Routines provide a framework for structure and consistency and offer students a classroom environment where they can learn and thrive. Here we’ll take a closer look at why classroom routines are so vital, what types of routines are common in classrooms, as well as give you ideas on how you can establish a routine in your classroom.

Why Routines are Essential

Classroom routines are rituals or actions that are repeated time and time again. These routines that are repeated regularly provide students with a sense of security because they know what is expected of them. This predictable schedule makes it easy for students to navigate their learning environment. Additionally, it helps with time management by establishing a seamless flow and reducing disruptions during transitions when students are aware of the typical duration of an activity or task. The consistency of a routine can also reduce disruptive behavior because students know what is expected of them at all times of the day.

Routines teach important life skills such as responsibility and independence. Once students become familiar with the expectations of the procedure, they will take ownership of their responsibilities. Ultimately, students will spend more time learning instead of asking what they need to do next, all because a routine was set in place.

Types of Routines

Classroom routines don’t have to be limited to the beginning or end of the school day. They can be used for transitions, to get students’ attention, or in many other ways. Here are a few common ways classroom routines can be used throughout the day.

Entry and Exit Routine

Younger students can learn a procedure on how to enter and exit the classroom, while older students can learn what materials to grab to get started or how to put materials away before exiting the classroom.

Transition Routine

Students will move through transitions many times throughout the day. Learning a routine while moving from one activity or subject to another will make the transition smoother. Many teachers like to use signals or cues like a bell or timer to help the transition move along.

Student/Teacher Attention Routine

Establishing a routine to gain student’s attention or using a signal so students know how to get the teachers attention can prevent classroom disruptions or distractions.

Groupwork Routine

Establishing expectations and teaching students how to form groups will help to prevent classroom chaos. It also established clear expectations on communication, collaboration, and students overall learning experience while in the group.

Homework Routine

Providing a consistent method for submitting homework assignments and or reviewing homework assignments provides structure and contributes to improved academic performance. Not to mention that it will make everyone’s life much easier.

In addition to these routines, you can also have a routine for when students finish work early, how to collect and distribute materials, classroom jobs and responsibilities, using the bathroom, how to work independently, how to use classroom technology, or just about anything you can think of that you do daily and want it to go smoothly.

How to Establish a Routine

If you’re looking to establish and maintain a successful classroom routine, then consider following these steps.

Identify Your Goals

The first thing you want to do is think about how you want your classroom to function. Ask yourself what skills and habits you want your students to develop as well as what tasks and transitions you want to run smoothly. Once you decide upon your goals, this will help guide your choices for a predictable routine that you can set up and teach your students.

Choose Your Routines

You don’t have to choose a routine for every single goal you have in mind, but it also doesn’t hurt. The more routines you have implemented, the easier it will be for students to move about the classroom independently as well as limit the number of disruptions and distractions that are occurring.

Teach Your Routines

Next, it’s time to teach your routines. It’s wise to start with one or two each day because you don’t want to overwhelm your students. First, explain the reason for the routine, then go through each step of the procedure giving examples and non-examples of what it should look like.

Practice Your Routines

Give students plenty of opportunities to practice their routines. Consider hanging visual aids like posters, charts, or checklists in the classroom for students to reference.

Monitor the Routines

Once students have learned the routines, keep an eye on how they are working. If you notice they are not meeting your expectations, then revise or reteach them. You can also ask for assistance or suggestions from your colleagues or ask students how they think the routines are working or if there is anything they would change about the routine.

As you progress through the school year consider revisiting your classroom routines. Some routines may no longer be needed or just aren’t working like they used to. Or you may want to change some of the routines to give students more responsibilities. Remember, consistency is key when it comes to routines. Try and stick to each routine as closely as possible because predictability fosters a sense of security in students, and when they know what to expect each day it will make for a more productive and successful learning environment.

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AI and the Evolving Landscape of Education

Education is evolving. During the pandemic, we’ve seen many changes that have altered our education system, such as the heavy reliance on technology and the adoption of remote and hybrid learning. Then came AI which has increasingly made our education more efficient and effective. It has also made it more accessible and inclusive for students. Using AI in education can provide new approaches to teaching and learning and help teachers streamline their work so they can be more effective teachers. There’s no denying that artificial intelligence is changing the landscape of education and has the power to help educators teach students, and students learn in a way that is engaging and motivating.

Benefits of AI-Powered Lesson Planning

There are countless benefits of AI-powered lesson planning in education. Here are some of the advantages that you and your students will gain from utilizing AI-powered lesson planning tools in the classroom.

It’s Time Saving

As a teacher, you spend a lot of your time doing mundane tasks that keep you from doing the things you really want to do with your students. AI platforms can be a significant timesaving tool because they automate tasks for you, reducing the time you spend on creating lessons or doing administrative work. By using AI lesson planning tools, you can invest more time in getting to know your students and enhancing their learning experience, and less time doing paperwork.

