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Why Teachers make excellent Project Managers

People often say teachers are superheroes. They probably say this because they know teachers are excellent project managers, just on on an educator’s salary. In fact, the skills that teachers possess from their years of experience in education can translate seamlessly into project management in any field. Here are five reasons why teachers make great project managers:

Highly Organized: Teachers know how to prioritize tasks and manage their time effectively. They use tools like calendars, to-do lists, and project management software to stay on top of everything. For example, a teacher might use a project management software to keep track of multiple lesson plans and assignments for different classes, ensuring that each student’s needs are met.
Skilled Multitasker: Teachers are adept at juggling multiple projects and keeping them all moving forward without letting anything fall through the cracks. They can switch gears quickly when necessary and stay focused on what’s most important at any given moment. In a typical semester, a teacher might be able to juggle grading papers; planning lessons; writing exams; coordinating tournaments; designing new curriculum; and managing a school-wide pep-rally simultaneously.
Proactive Problem-Solver: Teachers are always looking ahead and anticipating potential issues that may arise. This allows them to take steps to mitigate any problems before they become major roadblocks to progress. Teachers get to know their students deeply and can anticipate that certain students will struggle with a specific topic and prepare alternative teaching methods to ensure their success.
Strong Communicator: Teachers know how to keep partners and stakeholders informed of project status and progress, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. They regularly touch base with partners and stakeholders to ensure that their needs are being met and that they are working towards shared goals. Throughout the year, teachers communicate with parents about their child’s progress and work with them to create a plan for academic success.
Collaborative Team Player: Teachers work closely with their colleagues to ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals. They are always willing to lend a hand and take on extra responsibilities when necessary. For example, a teacher might collaborate with other teachers to plan a school-wide event, ensuring that everyone’s contributions are valued and incorporated. The success of every student is a shared project.

Next time you’re looking for a project manager, consider a teacher for the job!

Jeopardy!

Pedagogy

Gamifying a unit review at the end of the semester was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had as a teacher! Instead of having students sit through a boring review session, I decided to create a Jeopardy-style game where each category represented a unit we had covered in class. The students loved it, and the competition was intense!

I started by creating a set of questions and answers for each unit we had covered, using information from our textbook, class notes, and homework assignments. Then, I organized the questions into categories and assigned point values based on difficulty. I used Canva to create the game board, which displayed the categories and point values for each question.

On the day of the review, I divided the class into teams and let them choose their own ridiculous team names. Each team took turns choosing a category and point value, and then I displayed the question on the screen. The first team to buzz in with the correct answer earned the points for that question.

The students were incredibly engaged and competitive during the game, and they loved trying to outsmart each other with their knowledge of the material. The game also allowed me to assess their understanding of the material in a fun and interactive way, which was much more effective than a traditional review session.

After the game was over, the students were begging me to create more Jeopardy-style games for other units we had covered throughout the year. They loved the challenge and the opportunity to show off their knowledge to their classmates.

The full slide deck here! Buttons are responsive on Canva, so when students touched the touchscreen, they would jump to their chosen category.

Even my fellow teachers loved the game and adapted it to their own classroom culture. It was great to see how a simple idea could have such a positive impact on both students and teachers.

Learning doesn’t have to be boring!

Diocesan Lives: A blog about teen resilience in a pandemic

Pedagogy

As an educator, I understand the importance of social-emotional learning, especially during a time when students are facing unprecedented challenges. With Hong Kong’s strict COVID lockdown in 2022, it was essential to create an assignment that would help students feel connected to one another, despite being physically apart.

To promote connection, routine, and emotional safety, I assigned the task of creating a class blog to English 2C (grade 8, for my fellow Canadians) students at Diocesan Girls’ School in Hong Kong. The aim was to give students an outlet to share their unique experiences, emotions, and stories. By creating a collective blog, students could connect with each other, build a sense of community, and develop their social and emotional skills.

