teachers Archives

How to Keep Your Teachers

Obviously, the past few years haven’t been easy for anybody. But the strain on school intervention specialists thrust into remote learning during group trauma has been especially great. In this conversation, Rami Tulp, assistant director of intervention for Katy ISD in Texas details some of the ways her district has catered to the needs of both students and faculty. Have a listen and scroll down for some edited excerpts.

We support intervention teachers who work with the students who are most at risk of dropping out—the students who struggle the most. And, you know, that cannot always be the most appealing job when you’re looking at teaching. So we really have been making sure that we support our intervention teachers with good resources as well as professional learning where you want to come back every year and continue to be an intervention teacher and support struggling kids…Coming out of the pandemic, some student struggles with learning have increased. And we need new strategies on how to support these kids. We need to keep building on the strategies that we already have, but also some new ideas, some new techniques. We’ve been doing a lot of campus visits, getting out to campuses and supporting teachers whenever they call, whenever they need an extra set of hands or an extra set of eyes with a class.

Some of the stories that some of our teachers shared when they were working with students virtually is that the home that the children were in wasn’t always somewhere they felt safe or comfortable. They didn’t want to unmute because in the background there might be screaming or something like that happening. We did have quite a few kids who were having to watch over their younger siblings. So there could be little screaming kids running around. We had some kids zooming from a bathtub because it was the quietest place in the house…Some kids were worried about how their hair looked because they haven’t been able to go out and get their hair fixed. …Read More

This key strategy can help boost teacher well-being immediately

Key points:

Teachers have juggled so much during the pandemic and the return to school–it’s no wonder they’re burnt out

High-quality substitutes are key to teachers’ ability to take breaks, and technology can aid in recruiting subs

See related article: Survey highlights troubling teacher morale issues

In the wake of the pandemic, student mental health is a top concern for K-12 leaders, as it should be. But teacher wellness is also at crisis levels, and this has important implications for the quality of education that students receive.

When education shifted online in spring 2020, teachers had to learn new technologies and instructional strategies in a very short amount of time. Many endured the loss of friends and family members to COVID-related illness. When school districts returned to in-person learning, several teachers worried about their own safety. Teachers have had to deal with a sharp rise in behavioral issues and address a growing number of social-emotional needs among their students. They’ve worked long hours to facilitate learning recovery.…Read More

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The top 6 education trends for 2023

Key points:

Trends change–but great teachers can take trends and transform learning

SEL, gamification, and project-based learning are all some of the most popular instructional tools in 2023

See related article: Are you following some of today’s biggest learning trends?

Teachers, we’ve made it! After a long and arduous school year filled with challenges, we have finally reached summer vacation. First, take a moment to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. The world of education has only gotten more complicated over these last few years. Many students are still working through the effects of the pandemic, while countless schools have found themselves embroiled in political bickering. That you continued to show up for your students and deliver the best education possible demonstrates just what a champion you are.

Now that we have a little time and space to relax, it’s important to take time and reflect on the school year as a whole. What worked, what didn’t, what could be improved, and what ideas have the potential to bring positive change in the next season?…Read More

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3 ways to keep students reading this summer

Key points:

By fostering stronger educator and caregiver communication, students can be better equipped to retain learning this summer

In order to inspire a lifelong love reading, consider guiding students to identify reading opportunities that complement their interests in their daily lives

See related article: 6 ways to help reluctant readers become booklovers

It’s been great to see students’ faces back in-person collaborating with one another and their teachers, but there’s no doubt the pandemic has impacted their academic and emotional learning. Reading scores dipped considerably due to the pandemic, with fewer than half of students qualifying at their grade level standard.