Accessible

One of the significant advantages of using AI tools in the classroom is its accessibility. AI can meet the needs of all students regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities. It can adapt or convert materials, assist non-native English speakers, enable students with disabilities to interact with content, assist students who have speech impairments, as well as tailor content to suit all learner’s needs. Overall, its accessibility features ensure a more inclusive educational experience for all students.

Improves Student Engagement

Trying to figure out how to increase student engagement will be a thing of the past once you use AI-powered lesson planning tools. These tools can easily enhance student engagement by tailoring each student’s learning experience to their individual interests and preferences. Once it learns a little bit about each student it can provide content that will keep students engaged like using gaming elements such as leaderboards or badges to keep students motivated.

Easily Generates Content

A profound benefit of AI tools is the ability to produce educational content that is engaging. Not only can it create quizzes, tests, homework assignments, and helpful resources, but it can also tailor these materials to each student’s needs and preferences as well as stay aligned to your learning objectives and curriculum to ensure it is on par with the course’s goals. Ultimately, it can assist you with customized learning materials that will enhance your student’s education.

Key Features of AI-Powered Lesson Planning Tools

AI-powered lesson planning tools are meant to enhance the way you create and deliver your lessons. They can also help streamline other various aspects of your teaching. Here are a few key features and functionalities you can expect to find when using AI-powered lesson planning tools.

Student-Driven Data

These tools collect student data such as student assessments, progress on assignments, and participation levels and provide you with real-time data that will give you insight into how well your students are performing. This data will help you determine any areas your students may be struggling in so you can address these areas promptly in real time. By understanding each individual’s strengths and weaknesses AI can then recommend specific ways you can support each individual.

Automates Tasks

Task automation is a key feature in AI learning tools because it can easily automate tasks such as creating a schedule, managing attendance records, sending out the weekly newsletter, or even grading assignments or quizzes. By automating these tasks, it will reduce your workload, freeing up time for you to focus more on your students than on spending hours grading papers or partaking in any other redundant administrative tasks.

Personalizes Learning Content

One of the best functions of AI is its ability to tailor lessons to each individual student. It can adapt content and strategies to match a student’s learning style as well as adjust the difficulty level and pace to match the student’s ability. By analyzing student data these tools can create personalized learning to suit each individual’s needs, differentiating lessons in a matter of minutes.

Early Intervention

Early intervention is another key feature of using AI tools because it can detect if a student is at risk of falling behind or if they are struggling with a specific learning difficulty. AI-powered tools will use algorithms to collect data about the student and then provide suggestions on the best way to support the student by recommending specific resources of modifications to ensure the student can overcome their challenges.

AI-powered lesson planning is a technological innovation that can save you time and help you meet the needs of all learners. By using AI tools, you can focus more on your students than on the mundane tasks that make your job less enjoyable. With AI the possibilities are endless and as technology continues to advance, we need to embrace these changes because the possibilities for new effective teaching methods and enhanced learning are endless.

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Formally, students may serve on their school’s student government to influence change within the school. Students may participate in civic engagement through an informal fashion such as volunteering in their communities to improve the environment by cleaning up trash. Such activities are wonderful ways for student activism and to contribute to the betterment of one’s community regardless of the nature of the activity.

Simply stated, civic engagement is an opportunity that allows students (or adults) a chance to understand the world around them and make a positive impact.

Why is Civic Engagement Important for Students?

Encourages Confidence 

Civic engagement requires students to work with others, bring ideas to the table, and promote changes that enhance the wellbeing of others. Furthermore, students build confidence in their abilities and ideas when participating in civic engagement opportunities. To make a difference, students must be somewhat bold and unafraid of adversity, leading to a healthy increase in self-confidence.

Develops Empathy

Students who involve themselves in civic engagement are typically more in tune with the feelings and emotions of others. Volunteering may often require students to serve meals to the homeless, collect food or coats for those in need, or build homes for those without them. All of these activities and so many more allow students an opportunity to see what life is like for others, good or bad, and witness the situations that those in their communities are faced with daily which helps them practice empathy. Students gain a greater understanding of what is valuable in life and a greater appreciation for what they have through assisting those less fortunate.

Promotes Knowledge

Civic engagement (specifically student government activities or volunteering in local government) keeps students current on events happening in the world. Many times, students are not aware of all current news in the nation and world. By running for a student office or interning with a government official, students learn how national actions affect local communities, help enact ideas, and understand all of the things happening in the world around us.

Ways to Promote Civic Engagement

Teachers can help promote civic engagement for their students by implementing some of the following activities into their classrooms:

STEM Activities 

Teachers can present students with a STEM activity that can relate to a community concern. For example, a bridge in a local community needs repair; however, the community leaders are unsure if enough citizens use it to consider spending a large amount of money to repair it.

Students should work in groups to tackle all of the following through this activity:

1. Students must determine if the bridge has enough traffic to be deemed worthy of saving. They may even participate in a class debate arguing why the bridge should or should not be repaired.
2. Students must build their bridge version using classroom materials (toothpicks, putty, etc.)
3. Student groups should present their bridge construction to the class with an explanation of their building method. Through completing this activity, students bring ethical talk and thinking into a STEM activity, making it a classroom imitation of civic engagement.

