Back To School After Christmas: Teacher Survival Guide

[UPDATED 30th December 2020]

An article by Richard James Rogers (Author of The Quick Guide to Classroom Management)

Illustrated by Pop Sutthiya Lertyongphati 

Firstly, may I say Happy New Year to all of my readers! May I wish you and your families a happy and successful 2021. May we all learn from the past, regret nothing (we can’t change it), and use our experiences to inform our decisions this year. Good luck to everyone!

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I managed to squeeze in a 4-day trip to Phuket, Thailand (highly recommended) over this Christmas vacation. Beaches were mostly abandoned due to the devastation of the tourism industry caused by Covid-19. However, I was lucky enough to be able to ride a jet ski, paddle a canoe, fly through zip lines at Hanuman World and even visit Phuket old town. This was a much-needed break from (new) normality, and provided a great chance for me to relax, reflect and gain some inspiration for my writing.

2020 has certainly been eventful for me. One of my articles (Ten Techniques Every Teacher Needs to Know) reached 42,000 views! This is, by far, my post popular blog post of all time: dwarfing the second-most popular (7 Starter Activities for PGCE Students and Newly Qualified Students) by a whopping 25,066 views at the time of writing. This disparity has not gone unnoticed, and I am currently writing my fifth book which will be a deeper explanation and exploration of the Ten Techniques (Should I call them the ‘Golden Ten’?).

Thank you so, so much to all of my followers and fans – your support keeps me going despite the obstacles of life that we all face (and 2020 has really been a tumultuous year for teachers – read Dr Andreas Economou’s recent blog post entitled ‘A Teacher’s Reflections on 2020‘ for more on this, along with some great tips for 2021). 

I’m truly humbled and honored to be able to help so many teachers with my writing. I don’t always get it spot on, and I’m never perfect, but I do try to offer ideas that are easy to implement and quick to put into action in the classroom. 

Keep following my blog and social media channels (such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for future book giveaways, Amazon promo codes (for discounts on my books) and the future release of my podcast for teachers (updates will follow)

Back to school after Christmas

Let’s go through a few checklist items for primary and secondary teachers: top priorities upon returning to school.

Secondary School Teachers

  • Mock exams: Make sure papers are printed and ready and are easy to read and that the rules, length of the paper and space for candidate details are clearly displayed on the front page
  • Have you already prepared the mark schemes for your mocks? Get those done ASAP because both you and your students will need those model answers for assessment and reflection.
  • Termly plan: for your own personal use. Do you know where you are up to and where you are going? Are you ahead or behind schedule with your teaching? Have you planned in adjustments? 
  • Personal targets: Is there anything you could have done better last term? For me, my marking of student notebooks was regular but I know it could have been better. My target for this term is to get a good weekly marking schedule in place so that I can provide my students with even more regular feedback to inspire and motivate them (and to plan ahead when I know that school events are going to affect my personal marking schedule). Want to improve your teaching skills? Check out this great book list on Amazon. 
  • Coursework: Do you know all of the deadlines? When will it be sent off for moderation/marking? What do you need to do to make the process as helpful to the assessor as possible? Are your students clear about what’s expected?
  • Revision: Term 2 will move like a steam train. Before you know it, your kids will be sitting their final exams. Have you worked revision time into your schedule? Maybe some after-school sessions will work for you?
  • Take a look at the primary school teacher list below: some things apply to us too. 

Primary School Teachers

I might need your comments and help with this one, as I’m not a primary specialist. However, after some careful research, the consensus seems to be that you should be focused on the following:

Start easy. Don’t overwhelm your kids. Many of them will have been waking up late in their pyjamas over Christmas. Starting the day with a printable worksheet reviewing 10 maths problems they’ve covered since September wont go down too well. Try the following open ended tasks to ease them in:

  • Blank paper to colour and draw on
  • Morning boxes to explore (unifix cubes, pattern blocks, play dough, lego, etc.)
  • Journaling
  • Drawing or writing about Winter break
  • Puzzles
  • “Make a list” (For example: Make a list of as many Christmas words as you can think of. Draw or write the words on your paper.)
  • Create a “Welcome Back” greeting card for a friend

I have to give credit to Christina Decarbo for these excellent ideas here. This article of hers is filled with great after-Christmas tips for primary teachers. It’s well worth a visit! 

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Get organised. Plan your outfit –  for me that involves a lot of washing and ironing so all the better to start now! Pack your teacher bag. Clean out any remnants of holiday treats. You may find that the bottom of your teacher bag is pretty much coated in glitter from sweet cards from students and candy that escaped from cookies on the last day before break. It’s time to avoid an ant infestation! Plan and pack your meals and snacks for the first week and be sure to go to bed early.

