Teaching with Technology

Using educational technology to enhance the learning environment and increase student engagement!

Homeschooling During COVID-19 – Reflections

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WOW. What a difference a week makes! This time last week, I was prepping my students for their last test before Spring Break. We were playing Heads Up, Kahoot!, Quizizz, and I was re-teaching and reviewing content while trying to motivate them to keep going because we were almost to Spring Break. Fast-forward to this week – my daughters, ages 7 & 9 are on their second day of homeschool/remote learning at home with Mommy, Daddy is still working, we’re FaceTiming Grandma and Papa, and are thankfully, stocked up on our daily medications. We’re all anxious – stressing about the unknown of tomorrow, trying to stay updated and informed about the pandemic while not sending ourselves into a panic, which, especially for this anxiety-ridden gal, is increasingly hard to do! We’re trying to help our local economy by ordering delivery and to-go dinners since dine-in is no longer an option. We would normally have tons of outside time when the temperature is in the 60s. However, good ole Missouri weather has thwarted that option, sending torrential downpours and the possibility of tornadic activity. So, we’re homeschooling from the comfort of our dining room table, and are thankful, among many other things, for our health!

TEACHERS ARE SUPERHEROES
Let’s get that straight right off the bat. I’ve seen many social media posts praising teachers for doing probably the most impressive pivot (imagine Ross from FRIENDS screaming that word as they’re moving his couch into the new apartment – you’re welcome) the world of education has ever seen with very little warning and, little to no training. While many teachers around the world teach with some level of technology integration, few of us are prepared to immediately switch gears from face-to-face instruction to 100% online learning. There are tons of questions that so many districts, schools, administrators, and teachers are trying to figure out, including student access, accepting work for credit, etc., and everyone is doing everything they can to make it work. Facebook groups are abuzz with lesson and resource sharing, helpful question and answer sessions, and general support from people all over the world because we’re all in this together.

“YOU’RE A TEACHER! HOMESCHOOLING YOUR KIDS WILL BE EASY!”
Ha. Hahahaha. Ha. Holy moly, this could not be FURTHER from the truth, friends! Yes, I’m a teacher. Yes, I’m versed in multiple instructional strategies and styles. Also, yes, I know how to use technology to engage learners. However, it’s been a hot second since I’ve been in a math class. Seriously – 2004 was the last math class I took. I earned my “A” in College Algebra and never looked back, people! My oldest daughter, a third-grader, is working on “advanced division,” or as we called it when I was in school “division with remainders.” I am proud to say that after a solid 30 minutes of working on division yesterday, I didn’t have a nervous breakdown. YAY, ME! Also, my daughter did well, too 😉 My youngest, a first-grader, is working on displaying equations multiple ways, including sentences and drawings. I think we did well on that … I did score points with both of my students by letting them wear their pajamas to have school time. That’s right. If we could have comfy days every day at school, I would be 100% supportive of that measure! The point here is that even though I’m a teacher, that doesn’t automatically mean that I’ll immediately be able to magically adjust to providing multi-leveled, differentiated instruction to my daughters. Teaching isn’t easy. PERIOD. Teaching my children something outside of my content and age-level? We’re doing our best!

Yesterday, we had a schedule. Both kids started with helping to make a homemade breakfast then went to math and moved to English. Next, we had recess and snack, then some reading, lunch, then free time. Today, both girls slept in, had cereal for breakfast, we read, did some math and work with homophones (which really made me think about the craziness of the English language!), snuggled and watched tv. You know what? Both of those scenarios are just fine! None of us know what we’re doing. We’re all winging it and hoping for the best. If we all do our part, COVID-19 will be under control and our lives can hopefully go back to normal.

I hope you and your family are adjusting to the new (temporary) normal!

Stay healthy and thanks for reading 🙂

 

Tips for Teaching Online – From Someone Who Teaches Online

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Phew! What a week this has been around the world. Countries, businesses, conferences, seminars, workshops, cities, and schools are closing up shop in an attempt to “flatten the curve” and control the spread of Coronavirus to give our health care system a fighting chance to help those impacted by this disease. While the times we live in now are definitely unprecedented, anxiety-ridden, and uncertain, I’m comforted when I “look for the helpers,” as Mr. Rogers encouraged us to do. In my state, restaurants are offering free meals to students in school districts that have closed. You’ve probably noticed many edtech companies offering premium services free of charge during this pandemic.