The blog allowed students to showcase their individuality, express their thoughts and feelings, and connect with others who were going through similar situations. Through this assignment, students could learn from each other, develop empathy, and build relationships that transcended their physical isolation.

The assignment was designed to promote critical thinking and digital literacy, which are essential skills in today’s world. By creating and managing their blog, students learned how to use various digital tools and develop their online communication skills.

Overall, this assignment was not only about academic learning but also about fostering social-emotional development, digital literacy, and community building. It was a way to support students during a challenging time and help them develop the skills they need to navigate the digital age.

Despite facing unprecedented challenges, the students of English 2C showed remarkable bravery in expressing their thoughts and feelings on the class blog. They opened up about their struggles with isolation, anxiety, and uncertainty, revealing a level of vulnerability that was both inspiring and humbling. The students’ willingness to share their experiences with each other was a testament to their resilience and determination to connect with others despite the physical distance.

The students’ openness and vulnerability were also evident in the creativity and honesty of their blog posts. They shared personal stories, reflections, and insights into their daily lives during the lockdown, highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities of this experience. Their willingness to express themselves through writing and multimedia was impressive and inspiring, and it showed how digital tools can be used to foster connection and community during challenging times.

It was an honor to witness their growth and development as they navigated this challenging time, and I am confident that they will continue to make a positive impact on their communities and the world.

While their last names have been removed, the website remains private to protect the students. It is open to viewing upon request.

Disney has ruined fairy tales.

Literature

A rant about Disney, from my work for a wonderful course I’m taking through Toronto Metropolitan University’s online school.

Educators love Disney because children love Disney. It’s simple, fun, and an easy thing to put on at the end of a long semester. In fact, Disney stories are often considered a great visual extension of fairy tales read in class. I’m not sure I entirely agree, but I want to try and argue that Disney has ruined fairy tales.

The statement “Disney has ruined fairy tales” is based on the premise that fairy tales can be ruined at all. It’s a fine premise, so let’s define the meaning of the statement’s action. The Cambridge English Dictionary establishes that to ruin something is “to spoil or destroy something completely”. Ruinous activity desecrates something until it no longer holds its original form, and fairy tales, as we have learned in this module, originate in dynamic oral storytelling. Their fundamental essence is that they are reimagined slightly with each new teller. Opponents might ask: how can Disney destroy something that was never fully formed and always somewhat amorphous in shape? How can Disney destroy a form which was continuously and consistently destroying itself?

The answer to this problem lies in confinement and scope. If we accept that fairy tales have no original text and are meant to evolve to fit the culture and purpose of each reiteration, then the way that Disney has frozen and widely proliferated their bowdlerized version of Sleeping Beauty is an abomination of the form. Disney captured the gender restrictive elements of source material from Perrault and Grimm (without even referencing Grimm!) in an unchanging, uninspiring 1959 film version which leaves out all of Basile’s horrible but delicious dark details. Then, thanks to the power of the animated image and the powerhouse of the studio, the movie became a box-office hit. For so many people in Sleeping Beauty’s scores of audiences over the decades, it seared an image of female feebleness and lack of agency.

Who could forget the sweet, plump fairy godmothers fighting the severe, horned evil Maleficent to protect their beloved beauty? Who could unhear Brier Rose’s song to the forest or duet with the prince? The movie’s imagery is so strong that it set the tone of what a fairy tale should be in the world’s collective psyche. Unfortunately, for many years, that meant a lust for a passive girls desperate for a man, and a loathing for active witches with the power to affect their own lives. The simplicity of the Disney story was imprinted on the latent desires of generations of girls who would grow up surrounded by capitalist material shoving a distinctly pink femininity down their throats.

Whether intentional or accidental, the permanence of celluloid tape and the proliferation of a familiar patriarchal message in Sleeping Beauty made Disney and fairy tales synonymous in most private homes and public spaces. This unholy union of ideas annihilated the surprising and unique dynamism of oral fairy tales and even their adaptive literary lineages. In short, the form has been fudged.

Fairy tales are not bettered when they are transformed into simple tales of true love and good triumphing over evil.

