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Written by David BielikDeveloping a mindset of endurance is an essential part of being an educator. Day after day, walking into a room full of children, keeping them engaged, managing their behavior, and supporting their success is an epic undertaking! But endurance isn't just about pushing through when things are tough; it's also about building a foundation of care for yourself, in order to embrace change, normalize making mistakes, and know when and how to “press pause” to refuel. As educators, we do everything through the lens of helping our students, but in order to be available for students we must first be intentional about caring for ourselves. The metaphor of the airplane oxygen mask rings true: “You must first tend to your own well-being, before attempting to help others.” Being mindful and practicing self-care will help you think more clearly, be more aware of your surroundings, and manage your emotions more effectively which in turn will make you a better educator. All it takes is a simple Google search to find many lists of ways to practice self-care, but most of the lists I’ve seen contain items that aren’t exactly reasonable for educators. Between planning lessons, teaching classes, attending meetings, communicating with parents, and grading it's impossible to set aside time and space during the school day for something complicated or overly involved (some days just having time to get to the bathroom can be difficult!). Below is a list of items designed with educators in mind, that you can reasonably do whenever and wherever you are: seated at your desk, between classes, or before/after school.Also, a note to district-level administrators and building principals: Are you intentionally promoting and facilitating self-care among your educators? Do you start your meetings with check-ins from each of the members when appropriate? Do you take time throughout the week to briefly talk with educators individually to celebrate their success and offer support? That kind of commitment at the district and building level is imperative to help teachers be happier, healthier, and more effective, which ultimately will improve overall student success and well-being.Alright… back to the list!Practicing Mindfulness: Focus on your breath - Wherever you are right now, take a deep breath and hold it before letting it out. Now do it again and relax your shoulders/lower jaw while you breathe. Focus on your breath, in and out, and close your eyes if you’d like. This will help to release your stress and help to get fresh oxygen to your brain and muscles, which allows you to think more clearly and manage your emotions more effectively. Moving Your Body: Take a walk - During your planning period, take 5 or 10 minutes and go for a short walk if you’re able to. If weather permits, walk around the outside of your building. Not only will this get you physically moving which helps your blood flow and overall health, but it will also physically remove you from your current location and allow your senses (sight, touch, smell) to experience something different. This increase in mindfulness will naturally help your creativity and problem solving abilities.Celebrating Your Success: Be proud! - When you are walking to and from your car, performing your daily duties, or waiting between classes, think about the successes that you have achieved so far this year. Better yet, write them down! It’s so easy to focus on what has gone wrong because we want to fix it, but reminding yourself of your successes will boost your dopamine levels and give you motivation. Not to mention, reminding yourself of your success will help you be proud of all the amazing things that you have accomplished! Also, set specific goals for the future. That way you create a cycle of goal setting, goal completion, and celebration of success.Maintaining Boundaries: Prioritize yourself - As educators, time is at an absolute premium, and there are always more things to do than there is time. Perhaps paradoxically, setting boundaries around time for grading, planning, and helping students outside of class, will actually increase your effectiveness. It will allow you to take time away from school to take part in hobbies/pastimes so that you’re refreshed and ready for the next day. You can always start small with setting boundaries. Those small victories will give you the motivation to continue to make time for yourself.Seeking Support: Connect with others - Connecting informally in the teacher’s room can be a good place to let off some steam, but intentionally seeking meaningful support is vital. Connect before or after school with other educators who you respect and appreciate, to get their perspective and encouragement. It is so important to seek support from those around to realize that not only are you not alone, but others have been exactly where you are before.As an educator, caring for yourself can’t be an afterthought. In fact, practicing consistent self-care is the best and most important thing that you can do to support your students. By helping your body and your mind be present and grounded, celebrating your success, maintaining boundaries, and seeking your own support, you will be a better educator and your students will notice. Your mindfulness journey starts now. Breathe in, breathe out. Invest in your greatest asset, yourself! The DMC Learning Success Team has over 30 years of combined experience in education, teaching in K-12 settings, and supporting learning success in college/university settings. Drawing from these experiences, DMC is committed to providing resources and tools related to our current work, which involves helping educational partners improve their culture through intentional and scalable solutions. 