Classroom Culture

Teachers can promote civic engagement by creating a classroom culture that fosters active engagement, participation, and inclusivity. Teachers should always encourage student learning by participating in classroom activities and discussions. Still, it is equally important that teachers create opportunities for students to share their own ideas with others and explore leadership roles to gain self-confidence and courage.

Teachers should select classroom activities to increase student engagement through real-life simulations, hands-on tasks, and collaboration with others. When these types of tasks occur, students actively participate in opportunities that make learning more meaningful and memorable. Additionally, students develop skills that better serve them in the future.

Math and the Community 

Students could analyze community situations to understand better a community and its economic activity, or analyze health rates in the community. For instance, students can utilize a relevant context in a community such as the COVID-19 pandemic rates and figures in math to teach a particular concept and also spark student interest and engagement by making learning relevant to the community.

Relevant Literature

Students use literature to learn big ideas, themes, and so much more, but teachers can use novels to help students understand current events. Select a book with a storyline or the main character relevant to today’s society; teachers should look to classic literature examples such as The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc. for parallels to issues students are faced with within our current society. Despite these novels being written many years ago, they present students with valuable lessons and insights into the world today.

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Boddle is an educational math game that targets students in kindergarten through sixth grade. It is tailored to meet student needs individually, providing practice and assessments that target specific areas while integrating gaming into math instruction. Boddle is a great supplemental tool to use during math instruction to provide differentiated instruction, assist in small group work, help in closing learning gaps, and enhance student engagement.

Why is Boddle Effective for Math Instruction?

As educators are in a current battle with the learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to identify gaps in learning and provide supports to fill them. Math has taken a significant hit throughout the pandemic, in part due to the lack of in-person instruction and the ability for teachers to check and provide feedback in real time for students.

Boddle provides a Learning Gaps Report that helps identify skills that teachers need to focus on in their lessons which, in turn, makes the lessons more effective. This report can also assist teachers in forming small groups and targeting students that need more support. The report can also help teachers prepare for conferences and have data to show parents about students and their strengths and weaknesses.

Boddle is aligned to state standards, so it is a great tool to supplement in the math classroom. The main concern I hear teachers speak about is time: time to plan, teach, assess, differentiate, provide interventions, etc. With a program that can simplify the differentiation process, it is more likely that teachers will use it, and continue to use it, consistently. This will increase results and have a more positive impact on student achievement.

Ways to Enhance Math Instruction Using Boddle

Small-Group Rotations

Boddle is a great way to enhance small group work in your math classroom. It can be used as a reinforcement tool that will level the work for your students. With all the demands being placed on teachers, it is hard to find work each day that will meet each student’s individual needs, but with a program such as this one, it does the work for you and can target students’ specific learning needs. Boddle is also fun for the students, so it can be the math center they are looking forward to most when doing classroom activities.

Homework

Though homework is being somewhat phased out in different school districts, this can be effective if you keep students motivated about using the program. Students get out what they put into something, so keep your motivated students moving and challenged. This is a great way to keep pushing your students to be the best they can be and provide an effective means to keep the learning going on in any environment.

Remote Learning

As we have students working through quarantine and being sick with the COVID-19 virus, Boddle is a great way to keep students working at home engaged in math. As a teacher, you can give students assignments that provide targeted practice with customized questions. This allows teachers to take into account various situations students face and will help not overwhelm (or underwhelm) them with work which can help to address gaps in learning remotely.

Another great feature of Boddle is the ability to monitor students as they work in remote locations. It shows the students working, the skills being practiced, and the length of time students have worked on each question.

Increase Student Engagement

Many students enjoy video games, so Boddle is a great way to incorporate this into your math lessons. Not only is it a game, but it is also an assessment tool, collecting data as the students use the program. Finding ways to make learning fun can be challenging, and using gaming can be one way to meet that challenge. Keeping students actively interested in learning is a great way to meet their needs better. Students can relate games to real life, so it can feel like less of a chore completing the “fun” math assignments.

Technology Factor

Boddle is a great way to incorporate technology into your classroom. Although we have had quite an experience over the past year and a half with learning using technology, as we transition back into a more traditional learning model, and more “paper and pencil” in math students can look forward to learning through gaming using Boddle.

While the traditional methods can be used to teach whole group and guided instruction, Boddle can supplement and provide interventions, re-teach, and even enrich students on a Chromebook, iPad, etc. Students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade have grown up learning while using technology. As it is used actively in day-to-day activities, jobs, learning, etc., it is a great way to have students focus on being more prepared for the real world.

In all, it has been a wild ride since March 2020 for students, educators, and parents alike. The common goal pre-pandemic and during the pandemic is always to keep students learning, engaged, and motivated. Boddle is a great math program that is appealing to students, but it provides much information to the teachers about how to best meet students’ individual needs. Using it as a supplement to your math instruction can give students an extra push to be their best!

