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Arianna Lambert Distance learning, FSL, Inspiring Teachers, Technology, Use of Technology

Technology Like in the Real World

This past February, I was honoured to be asked to present at ETFO’s Technology Conference for French as a Second Language(FSL). It was a great day of hands-on learning with educators across the province sharing ways in which to engage FSL students in learning the language, using technology, whether in the classroom or online. My presentation was geared towards providing teachers with ideas to support students in moving from consumers of tech to creators. During this session, I shared a variety of ideas that were shared with me over the years and that I found engaging for students. In this post, I’ll share 3 Google Tools that you might be able to incorporate in your FSL Classrooms. 

Jamboard

The Google Jamboard app is a digital whiteboard that offers a rich collaborative experience for students. I’ve used Jamboard for check-ins, brainstorming, listening and drawing activities, and more. One example of a listening and drawing activity comes from Chrystal Hoe who is an educator in the United States. Given their own frame in the Jam, students listen to instructions on how to draw their own monster and use the tools in Jamboard to draw. Through labeling the parts of the body, students are also able to demonstrate understanding of new and familiar vocabulary as well as spelling. When finished, each student has the opportunity to view the work of their peers, revealing that even though the instructions may have been the same, drawings may vary.  

Slides

Google Slides is an online presentation app that lets you create and format presentations and work with others in real-time. With creative templates from Slidesmania and Slides Carnival, the possibilities are endless when creating exciting presentations. During my session, I shared the template for Sylvia Duckworth’s Choose Your Own Adventure Stories. Not only does Sylvia offer an example of a story, but she also gives a template to help writers organize the choices readers can make and how to include them on the correct slide in the Google Slides Template. Sylvia’s layout of the planner is clear and easy to follow. In my morning session, one participant completed their outline and was excited to share their story with the rest of us and the potential to share the activity with her students. 

Drawings

Google Drawings is the ultimate blank canvas. I’ve used it with students to create images, posters, infographics, timelines, and bioglyphs.  Simply put, bioglyphs are a symbolic representation of something in your life. Your collection of bioglyphs tells your life’s story without words. During our session, participants had the opportunity to use Google Drawings to complete their own bioglyph using instructions. 

Technology is an incredible tool that can be used to increase engagement while learning. These tools can be used in a variety of ways and I hope that this post helped spark some ideas of how you might be able to help students create, using tech.

Arianna Lambert Equity, Literacy, Social Justice

Front Desk

I’ve always been a fan of Book Talks. Groups of students reading the same text; having the opportunity to ask questions and discuss themes within the novel. With rich texts, there’s no telling where these stories may lead and what actions students may take based on their learning. Sadly, libraries vary from school to school, and finding rich texts within libraries is often a challenge. Last year I decided to hold off in hopes that we might purchase some texts. This year, tired of waiting, I purchased novel sets to use in my class. One of the novels that I purchased was Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Now prior to purchasing novels for my students to read, I took the time to read the novel myself and I couldn’t put it down. Once finished, I reached for the sequel, Three Keys, which is an equally compelling read. Even if you don’t read the books with your students, I strongly recommend educators read them. 

Front Desk is the story of 10-year-old Mia who is a Chinese American immigrant who manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel while her parents clean the rooms. Along the way, she meets friends at her new school and it is through her interactions with others that she learns a variety of life lessons. As the students read, it was amazing to hear the reactions of students from across the classroom. Shouts of, “That’s racist” and, “How is any of this ok?” filled the room as students discussed some of Nia’s experiences and those of the residents of the motel. Reading the novel offered students opportunities to share their own experiences and to talk about some of the injustices they see in the world. I have to say, it was a novel that sparked many great conversations and for some students, got them thinking about ways in which to take action.

On her site, Kelly Yang offers teachers a variety of resources for both books. As with all my Book Talks, I usually prepare a variety of activities for students that might help support their discussions in their groups. Many of these activities are ones that I have adapted from lesson ideas shared with me in the past. In this post, I’m sharing 3 templates that you might consider using with students and that can be used with any novel.

