Hooray for Monday is a weekly blog filled with questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students. Prefer audio? Listen to the Hooray For Monday podcast! Available on your favorite platforms here.

March 11, 2024

By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President

This past week Jenna, Cosby, and I attended SXSWEDU, an energetic, engaging education conference in Austin, Texas that brings together educators around the world. I had the opportunity to serve as a mentor, engage with friends old and new, and attend sessions on topics ranging from extremism in public education to science and comedy. Our team spent the whole conference gathering takeaways we want to share with you, our Hooray For Monday community.

Read on for our reflections (gathered as we awaited our flight back to DC), and listen to this week’s Hooray For Monday podcast for more in-depth analysis.

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Aleta on “thinking big”

How do you think big, imagine big, and look at big issues to solve big problems when you’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed?

I’m pondering this question because we know it’s when we are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed that we most need to be able to engage our imaginations and think big. But the systems and structures in place in schools aren’t doing that for teachers right now.

At a session led by EducationWeek, presenters shared data from a new survey of teachers and school leaders which asked teachers to choose the top five kinds of professional development they need most. The top answer was, “None.”

We know that’s because the professional development most educators encounter isn’t meaningful, relevant, or engaging. This makes me all the more eager to share our approach which is meaningful, relevant and builds on the expertise and knowledge of participating teachers with more educators around the country and the world!

Cosby on AI and creatives

What is the “what” in our classes?

Ahead of this trip, my principal at Roosevelt High School in Washington, DC tasked me with going to sessions that I would normally never go to. As a guy with a flip phone, I wouldn’t normally attend a session on artificial intelligence in the classroom, but I did. The session that I attended talked about how artificial intelligence is not only going to force us to change how we teach but also what we teach. In a world where AI is ubiquitous and fundamentally changes how we do things, it’s time for us as teachers to get serious about what our students need to learn in order to thrive in that kind of future.

Right away I’m thinking of putting more emphasis the stories of anyone who creates. So that might be an artist, that might be an inventor, or that might be a titan of industry. But maybe part of my job now is to help students constantly see examples of, and then imagine themselves as creatives.

Jenna on connections and student expertise

How can we seek our students’ expertise to improve our teaching and build their expertise in making connections?

Two particular sessions made me think about this. One focused on the importance of social capital, and, in the context of making that term relevant to the lives of students, calling it “connections.” We don’t really think about teaching students how to network and build a web of relationships – which is separate from the very important concept of school connectedness we teach about at Inspired Teaching — as part of our task in school.

Some of us are born into circumstances where that kind of learning is just part of what we grow up with in our homes or our communities. But many students are born into circumstances where that’s not a natural part of their daily experience in a way that might propel them in terms of access to higher education or jobs.

The other session that I attended was highlighting the role that young people can play in helping us rethink how we’re doing education right now. What feedback can they offer us on how we are thinking about changing our teaching and whether or not those changes are relevant to their lives?

For additional insights, resources, and information on Inspired Teaching teacher and youth programming, subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter!

Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication by Center for Inspired Teaching, an independent nonprofit organization that invests in and supports teachers. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Our mission is to create radical change in the school experience – away from compliance and toward authentic engagement.

Listen to This Issue of Hooray For Monday

InspiredTeaching · March 11, 2024: Big Questions Inspired by SXSWEDU

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.