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What is Empathy?

Like the idiom, “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,” having empathy is the ability to understand what another person is going through. Yet empathy is also more than that. Having empathy means a person can feel what a situation has caused another to feel. It is a deeper understanding of that person’s experiences, challenges, and even their thought process.

What is Sympathy?

Easily put, sympathy is feeling sorrow for someone else. We often associate sympathy with the loss of a loved one or perhaps a terminal diagnosis. It can also mean feeling pity for the misfortune of another person; for instance, if a neighbor’s house has burned down, one might feel sympathy toward their loss.

What is the Difference?

The ending of these two words, “-pathy,” has its origins from the Greek word “pathos” which means to suffer. While these two emotions are similar, there are several differences. Sympathy is a judgmental response. The person feeling sympathy may not fully connect to or understand what the other person’s loss means to them. Empathy is a more profound connection toward the feeling of what someone else is going through as related to one’s own experiences.

Recently, teachers have developed their empathy as they work with students who have suffered losses and family-related stresses due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A teacher may be sympathetic toward a student who has lost a loved one to the virus but will empathize by providing more time to work on computer-based assignments at school to the student whose parent has lost their job due to extensive quarantining.

Why are these Essential for Students to Have?

Through character-building activities, teachers often share the motto, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” To teach students to be both sympathetic and empathetic, this often comes through modeling. If students see the teacher respond sympathetically when someone in the room experiences a loss, then students may react in the same manner.

Teaching empathy often requires an educator to think out loud and walk students through why they respond in a caring way toward someone struggling with a new skill or stressor in their life. This modeling will encourage students to think about others before responding without thinking about how the other will feel as a result of their words or actions.

Activities that Promote Empathy and Sympathy

Teaching skills through social-emotional learning takes time and lots of practice on the student’s part. They are not skills that can be taught in isolation but rather should be practiced frequently. As a teacher observes the students interacting, different needs may arise for which the teacher can emphasize.

There are a variety of classroom activities that can be used to promote the development of empathy and sympathy skills.

Videos that Teach Emotional Skills

For younger students, there are lots of short videos appropriate for teaching empathy for others. Some speak directly to the topic, such as All About Empathy and What is Empathy, while others have characters demonstrating empathetic actions toward others. These allow the teacher to stop and discuss and provide modeling for students through trusted characters. There are even TED Talks and other coaching videos for students through high school ages.

Model Empathy and Sympathy

One of the best ways to teach an emotional reaction is to be a good role model. When students see a teacher ask another student how they are doing after returning from a family member’s funeral, they learn how to respond in similar situations appropriately. Likewise, when a teacher talks to students about how an event, such as an illness, made the teacher feel and asks if anyone else has ever felt the same way, the teacher develops a sense of understanding and connecting to others’ feelings.

Discussions about Emotions

For just a few minutes each day, a teacher can open a discussion about potential scenarios and the emotions each brings. These could be turn-and-talk activities in which partners discuss how they felt or might feel if they experienced a particular negative or positive event, such as: when a pet got lost, when they won the race, when they needed a hug but no one was around, when someone told them they had their shirt on backward at the end of the day, when their grandparent brought them an unexpected gift, etc. To extend this activity, have the children make a face that expresses that feeling.

Make it a Guessing Game

Teachers can also help students relate to others’ feelings by reading body language. For this activity, the teacher can display an image of someone making a specific face or showing body language that expresses an emotion. The teacher can then ask students to determine their feelings. To extend this, the students can develop ideas that might explain why this person feels this particular way. This allows students to read body language and connect their own experiences to the situation.

Listening Skills

Teaching children to be good listeners when explaining how they feel can be a challenging task. By nature, children want to interrupt and tell how they feel instead of listening and relating to that person. This skill can be taught, though.

A teacher can read a passage from a story and ask questions like:

• How is the character feeling?
• How can you tell the character is upset/excited/etc.?
• What made the character upset/excited/etc.?

Teachers can extend the activity by asking questions like:

• What would you do to help this character feel better if you were in the story?
• Have you felt this way, and if so, what made you feel this way?

Teaching children to sympathize and empathize with others will help build a culture of respect. Students must be able to see another’s perspective when going through stressful situations, although it is also essential that children understand they don’t have to solve someone else’s problem to be empathetic. By modeling and teaching these emotions, students will learn to give and receive appropriate responses to multiple situations in another’s life.

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As we think about Thanksgiving food, additional questions might come to mind for educators. What is the chemistry of Thanksgiving food, and what activities can teachers plan to help students connect with chemistry and Thanksgiving food?

Turkey and Osmosis

Turkey is a highly favored, traditional Thanksgiving meat that can be really juicy, tasty, or dry. With the proper preparation and a chemical change, the turkey will be most flavorful and juicy. The chef can place the turkey in saltwater for better results. The salt and water move from areas of high concentration, outside the turkey, to regions of lower concentration, inside the turkey, through osmosis. The movement of salt and water causes the turkey to be more flavorful and juicy rather than dry and bland.