Character Analysis – Using this template, students are asked to pick a character and to answer a variety of questions about the character.  

 

 

 

Comparing Myself to a Character – Using a Venn diagram, students compare themselves to one of the characters in the book. In the past, I have also had students compare themselves to 2 characters, creating a 3 circle Venn diagram. 

 

 

Themes – Authors often share valuable lessons and messages in their novels. We consider these to be the theme or themes of a novel. Using this template, students answer a variety of questions to get at the heart of the author’s message.

Texts can act as windows and mirrors as students read. Mirrors reflect the lived experiences of students and help them to build their identities. Windows are texts that offer a view into the experiences of others. It’s important for students to learn about others as they learn about themselves. Front Desk and Three Keys are incredibly rich texts that can act as both for students. Consider reading them with your students.

Tammy Axt General

Thank you parents

We often reach out to our parents at the beginning of the year to invite them to be partners in their child’s learning. The communication continues as we share successes, struggles and information about school events.

This year, I have had to reach out to parents and ask for help during this switch to emergency online instruction and I have been so grateful for their response!

My students all require assistance in turning on computers and finding the link for their online classes. Many require an adult to stay in the room as they participate in activities throughout the day. Many parents are in meetings at their own job and helping their child to fix tech issues at the same time.

Below is a letter to parents that I will be sending them in June thanking them for everything that they have done for their child this year.

Dear parents,

Thank you.

When I met all of you three years ago, I asked you to partner with me to support your child’s learning. Little did I know that I was about to get the most amazing partners a teacher could ever ask for.  Every time I wrote or called and said, “I need help”. You answered, “what do you need and when you do you need it?” Because of your support and commitment to your child’s education, your children have learned so many new things and have grown into some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to work with.

You are patient, loving and caring and your child feels it every day. Your children often share with us how much they love you and their family. I can see how much you are trying to support them in online learning, and I am so thankful for your help. You have become an IT support person, an expert in physical education and probably have some of our songs stuck in your head. For those students that are unable to communicate with words, it is obvious from the way your child looks at you that they gain comfort from your presence.

Before the pandemic came, I excitedly waited for your children’s bus to arrive every day. Every morning, your children would tell me about their events from their lives. They would tell me about their gardening and show me their new paint on their fingernails that you so lovingly helped them to do. I also loved seeing beautiful pictures of fun family times. You are truly amazing.

Thank you for taking the time to send supportive notes and emails. You do not know how touched I was that you took time out of your busy day to show your appreciation.

Three years ago, being the teacher of this class was my dream. What I did not know at the time, was that my time with your children was going to be a wonderful three years of my teaching career and how much I was going to miss all of you at the end of this time together.

It has been a profound honour to be your child’s teacher and I look forward to hearing about your child’s experience in high school.

Please keep in touch,

Mrs. Axt

Tammy Axt General

Big Things

When I accepted the job as a self-contained DD teacher three years ago, a dear friend of mine explained that this job was going to be about the “big things”.  I did not understand what she meant at first and I asked her to elaborate. She told me that I would be spending my time with the students focused on things that will have a direct impact on their ability to be happy, healthy and contributing members of society. Your impact will go beyond the walls of the school and even the walls of their homes. The lessons you teach them will be “bigger” than any math or social studies lessons you have ever taught in your career.

Three years have passed, and I can say with absolute certainty that my dear friend was right. These past three years have been all about the “big things”.  As I come to the end of my time with the best class a teacher could ever ask for, here are the “big” lessons that we have learned over the past three years.