So, while we’re getting a glimpse of what happens when humans don’t know what to expect and enter panic mode – from toilet paper shortages to individuals purchasing large quantities of hand sanitizer only to sell them online for outrageous prices (seriously, people?!) – I plan to not only look for the good but also strive to be the good I hope to see in the world. Since many teachers around the world are almost immediately shifting from “traditional” classroom environments to online learning with little or no training, I hope to share a few of my favorite tools and strategies for teaching in an online environment.

GOOGLE CLASSROOM
My top tool for teaching online is kind of a no-brainer at this point in the game. Google Classroom! As you know, in addition to teaching high school Social Studies in a traditional learning environment during the day, I also teach Educational Technology classes (and history/political science classes) online for our local junior college, and also offer online learning opportunities for teachers looking to learn more about using tech INTENTIONALLY in the classroom. In ALL of these courses, I use Google Classroom. Yes, the college I teach for also uses a learning management system, which I’m required to use for grading purposes. Google Classroom lets me quickly and effectively provide timely feedback, evaluate student work, and also provides the option for student collaboration through the question feature. The question feature, in particular, provides a discussion component that helps the online learning environment feel more personable.

SCREENCASTIFY AND FLIPGRID
Sometimes, the best, most eloquent set of written instructions won’t get the job done. Sometimes, students aren’t able to accurately communicate their ideas, opinions, and beliefs through written words in an online environment. Heck, sometimes words are taken out of context across the board! Creating a screencast can help. Screencastify is a “freemium” screencasting tool that allows users to easily create and share video responses. This is my GO-TO screencasting tool for my instructional videos I create for my online and in-class flipped classes because it’s just so easy to set up! You’ve most likely heard of Flipgrid by now – it’s an awesome tool that provides teachers and students with an easy way to verbally communicate ideas in a collaborative setting. And … it’s FREEEEEEEEEE! Flipgrid was acquired by Microsoft not long ago, so it’s NOW FREE to use. Pretty darn cool! It seems as though Flipgrid is constantly adding new features, from AR to whiteboards, so it’s definitely one to check out!

EDPUZZLE
I <3 Edpuzzle. There, I said it. I’ve loved Edpuzzle since I stumbled upon it in 2014 when I was searching for ways to intentionally use technology in my new, technology-rich environment. Edpuzzle offers teachers a way to share video content with students and monitor student progress through the lesson. My FAVORITE feature of Edpuzzle is the ability to embed formative assessment questions right in the video. Students answer the question before they proceed through the rest of the video lesson. While I use this in my in-class flipped Government class, I’ve also used it to deliver instruction in my dual credit classes when I’m gone, share specific instructions for a project or lesson, deliver content and provide examples for my online classes, and I also require my pre-service teachers to learn about Edpuzzle and create a lesson using the platform. One of the best parts about Edpuzzle is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Lessons are available for teachers

QUIZIZZ
We LOVE Quizizz in my classroom! My students enjoy competing with their classmates as they answer content questions and REALLY appreciate not having to crane over their classmates or rely on super awesome vision to see the questions on the board … like they do with Kahoot. I personally love that I can easily assign games to them for independent practice and review and set time parameters for completion. (Yes, Kahoot offers something similar, but Quizizz is a bit easier to set up, in my humble opinion). My students, online and face-to-face, like that they’re able to easily access Quizizz activities in one browser instead of having to open multiple tabs and toggle back and forth. Also … the memes are pretty great 🙂

REMIND
Communication is so incredibly important, no matter the learning environment. Remind has been my “go-to” quick communication platform for years. I’ve used it for teaching, coaching, sponsoring clubs and other extracurricular activities. My daughters’ teachers also use it for quick and easy communication. Remind, like Flipgrid, seems to be adding new features all the time – especially related to what can be attached to messages. While I use Remind to communicate reminders, motivation – “yes, you’ll do great on your ACT!” or “do-nut stress about the test – donuts in my room!” my students also use Remind to, well, remind me to grab “jolly branchers” or “governmints” from the grocery store for class. I hope my students know they can reach me for assignment info and content questions throughout the school year, as well as during these times of angst and uncertainty.

