Blogs Here at Teaching Channel, we regularly film lessons from teachers all over the country. But while we’re out filming, so much more than just lessons are captured. We see how teachers use classroom management strategies, put powerfully effective charts on their walls, and encourage kids to engage in productive discussions. No matter where we go, there’s always a wealth of teacher tricks to learn.
When we edit the footage from the lessons we film, we create both longer lesson videos and shorter strategy videos. These strategy videos are designed so that teachers can quickly learn new approaches to add to their toolboxes. Unlike lesson videos, which generally are specific to certain content areas and grade levels, strategy videos can be easily adapted across contexts.
Strategy videos are some of our most popular here on Teaching Channel, demonstrating new approaches to try in just a few minutes. Over the past few months, we’ve debuted many helpful new strategies. If you’re looking to refresh your teaching practice, start by watching these short videos:
1. I Noticed & I Wondered
This video features a quick strategy for helping students give meaningful feedback to each other. Using sentence frames, students tell one another what they noticed and what they wondered about regarding each other’s work. This approach can be used across grade levels and subject areas to encourage productive peer feedback. Plus, it’s simple enough that students will likely start internalizing the language after using it several times!
2. Conver-Stations
In this video, Sarah Brown Wessling shares another helpful strategy for encouraging student discussions. Students move through “conver-stations,” talking together in different groups. This is a great way to encourage student-led discussions while getting kids up and about. As you watch, think about how this strategy could be adapted for different activities.
3. Highlighting Mistakes: A Grading Strategy
One of our most popular strategy videos is My Favorite No, where Leah Alcala shares how she uses student mistakes to inform her teaching. In this new video, Leah is back to share how she has created a grading strategy that encourages students to learn from their mistakes. It’s wonderful to see how Leah encourages students to develop a growth mindset by embracing mistakes as learning opportunities.
4. Praising the Process
Speaking of growth mindset, this video shows why it’s important to praise the process rather than the end result. Seeing how Chana Stewart uses this approach can help you to reflect on how well you do — or could — give process praise.
5. Using Guided Relaxation in the Classroom
Though this strategy might not seem directly related to instruction, it’s amazing how well students learn when they’re relaxed and focused. Using guided relaxation helps to create a calm classroom community by teaching students to slow down. The impacts on class culture can be astounding!
What teaching strategies are really working for you this fall? I’d love to hear!