 

  1. Sometimes things are not going to be about you. For many of my students, they have had a lot of attention as a child in school and at home because of their unique learning profile. It has been important for them to think about others in their class, family, and community and how they can contribute meaningfully to all three places.
  2. A healthy body contributes to a happy outlook on life. Having a healthy body provides so many opportunities to participate in activities with families and friends such as riding a bike, playing sports, and going on a hike. It also provides students with a lot of independence in their life as they have the coordination and strength to do things like walk up the stairs and get up from a chair. It opens so many positive doors.
  3. A positive tone in your communication builds relationships. Some of my students have speech impairments and when I first met them, they would speak very harshly to me and others in the class. We have learned to take our time and speak kindly to others and it has opened the door to many new friendships.
  4. Losing is a part of life. “Good game” is our catchphrase in class that we say at the end of every game. It reminds us that no matter whether you win or lose, you are thankful for the time that you had with your friend or family member today.
  5. Independence in daily living gives us pride and confidence. Being able to do many daily living tasks such as ordering in a restaurant independently or selecting items for cooking really develops a sense of confidence and pride.
  6. Take Two! This is my most common catch phrase in class. I probably say it about 5 times every day and my students use it just as often. We use this phrase as a reminder to let the small mistakes role off of our back and to give it another try.
  7. Exceeding our own expectations is the best feeling in the world!

 

My students have learned a lot of big lessons over their time at middle school, but I also learned one very “big lesson” as an educator.

The energy that you bring into your learning space sets the tone for all who enter your class.

Working with kids with exceptionalities means working with a whole community of people to provide the best learning opportunities for the students. This may include, Educational Assistants, SERTs, Occupational Therapists, outside agencies etc… It is imperative, as the leader in the space, that you set the tone for everyone who enters. You will be amazed at how quickly people adapt to the positive environment and your students will have a more positive experience at school as a result.

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird General

You are not alone – and you aren’t a failure, either.

Here we are, midway through yet another week of remote learning. I’ve lost count of how many weeks we’ve done this now. You would think that by now, someone with as much teaching experience and technological know-how as I have would feel settled, but… I don’t.

If you’re a newer educator and you’re feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing, you suck at teaching online, your students aren’t learning anything, you don’t belong in this profession: you are not alone. Many of us are feeling that way, even with 10+ years of experience and a lot of tech savviness. 

My confidence with remote teaching vacillates even now, after so much experience and time with it. One day I’ll feel like I really rocked it – my students were engaged, everyone was learning, we had some fun, the day flew by. The next, I’ll feel like I have forgotten everything I know about teaching – everyone will seem disengaged and bored all day, I’ll sign off feeling like we didn’t accomplish anything, the day felt like it was somehow an entire week long.

Most days, if we’re being perfectly honest here, are somewhere securely in the middle of those extremes. Nothing special, but not bad.

Why, then, is it so hard to remember this from day to day? When I think about remote teaching, my first impulse is always to say that I’m out of my depth. Sinking. Ineffective.

The reality is that the vast majority of my teaching is fine. No, it isn’t the same as being at school in person, but I’m also not failing. My students are learning. We are making progress. They are engaged, albeit at a lower level than they normally are in class.

And still, almost every day, I end the day and sit down feeling defeated.

The imposter syndrome is real. I’ve always felt it to some degree, even before I was a teacher, but I find it’s at an all-time right now.

In my rational moments, I remind myself of a few things to try and chase that imposter syndrome away.

  • My students are safe at home.
  • Curriculum isn’t everything. Learning doesn’t have to mean curriculum expectations.
  • My students are not falling behind this year. We as educators need to adjust our expectations going forward.
  • My students genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
  • Everyone has made so much progress since September.
  • I am a good teacher. I belong in this profession.

I can’t say it’s a perfect system, but at least one of those points usually helps me remember that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself every day.

I hope that if you’re reading this and relate to any of it, you can come away from this post feeling a little less isolated, a little less worried about how you’re doing. Are your students safe? Have they made progress? Do you have moments of fun and connection? You’re fine. They’re fine. 

This isn’t the school year any of us wanted, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad teacher.

You are not a failure.