I’m praying this pandemic ends quickly and you all remain safe and healthy! Thanks so much for reading 🙂

 

3 Awesome (and Helpful) Exit Ticket Ideas

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Happy Friday Jr., all! Tomorrow will our my LAST day before Spring Break and, if the nuttiness level in my classroom today was any indication, thriving on Friday the 13th will require many many MANY cups of coffee (thank goodness for my classroom Keurig!), a great night of sleep tonight (ha, yeah right!), and a whole lot of prayer! As we’re approaching 4th quarter, I’m finding that we need to jazz up our classroom environment a bit, to just do something different and fun, while still applying content knowledge. Check out three exit ticket ideas we’ve been using over the past few days (or will be using soon!) to add a bit of variety into our classroom environment!

TWITTER TIME!
You should have HEARD my students’ response to “Twitter Time” on the daily task/learning target list on Monday! “Are we getting on Twitter?” “Are we going to follow POTUS?” Holy moly! I told them it was a surprise for them before they head to their next class. As time ticked by and it was time for our exit ticket, they were super curious. When I shared the Twitter template with them, they were a little bummed that they wouldn’t be actually getting on Twitter for class, but were excited to explain what they learned in only 280 characters … and they were able to use slang and hashtags. WIN! Check out the template here and use it in your classroom!

STICKY NOTE STACKS
While this exit ticket is fun, encourages communication, collaboration, review, AND reflection, while providing me with some ah-mazing data to drive instruction … they used a lot of my post-it notes! But, it was worth it! We took the last few minutes of class to review roles of the president, vice president, and cabinet members using Sticky Note Stacks. Students were each given three sticky notes and wrote two things they had learned and one question they still had about the content or something they wanted to review. Then, they worked with the people at their table to pile similar sticky notes together. One person from their table then placed their sticky notes on the board under the “we learned” column or the “still need some help with this” column. This took about 7 minutes to complete and gave me great information for our next lesson.

STOPLIGHT NAMES
I really enjoy this activity because it encourages so many awesome discussions among my students and, of course, gives me fabulous data! In our executive branch unit, students learned that our president has MANY roles that he fulfills and that they can be kind of tricky to remember. So, after Spring Break, I’ll be printing out a chart that includes all of the roles of the president. Students will grab their notes and a partner and will discuss what they remember about this learning standard. Next, they’ll write their name (or gamer tag or team name – which is always fun to come up with!) on a piece of fluorescent-colored paper and place it in the column based on their comfort level with the content. Blue paper = HELP, Petty Wap! I’m struggling! Yellow paper = ummm … this sounds familiar. Pink paper = it’s all good here! When groups have finished with their self-reflection, we’ll review as a whole class or in small groups – whatever the data shows!

I hope your Spring semester has been awesome so far and gets even better!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Gather Student Feedback with Google Forms

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Happy Tuesday, all! If you read my other blog, bethanypetty.com (thanks!) you know that I am currently rocking a walking boot and a super-swollen ankle with a second-degree sprain … BOOOOO. As someone who enjoys working out and running on a daily basis, this injury is giving me a tough lesson in patience, which some would argue, is not a virtue I possess! However, not being able to workout 30-45 minutes every day has freed up time in my schedule to do other things I enjoy, like writing! (Hence the two posts in as many days!) I’ve reflected on my previous experience with asking students for feedback in the classroom, but today I’m sharing a quick rundown of formative assessment in my in-class flipped classroom.

When students enter the classroom, our daily learning targets and learning tasks are displayed on a Google Slides presentation on the projector – this slides presentation is also shared as a “material” on Google Classroom for students who are absent. Our learning target today related to understanding the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of government. Their first learning task involved actively viewing an instructional video via Edpuzzle, and answering formative assessment questions to deepen their understanding and form a good foundation for discussion, application, and building knowledge. I provided one on one feedback to my students and additional explanations and support to those who were struggling.