Written by David BielikAs we reach the halfway point in the semester, students may find their attention drawn to places other than the goals set at the beginning of the term. Students have worked so hard to get to this point, but as fatigue sets in, and other responsibilities demand their attention, even the best intentions might be met with a lack of focus, clarity, or drive. Now is a great time for educators to think about how we can effectively remind our students of how far they’ve come, encourage them to stay the course, and help them stay motivated to reach the finish line. Here are some practical ways to help motivate your students through the challenges they may encounter. Listening and Being Empathetic Motivating our students starts with understanding what is important to them. Each student has a unique set of experiences, needs, desires, and goals. Taking time to get to know each student individually fosters a sense of belonging and trust on the part of the student, and it allows us as educators to be more empathetic and understand our students in a more holistic way. Ask your students questions like “What are your biggest challenges this semester?”, “What is the most important thing for you right now?” or “What is your top goal this month?” By showing your students that you are interested in their journey, and ultimately their success, you create an environment where students feel not only valued and supported, but invested and motivated.Encouraging PositivityA positive classroom culture is essential to helping students stay motivated. Focusing on the reality of adversity has its place, but it’s rarely an excellent motivator. There’s a reason cheerleaders don’t chant, “Give me an L-O-S-E. Realistically, we might LOSE this game because the other team is bigger than us!” Taking on the role of a coach, educators must stay unwaveringly positive and reframe anything that looks remotely like negativity. Use phrases like, “You can do this, you’re so close!” or “I believe in you, I can’t wait to see you overcome this challenge!” By focusing on the positive, we create a sense of momentum that combats the feeling of being stuck. Sometimes what our students need to motivate them is the assurance of someone they trust, the confidence of someone who understands them, and the excitement of someone who is eager to see them succeed.Focusing on Previous Successes When students lack motivation, it can be easy for them to minimize the successes that have brought them to this point. Sometimes, students may not even realize how far they’ve come. Recognizing all of the incremental achievements students have made can be a powerful motivator. By bringing light to previous successes, we can help our students to contextualize their lack of motivation as a bump in the road (like ones they’ve been able to successfully maneuver in the past) instead of a complete roadblock. Acknowledging students' efforts and accomplishments, like mastering a challenging concept or completing an important step of a project, builds a sense of accomplishment and reinforces positivity, encouraging students to keep going in the face of adversity. This will motivate your students to keep searching for the next success rather than focusing on the difficulty of the current challenge.A system of recognition, such as awards or praise, is a great way to foster growth and encourage your students to set and strive for their goals. During the difficult year following the COVID-19 shut-down, I created an “Achievement Bingo” card for my Geometry classes with various achievements, from completing assignments to encouraging classmates to celebrating personal success, in order to help them quantify their progress. I rewarded students with their favorite candy bar when they got Bingo! Along with adding a bit of levity, the game helped my students focus on the successes along the way and continue to search for their next accomplishment, ultimately increasing their motivation by promoting participation, ownership, and confidence. (Also the candy reward didn’t hurt!) Celebrating Completion Finally, it is important to follow up after students have completed the journey and help them celebrate their perseverance and success. Too often we focus on getting students to the finish line and don’t take time to reinforce the amazing feeling of accomplishing something very difficult. Make sure you pause and intentionally recognize the success of your students. Send a congratulatory email, throw a party, or give out certificates to help students to celebrate the completion of their hard work. This will also give them a powerful incentive for their next difficult project, remembering that feeling of accomplishment after completing all of the challenging work to get there.Motivating students is a multifaceted challenge that requires a personalized and dynamic approach. By listening and laying the foundation of empathy, staying enduringly optimistic, recognizing previous successes, and intentionally celebrating the completion of the goal, not only will we help motivate our students amid their current situation, we can also help them develop skills and experiences to stay motivated and succeed when they face their next challenge.