One of my favourite elements of the fairy tale is that it is decidedly not a story of good versus evil. Rumpelstiltskin is not evil, insomuch that he is tricky and greedy. Baba Yaga is not evil, but actually leaves Vasilisa a powerful gift. Snow White’s antagonist is not a purely evil ice queen, rather she is the scorned wife of a careless man. The interesting lesson I have learned in these modules is that a fairy tale is neither good nor evil. On the contrary, they exist in that liminal space where each character has the option to do good or bad things and end up on the other side of an otherworldly challenge as a victor or a victim whether or not they have killed anyone. The brave little tailor kills so many, but is considered a hero. Puss in boots steals and cheats and kills, but is considered a valiant sidekick. I love that fairy tales are patrons of a world of murky morality.

Disney’s bifurcation of good and evil in Sleeping Beauty forces a distinctly Christian or monotheistic worldview on that ruins the nuances of being. Characters and spaces do not need to be godly or devilish, heaven or hell. Children would benefit to know that everyone has the potential for a spectrum of morality, like the weird and wonderful world that we live in.

Finally, the greatest element of a fairy tale is not its content. With its trite settings in forests and castles, or its two-dimensional characters, who make horrible decisions and lack agency. The most alluring quality of a fairy tale is that it is sparse enough to make space for the imagination of teller and the audience. The magic of fairytales is that they are dynamic, living pieces of culture which change and breathe with the unique culture of the time and space in which it is told. The magic occurs when the unique iteration creates new ideas and emotions. Disney’s version of Sleeping Beauty ruins that essential fairy tale element by setting the story in stone. Robbing the story of its agency, much like Maleficent robs Aurora’s of hers.

Gamifying Phrasal Verbs

Pedagogy

It ones one of those days that educators everywhere dread. I was 20 minutes into a 45-minute Secondary Two (Year Eight) English language period and realized that I had run out of material. After a moment of *internal panic*, I gave my class of 30 girls a special 3-minute break. To their glee, I told them they could chat with their friends while I ‘searched‘ for a file in my documents.

Don’t tell them… I lied! I was actually using those 3 minutes to create a file on the beautiful, accessible and gloriously convenient design tool Canva. I created a very attractive presentation in no time for a fun and engaging game based on a simple premise.

Here are some verbs. Here are some adverbs/prepositions. Make phrasal verbs! The team to write as many grammatically correct sentences containing unique phrasal verbs would win a delectable prize: a get-out-of-jail pass for taking a nap in class (which was also a bit of a lie as I knew that my dedicated students would never use this)! They were enthralled. Class, sorted.

Unpacking an Educational Standard

Education, Pedagogy

A process used by educators to translate standards (such as the US Common Core) into lessons is called unpacking standards. It assists teachers in planning lessons and teaching strategies by breaking it down. It identifies (1) what students need to know and (2) what they need to do to demonstrate they are meeting the standard. To unpack a standard, it’s easiest to look at the verbs in the standard such as explain, compare, or construct. These verbs help you identify skills. The nouns in the standard help you identify the content that students should be learning.

Designing a Social Skills and Conduct Improvement Plan for a High-Achieving Student

Education, Pedagogy

It’s important to develop partnerships with parents to promote student learning. We’re a team, after all. They need to be developed early in the school year and consistently updated throughout the year. Consistency builds trust. Here’s an example of how my co-teacher and I developed a partnership with one of the parents of a high-achieving K1 student who was presenting with some behavioural issues.

Here’s a bad webtoon of what the PTM might look like.

Describe S’s Situation. How he is doing well and how he should improve. S is a high-achieving student and consistently outpaces his peers in language arts, numbers and science, creative arts, and physical education. He is usually or almost always well behaved towards teachers. He is well respected by teachers and peers. One aspect where S can improve is his social skills or behaviour towards his peers. He can be especially mean towards low-achieving students who cannot do, say, or create the things he can do with ease.