Expect the worst. Some kids will be late. Some will not turn up for a few days. Some will forget things – they’re getting back into the swing of things too. Be prepared, Have extra pens and materials on hand for kids who forget stuff. Maybe plan for kids who forget their packed lunch. 

Once again – I can’t take credit for these last two ideas. This article at the Happy Teacher Happy Kids blog is filled with great advice for surviving the first few weeks back after Winter. 

Have a great second term everyone! Don’t forget to comment below or contact me if you have any questions or comments – your feedback is my lifeblood! 

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A Teacher’s Reflections on 2020: The Year of the Coronavirus

2020 has been an unforgettable year for the teaching profession. In many countries around the world schools were closed and teachers had to quickly adapt their knowledge and skills to deliver effective lessons remotely. Today, I’ve invited Dr Andreas Economou, Head of Science at The American International School in Cyprus, to share his reflections on 2020, along with some suggestions for teachers as we enter the New Year.

2020 is now gone, and what a year this has been. If you spent some time in social media looking through education/teacher dedicated accounts, you would have been exposed to the perception of the hive mind in this particular year. The consensus is that it was mostly doom and gloom. 2020 was “the worst”, and you will be reminded of the lockdown, all the issues of remote teaching such as the staring at blank screens in the chat rooms, the chronic student absenteeism, the lax in assessment and so on. But, there are those voices that point out that this was in-fact a great year because “we did it”. We all became online instructors overnight. We managed to persevere and provide the best, under the circumstances, education we could, and this should be celebrated.

In a way, perception is key. One of my favorite authors, Nikos Kazantzakis has stated “Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes that see reality” and these words cannot ring truer this year. Both cases described above about 2020 are true. It’s the way that you perceive reality that can make 2020 “the best” or “the worst”.

If we take this a step further, consider, how important is your own perception about your surroundings, and most importantly about your students?

“An AMAZING Book for Teachers”

Setting high expectations signals to your students that you perceive them as able, intelligent and smart. Giving hard tests and challenging assignments signals the same. The opposite, easy tests, low expectations or half-backed lectures instead of a well-planned lesson signals to your learners that you perceive them as less able. And this perception, both by the educator as well as the learners is important. Anyone who has taught an “Honors” vs a “Standard” class in the same year can attest to that. The labeling of the classes as such is a self-fulfilling prophecy because the students perceive themselves more or less able because of it.

So how do we set high expectations? If you are a seasoned teacher, you already know that that this is a delicate issue. Setting the bar too high can lead to disappointment and disengagement. You need to make sure that you know your learners and set the bar a little bit higher day by day. Just enough, so when a student “fails” to clear the bar, he/she feels not disgruntled but instead convinced that they know exactly what they need to do to clear it in the future. And remember to cheer them for doing so. And keep on going.

Will your kids like you for this? Yes, and no. They will dislike every step of it. They are going to dislike the work you put them through, they are going to dislike the feedback demanding more of them, but in the end, when they realize how much they have learned and accomplished, then they will like you. And maybe, along the way, they will also realize the value of perception themselves.

Have a great 2021 every one. Let’s make it a good one!

We welcome you to join the Richard James Rogers online community! Join us on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates, giveaways of Richard’s books, special offers, upcoming events and news. 

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On Effective Target Setting for Educators

An article by Richard James Rogers (Award-Winning Author of The Quick Guide to Classroom Management and The Power of Praise: Empowering Students Through Positive Feedback)

The best way I can start this blog post is with a story: a story typical of many experiences I have had over the past 15 years as a high school science and mathematics teacher. It’s a story of hope: for our students, and for us as teachers.

Lucy’s experience

Lucy appeared nervous when I first met her. She had started Year 11/Grade 10 a month later than the other students, and had come to our school from a completely different country. English was not her first language, and to further compound things she was in my class to study chemistry (and at IGCSE level at that). She had never studied chemistry at any level before.

The whole class had a test coming up in a few weeks time. The test covered advanced topics in chemistry, along with some topics that had been covered the year previously. Lucy was incredibly nervous about having to sit that test.

“I’m just going to fail this test aren’t I” she whimpered one morning.

“Just try your best”, I said – realizing the monumental challenge that was ahead of her (in both the immediate, and long-term future).

She got a grade U in that test – a grade that most would consider a ‘fail’.