By David BielikWhen a student embarks on a journey of learning something new, there is always a greater context in which that learning occurs. Students bring not only their personalities and learning styles, but also individual circumstances, external to the specific learning environment. Educators must not make the mistake of thinking that learning happens in a vacuum. All the conditions that affect the learner will, in turn, affect the student’s learning outcomes. Just like a physical journey, learning involves navigating these external environments, internal thoughts and feelings, and many other personal obstacles. When educators recognize and account for students’ individual environments, feelings, and barriers they allow students to succeed in spite of those specific challenges. This empathetic approach is not about excusing behavior – just the opposite. Being empathetic creates a rich and supportive environment where teachers can help students navigate unnecessary barriers in order to reach their true potential. Over the course of my career as a classroom teacher, I have seen firsthand how being empathetic can help both students and teachers succeed. A few years ago, just weeks into the start of the school year, I had a new student show up in my Geometry class (let’s call them Sam). Sam had a defensive demeanor, with their arms folded across their chest, staring forward. After the class, I introduced myself, gave Sam some introductory materials and asked if there was anything they needed for the class. Sam was very polite and welcomed the conversation. Sam said they needed a notebook, and I told them where to find one in the supply closet. The next week, I continued to check in with Sam and found that they were having trouble turning in their assignments. I met with Sam after class and they told me that there were certain weeks when turning in assignments was tough because of responsibilities and situations at home. I made a plan with Sam that they could turn in assignments on the days and weeks that they were able to complete them. As the year progressed, they continued to complete the work in waves, just like we had mapped it out. When I noticed Sam lacked focus or appeared pre-occupied, I would check in with them and see what they needed. Sometimes they needed me to re-explain a concept, and sometimes they just needed a gentle positive reminder that I was looking forward to receiving their work. This back and forth continued throughout the school year, and Sam was ultimately able to complete all of the competencies necessary to pass the class. Notably, this story doesn’t have any fanfare or fireworks. The student quietly went through the year and I didn’t hear from them afterward. Showing empathy doesn’t mean that you need to have a movie-worthy interaction with a student. Simply by showing empathy for the student’s situation and focusing on the goal of individual success, I was able to remove unnecessary barriers and provide helpful and meaningful resources to the student to help them succeed.Empathy has been an important tool in my educational career, but I’ve certainly made many mistakes. Too many times, I made assumptions about students and had to admit my biases as I learned more about their situations. By being empathetic from the beginning, I could have saved a lot of time and perhaps helped students succeed even more. Here are some tips to being more empathetic. Intentionally talk to your students about their lives outside of class - Asking about a student’s life outside of school can give you a great insight into what they bring to the classroom. What other commitments do they have outside of classes (perhaps they care for a family member, or have a job on the opposite side of the city)? How are there other classes going (perhaps one class is monopolizing their time or they are more confident in certain classes)? All of these questions can lead to developing greater empathy.Actively listen to your students - When a student asks for something or expresses concerns, make sure you use body language that shows them you are interested, provide adequate time for them to speak, and ask follow up questions to make sure that you understand their request or concern. Follow up with the student later on to ensure that the issue is resolved. This shows the student that you care about their circumstances and want to help with appropriate resources. Rephrase your statements as questions - Instead of saying, “This is due on Monday,” perhaps you can ask, “Can you get this done by Monday?” This allows the student to provide context to completing the assignment, allows them to take ownership of its completion, and also helps to assign an appropriate due date as well as provide any additional resources. Being empathetic is not about providing excuses for behavior or situations. Nor is it about diving deeply into student personal lives outside the classroom. Being empathetic is about recognizing the individuality of each learner to help provide the most helpful support. By being more empathetic as educators we not only maximize our students’ potential but we also maximize our own. 