Prepare examples to explain S’s behaviour. One day we were learning about patterns in English. The teacher explained what a pattern was, and asked the students to complete the pattern. Only S was able to comprehend and reproduce the pattern. When other students attempted and could not do it, he would scoff or say, “Why can’t you do this? It’s easy.”
Another example is his interactions with L. L often cries, yells, or has trouble controlling his body movements. S sits next to L. If L does something unusual, S will demand to have L moved away from him. Once, S hit L with his hand to reprimand L for being too loud. He has said, “I don’t like L because L is dumb and ugly.” S only acts this way to a couple select students.

Explain goals for the future. To become more humble and patient with others. To develop a growth mindset for himself and for others. To be less prideful, and guide him into teaching his peers rather than chastising them.

Explain how teachers plan to help at school.

Explain why we think S is acting this way. One reason S might be acting this way is because he has developed a “fixed mindset” rather than a “growth mindset”. His pride comes from his achievements and because other students are not as high-performing as him, he thinks they deserve less respect.
Explain preventative strategies. We will read more stories about the value of every human being, about uniqueness and difference, about acceptance and equality. We will foster a “growth mindset” in all students throughout the day by praising when they attempt something more than when they achieve something. We will teach anti-bullying and the golden rule. We considered separating S from L in the seating arrangement, but came to the conclusion that it is better for both S and L to learn positive strategies in this situation than to avoid the problem altogether.
Explain responsive strategies. If or when S shows negative social behaviors, we will take him aside to inquire gently and patiently about why he acted that way, and try to inspire an empathetic response for the other student. We will talk to him about pride and why it should come with humbleness.

Explain how parents can help at home. Ask how S’s behaviour is at home. Is he prideful? Is he patient with his sister? Does he snap when things do not go his way? How do his grandparents dote on him? Due to constant communication before the PTM, we know that S’s parent’s observations and goals align with ours. We advise S’s parents to teach him to be patient with his sister. To praise him more passionately when he tries to do something, and more simply when he shows he can do something. Read and watch narratives about kindness, acceptance, and humbleness.

Schedule expectations for the future. Maintain daily communication via WeChat, Palm Baby, and pick up/drop off meetings with parents. Write about social/personal developmental milestones in monthly portfolios. Aim to meet goals by the next semester’s PTM.

Pre-assessment and Differentiated Instruction

Education, Pedagogy

This pre-assessment example is for my Chinese K3 grade students. The lesson will cover prepositions of place. I plan to give a pre-assessment on the first day to determine my students’ knowledge of the subject area. In order to quickly distribute, collect, and grade the data, I will use Kahoot. Using technology will also integrate a 21st century skill. I’ll ask students to input the number code into their iPads and then the “game” will begin. The pre-assessment will ask students to choose the right preposition of place for the picture. Here is the pre-assessment.

This will check for comprehension, and allow me to determine which students have experience with this unit, and which students are starting from square one. Their answers will determine which groups I will put them in for skill-based or disability-based differentiated instruction.

Group 1 (High-Scoring): 5 students who answered most, including the most difficult, of the pre-assessment questions correctly.

Group 2 (Mid-Scoring): 12 students who have some knowledge about the topic as shown in their score, but need to develop higher order thinking skills.

Group 3 (Low-Scoring): 5 students who appear to have limited knowledge about the topic, of which 3 are struggling with language and are at different reading levels and 2 students who have little to no comprehension of the the topic and need to be tested further for special needs.

Group 1 (High-Scoring): These students will be given a worksheet with pictures of various objects in various places and a wordbank. Working independently, they need to use prepositions of place to create full sentences by themselves to describe the picture. Once finished, they will be corrected for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This is a good opportunity to practice and assess their writing skills.

Group 2 (Mid-Scoring): These students will be given a version of the high-scoring students’ worksheet but they will be filling in the blanks instead of writing full sentences. Once finished, they will be corrected for understanding, grammar and spelling. This is a good opportunity to develop their writing skills.