Educators can use activities to demonstrate osmosis which may be differentiated based on students’ ability and learning levels. Younger children can create a paper turkey and then draw each stage of osmosis around the paper turkey. Older students with access to a lab or kitchen can place a turkey in saltwater and another in an empty pan. The students can then watch for and document any changes they observe before cooking the turkeys. Finally, if possible, teachers can assist students in cooking the turkeys to note the differences in flavor and tenderness.

Baked Goods and CO₂

Baked goods play a big role in Thanksgiving dinners. Cakes, cookies, danishes, rolls, buns, and other types of bread require ingredients to interact and chemical changes to occur. Without the proper chemical reactions in the baking process, the goods become tasteless or even flat rather than fluffy. Ingredients in the baked goods react with each other. For example, baking soda and milk react to release carbon dioxide bubbles that expand under heat, causing baked goods to rise. Yeast, a living organism and often used in breads, also creates a similar reaction to cause dough to rise.

For Thanksgiving and chemistry connections, educators may engage students with various activities related to baked goods. One activity is to have students mix a given set of ingredients in a no-bake recipe, then observe and document the look, feel, reaction, and taste after mixing ingredients. Students with a lab or access to a kitchen area can mix and bake ingredients and document each stage in the baking process. Older chemistry students can engage in a writing activity to explain the chemical reactions that had to occur during the baking process.

Casseroles and the Maillard Reaction

When I think about casseroles, I immediately think about the crispy onions, breadcrumbs, or cracker crumbs that are toasty on the top. Can you believe that chemistry causes the pieces to be toasty and brown? The chemical reaction called the Maillard reaction is why casseroles have a toasty, brown hue on the top. In the Maillard reaction, sugars and proteins react under high heat and in the absence of water. The molecular mixture that forms gives the food a brown, toasty color.

For educators wanting students to show their understanding of the Maillard reaction, activities using Thanksgiving casseroles can be used. Young students can watch videos that show the browning of casseroles, marshmallows, toast, and more. Then students can create thinking maps that include descriptive words describing various states of the foods before and after experiencing heat. Older students with access to the proper equipment can cook casseroles, brown marshmallows, or toast bread in the oven then write reports on the process, the chemical reactions, and the visual changes in the foods.

Gravy

The word “gravy” can be music to many people’s ears due to the flavor it adds to many types of meat, vegetables, and bread. Have you had gravy that was too runny or gravy that was too thick? There is a science behind the thickening of gravy. Chemical reactions occur to thicken gravy after adding proper starch to the mix. When placed in heated liquid, starch granules absorb the liquid and swell, which causes thickening.

For purposes of connections and demonstration, educators can try it out with students. Teachers can add cornstarch to heated water and allow students to observe and document the reaction through illustrations or writing. Mixing ingredients and applying heat are two initiators of chemistry, including chemical changes and chemical reactions.

This year when you eat your Thanksgiving feast, remember that chemistry is one reason your tasty favorites, traditional foods, new flavors, and scrumptious bites fill your mouth. Who knew chemistry could taste so good?

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Instructional Challenges Students Hard of Hearing Face

There is a multitude of instructional challenges that deaf students face in school. The actual acoustics in a room presents a challenge as students hearing devices may amplify sounds that can distract students. Students that are hard of hearing struggle with communication in school as delays in language and speech can often be present. It can be difficult for students to understand directions from teachers or to participate in class discussions.

Experiential shortages are another instructional challenge that students hard of hearing face. Students that can hear well are constantly absorbing new information and knowledge through everyday happenings such as conversation and daily noises. It is more difficult for students experiencing hearing difficulties to do so. Hard-of-hearing students also often lack the same problem-solving, language, and number concept skills as their peers.

How to Best Help Students Hard of Hearing in the Classroom

Find the Best Ways to Communicate

One such way is to make sure you face the class and students when speaking and giving directions. Many students that are hard of hearing rely on reading lips when trying to understand spoken words. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented another issue: masks make it extremely difficult for hearing impaired students to read lips. Some masks have a clear piece over the lips, and if your district allows those to be worn, that can be helpful for students that rely on lip-reading.

Another way to best communicate with students that are hard of hearing is to use nonverbal cues such as body language, hand signals, and facial expressions. You do not want to over-exaggerate these motions, but it can be helpful for students deciphering what you are saying.

Written Directions

Another way to help student learning for those hard of hearing is to provide written directions to complement the verbal ones, as well as provide handouts of any notes for the students so they can focus on listening versus listening while also copying notes. If providing copies of notes does not work for you, you can assign the student a “note buddy” that takes detailed notes and can help provide missed notes or instructions to the hard of hearing student.

Closed Captioning

Closed captioning is vital for students that are hard of hearing. This will help students better follow along with videos used in class. It is also an excellent idea to try to reduce background noise as much as possible. Keeping the classroom door closed, putting tennis balls on the legs of chairs, or placing a carpet down can reduce noises that can be distracting for students.

