👨🏫 Teaching:
It's been a really productive week and I've got lots of tasks done that will save me time in the future. I have combined two time management strategies to get the most out of my day/week so that once the last lesson of the day is done, I can go straight home and don't have to do any work at home! I know this may seem unachievable for most people however I definitely think you can better manage your time to be more productive.
1) Time blocking: blocking out times in my day to complete specific tasks. So for example, an hour in my week is just for completing tasks and admin around the NCETM course I am doing. I do not complete any other work during this time. I know that I have other time in the week to use for planning lessons, calling parents etc. It gives me the security that during this time I can completely focus on that one thing. This video explains more. Check out this video that explains further.
2) Batching tasks: grouping similar tasks together and completing them all at once. I am most productive first thing in the morning, so when I get into school I straight away complete my most important tasks. As a teacher I believe the most important thing is delivering excellent lessons. So my mornings are just focused on planning lessons, nothing else. I have a dedicated time in my week for calling parents, so I will group together the different phone calls I have to make and focus all of that time on speaking to parents. I know if is not always possible to do this in a school as it is a very dynamic environment and things crop up all the time, but you will be able to batch some things together so that you are more productive in that time. This video explains further.
🔊Listen:
Becoming educated with Josh Goodrich discussing coaching teachers in school using deliberate practice. It's great to hear his thinking around the best ways to help improve teaching using deliberate focused feedback. Listen here.
🔊 Listen:
Brene Brown on the Dare to Lead podcast talking about Trust and using the Braving model to frame conversations with employees and leaders. This is a two parter, the first part Brene explains what Braving is and the second part she goes through an example of how to use it. Listen to part 1 here and part 2 here.
🔊 Listen:
Dan carter on the high performance podcast talking about the art of winning and how he became an all black great. In this episode he talks about pressure, using a gratitude journal and the drive to become better than great. Have a listen here.
📚 Read:
Tom Sherringtons blog post weaving it all together looking at 9 key threads that can maximise learning in schools. One that resonates for me is about making the core lessons that students are a part of as good as possible. Improving your questioning, scaffolding, retrieval practice etc. Developing the core to your lessons may be a better use of time than adding interventions and extra lessons. Read the other 8 threads here.
📚Read:
Omar Derias blog post detailing the behaviour expectations and habits in place at his school. Strategies such as centralised detentions, SLANT and SHAPE. Read more here.
📺 Watch:
New video on my YouTube channel summarising Education Exposed 2: In pursuit of the halcyon dream by Samuel Strickland. Check it out here.