The Intersection

I recently presented a workshop in Los Angeles entitled, “The Early Years of Teaching.” Despite its title, this workshop invited teachers from all experience levels to come together, learn about tips for classroom management and lesson design, analyze a lesson through the student experience, and consult with one another about some of their conundrums at this stage in the school year (or in their careers). The first activity of the day was creating “classroom agreements,” in which all group members were invited to respond to the following question: In this workshop, what supports do you need in order for you to learn best? List at least three. After writing individually for a minute or two, participants then were invited to talk with a neighbor and come to an agreement on 3 - 5 common ideas. From that point, participants gathered in groups of four, then eight, and then all 20+ of us reconvened to settle on 3 - 5 group agreements. The responses weren’t so differ...