Will Gourley COVID19, Distance learning, e-learning, Emergency Distance Learning, Engaging students with online learning, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, self reflection, Wellbeing

Insert name(s) here

I hope this message finds you well. 
It has been a long time since we’ve been able to really; (circle one)
a. Chat
b. Catch-up
c. Connect
d. Collaborate
e. Other____________________________
f. All of the above (I circled this one)

I really miss the times when we were able to learn together, and to encourage each other in person too. Come to think of it, I miss a lot of things about the past year and a third. Most of all, I miss all of the joys, highs, lows, and in-betweens of being in our school. I’m not quite sure how all of these emotions built up so fast. Oh wait, COVID.

Our feelings are like CO2 being forced into a bottle and then put into a paint shaker to see what happens. I know what happens. It is messy. Other times its as if the soda bottle has been left out on the counter with the lid off all night. That sparkle and effervesence is long gone by morning. That was never the case when we were in school. 

Lately, it seems like all we do is view each other through layers of fiber optic signals and glass screens. Sometimes, I am not sure whether any of us feels like we are truly seen anymore. After all we miss the crucial dimension of proximity each time we meet in our virtual lockdown learning spaces. Well, at least our masks are off at home, yet somehow there is something really different, almost missing between being in each other’s presence and the telepresence we are forced to be engaging in right now. 

I know that it’s a struggle for me. I have meetings to teach now. I hear your voices, but our virtual interface might as well be a tin cans tied together with string like when we were kids. To me, it is becoming increasingly impossible to read small faces at 72 dpi. That’s if I see anyone at all after privacy and comfort levels are factored in. Decoding your complexity of emotions from what looks more like an animated postage stamp(gif) at best, or a motionless icon at worst never came with a training manual.

So I am writing my own. It starts every day with breaking down the digital walls that prevent us from proximity. COVID 19 may have moved our learning online for now, but it can’t prevent us from continuing the class community we have worked so hard to create. We’re chatting. We’re catching up. We’re connecting. We’re caring and then we are learning, but it is messy and it is draining. Everyone is bringing their best versions of their best selves to virtual school right now, and that looks different from day to day. 

I know you’re connecting because the little green metres rise and fall when you speak or type. Sometimes everyone is trying to answer at once and other times it is an awkward hush. How I cherish our variations from routine interactions and uniformity of it all. It is exciting to see the chat stream full of comments. I love it when the little virtual hands are raised up to respond. Each one not a pixel higher than any other. I know that there are others who want to say something, but are still feeling unsure about it and themselves too. There are even some who cannot participate because of limited tech/WiFi and that’s okay.

Whatever the reason(s) we will grow stronger and get through our days with:
Insert name(s) here, How are you?
Insert name(s) here, Would you like to share something with the class? 
Insert name(s) here, I notice you have been struggling with your tech. How can I help? 
Insert name(s) here, I wanted to let you know that you offered a really thoughtful answer in our discussion today, and I appreciated your perspective.
Insert name(s) here, I noticed you shared a lot of great ideas in the meeting chat today. I am glad you lead our class in that space.
Insert name(s) here, You are valued. You matter. I see you.

I know there is much more that follows, but everyday has to begin with our humanity before anything else. It may seem tough to give up that time at the start of each day, but the investment in knowing students, especially while we are in lockdown, will pay lifelong dividends in hearts and minds of your learners and self. It will make this time better than bearable while we prepare to return to our schools again soon.  

 

 

 

Melissa Turnbull 21st Century Learning, Occasional Teachers, Occasional Teaching, Remote Learning

“Be vulnerable”

A message we are hearing as educators during a pandemic.

What does this mean to you and your practice?

 

To me, vulnerability seems scary, it seems raw – but, both human and necessary. 

Living through this pandemic has provided us with commonality of experiences. Although we are all experiencing different heartache during this time and no two stories are the same, we share a mutual feeling of exhaustion with our students, their families and our colleagues.

