I Will Screw This Up / Technology
by Dina Strasser · Published 03/12/2023 · Last modified 05/21/2023
If we teach writing right, we’ll be fine with our kids having access to ChatGPT, says ENL/ELA teacher Dina Strasser. ChatGPT is a machine, following a formula. “It is not a student in a learning community.” She shares several instructional strategies to AI-proof your classroom.
Incorporating the odd and unusual into everyday instruction can capture students’ attention. And middle graders do enjoy knowing something bizarre! Anne Anderson shares calendar celebrations (Artichoke Day?) from March, April and May to surprise them. Teaching ideas included.
5th grade teacher Kathie Palmieri has been exploring ways to better infuse mathematics in other subject areas and help students gain a more positive attitude about math’s central place in their lives. She shares some ideas about SEL and two examples from her science lessons.
How might lessons connect local history and historical fiction? Katie Durkin and her 7th grade team are partnering with the Wilton CT historical society to engage students in a project that raises awareness about how fiction writers use history to tell authentic stories.
Whether you’re a principal facilitating a change initiative or a teacher leader facilitating a content-level team, it’s essential to set clear parameters with adult learners upfront so that neither goals, nor trust, nor people’s hard work is compromised. Elisa MacDonald shows how.
Is bullying in schools a social pandemic we need to take more seriously? Middle grades teacher Laleh Ghotbi makes a compelling case that educators and parents can do more to protect students being harmed by religious, cultural, racial and gender prejudice and animosity.
Intentionally introducing humor, curiosity, enthusiasm, and optimism into each class is a low-tech, high-impact method to build resilience and attention. Stephanie Farley shares ways she’s engaged middle schoolers with elements like (live!) rolling mice and kid-made symbols.
Fisher and Frey’s “Leader Credibility” provides a roadmap to strengthening leadership skills. It outlines traits of those who engage, inspire and transform and offers guidance on the essentials of trust, competence, dynamism, forward thinking and more, says Cathy Gassenheimer.
Like much of the current K-12 universe, Sarah Cooper is both excited and concerned about the impact of ChatGPT’s disruptive technology. Recently she checked in with her 8th graders for insights into how they might use it and how they think AI may impact their lives in the future.
Star Sackstein’s Assessing with Respect is about focusing on meeting students’ SEL needs and how that allows us to work with them on greater academic achievements. She effectively discusses the theory of CASEL competencies and their implementation, writes NBCT Megan Balduf.