Even more, we are facing a student mental health crisis, with studies showing nearly 8 million children worldwide lost a parent or primary caregiver to a pandemic-related cause. Educators continue to work hard to keep students motivated and engaged in learning to read while helping them cope with mental health challenges.…Read More

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A small number of teachers can double the racial gap in disciplinary action

Key points:

The jump in racial gaps caused by top referrers is largely driven by referrals issued for more subjective reasons

Repeated disciplinary actions can hurt student engagement, achievement, and long-run success

See related article: Addressing the digital divide’s effects on education and the workforce

The top 5 percent of teachers most likely to refer students to the principal’s office for disciplinary action do so at such an outsized rate that they effectively double the racial gaps in such referrals, according to new research from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

These gaps are mainly driven by higher numbers of office discipline referrals (ODRs) issued for Black and Hispanic students, compared to White students. The study, published in Educational Researcher, a peer-reviewed journal of AERA, was conducted by Jing Liu at the University of Maryland, College Park, Emily K. Penner at the University of California, Irvine, and Wenjing Gao at the University of Maryland, College Park.…Read More

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At ISTELive 23, balancing humanity with AI

Key points:

While AI has its place in the classroom, humans–and their humanity–are a driving force

There are 5 skills teachers should ensure students have as they move into a world full of AI

See related article: Edtech leaders offer guidance on safe AI classroom integration

What does it mean to be human in a digital world? At ISTELive 23, that question was central to the annual edtech conference’s focus on what’s happening in education—and what’s next.

“Four years ago, I made a prediction: I predicted that in five years, education would be completely transformed by two factors: a dramatic increase in connectivity, and a dramatic increase in the capabilities of AI,” said ISTE CEO Richard Culatta. “At that time, less than half the schools in the country were one-to-one, and nobody really knew what AI was. It’s interesting to think about where we are just four years later, and how this combination of increased connectivity and AI capabilities is totally changing our world. AI can do some pretty amazing things.”…Read More

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Prompt engineering: Cultivating curiosity in the age of AI

Key points:

AI will have a wide-ranging impact on education, particularly on personalized learning

Education’s unpreparedness for the future is exemplified by the emergence of entirely new fields driven by prompt engineering

See related article: Is AI the future of education?

Some of my most distinct memories from high school involve struggling to grasp abstract concepts without visual or interactive tools. When I was a high school student, technology was significantly limited compared to today’s. I recall longing for resources such as online encyclopedias, interactive simulations, and virtual tutoring that would have made learning more interactive and accessible. Instead, my classmates and I were left to suffer through content-heavy, teacher-led lessons that lacked imagination or passion.

Sound familiar?…Read More

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Are your students prepared for the digital classroom?

Enhanced digital learning processes and experiences require reliable, high performance, and secure Wi-Fi so your teachers can access the full range of available teaching tools- including STEAM and 1:1 learning – to reach students wherever they are.

Is AI the future of education?

Key points:

AI can optimize the learning experience, the classroom is a delicate ecosystem and changes can have unintended effects

AI is the future of work, and students must be prepared for it–and be familiar with it

See related article: It’s important to teach generative AI–here’s why

Sometime late last year, AI reached an inflection point. Experts have been making grand predictions on its behalf for decades, but the moment OpenAI opened ChatGPT up to the public, the actual potential of this technology became clear on a mass level. Almost instantly, hundreds of articles began to appear on the transformative potential of AI for fields as diverse as medicine, law, and entertainment.

Of course, some fields are more amenable to technological revolutions than others. You can see why lawyers, for instance, might appreciate instantly generated summaries of past case law—but the implications of AI in the classroom might be trickier. Teachers are understandably wary; they’re interested in anything that might optimize the learning experience, but they also know that the classroom is a delicate ecosystem, and that any change can have unintended knock-on effects.…Read More

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Are substitutes the answer to the teacher shortage?

Key points:

Substitute teachers are already critical to the school environment

Could funds be allocated to help substitutes find a long-term path to teaching?

California is investing $350 million in teacher residencies, recognizing the need for effective teachers, which too many of our classrooms are missing. But this big bet isn’t working. Why? Too many people can’t afford to take on the financial liability to train for the position.

If we know the approach isn’t working, we need to look toward another solution: Substitute teachers. …Read More

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