Four Important Things Teachers Can Learn From Each Other

Our School team’s guest bloggers share tips for success in the classroom and advice for professional development.

It’s no surprise that front-line educators have a wealth of insights to offer about teaching and professional development. Supported by vast social media and Web communities, today’s elementary, middle school, and high school teachers and specialists are more connected and conversational than ever.

Over the past year, our School team has invited a variety of preK-12 teachers, technologists, and leaders to contribute guest blog posts to our Art of Teaching Project on Medium. We want to help elevate and amplify educators’ views and ideas to inspire other teachers to improve their classroom practices and strengthen their skills as educators.

The Art of Teaching covers topics ranging from classroom teaching to perspectives on standards & trends to practical advice for first year educators. We’re thrilled to help make so many unique viewpoints and ideas available to teachers around the globe!

Whether you’re a seasoned administrator or a first-year teacher right out of college, you can learn a lot from the words of your colleagues. Here are just some examples:

1. How to Foster a Culture of Leadership in Your Learning Community
   • "Teacher leaders must have a vision and choose a path that will lead them there." – Elementary School Teacher Cassie Brooks in Keep Moving: How Teacher Leaders Can Move Themselves, Their Peers, and Their Students
   • "Knowing the content is critical component of effective teaching, but so is knowing how to teach." – Spanish Teacher and Guest Blogger Stacey Carter-Lane in Feeling Like a Fraud as a Teacher
   • "A positive relationship between technology and curriculum is completely essential to effective integration of technology to enhance an educational environment." –Director of Technology and Information Diana M. McGhee in The Role of Open Communication in Digital Ecosystems
2. How to Engage Learners in a Digital Ecosystem
   • "Creative classrooms are not just different, they feel different. They are rooms for cultivation." – Educator and EdTech Evangelist Dr. Courtney Teague in Seven Ways to Use Interactive Technology to Harness Creativity
   • "With the inclusion of a variety of devices in classrooms around the world, teachers have access to fun and free tools to formatively assess their students!" – Social Studies Teacher and Guest Blogger Bethany Petty in Five Fabulous Free Formative Assessment Tools
3. How to Navigate Your First Years as an Educator
   • "Your why as a teacher is not to increase your students’ test scores but to equip them for real life." – EdTech Evangelist Courtney Teague in How to Win Students and Inspire Them During Your First Year
   • "In order to provide their students with the education they deserve, new teachers need continued encouragement and assistance throughout the initial phases of their careers." – Colin James and Michael Berry on Video Diary Q&A: Advice for New Teachers
   • "Students are looking to be guided and challenged. But getting them there is as much about the approach you take with them as it is with the curriculum you present." – Teaching Veteran Stacey Roshan in 4 Ways to Be Confident in Your First Year Teaching
4. How to Empower Every Student for Long-Term Success
   • "To build a foundation of acceptance of all cultures, schools must intentionally create a climate where students and staff feel a strong sense of belonging, feel safe and be confident that their diversity is a source of pride for the school and community." – World Language Teacher and Guest Blogger Michele Hill in A Culturally Responsive World Language Classroom
   • "When we teach our children and students to control their emotions instead of allowing their emotions to control them, we are inadvertently preparing them to take on the challenges that come with being college, career and citizenship ready." – Guest Blogger and K-12 Counselor Karina Vega in A Social Emotional Journey As Told By a Crisis Counselor

Follow our Art of Teaching blog on Medium for more articles and perspectives from talented PreK-12 educators.