Here are 3 key ways dynamic educators connect their lessons that will change your practice.
Connect your lesson to the standard. Know what you want.
Knowing what you want to get from students and how to get them to demonstrate the standard, each day, can be a major shift in how we approach instruction. Most educators start with what they will do to teach the lesson. Learning is not a passive process. Dynamic educators understand that sharing the information is just one of many steps to student learning. The first and most important step is knowing the standard and what you want students to produce that shows their level of understand. What does mastery of the standard look like and what will students produce that lets you (the dynamo, that you are) know they’ve got it! Become a master at backwards mapping by starting with the end in mind.
Connect your lessons to students. Make it relevant.
Brain research shows that learning occurs when students can attach new knowledge to something they already know. This is why activating prior knowledge and connecting new information to stored information is so important. Also, activating prior knowledge has been proven to assist in increasing student motivation and efficacy. It’s critical that we not forget that we are educating the whole child and their social emotional experiences in our classes are important. When students feel successful, it impacts their performance. Be aware that you want to start each lesson with opportunities for students to experience success by activating their prior knowledge.
Connect your lessons with colleagues. Get on the same page.
Professional learning communities (PLCs) and your professional learning network (PLN) combined make-up the third connected practice. Impacting the future of the world (otherwise known as teaching) cannot be a solitary practice. Dynamic educators (like you) are always looking for ways to learn from others – whether it’s in a PLC or connecting with other dynamos through social media. Being a connected educator helps us to continue to perfect our craft and truly embrace a growth mindset. Modeling the 21st century skill of collaboration for our colleagues and students is yet another mark of a dynamic educator.