*We use a Google timer to keep us on pace* 

When our instructional time was up, we moved on to a Quizizz game focused on the content of the video – these questions ranged from a few recall questions to deeper, application questions. Based on the class score, we spent the next few minutes reviewing/reteaching concepts that were tricky, then we played the game again. (We have class competitions with the Quizizz games with classes playing each game twice. The winning class gets 50 Bonus XP! — Check out Chapter 8 of Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning for an explanation of our XP system!)

As we neared the end of our 48 minute class period – part of the beauty of my flipped classroom is that we can spend more time on specific pieces of content based on what my students need – I needed a quick exit ticket-like activity that would help students review their own content knowledge and provide me with information that can guide instruction tomorrow. I opened up a new tab on my browser, typed in form.new and added two questions: 1. your name/gamer tag and 2. what concepts should we review/reteach or need extra practice on tomorrow? Some students asked, “what do I put if I’m good?” I said, “just put, ‘it’s all good, Petty Wap!” The feedback was AWESOME! Students asked for more practice on content from the video, but also information from previous units. So … tomorrow, we’re spiraling some previous content before we move on. Excellent feedback to end our class period today!

What’s your favorite way to quickly gather feedback to drive instruction?

Thanks for reading 🙂

Online Learning Opportunity

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Happy Friday! We’re in the middle of our first full week of school since returning from Christmas Break – and I’m struggling just a bit 😉 I’m missing my random afternoon naps and going to bed without having to set an alarm for the next morning! ALL THE COFFEE is being consumed!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about our on-demand, everything available at our fingertips society. Earlier this week, for example, one of my daughters asked me what the temperature was in Florida near our favorite vacation spot. If I had asked my mom this same question 25 years ago when I was her age (yeeesh!) she would have said, “well, I’m not sure.” My response was, “Hey Siri. What’s the temperature in Destin, Florida?” Siri’s response was that the temperature in Florida in January was MUCH more pleasant than in Missouri – big shock, right?

While components of our “on-demand” culture can sometimes lead to impatience and a bit of laziness, we can take advantage of this constant availability of information to learn what we want to learn when we want to learn it! I

f you’re like many teachers, you probably aren’t super satisfied with the professional development provided by your school and/or district. PD days might not be focused on areas you wish to improve, or maybe these days are devoted to meetings with no actual professional development!

Wouldn’t it be great to learn awesome strategies to use in your classroom to enhance student learning, and do so in an “on-demand” environment?

YOU CAN!

The Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning online course is AVAILABLE NOW! Here’s what you can expect:

–> A variety of discussions surrounding various topics in educational technology

–> Weekly challenges that allow you to practice and apply what you learn

–> A culminating project that you can design to use in your classroom

–> A fantastic community of teachers who, just like you, want to learn how to use technology in their classroom to positively impact student learning!

Sound like something for you? Register today by completing this form to join the first cohort! The class opens Sunday, March 1!

Any questions? Email me at bethany.illuminate@gmail.com

Thanks for reading 🙂

Current Events Article Template

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Happy Sunday! I was home Friday with a sick kiddo and, though I thought I would be able to start planning for my online course (that starts on Monday) while she rested, I didn’t … we snuggled and napped, and I’m perfectly fine with that! While I was prepping for my sub at 6:00 yesterday morning, I realized that one of my advanced government classes was at the perfect point in our unit for a current events article review. I feel like I do a less than awesome job in my classroom of highlighting current events because I just have SO much content! So … I created this current events article template to use not only for class yesterday, but throughout the year for extension opportunities.

It seems as though, in our current political climate, we’re confronted with “breaking news” ALL THE TIME. Quite frankly, it’s exhausting! Instead of telling my students to choose a current events article – which probably would have taken the entire class period for them to do! – I provided them with a few articles from which to choose. While they were reading, they completed the current events article template and submitted it before the class period ended.

Students who prefer to create a screencast, infographic, or other product to demonstrate what they have learned could most definitely do so including components of the current events template.

The articles students were able to choose from when completing this assignment ranged from the recent increase in age to buy tobacco products to the resolution passed by the House of Representatives to curb President Trump’s war powers dealing with Iran. 

