This week's circle is a talking circle, which provides space for students to connect with one another and share their thoughts and experiences related to some of the ideas behind restorative practices, including Bryan Stevenson's powerful idea that "each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done." 

Catlin Tucker writes: "Teachers got a crash course in creating video content when schools shifted online. They relied on videos out of necessity to explain concepts and model strategies while students learned from home. As teachers transitioned back into classrooms, many abandoned video in favor of live instruction. However, if teachers are going to say the same thing the same way for all students, I encourage them to make a video. That way, they can use their synchronous time for more engaging and differentiated learning experiences." Catlin Tucker shares some great strategies for flipped classroom approaches here on her blog. Flipped classroom approaches work. If you doubt this, you can read such some research.  

Secondary teachers: As we shift to standards-based grading, I think that there is so much potential with videos and screen recordings (either ones you create or ones created by other teachers). If you are assessing students' understanding and skill in a summative assessment, you will want to have a way for students to prepare for this assessment and also to re-learn if they are not successful. For each summative assessment, you can post a few videos (or Edpuzzles which are videos with questions inserted) and practice assignments, which students can engage with to prepare for the original assessment or as they prepare to retake.

All teachers: For those of us who are parents, we know that it is sometimes challenging to support our children with their homework, especially when the way something is taught is different than how we learned it. This happened to me with the new approaches to math (which rely less on having students memorize formulas and more on getting them to understand the concepts), and I often was not sure how to support my children with their homework. If we want families to be able to understand what their child is learning, videos/screen recordings can be great both for students to review if they are unsure and also for families to watch so they can understand what their child is learning and how to support them. 

Leaders: If you are a leader of professional learning, I encourage you to use these approaches too because we often lecture adults when we could use videos so that people can learn at their own pace, rewind and review, see visual aids up close, and engage more deeply with the content. 

The impact of our actions matters. And sometimes, our actions have unintended impacts. When we are observing in a classroom, we often see the impact of a teacher's action or inaction on their students. But how do we talk with teachers about their intention and impact in a way that encourages reflection and not defensiveness? In this 7-minute video, I dive into the concept of intention vs. impact, and I share some specific ideas and strategies about how you can use this concept in your work as a teacher evaluator.