Group 3 (Low-Scoring): These students will be working directly with the teacher. We will learn from flashcard instruction and games. We will focus on sight-word recognition, vocabulary understanding, and speaking in full sentences. I will use this time to investigate if there are other factors that contributed to their low scores in the pre-assessment. For example, do they have trouble with reading? Using technology? Paying attention? Do they get stressed by timed assessments?

At the end of the class, students will participate in a listening quiz in heterogeneous groups (a mix of high, mid and low scoring students). I will read a sentence and students will work together in groups of 3 or 4 to write the correct sentence.

Project-Based Lesson Plan: My Healthy Body

Education, Pedagogy, Uncategorized

This is a Project-Based Lesson Plan about healthy living for Kindergarten students.

At a time when health seems like the world’s primary concern, this lesson plan can help refocus and re-energize your young students. This project was created with home isolation/ quarantine in mind. Feel free to use this in your own classroom. If you do, please let me know your thoughts!

This slideshow gives a quick overview of the project:

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Project Description

Students explore healthy living over the course of 6 weeks. They learn about exercise— how to move their bodies and create dynamic workout routines for their peers. They learn about nutrition—where food comes from, design simple meal plans, and finally prepare a balanced dish with their family. Social-emotional health is an important aspect of healthy living, so in this PBL students learn about the value of cooperation, communication, and healthy quality time with family.

Plan for Monitoring

Assessing as projects progress is essential to a successful PBL. It helps students by giving them the information to reflect on their own learning, and it helps teachers by gathering data to improve instruction. It’s a win-win! In this project, I will do weekly assessments.

I decided to go with a single-point rubric because of the the age of my ELL kindergarten students. They can’t even read yet, and I think simplicity will help them focus on key goals and expectations. Single point rubrics also allow for more room for feedback. As Jennifer Gonzalez writes in her blog, “Because teachers must specify key problem areas and notable areas of excellence for that particular student, rather than choosing from a list of generic descriptions.” I focused on assessing 21st Century Skills and reward a growth mindset.

Week 1: I will be assessing if they understand the core content and concepts through check-ins and watching each individual’s class participation.

Week 2: I will be assessing if students understand the project and if they are collaborating well through team-check ins to ask about their project plan.

Week 3: I will be evaluating their work with a rubric.

Healthy Bodies: Exercise Rubric
Areas for Improvement	Criteria	Proof of Exceeding Standards
	Participation: Comes to class prepared with ideas. Completes tasks on time. Physically moves for exercises.
	Collaboration: Helps solve problems and manage conflicts in groups. Gives, receives and uses feedback to others in a polite and positive manner.
	Creativity: Comes up with ideas in movements and delivery of exercise routine.
	Grasp of material: Safe and effective exercise movements. Directs class using clear instructions learned in class.

Week 4: I will be assessing if they understand the core content and concepts through check-ins and watching each individual’s class participation and completion of worksheets.

Week 5: I will be assessing if students understand the project and if they are communicating and collaborating well with their parents through team-check ins to ask about their project plan.

Week 6: I will be evaluating their work with a rubric.

Healthy Bodies: Food Rubric
Areas for Improvement	Criteria	Proof of Exceeding Standards
	Problem Solving: Student tries to see the world around them and make decisions based on the available data, i.e. ingredients that are already available in their home to create a dish.
	Media Literacy: Student takes photos or videos and documents their experience. Student is able to upload and present media.
	Presentation: Student presents their experience to the class in a clear and descriptive manner. Students answer all guiding questions.
	Social and Cultural Skills: Student gives peers positive, polite comments. Shows patience, kindness, and cross-cultural understanding.

Nose Detective: An Educational Game

Education, Pedagogy

There is a growing body of evidence pointing to the value of games and play in education and learning. Games are inherently user-centered, and hence educational games, if designed properly, are inherently student-centered. They are motivating and provide a means of teaching concepts and skills that might otherwise be viewed by learners as irrelevant or uninteresting. Games can also result in deeper, more meaningful learning.

This is an sensory play-based, educational game for young english language learners.

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