Professional Learning for Busy Educators

As a student I couldn’t even guess what my teachers were doing when they weren’t teaching. Mostly because I did not care enough to pay attention. Sure, I knew the impact some of my teachers and coaches had on me, but the teenage mind didn’t allow me to comprehend what a teacher does all day

"We live in a time, where we learn, how we learn, when we learn and with whom we learn changes at an exponential rate. Now more than ever, we can’t rely on the old tried and tested methodology or practices, because the rules of what it means to teach and learn have changed.

As educators, we must ...."

It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally come to the realization that there is no one “big thing” that will suddenly transform a teacher into one of those wise educators that they make movies about. But I’ve also learned something else in that time. It’s often the small things that teachers do for their students that end up leaving a lasting impression.  

So, as I prepare to dive into my 20th year of teaching, I share 20 simple-yet-meaningful things teachers can do every day to improve the classroom atmosphere for themselves and their students.

Sharing is something vital to a society’s progression toward advancement. It is a practice that helps make a community stronger and more responsive to change. We may not be aware of it, but most of our formative education has been a form of sharing:.young learners often teach each other skills they have acquired, middle and high school students share information and ideas over lunch, and professors share expertise and perspectives with us in college. But for some reason, the close-the-door-isolationism of schools, combined with contrived PLC structures and a serious lack of time in the workday, has halted prolific sharing and schools are suffering as a result.

In order to serve a classroom of students with diverse needs, backgrounds, and interests, educators have become strikingly innovative in their work — particularly as technology advancements make their way into the classroom. To celebrate their innovation, and to share the creativity and strategic thinking with more teachers, we’ve gathered ten stories of innovative educators. These teachers, all bloggers through the Art of Teaching Project, have creatively leveraged available resources, space, and time to meet student needs.

Dive into their stories and get inspired to innovate.