesson Paths - Check these out! Lesson Paths are like a "playlist" of your lesson. You can project the path whole-class or students can interact with each "step" in the path in small groups or on their own. The "steps" can include slides, websites, videos, and much more. You can even include interactive surveys or quizzes within your lesson path. 

• Google Galore! - Our Google Apps are the perfect setting for us and students to create, collaborate, communicate, and share. Consider Google Forms, Sites, Draw, Slides, Spreadsheets, Documents, Google Hangouts, Google Classroom and a plethora of amazing applications & extensions that can be added on such as Lucidpress, PowToon and SO MUCH MORE! Again, I suggest you pick one from within here to focus on rather than trying to tackle Everything Google all at once. 

• Smore - This is a simple, digital "flyer" that offers a nice alternative to your typical presentation. Links, videos, text, and images can all still be integrated to share content or for students to use to guide them as they embark on their learning adventure! 

• BackChannels : We've shared both of these before, but consider Today'sMeet & Padlet to empower student voice and encourage participation - You could even keep your lessons just as they are, except, provide students with an opportunity to communicate and collaborate digitally during the face-to-face lesson. 

• FlipGrid - Catch the FlipGrid fever and let your students' voices be heard with this video response platform.

• Connect, Connect, Connect! I'm said it in many posts...knock down the walls of your classroom and empower your students' voices. Give them an authentic audience!

• Variety of instructional strategies for the classroom. Many of these were my favorites~ others are ones I haven't tried yet. :)

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Thank you for all that you do for our students! 

I'd love to hear your reflections....