Unboxing Education

🎯 Why Instructional Coaching Matters Even More in Virtual Asynchronous Schools 💡 Isolation is Real—But Coaching Can Break It All teaching can feel isolating. Even with teachers just down the hall, some may feel left out or unsure. In virtual asynchronous schools, teachers often work alone behind a screen, compounding the isolation.  🟡 No hallway conversations 🟡 No informal classroom visits 🟡 No quick team huddles after school 🎯 Instructional coaching is the bridge between isolation and innovation. While good coaching is the same in any school environment, in a virtual, asynchronous school, intentionality is key to meaningful conversations.  “Coaching in Brick-and-Mortar vs. Virtual Schools” Coaching Role Brick & Mortar School 🏫 Virtual Asynchronous School 💻 Peer Collaboration Daily, informal Rare, must be intentional Feedback Opportunities Frequent and real-time Needs to be scheduled and structured Access to Classroom Practice Ea...

  TL;DR: Prioritizing social-emotional health in the classroom is crucial for teachers and students, with a focus on health over grades. Teachers should take care of their own well-being to effectively support their students, as they cannot give what they haven’t mastered themselves. Poor social-emotional health among teachers negatively affects student outcomes, emphasizing the need for schools to prioritize teacher well-being, leading to better staff retention and improved student outcomes. SEL for Educators: Teachers are people, too. In the practice of social-emotional  health  in the classroom, school leaders and teachers need to prioritize social-emotional health before learning. We have a saying at my school that a student is a person first, and our priority is always health over grades. Teachers need to take care of their  own social-emotional health  before they can address that of their student s. It is often said that you cannot pour from an empty cup,...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the education landscape in many ways.  One of the most promising applications of AI in education is its ability to personalize learning through differentiation. Differentiation refers to the practice of tailoring instruction and assessment to meet the unique needs and abilities of each student. Traditionally, differentiation has been a labor-intensive process, requiring teachers to create and manage multiple lesson plans, assessments, and activities for each student. (Thanks, ChatGPT ) However, with the advent of AI, differentiation is becoming more efficient and effective. This video gives one example of differentiation in an asynchronous literature course for twelfth graders.  Start to finish, this lesson example took 30 minutes.  How are you using AI to differentiate instruction and encourage mastery learning?

               Adjusting teacher captivity in an online school is tricky. It is difficult to “see” when the classroom is “full.” However, schools can consider several factors.  First, define all of the jobs a teacher is responsible for. Remember that teaching online and writing an online curriculum are two jobs and should be factored in as such. Then, define what “full time” would look like for each job.  If teaching Algebra 1 on a certain platform is full-time, on its own, at 120 students, create a formula that factors the portion of full time that a teacher has in that category. Repeat for each category. Remember that the number of different jobs reduces a teacher’s efficiency. If teaching 120 students in Algebra is full time, teaching 80 students in 6 classes may be comparable. This will vary by school. Lastly, identify the sweet spot for teachers. 100% capacity would indicate a completely maxed out teacher and this is not an ide...

     Utilizing student assessments to guide teaching and learning can be one of the most impactful yet daunting tasks a teacher faces in any environment. In the virtual environment, this can be compounded by the time and space that separates the teacher from the student.      One way that I apply this approach is to use benchmark data to differentiate literacy instruction for middle schoolers. After encouraging students to complete the fall benchmark in reading, I keep an eye out for the results. Then, I review students who appear to be struggling with grade-level reading tasks. Next, I invite that student to meet with me one on one in a video chat. I incentivize this meeting by offering to skip an assignment of my choosing in the student’s ELA course. In that meeting, after getting to know the student’s interests, if I haven’t already done so, I will ask them to read a passage aloud to me. Then, I will review a few comprehension questions with the student....