Week 1 Of School - Use The KISS Method

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

Keep It Simple Stupid. That's what my favorite high school teacher Mr. Dennis would say. He was a big believer in the KISS Method.

He was right. Humans have a tendency to over-complicate things. And we stress too much, mainly as a result of our intricate approach to things. Or maybe it's just me.

In any case...

My chemistry classes spend the first 2 days of the school year on a community building project (Who Am I Project). I played music in the background and walked around helping and chatting with my new students. I am getting to know them instead of talking at them. It felt good. It feels good now.

Transitioning to flexible seating for the first time, I was afraid it would be more difficult to learn students' names, but I'm finding out I am learning their names faster. It maybe a result of being less rushed and feeling less stressed. Again, most of that hurry and stress was self created.

Day 3 Lesson Plan:

I tweeted the syllabus to the #Cymdogchem hashtag I created. This is where class notes, lesson agendas, and "snapshots of learning" will be.

My class syllabus was always filled with enough information to overwhelm, which rendered it useless. Oh, and I would ramble on about it for half an hour or more, because apparently I wanted to numb my students up for whatever pain they were about to experience in their next class.

Not this year. This year I kept it simple. There will be time to talk grades, percentages, topics, expectations etc. It's day 3 and I have not talked about these things yet. And the world still spins. And I'm seeing students smile. And they pay attention when I ask them to. And we're all way less stressed.

Here's the syllabus:

Real simple. It's in Google Classroom labeled "Admin" for students and parents to view any time. It gives them the relevant contact info (emails, Twitter, class blog), the focus on the 4 Cs, and the supplies needed. These are the most relevant things. Grades, percentages, and topics will come up naturally later.

And expectations?

Simple, yet complex. We'll talk on day 4. That's tomorrow. And start some matter too. It's time. It will be an awesome day. And an awesome year. Till then.

Thanks for reading and Happy New School Year. If you liked some of my ideas you might want to SIGN UP for my NEWSLETTER and I'll drop more of them straight in your email inbox.

And I want you to always remember this when you look into the eyes of the children you teach:

You have the power to change the world. Use it often.

Starbucks My Room: Last Bell Before The First Bell

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

I had no time. I was stressing out. I watched others get it done. I was in awe.

I was not ready in June. Neither July. Nor August.

I had doubts, fears, and obstacles...

I told the world I'm doing it and I wasn't sure till the very end if I'll be done.

And now - I Am Done!!!

I spent about 6 hours at school finishing it all today. As I was leaving my school parking lot at 2:30, I wanted to scream.

It is Labor Day Monday and I just finished "Starbucksing" my classroom.

If you followed #StarbucksMyRoom you know what I'm talking about.

If the idea is new to you, here's the scoop: I've decided to "Starbucks" my high school chemistry room at the end of the last school year, which means that I've set out to get rid of the traditional student desks and replace them with coffee house type seating and decor. Here's the post that started it all - I’mma Starbucks My Classroom: My 21st Century Manifesto.

Take a look at what my room looked like in mid-August:

And before this weekend:

And this is what the students will see tomorrow:

I have a pretty relaxed, spontaneous, and somewhat unstructured lesson plan for tomorrow. Yet, I've never felt more ready. I AM READY.

I Want My Students To Know That...

I Want You To Know That...

I Want To Know That...

Better Is Possible.

You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.

Metacognition: Hack Student Performance And Increase Motivation

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

Marie Forleo I love you!

I know. I'm a married man and I should not be exclaiming such things to 1000s of people.

Relax. I love my wife more.

What I'm talking about is the insight, inspiration, and ideas I get whenever I open my email and watch a new quirky, goofy, never boring Marie TV episode. The latest one "The Secret to Staying Motivated — Especially When You’re Not Seeing Results" inspired me to write this post and create the infographic on Hacking Performance below.

As the school year started for some and quickly approaches for the rest of us, I thought it'd be fitting that we talk about student motivation and performance.

If you're a teacher you undoubtedly encounter students who despite their best efforts have a difficulty staying motivated or reaching learning goals you set for them or they set for themselves. They are capable, but underperform. They can do it, but struggle to find meaning in "doing the work." They have what it takes, but don't produce...

There are many pieces to this puzzle, the completion of which requires the "whole child approach," and today I want to give you a big fragment I hope you'll find useful in helping students perform better, find more meaning, and reach learning goals.

It's all about the approach. And Metacognition. And it works with adults too. Check it out!

I suppose Metacognition translates to a "Psych" in student lingo. A "psych" is a way to mentally figure something out and put yourself in the right frame of mind to perform to your best ability.

The Hacking Performance strategy above really is a "psych" then, because you are tricking your mind into thinking big deal projects aren't that big if you focus on the process - doing one small chunk at a time.

Does it work? Research says it does!

So...

Do it with your students. Psych them out!

Because You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.

Oskar

PS. And later, when you see results, say this to them, but only in your mind: Psych!

PS2. If you appreciate metacognitive learning strategies such as the one above, consider buying my book "Crush School: Every Student's Guide To Killing It In The Classroom" available for Kindle on Amazon. It contains 24 metacognitive strategies to help students learn anything and will change the way you teach forever. And, if you don't find it useful, contact me at oskar.cymerman@gmail.com and I'll give you a full refund.

"Crush School" Book by Oskar Cymerman - $9.99 on Amazon

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