Blog by David BielikAs the calendar year and first semester of the school year come to an end, educators shift focus to final assessments and evaluations. The hard work of helping students through the fall semester is done and we’ve reached the finish line! Too often though, we race through the assessment phase to finish the semester without taking time to consider how we assess students and the critical role that assessment plays in the learning process. It is necessary to be as thoughtful during evaluation and assessment as we were during curriculum design and implementation. Asking yourself the following questions will help your end-of-the-semester assessments be more effective.Is my evaluation a continuation of the learning process?Evaluation/assessment is an integral part of the triad model known as CIA: Curriculum (what students should know), Instruction (how they will learn it), and Assessment (how students demonstrate what they’ve learned). Assessment of students has as much to do with learning as instruction and curriculum, but it is often overlooked when compared. We need to approach the design and implementation of assessment with the same level of thought and creativity used in curriculum and instruction, in order to help students use assessment as an extension of their learning. Through assessment, students should deepen their knowledge of the subject all while enhancing their educational experience. Before you assess students, take some time to ask yourself,  “Am I evaluating students in a way that helps them assimilate their knowledge moving forward?”Does my assessment include all the progress that has been made?Assessment should encompass all the learning that has been done. The attainment of knowledge is an important part of learning, but it isn’t the only way that students change through the learning process. Assessments shouldn’t merely show how much students know, they should also highlight students’ determination, perseverance, and personal growth. If we only assess students through comprehensive exams/final projects/presentations all of the small achievements and changes that have been made along the way won’t receive the recognition they deserve. As a college mathematics professor, I’ve recently changed my grading procedures to make formative assessments (practice problems, small quizzes, etc.) a larger percentage of the overall grade. It was important to me to include the day-to-day, week-to-week, struggle and growth cycle in the overall grade in a more significant way. At the beginning of the semester, I spotlighted that change so that students would be invested in that struggle knowing those small steps would be a significant part of their final grades. In my work as a high school math teacher, I had success with making final assessments a more summative process, spanning several weeks, where students had time to work through problems, applying and reflecting on what they learned. That material supplemented a more formal test which allowed the students’ final grades to be based not only on the knowledge they had acquired but also the personal growth they had achieved.  Is my evaluation inclusive of all students and their circumstances?When designing and implementing evaluation and assessment, it is important to be completely student-centered, giving students an appropriate opportunity to show their growth and demonstrate all that they have learned. Every student is different. Therefore, the approaches to their assessments must also be different. Some students may need more time, others may need more resources to adequately show what they have learned. Many students may have outside factors that affect them. We must be aware of what challenges students are facing in order to help assess them properly, just like we would during instruction. If we do not take an active role in designing assessments that help students navigate those challenges, students may only see the challenges instead of the positive progress they have made. For example, a student may think they are “bad at math” because they couldn’t finish the test in a certain amount of time or can’t multiply negative numbers. Or a student might think they are a poor writer because they can’t type quickly or don’t know every rule of grammar. By allowing a student more time/resources on a math test, or allowing them to use speech-to-text/grammar assistance when recording their thoughts, we can help to remove these barriers and assess students' actual growth and help them see how they have overcome their challenges. As the semester comes to a close, take some time to reflect on how your assessment practices can provide students with a way to look back and see their successes, calling attention to their strengths instead of their weaknesses. In this way, you and your students can cross the finish line together with confidence.

In the ever-evolving landscape of K-12 education, the growth and development of educators are paramount. This journey of continual learning, however, is often hindered by the current structures that inadequately allocate time for professional development. Recognizing this gap presents us with a significant opportunity to reimagine and enhance the way we support our educators' growth.At Deo Mwano Consultancy (DMC), we have been privileged to witness firsthand the transformative power of dedicated professional development through our work with various educational institutions over the last decade. Leading Professional Development Days (PD Days) in diverse regions, from New England to Tucson, Arizona, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, we've delved into topics that resonate deeply with educators. These include fostering learner engagement, strategies for ELL students, integrating technology effectively, and infusing classrooms with creative energy through movement and music.Our interactions with educators have consistently revealed a deep-seated desire to explore and implement new educational strategies. The commitment and passion they display are truly inspirational. However, the constraints of traditional PD formats – often limited to brief sessions or sporadic days throughout the year – do not provide sufficient depth for the kind of transformative learning that our educators and students deserve.This challenge opens the door to a wonderful opportunity. Imagine a world where professional development is seamlessly integrated into educators' regular schedules. Envision teachers having the time to collaborate, explore virtual learning opportunities, and engage in hands-on practice with new methodologies. Such a paradigm shift would empower educators to stay abreast of technological advancements and pedagogical innovations, ensuring they remain as dynamic and adaptable as the students they teach.The path forward involves redefining the structure and frequency of professional development. Moving away from the traditional model of limited PD days, we can advocate for a system that normalizes continuous learning and exploration. This change requires collaborative efforts between school boards, unions, and educational leaders, fostering an environment where professional growth is both encouraged and expected.By embracing this change, we open up a world of possibilities for our educators. It allows them to take risks confidently, experiment with new tools, and grow in their roles. This not only enhances their own professional journey but also enriches the learning experiences of their students. As educators become more adept at integrating new technologies and methodologies, they model the very principles of adaptability and lifelong learning that we seek to instill in our students.In conclusion, the time has come to revolutionize our approach to professional development in K-12 education. By providing our educators with the resources, time, and opportunities they need to grow, we lay the foundation for a more dynamic, responsive, and effective educational system. Let's seize this opportunity to empower our educators, inspire our students, and shape the future of education.