Seating Arrangements

Seating arrangements can be crucial in contributing to the success of students that are hard of hearing. If you can arrange students in a large circle or a “U” shape, it will help students collaborate with others in the class. This can help the students to feel engaged and more included with their classmates.

Pointing

When facilitating a discussion in class, pointing to students and calling them by name is important to direct the attention from speaker to speaker in an effective manner. This will help increase the ability for a hard-of-hearing student to engage in the discussion and not miss important pieces of information being shared.

Hearing Assistance Technology

Hearing aids, microphones, sound field systems, and voice-to-text translators can also be an efficient way to best help students that are hard of hearing in the classroom. Hearing aids can be hooked up to a microphone worn by the teacher to amplify the teacher’s voice or a sound system that would amplify the teacher’s voice across the entire room. In a noisy classroom environment or one where the student has extreme hearing difficulties, the voice-to-text can be the best option.

Sign Language/Nonverbal Cues

Another idea for younger grade levels is to have deaf and hard of hearing students show others some ways to communicate using sign language or nonverbal cues. This is a great way to have the students teach their class how to best communicate with them. This is a helpful life skill as many younger students will likely love learning another language and making the hard-of-hearing students feel more involved in conversations inside and outside of the classroom.

Challenges Outside of the Classroom Students Hard of Hearing Face

Communicating with other students can be a challenge when the teacher does not facilitate it. For example, when students are playing a game on the recess field and students struggle to communicate with the students that are hard of hearing.

There are social concerns for students that are hard of hearing as they might feel embarrassed of their disability at a young age. They may feel inadequate to their peers and struggle to keep up with conversations which can affect the student’s self-confidence levels. Self-esteem is imperative to develop at a young age to lay the groundwork for high self-worth and confidence in tasks throughout life.

How to Best Help Students Hard of Hearing Outside the Classroom

It is essential to show the students that you care about them and support them. Be present to have conversations, and make sure to keep parents informed about ways to best support their child at home. Teach other students in the class different strategies to communicate best. Often, best practices of communication are great for a classroom in general, not just to communicate with those that are hard of hearing.

Students who are hard of hearing can accomplish anything they put their mind to. The better we all understand how to support their needs academically, emotionally, and socially, the better the experience. Just as Mark Twain stated, “Kindness is language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Making your classroom environment a safe and welcoming one will cross over into all aspects of the lives of your students.

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Gratitude is a spontaneous feeling, but increasingly, research demonstrates its value as a practice—that is, making conscious efforts to count one’s blessings, according to Psychology Today.

In the school setting, gratitude can keep teachers going. A simple “thank you for what you do,” “Is there anything I can help you with in your classroom,” or “I recognize your hard work and it is appreciated,” can go a long way and change the culture and morale of any building. Educators appreciate gratitude because, often, the small acts of kindness outweigh the paycheck.

Students feel gratitude in school through connections and meaningful relationships with supportive adults. Students show gratitude for the educators who nurture them in various ways.

What Role Does Gratitude Play in Social-Emotional Learning?

Social-emotional learning is vital for students in all grades now more than ever. The effects of the pandemic are showing through the learning loss in academics but are also through social-emotional instability. Social-emotional learning teaches students about self-awareness, social awareness, how to engage in relationships and conflict, express your feelings, and make responsible decisions.

Mindfulness is a common practice in schools at all levels used by school counselors, teachers, and administrators to assist students in centering themselves and provide techniques to calm their minds and bodies. Leading students in brief meditations and giving positive affirmations daily promotes positive social-emotional health.

Gratitude connects students to positive emotions. When students feel valued, involved, and successful in school, they become grateful and motivated to do well. Many students come to school daily carrying challenges that may be obvious and some that are unknown. As educators, it is essential to uncover those challenges by making connections with students.

Imagine a class where the students do not feel valued by their teacher; a class where students do not have a voice, are not asked for feedback on what and how they are learning, and where the teacher is unaware of their feelings. Compare this setting to a class where students are seen and heard, given the opportunity to share their thoughts on learning styles and content, and where they know they are safe to release their feelings with an adult who cares. Gratitude comes from the latter and students thrive in all aspects.

It is important to know that social-emotional learning comes before instruction in any content area.  Students who feel safe, calm, and important give more effort, which yields better achievement.

Students show their gratitude towards educators in different ways. Some give words of affirmation and thank the teacher at the end of class, some bring gifts on special days, and others may do a random act of kindness.  The most important show of gratitude that a student can give is academic and personal growth, the ultimate goal.

Activities to Show Gratitude around the Holidays

There are so many ways to show gratitude around the holidays. Educators teach students about the world around them and how they can give back; this is a life skill that will not be soon forgotten.

Buddy Programs

Buddy programs have always been a great show of gratitude. We usually think of elementary schools engaging in this with a higher grade paired with a longer grade. This can also happen from school to school. The high school in your area could partner with a middle school or elementary school to mentor the younger students; reading to the students, helping with remediation, or discussing the most relevant issues the class is facing are beneficial.