After the test, I sat down for a chat with Lucy about the different questions and how to answer each one. The time-investment on my part that day was significant (and, therefore, this strategy tends to be unpopular with some teachers), but it was worth it for a number of reasons:

  • We went through each and every question on the paper and, in Lucy’s case, this involved teaching her some fundamental chemistry from first-principles. This was a rich learning experience that helped her to grasp some of the basic concepts.
  • We agreed on a target for her next test – a grade E.
  • At random points in the weeks ahead I reminded her of her target. I would ask her “What’s your target, Lucy?”, and, crucially, “How will you make it happen?”. She would usually answer the latter question by describing the textbooks, websites and resources she would use for her revision. I would always reassure her by saying something along the lines of “I know you can do this!”.

When Lucy’s next test came along, she scored her target grade. After that, we repeated the same process: going through the paper deeply and carefully, followed by target articulation and my near-constant reminders of what that next target was. On some level I think she didn’t want to let me down. Eventually, that evolved into a desire to not let herself down.

She exceeded her target on her next test: scoring a grade C.

After almost two terms of repeating this process, Lucy found herself achieving grade As, and then A*s. At the end of the academic year she sat her IGCSE exams in Chemistry, and scored an A* – a more than monumental achievement considering that she had studied the course is much less time than the other students had, and had never learnt any chemistry prior to IGCSE.

Somewhere along this journey, Lucy really started to believe in her capabilities. I think she started to believe because she could see that was actually making progress. The process was working.

An analysis of Lucy’s story

A number of key elements came into-play to create success for Lucy. One such element was the fact that Lucy’s targets were SMART:

  • Specific: Lucy knew exactly what her expected minimum grade was for each test.
  • Measurable: Lucy knew the exact percentage she would need to achieve each grade, and therefore knew how many percentage points she would need to increase by (e.g. her grade U was 18%, and she would need 35% for a grade E – an increase of 17 percentage points).
  • Achievable: Lucy articulated her own targets along the way, and we went in ‘baby steps’.
  • Relevant: Lucy put-in so much effort because the journey was meaningful to her. She reached a stage where she wanted to outperform her peers, and she wanted to outperform her previous attainment.
  • Time-bound: Lucy knew exactly how many weeks would pass between the present moment and her next test. This allowed her to plan her revision in such a way that work could be spread-out over a period of time, rather than crammed at the last-minute.

SMART targets have been known about in teaching circles for decades, and are a well-established method for empowering students and facilitating progress. In fact, Jan O’Neill and Anne Conzemius stated probably one of the most poignant arguments for the use of SMART targets in their book The Power of SMART Goals: Using Goals to Improve Student Learning:

SMART goals redefine the relationship between effort and personal satisfaction. What the authors call “joy in work” can only be experienced when daily work is linked to goals that allow us to see that our thoughts and efforts connect, at every moment, to something larger and worthwhile – to something we can see and examine and enjoy. Without this orientation, effort and energy can only dissipate into aimless, joyless toil. Without goals, we will never work as hard or as smart to accomplish what is important – to us and for our students.

The Power of SMART Goals: Using Goals to Improve Student Learning by Anne Conzemius and Jan O’Neill.

In Lucy’s case, I could definitely see her initial ‘joyless toil’ when she started her IGCSE Chemistry studies turn into “joy in work” as she began to link her efforts to realistic, achievable goals.

In my personal opinion, however, I think teachers generally find it difficult to get the time-bound part of SMART targets perfectly on-par. Where possible, it’s really helpful to have a year-long schedule for all assessment planned in-advance, with a topic list for each assessment given to each student on day-one. Many educators, however, are reluctant to do this as it’s often difficult to follow a planned schedule as school events can knock-out a few lessons here and there, and lessons may progress at slower or faster pace than anticipated. However, I would still argue that having such an ‘assessment plan’ in-place is better than not having one – topic lists for each test can be modified along the way if more, or less, content has been covered. At least that way the students can plan-ahead, and if they are given specific, measurable targets (e.g. “I want you to get 40% on your next test”), then that can pursued with more confidence than if the test-dates and topic-lists are unclear.

Beyond SMART

A number of researchers have suggested ways to set targets that are even more effective than using the SMART system. Trevor Day of the University of Bath and Paul Tosey of the University of Surrey, for example, made the case in a 2011 paper for the use of ‘well formed outcomes’ in conjunction with SMART targets.

Well formed outcomes are a construct from the field of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and take into account the “learner’s identity, affective dimensions (feelings and emotions), social relations and values, as well as encouraging mental rehearsal.” You can read more about well-formed outcomes and how to use them for target-setting with your students at this excellent blog post here.

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