If you’re interested in using this template in your classroom, please feel free to do so! Check it out here!

Have a great week!

Thanks for reading 🙂

“Wait, are we playing Family Feud?!” Review Game Tool

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Happy Thursday of the first week back to school! I’m struggling to get back in the swing of setting alarms and not getting my afternoon nap … please tell me I’m not alone! The first two days of the semester in my classroom were spent reviewing content we had learned earlier in the year and trying to remember how to “school.” I was looking for an activity that would help my students review the Articles of the Constitution, which is unfortunately not the most exciting topic for high school juniors to discuss! I knew I had to jazz up the review game to keep them engaged … it’s one of those times when I really wish I had one of those “staples easy buzzers.” Speaking of buzzers …

Enter Buzzin Live!

Using the Share to Classroom extension, I sent my students to Buzzin Live and told them to click “join.” On my computer, I selected “host” and then displayed the join code on the whiteboard. I knew this would happen … I mean, hey, if you see a giant green button on your screen that says, “buzz” what are you going to do? Press the button, right?! And that’s what my students did 🙂

The response? “Wait, are we playing Family Feud?!”

I gave them a few minutes to get it out of their system before I locked them down, so to speak. Buzzin Live gives the host a few different options …

–> Selecting “one buzz only” locks out other players from buzzing in
–> Choosing “play buzzing sound on the host (first buzz only)” allows sound on the host device only from the first student who buzzes in

When you’re ready to start the game, exit the settings screen and pose a question to your class using whatever review activity you choose. When students are ready to answer the question, they tap the green “buzz” button on their device. Their name is then displayed on the host screen and other students are locked out. When you’re ready to move to another question, click reset all buzzers and ask away!

In the event of a clickfest – all of your students keep tapping the green “buzz” button on their screen – simply click the “toggle lock” option to lock all participants.

My students LOVED using this tool for our review game about 10 unconstitutional scenarios! Using the buzzer definitely added an element of fun to our game!

 

My One Word – 2020 Edition

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Happy New Year! Does it really seem possible that another year has come and gone? I’m realizing more and more as I get older exactly how right my parents were when they said, “it goes by quickly!” Heck, I realize every day how right my parents were about basically everything in life … don’t you wish you could share some of the wisdom you’ve acquired in your thirties with your teenage self? But, would you listen? Nah 😉

While I’ve never really been a person to make New Year’s resolutions (I find them to be an added stress to my already crazy life!) I jumped on the One Word challenge a few years ago and found it to be a MUCH more achievable alternative to the, “I won’t do _____ anymore” resolutions. My first “word” challenge was BETTER – I wanted to focus on being better in all areas of my life from motherhood, marriage, teaching, and health. Last year’s word was GRIT, which I think describes my personality very well! I’m constantly on the go, giving my all in all areas of my life which can be pretty darn exhausting 🙂

So … what will the word be for 2020, you ask?

Drumroll, please …

PROGRESS

That’s right, my word for 2020 is PROGRESS, which is a great combination of grit and better. Here are a few other words that come to mind when I think of progress.

-> CONTINUE – I love all of the components of my hectic life. I’m extremely blessed to be the wife to a wonderful husband and the mother to two amazing daughters. This year, I’m looking forward to the continuation of our fabulous life and I’m so excited to watch my daughters grow and learn throughout the year. I’m also fortunate to continue to do what I love on a daily basis – I get to (attempt to!) inspire the future while geeking out about Social Studies. Seriously, where else can I do that and get paid for it?! I will continue to share my passion for using technology in the classroom to enhance student learning with teachers all over the country through my seminars, conferences, and workshops, and connect with teachers all over the WORLD through my blog and social media. What a great life!

-> BETTER – yes, I know I’ve already used this word in a previous One Word post, but when I think of progress, I also think of being better. Throughout 2020, I’ll focus on making progress by becoming better when it comes to all of my relationships – with my husband, my daughters, my family and friends, and with God. Words like “better” and “progress’ imply that a person is already doing something, and they want to keep doing it, just to a higher level. I think that pretty accurately describes my goal for this year 🙂

This year, my goal is to continue to make progress – to keep going – in all areas of my life. I’m excited for this new year (and new decade)!