Thank You Cards

Never underestimate the power of a handwritten thank you card. Giving students the opportunity and resources to write thank you cards to the educators or family members in their lives is very valuable. Hallmark cards are amazing but the ones that personally come from a student’s heart are invaluable.

Caroling

If you have a choir or not, you can arrange a group of students to carol inside the school. Educators would be surprised and feel appreciated with a knock on their door greeted with a holiday serenade from the students they work so hard for each day.

“What I’m Thankful For” Bulletin Boards

These are very popular and can be creatively done. Remember that student work should always be the focus; the posters from the school supply store are beautiful, but the original work of the children leaves a lasting impact. Allow them to free write and draw about what they are thankful for.

Culinary Class Snacks

The culinary class in high school has the perfect opportunity to practice and show gratitude by preparing a breakfast or lunch for the school staff. They could also prepare meals or snacks for all the administrators in the area. Another idea is to prepare something for a local shelter or nursing home if allowable. The possibilities are endless.

Veterans/Nursing Home Gifts

Students can host a fundraiser to purchase socks and gloves, soft snacks, or other senior-appropriate items to package and drop off at local nursing or veteran homes and facilities.

Community Clean Up

A very convenient opportunity to show gratitude is to assist in cleaning up the school grounds. There are always maintenance tasks that need attending to on campus. Supervised by a staff member, this would be a successful event and much appreciated by all stakeholders.

Faculty Car Wash

Students in high school could select a group of staff and wash the outside of their cars. Think about the feeling of gratitude the custodians, bus drivers, or cafeteria staff would have coming out to a clean car after a long day.

Food Drive

Food drives have always been valuable.  Students and staff bring in non-perishable food items for the less fortunate. Students could also raise money to purchase other items like turkeys, hams, or a gift card to the grocery store.

Whatever you do, always remember to show students that life is about giving back. We come full circle in education: our students take our place eventually. We want them to be their best and remember that they were growing with love.

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Over the past two or three decades, public education has improved its ability to graduate students who are career-ready in addition to students who are college-ready. There was a time when the primary focus was on college-ready; now both options are incredibly viable for a student.

These Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are not limited to students who don’t want to go to college. It may put a little more stress on their class load, but many students who are college-bound graduate high school with a CTE certification. Some use that certification to get a job to pay for their college so they can go further in that particular field.

What is a CTE Program?

A student can graduate high school and enter the workforce the next week with their completed certification or training through a career and technical program or class.

The Texas Education Agency defines a CTE program: “Career and technical education programs offer a sequence of courses that provides students with coherent and rigorous content. CTE content is aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions.”

For example, here in Texas, one sequence to a phlebotomy certificate goes from health science to medical terminology to anatomy and physiology and, finally, practicum health science. This would complete the sequence of courses and give students the relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to earn the certificate in this area.

What Kinds of CTE Programs are Available

As a Texas native, I will start there and branch out to show the expanse of options students have if they choose to go through a CTE route.

Texas offers 12 different board programs of study: agriculture, architecture, arts, business, education, health science, hospitality, human services, information technology, law/public service, manufacturing, and transportations/distribution/logistics.

California listed 17 different programs of study, and Florida listed 18. Texas has identical strands as what California and Florida provide.

Inside each program of study are different options for students to travel through to get certifications. For example, information technology has 32 other certifications students can learn. Some of those are on the software side of programming, some in cybersecurity, some in computer repair, etc.

Here are the different strands in Texas and the number of possible certifications coming from these programs of study:

• Agriculture (13)
• Architecture (30)
• Arts (19)
• Business (12)
• Education (4)
• Health science (37)
• Hospitality (5)
• Human services (5)
• Information technology (32)
• Law/public service (4)
• Manufacturing (38)
• Transportations/distribution/logistics (43)

Many other states have similar situations.  All of these states are producing future workers in their community and their state through their CTE certifications.

How to Help Students Explore CTE Programs

The process of getting students plugged into CTE programs in most states begins at the middle school level, where students will take interest surveys and personality style tests that will match up with what jobs fit their interests and styles.

Granted, that can change a lot from seventh grade to tenth grade, but since many of the programs take three or four years to complete, it is good to have students headed in a direction when they get to high school. Also, many of the first- and second-year level CTE classes are interchangeable and will not tie a student into a final direction in that pathway. Levels three and four are more difficult to make adjustments in while still getting the desired certification.

In Texas and a few other states, middle schools offer classes like Investigating Careers and College and Career Readiness. Both courses focus on career discovery and problem-solving skills.

Then the students come to high school, and there are some different routes to help students explore CTE programs. Some schools will have an introductory freshman class that covers some of the aspects mentioned above for middle school but will delve deeper into careers, salaries, and the education and training needed to reach these aspirations. These classes will also help direct students toward what they might be interested in career-wise and help them find a path that might fit their career choice the best.

