“At what point do you feel like you have ‘learned’ this concept?” This question that triggers a student’s metacognition can be a hard one to answer. As we reflect on the question, we may not be able to answer it easily ourselves. Have we learned something, like a fact, if we can recall it? Is learning the same as remembering? Have we learned something when we can use the information in a specific way—is learning the same as applying? Or does it have to be an even deeper level? Have we truly learned something when we can explain it to other people? Is learning the same as teaching?

I’m a sucker for new beginnings—the chance to be a better me at home and at work. I love the sense of starting over, improving, and making changes that a new year offers. Each January, I try to write out personal and professional goals, usually things like “be more organized” or “keep my desk clean.” (If you saw my desk, you’d see why this is a yearly goal!)

The professional goals I want to make this year are more resolutions of the heart, in how I engage with the students I teach and how I approach my vocation. Here are my new beginnings for 2019—I hope they also help you as you begin your new year of teaching!

As humans, we tend to become comfortable doing something and like to do it the same way over and over again. It’s easy for our brain to become more “automatic” so we don’t have to think as much about each specific task. But for some things, as they have become more and more automatic, we may have forgotten about the original purpose for doing them in the first place.

I would contend that giving letter grades to students is one of these “things.” It has become automatic—so automatic that most educators don’t really stop to think much about the original purpose behind giving them.

Happy New Year! As you return to your classroom this month after the holiday break, it’s the perfect opportunity to spruce up your lessons. Here is our collection of themed content to help you keep students engaged all month long:

As the holiday break begins to wind down, we often find ourselves thinking about all of the things we need to do to get organized when we head back to our classrooms. Before that first day back approaches, here are 25 steps to help organize yourself with technology:

The holiday break is our longest during the school year—an approximately two-week flurry of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. A time to relax, recharge, and gather ourselves for the long slow march toward state-mandated testing in the spring.

I’ve always found January to be the start of my most favorite time in the classroom. The expectations are known, centers have been taught, and I have a solid understanding of my students. I feel that this two-week hiatus ensures that the rest of the winter months going into spring are productive. While I am busy imagining new resolutions for my personal life, I also allow a moment to breathe and reflect on the successes and the failures of the fall term. I have found several themes that I visit each year:

Congratulations—the holidays are finally here! Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy some much-needed time off. And who are some of the most deserving of a holiday break? Teachers! Now is the time to recharge your batteries so you can get back to your classroom after the holiday ready to help your students succeed. 

Snow is falling, music is playing, and the wonderful smell of cookies is in the air. School is out for the holiday, and students aren’t the only ones excited about the break! So, what can teachers do with their free time away from the classroom? Here are some fun ideas to give you inspiration:

For most of us, conferences can bring about a familiar pattern. We attend the amazing conference full of great speakers. We are inspired to try new things in our school. We understand the research and the significance of how we can impact our students. It is exciting and we are ready to move forward.

Then we return to school. Issues came up with the substitute, grades are due, there are a few parent emails to respond to—you get the idea. So, we take the handouts and materials from the conferences and put them on the shelf behind the desk. We tell ourselves we can get to it over the weekend and really get some things planned to implement next week, but this probably never happens either.