What’s your word for the year?

Thanks for reading 🙂

Quick, Collaborative, Formative Assessment with QR Codes

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Happy Sunday, all! It’s been a bit since my last post – between submitting my first draft of my second book, CREATE (another post about that soon!), celebrating our oldest daughter’s birthday, and keeping up with all of the crazy that is our life, I haven’t been able to share a post or podcast episode with you. ARRGGHH! So much to share, so little time to share it! In talking with a colleague last week about ideas for formative assessment/review stations using QR Codes, I realized how long it’s been since I’ve shared a lesson idea with you that involves these lovely little squares. I love listening to my students discuss and reflect on course concepts with this quick, collaborative, formative assessment strategy!

In addition to using a school-provided Chromebook in our classroom, I also frequently allow my students to use their cell phones in class. (Check out my cell phone policy here if you’re interested!) And, when we’re working with QR Codes, my students have found that just using the camera on their smartphone is so much easier and quicker!

There are many ways to create QR Codes for your students, ranging from websites to extensions, but my favorite way to make these cute little squares is by using a Google Spreadsheet Add-On called QR Code Generator.

To create a QR Code review activity for your students, open a Google Spreadsheet and search for the add-on linked above. In column one of your spreadsheet, include vocabulary terms, countries and/or capitals, themes or components of literature, or any other concepts you want your students to review or apply. In my case, my students were applying what they had learned about the powers of Congress. They scanned a code that included ascenario. Using Article 1 of the Constitution, students discussed with their group whether or not Congress had the authority to do what the scenario described. As students came to a conclusion, they completed the Google Form quiz, with a “yes, Congress can because…” or a “no, Congress can’t because …” The conversations that occurred with my students around the concepts they learned in class were awesome! AND … they were analyzing a primary source to find the answers. WOOHOO!!

Definitely give QR Codes a try in your classroom! If you’re looking for more ideas and details about how I use QR Codes in my classroom, be sure to check out Chapter 1 of Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Offering Students CHOICE: CREATE in the Classroom Series

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Happy Sunday, my friends! I’ve been a bit MIA lately for a few reasons: first, I’ve been spending every spare minute writing my second book, CREATE, which will be published by DBC soon! More on that later 😀 Second, in addition to teacher-hood, I’m also a pretty busy MOMMA! My daughters, ages 7 and almost 9, are involved in ALL of the things, ranging from piano lessons to ballet/tap/jazz multiple nights a week, as well as basketball and soccer practices and games. It is CRAY-CRAY every day in the Petty household, especially since my husband (a finance manager for a car dealership) works super unpredictable hours. We often find ourselves eating late suppers at our favorite Mexican restaurant so we can all be together for one meal each day! I know you know exactly what I’m talking about – we’re all busy people! To help welcome CREATE into the world, I’m starting a new series to debut each component of the title/acronym … you know I’m a sucker for a good acronym! Welcome to the first installment – offering CHOICE in the classroom!

 

Through intentional tech integration, teachers can offer their students more CHOICE when it comes to how they plan to demonstrate their learning. Are you a fan of essays? Go for it. Would you prefer to create a visual representation of what you’ve learned using a sketchnote, mind map or something similar? Be my guest. Do you want to try your hand at creating a game to demonstrate what you’ve learned? How about a tweet? Do it! Students take more ownership and pride in a project in which their choice is taken into account. If you think about it, we all take more ownership and pride in work when we have had an option on how we share information.

How do you provide students with CHOICE in your classroom? Every unit HyperDoc in our American Government class includes an extension page that students can complete to earn Bonus XP and review for their unit assessment at the same time. I always include a choice board aka Show What You Know BINGO which includes many options for students to create demonstrations of what they’ve learned. Students appreciate the opportunity to choose what they create to demonstrate what they’ve learned. Sometimes providing choice isn’t an option because of course standards, learning targets, etc. But, when we can provide choice, doing so can increase student engagement and quality of work!

How do you encourage choice in your classroom?

Thanks for reading 🙂