What makes great teaching?

 Top 5 Strategies

1.      One Pager

a.     I had a great time creating my one-pager. In a one-pager, a student must explain a topic using text and visual symbols. It gives a creative outlet while also requiring students to understand and be able to explain the material they are learning.

Example of a one pager

2.      Social Media (Blogging with other educators)

a.     This entails creating a blog online in which you post and reply to the posts of other educators. I think this is a great way to get new ideas and not get burnt out as a teacher. You can also share lesson plans or things your students do in order to inspire other educators.

3.      Anticipation Guide

a.     In an anticipation guide, students discuss their thoughts on the topic before reading, during, and after. They may be asked if they agree or disagree with a statement before reading (or lesson) and after. It is a good way to see how the lesson or article impacts your students and if it is being done correctly. It is also a way for the students to see how their perspective changes.

Anticipation Guide Example

4.      Black-Out Poem

a.     In a black-out poem, students take an article and blackout certain words to create a poem that reflects the topic. This requires students to understand the topic and to read the article. I had a lot more fun doing this than simply reading the article and summarizing it.

Black-out poem example

5.     Self-Assessment

a.       In this assignment, we were tasked with assessing our own blog posts. This made me really reflect on what I had written. If you give students a clear rubric, they will be able to make improvements on their own. This helps students reflect on their work and improve it before getting a bad grade or negative feedback.

Self-assessment example