 

To create a deeper understanding of vulnerability I turned to the work of Brené Brown, researcher and psychologist who is best known for her work in the areas of shame and vulnerability. In her TedTalk from June 2010, ‘The Power of Vulnerability” (https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability?language=en), Brown summarizes her research on vulnerability quite beautifully with a powerful take home message:

 

“In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen”. 

 

To show our true selves to our students is to offer them a window into our souls. This includes expressing our positive and contagious traits of joy, hope, perseverance, inspiration, and integrity. However, in order to find success in vulnerability we need to feel all of our emotions. As much as we would like to carefully select which emotions to feel, Brené Brown unveils, we cannot “selectively numb” undesirable feelings. In fact, in our attempts to ignore negative or undesirable emotions, we “numb” positive feelings – positive feelings that we wish to pour into our virtual classrooms. 

 

Stress, fear, anxiety, sadness, exhaustion.

To be vulnerable means we are human. 

 

When we work from a vulnerable place it allows for us to truly stop and listen to what students need, meet them where they are at, and support them with compassion while promoting their self-worth.

 

Brené Brown studied people who had a strong sense of love and belonging in their relationships. Brown states that the only difference between people who had a strong sense of belonging and people who did not, was the people who felt loved – “felt worthy” of this relationship. 

 

Vulnerability drives connection.

Connection promotes worthiness.

Worthiness equates belonging. 

 

Be vulnerable.

Kelly.McLaughlin Communication with Parents and Guardians, Distance learning, Engaging students with online learning, General, Health & Safety, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, self reflection, Teaching online

Teaching dance and health online, yikes!

Happy week after spring break everyone!

Is anyone else feeling super impressed with their students and their ability to get right back into things after a week-long break? I have never been able to say that before so I thought I may as well express these feelings of joy while I can.

As we get closer to the end of our school year, I am quickly compiling numerous tables with expectations, activities and number of periods needed for each subject. Since I have such an engaged group, I want to cover as much as I can so they are ready for their grade eight year. I think I’ve had about ten nightmares related to teaching dance and health since I started my online journey in September. I knew I wanted to start them sooner rather than later so we had time for more relaxed subjects in June. 

So, Tuesday our first day back this week, we started dance and I was overwhelmed with the amount of participation. I wanted to keep things manageable so I started with this specific expectation:

  • Exploring cultural forms, specifically, looking at the evolution of dance over time.

We watched an eight minute long YouTube video called “The Evolution of Dance”. Using what students saw in that video as well as researching on their own, students posted sticky notes on our jamboard link, sharing anywhere from 50-60 different styles of dance. We started in the 1950s and went all the way to present day. One student went so far as to share a comment about how nowadays, dances become popular overnight due to trends set by “celebrities” on tiktok. This app allows a worldwide stage for new and viral dances. This was such a great connection and was something we were going to address the following class. I was very nervous to teach dance, but I am glad I started with some discussions and video sharing. I have never taught this topic and was unsure of how to get a group of 33 grade seven students to dance, but I was able to see such engaging conversations take off around the evolution of dance. An engaging lesson for any who are skeptical about this hard to each subject (especially in a virtual space).

I am also gearing up to teach the health curriculum for the first time in my career. We were asked to send a letter home to parents where it outlines the expectations we will be covering. We also made parents aware of the exemption form that they would be required to fill out if they are requesting an exemption (as per board policy). These are the topics that I will be teaching this year to the grade seven students:

  • Describing the dangers associated with computers/social media and identify protective responses 
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the link between mental health problems and substance use 
  • Explaining the importance of having a shared conversation with a partner about delaying sexual activity until they are older  
  • Understanding consent and the importance of communication 
  • Identifying sexually transmitted, blood-borne infections and describe their symptoms   
  • Identifying ways of preventing infections and unplanned pregnancy 
  • Mental Health Literacy  
  • Substance use, addition and related behaviours 

 The following resources will be used to assist in the delivery of this unit: 

  • Ontario Curriculum sample questions  
  • OPHEA guidelines

We will also be able to attend a lunch and learn for more information as well as hear more about these topics at our staff meeting. For a teacher who has never taught health, never talked about these topics in an online setting and never met their students, it can be quite an intimidating subject. However, I know these topics are very important to talk about and my students are well versed in the importance of learning sensitive things, especially in today’s society. I am hoping I will be able to cover these to the best of my abilities and I look forward to reading the OPHEA resources before doing so. 