At freshman orientation in the summer, many CTE programs will recruit students. Programs will often have posters and information on how much you can earn with a job in that field, scholarship opportunities available through their pathway, and competitions that students can compete in.

Many of the pathways will have clubs and organizations associated with their career path. This also serves as a recruiting tool for students interested in hanging out with some friends and learning how much interest they might have in engineering, video games, etc.

Another route to plug students into CTE programs is through the counseling process with their school counselor. This is where many students map out their plan for CTE classes, their academic path to graduation, and figure out how to fit all these classes into their schedule. Counselors are also trained to observe and analyze a student’s performance and personality to help match them on a path they are interested in and can be successful in.

In the end, helping students explore CTE programs is about exposing students to their options, trying to match them with their interests, and then guiding them down the path to success.

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Flipgrid is a web-based digital tool to help students connect in virtual classrooms and engage with content more deeply. It can also be used in face-to-face classrooms to increase collaboration. Students can record videos of their work, presentations, or projects to share with their peers. They are then able to post a video response in Flipgrid under originally posted videos.

Flipgrid can also be integrated into existing online school management systems such as Schoology, Canvas, or Google Classroom to supplement blending learning practices in school districts across the country. Teachers can post assignments using Flipgrid and ensure that all students have the opportunities to engage with content and their peers. This is especially helpful for those students who may be introverts and struggle with presentations or interacting with peers.

Fresh Ideas for Using Flipgrid

Flipgrid can be used for to present student projects, daily assignments, or research studies by posting videos of their presentations for peers to respond to.

Classroom Discussions

Flipgrid can also be used to host classroom discussions about historical and current events and to address students’ social-emotional needs. This approach can help educators and students better manage conversations with students regarding cultural sensitivity. However, it’s important also to ensure all instructional content is aligned to state standards and the school district’s curriculum to prevent unwanted controversy.

Formative Assessments

Flipgrid can also be used for formative assessments. The data allows teachers to gauge their students’ level of understanding of learning standards. Formative assessment data from Flipgrid can be used to determine the timeframes for reteaching and reassessments. The data can also be used to adjust instruction for students.

Integrating self and peer assessments with Flipgrid in content areas allows students to provide each other or themselves with feedback that promotes student ownership of learning. Students can then use the data to set goals to work towards their overall academic achievement, and teachers can formulate small group instruction sessions and host parent conferences to meet the needs of their students better.

Enhancing Instructional Delivery

Bartlett (2018) acknowledged that Flipgrid increases students’ connectedness in virtual classes by helping students feel more comfortable when engaging with peers in an online setting. Flipgrid can also increase accountable talk amongst students and allow teachers to collect observational data to inform instruction better. Content from Flipgrid can be used to design lessons that enhance students’ learning and expand their depth of knowledge of concepts. The use of Flipgrid can also enhance the language development of English language learners (ELLs). The more opportunities students have to speak and converse with peers, the better chances they have of performing well on district and state assessments regarding speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

At-risk and special education students would also benefit from using Flipgrid to help them articulate their thoughts and ideas, especially if they struggle with writing or have deficits in reading and responding to grade-level content. The use of technology as an accommodation would greatly benefit students needing scaffolded support from their teachers.

Flipgrid affords educators the ability to differentiate instruction for all students. Using the tool in small group instruction, learning stations, and working independently would be beneficial to students at various levels. Also, allowing students to work at their own pace would foster a sense of ownership and pride upon completing tasks.

Boosting Student Achievement

Flipgrid allows for student achievement to be enriched when students have the opportunity to learn in ways that deeply engage them during instruction (Alaniz & Wilson, 2019). Also, students’ communication and interpersonal skills improve when using interactive tools such as Flipgrid (Lee, 2020). Language skills are further developed, and students are more likely to feel comfortable with public speaking skills. Flipgrid may also boost students’ self-confidence and self-esteem regarding their academic content. Having self-efficacy and belief in one’s learning abilities directly impacts overall academic performance.

Maximizing Technology-Use

Most districts are already equipped with digital devices to support learning for primary and secondary students, but Flipgrid can be used to further inform students how to be good digital citizens.

Tablets, laptops, and desktops computers are useful tools when it comes to using an online platform like this. Some districts also have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. It is very important for school districts to share the technology specifications with parents before purchasing devices for their child at the beginning of the school year if this is the case.

Acceptable-use policies will need to be reviewed with students in advance before using Flipgrid. Establishing social and proper norms for posting videos will help teachers avoid possible bullying, peer conflict, etc. and be used to help teach kindness and empathy. Educators must ensure students are well informed of the appropriate use of Flipgrid and monitor submissions for age-appropriate content.

Educators have embraced the power of technology and continue to better prepare students for global competition using digital tools. Flipgrid is one of those tools that can foster deeper social connections, better understand grade level content, and challenge students to perform at higher levels. Looking ahead, one can’t help but wonder how technology will evolve into the 22nd century.

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