Good morning, teachers! You're listening to episode #2.

Last week, on episode #1, we talked about my three favorite principles for working smarter not harder, so check that out if you haven’t yet. You can listen in your favorite podcasting app or by going to maneveringthemiddle.com/episode1.

Today...I wanted to turn the focus on how we can set our students up for success! 

You likely entered the profession of teaching because you care about students and their success...not only in your classroom...but in life! 

But did you also consider...that when our students are successful... it also means less work for us!  

I can attest that when students are engaged and learning and mastering the content, then we as teachers, feed off of those positive vibes… and are actually going to work a lot less! 

If you grabbed our Google Hub listener freebie from last week... I am going to give you a few more pointers for putting it into action and if you haven’t yet...I’ll share how you can get your hands on it!

Let’s do this!

Point 1: Think About the Student Experience

I’m going to share a little science with you to illustrate my first tip. Now you should all know that I was a math teacher...not a science teacher...but go ahead and bear with me for this example. 

There is a physics principle called the Principle of Least Action that basically states that the path between two points will always be the path that requires the least amount of energy. 

And this isn’t JUST a physics principle but something that we as humans calculate in our brains ALL the time. When something is hard or complicated what we are likely going to do...well...quit, leave it for another time, or move on to something else.

I read about this principle and how it applies to people and habits in a popular book called, Atomic Habits, by author James Clear. I highly recommend it if you are interested in setting healthy habits and working to remove negative habits. We will link it in the post.

I experienced this principle first hand when purchasing something online recently. I had several things in my cart during a Cyber Monday sale… I went to check out but there was a glitch and I had to refresh...then my cart was empty and I had to add the items again...and once I did that... it wanted me to create an account...and you know what. I got frustrated, clicked over to another browser where I immediately got distracted and I moved on... I never placed my order.

I share this with you to illustrate what it means to set students up for success! 

And by that I mean...“make everything as student-friendly as possible”. This includes... directions for assignments, directions on completing assignments, and directions for submitting assignments.

I think this is vitally important if you are in a hybrid or virtual setting for a lot of reasons.  

So let’s think through the traditional classroom environment...You likely have a turn-in tray where students turn in their assignments, or potentially there is a time in the class period where you actually have them hand in their assignments.  You may have an agenda on the board with the topic and things you will be accomplishing in class! 

I loved to use the colored painter's tape to create a grid with our topics and any assignments for all of my classes. It was a great visual for my students and a way for me to stay on track throughout the week. 

These are all physical things that students saw each and every day that required very little energy from a student. 

Now... with all of these different shifts that are constantly happening...there is a lot more resistance and that easy path isn’t as easy for many students.

You know your classroom best...so I thought I would share some questions to consider when thinking through the students' experience.

1. Is this easy to accomplish? Notice I didn’t say “is the content is easy”...I am referring to the process.
2. Is there a way that I can provide up-front directions that will help students and keep them from continuing to ask the same questions? My favorite is a short video library that anyone can access. This could be as simple as a Google Sheet that has organized videos you record on Loom...We do this with our MTM team when it comes to creating resources and anything on the website. We want everyone to have access to different quick tutorials because if you aren’t completing a process each and every day your brain is likely to forget, which leads to resistance...and distraction.
3. Is there anything that we can do as a school to minimize confusion? If every secondary teacher is using different software or platforms or expectations for submitting assignments...then a simple task has become more complicated and more likely to face resistance… By streamlining as a campus or even as a team, then we are stacking the cards in the favor of our students and minimizing our time spent troubleshooting.

One thing that our MTM teachers are loving and that we would love to share with you, our listeners, is our Google Hub... This is a super easy-to-use template that we lovingly call a Hub... mostly because we want to teach our students to refer to the Hub and continue to refer to it over and over again. 

You can grab this free Google Hub by going to maneuveringthemiddle.com/episode2 to download the easy-to-use template. This will literally kill two birds with one stone because it is going to provide your virtual or hybrid students with a document that they can reference over and over again with their assignments and act as a checklist for completion.

By thinking about your students' experience and “making everything as student-friendly as possible”... we can minimize friction or resistance, and make it easier for students' brains to actually accomplish the task at hand!

Point 2: Intentionally Build Relationships

Now, that we are intentionally thinking through the lens of a student and their “user experience” when it comes to assignments...let’s consider another tip that is tried and true for setting students up for success.  

This one isn’t revolutionary...we all know it's part of the job...and most likely one of the reasons you became a teacher...taking the time to intentionally build relationships!

We all know, have read, have been to a PD, or listened to a staff meeting about building relationships with our students. It’s not new. It’s statistically one of the best ways to impact a student both academically and emotionally...but perhaps...we can give it some new thought and consideration seeing as though this year has been challenging for everyone, including our students. 

When students know you care for them beyond the classroom, they will do more, try harder, and work to be more successful. Maybe you haven’t really thought about that lately.  You know it deep down inside, but maybe you have been overwhelmed by the amount of work you have on your plate, or discouraged by missing assignments...let me remind you one more time...When students know you care for them beyond the classroom, they will do more, try harder, and work to be more successful.

In a traditional year, I think this is a little easier.  You see them in the hallway, you smile, and you greet them at the door each day...Perhaps you cheer them on at a sporting event or a fine arts concert.  

These small daily interactions are all very valuable. From commenting on their weekend or a sports team they might be rooting for... We actually learn a whole lot about our students by observing them and their interactions with other classmates.

Many of those tried and true methods aren't available to us this year and we need to brainstorm some new ones... wanted to gather a list of things that you may not yet have tried...you may have seen and forgotten about...or you may just want to try again as a fun way to engage your students and build rapport.

1. Scratch the math warm-up/bell ringer for the fun get to know you type questions or activities
2. Host a virtual scavenger hunt or show and tell (school appropriate of course)
3. Cut out the automated emails -- it teaches kids to ignore your emails
4. Send a personalized message instead -- remember from episode #1, not only can you batch these, but you can set up some templates
5. Create a choice board that is not content related for students to complete -- this menu could be related to student interests, your campus, or your local community -- all of which allows students to have a voice...share about something outside of the content...and allow you to get to know them a little bit better

These are just a few examples of super simple ways to build relationships with your students... which increases their likelihood of working hard for you... which then lowers your workload.  Do you see what I am doing here? I think you may be on to me!

So as a quick recap... if you want to set your students up for success … consider applying the two powerful principles we talked about today. First, take the time to think through your students' experience to make things as easy as possible, second… intentionally build relationships with your students by taking the time to incorporate something not content-related.

That’s… think through your students' experience and focus on ways to intentionally build relationships. 

I would love to know what you do to set your students up for success, so drop a comment on this week’s Instagram or Facebook post. For more all of the links, resources, and freebies mentioned today in one easy place, so check out maneuveringthemiddle.com/episode2. 

I’m Noelle Pickering… and you’ve been listening to the Good Morning Teacher podcast… Until next time, friends, make it a great week!