If any teachers have tips/tricks for dance and health, I am all ears! For now, these are my go to plans for the two subjects. As for the other subjects I still need to cover, even though they have their challenges, are pieces of cake compared to the unfamiliar dance and health!

Enjoy your weekends everyone and hang in there, we almost made it through this wild and unique year! 

 

Deb Weston Mental Health, Remote Learning

Who benefits from Hybrid Online Learning?

Blended Learning

 

Who benefits from Hybrid Learning?

ETFO’s position on in-person learning remains unchanged. The union firmly believes that the daily, in-person model of instruction and support best meets the educational, developmental and social needs of students, provides the best experience for support, and is the most equitable learning model for all students. ETFO’s expectation is that elementary virtual learning in any capacity, including through hybrid models of instruction, will end once the pandemic ends.

There has been an ongoing discussion about the possibility of sustaining online learning after the pandemic ends. In addition, there is a possibility that teachers may be online in the fall of 2021. I recently wrote a blog about the pros and cons to online learning which you can access HERE.

I’m currently in my 7th month of teaching using the hybrid online learning model – i.e. teaching students synchronously both in class and online. I’ve been successful in supporting my students’ learning through much cognitive and physical juggling. With my own money, I had to purchase several items to supplement my online learning instruction. I also had to adapt my in-class pedagogy to fit the online students’ needs. In supporting students learning from home, I’ve been making deliveries of classwork materials to the students’ houses!

As I’ve written in another blog, online learning has a particular ecology to it as it differs in space and time to in class learning. I find that time passes more slowly online as each minute counts. In class, students and teachers spend a great deal of time interacting socially with each other within the process of learning. Online, social interactions are limited, leaving behind much of the human part of learning.

Experience with Online Instruction

To put my comments into context, I’ve done a great deal of learning online via many additional teacher qualifications. I have even written an eLearning online course. As an adult, asynchronous learning works best for me as I can choose the time and place to learn. I also do not have to sit for a long period of time and can take breaks as needed.

With synchronous learning, students must sit in front of a computer for hours at a time … which is particularly difficult for those who like to move while they learn.

Cameras On or Off?

Some teachers INSIST that students keep their cameras on so the teacher can see the student sitting in front of their computer. I allow my students to decide whether they will have their cameras on or off. Just because a student is sitting in front of their computer does not ensure that they are attending to the teacher. From a professional point of view, I prefer the cameras off as I do not want to invade my students’ privacy AND the meeting streams better without the cameras on!

Who benefits from the hybrid model of online learning?

Based on my experience, I find that the hybrid model does not benefit either my online students or my in class students. My online students only experience half of what is happening in our classroom as they miss out on the hands-on activities – this is particularly important in learning math concepts with physical math manipulatives. The online students also miss the social aspect of being in school with no chance to socialize with their peers during collaborative class work and lunch and recess.

In class students also miss out in a hybrid environment as the teacher must adapt lessons to meet the needs of online students. This means less hands-on activities and less inquiries that need a collaborative setting.

There are also several equity issues that include access to technology and the reliability of internet services. Further, teachers wonder what constitutes online attendance in class and who is completing the class work. These are issues that could be considered in separate blogs so I will stop the discussion here.

Teacher Burnout

Teachers certainly do not benefit from the hybrid model as it is very taxing on their executive function  – they must juggle the competing agendas of online student needs, in class student needs, lesson planning, answering phones, taking attendance, lesson materials, and teaching curriculum. Ultimately, it is much harder to assess students’ understanding of curriculum through a computer screen. This multitasking leads to teacher burnout.

The hybrid model is not an effective format to meet the learning needs of students or the instructional needs of teachers.

So, who benefits from teaching via the hybrid model? Boards of education and ministries of education benefit because it is cheaper to run programs through the hybrid model. It is a cheaper version of educating students.

It comes down to $$$$.

Think about this.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston, PhD

 

Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Behaviour Management, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Constant Learning, COVID19, Distance learning, Equity, Inclusion, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Modern Learning, Remote Learning, self reflection, social emotional learning, Student wellbeing, teacher efficacy, Teacher Wellness, Teaching online, Wellbeing, wellness, Wellness

“How can I help?”

The adage of “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” was ingrained in me at an early age.  Until recently, I have always thought that being confident, capable and successful meant never asking for help.  I used to think that asking for help meant that you were weak.  I now think that asking for help is incredibly brave.  My 17 year old son recently told me about a group chat with his workmates.  Someone at work had sent an urgent message to the group asking how to do something while closing up the restaurant.  Many of the coworkers poked fun at the lack of knowledge of the person seeking help.  My son (brace yourself for this proud Mama Bear moment) texted that it was really brave of his co-worker to ask for help and provided the information that the coworker needed to close up for the night. I think that his act demonstrated wisdom an empathy far beyond his years.

Have you ever felt a little territorial or protective about your ideas or lessons in your classroom?  I imagine everyone likes to be valued for their unique talents and abilities.  In general, I don’t think anyone likes to be seen to be struggling and consequently, some teachers might choose to work in isolation. Perhaps it is fear. I’ve spoken to many colleagues who have identified as suffering from imposter syndrome. Perhaps those of us who have experienced imposter syndrome think that if anyone else got eyes on what we do every day that we would be judged and found to be lacking in some way.  Often teachers will tell me that they don’t have time to share with their colleagues-there just isn’t enough time in the day to collaborate. With the busy pace of education, I know that I have absolutely felt that way. My experience has been that when I take the time to collaborate with others I in fact, have more time and consequently better programming.  It is a concerted effort and takes a trusting relationship to co-plan and co-teach but when it works, it is amazing.

In my role as an instructional leadership consultant I am responsible for two portfolios; Innovation and Technology and the New Teacher Induction Program.  At the beginning of the COVID pandemic as teachers were teaching virtually for the first time, some had never used things like Google apps, FlipGrid and Kahoot. I was doing my best to support teachers with tools for teaching online.  Thankfully, I knew some other teachers that I could reach out to and ask for help.  These teachers, close to the beginning of their careers, were using these tools in the classroom and were able to help design and present webinars to other more seasoned colleagues.  As teachers, we often think that we need to have all of the answers for our students and with one another.  I’ve heard it referred to as the “Sage on the Stage Syndrome.” We seem to feel that we need to stay ahead of everything, which is impossible.  Education is changing more rapidly than ever.  I learned so much from my colleagues over the months that we worked together as a team and even though it was stressful at times, it was also incredibly fun.  I look back now on the powerful outreach our work had and the gratitude that was expressed by our colleagues and I am so glad that I got over myself and asked for help.

In the t.v. drama “New Amsterdam” whenever the new director of the hospital is introduced to someone, the first question that he asks is, “How can I help?”  It happens in the first episode about twenty times. This was a BIG a-ha moment for me.  What a powerful question!  How often have we wanted our students to ask for help?  How often have they refused when we have asked “Can I help you?”or “Do you need help?”  Unfortunately, asking for help is still seen as a weakness by many people.  However the question “How can I help?” turns it around so that the responsibility and focus is on the person offering assistance.  It is more difficult for someone to just say “No.” to this question.  It can help to create psychological safety in order to focus on what can be done to help rather than someone sitting in discomfort or shame because they won’t ask for help.  Sometimes just asking can make all the difference to someone when they are feeling overwhelmed, even if they decline the offer.  The four small words, “How can I help?” can make a powerful impact.  Sometimes, asking for help is the bravest thing you can do.