Twenty-One Celebrations in 2021

It would be easy to look in our rearview mirror, roll our eyes, and wave a hasty goodbye to 2021. For all her faults, however, there are some definite educational celebrations to come out of 2021, and it is imperative that we look back and consider what we have learned.

To that end, I offer 21 educational celebrations:

21. Cult of Pedagogy's HyperRubric Episode - It's hard to believe Jennifer Gonzalez could get any cooler, but several of her podcast episodes this year have made my list of celebrations. This particular episode furthers the idea that rubrics are a learning tool. It is stocked with fantastic ideas and templates that any teacher can use immediately.

20.   Youth Led Participatory Action Research - YPAR is something I found out about just as the semester was drawing to a close. For fans of Project Based Learning, the YPAR Hub is an excellent resource brimming with student voice and examples of on the ground research and projects in real communities. Check it out to get inspired to guide your students through a community based project in 2022.

19.  Compass Points Thinking Routine - Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routines have saved me from blank stares and silence in many classroom discussions. This year, I tried out a compass points discussion and found a new favorite. Teachers can use this strategy as a discussion strategy, a writing strategy, or a four corners or movement strategy. Checking in with Project Zero whenever I plan a classroom discussion is 2021 gold.

18.   Google Slides Templates - Throughout remote learning in 2020 and 2021, google slides quickly moved from bridesmaid to bride. We've always appreciated the myriad of google apps, but when schools moved online, creating fun and engaging google slides activities became the norm. As teachers and students returned to in person learning, professional developers continued to create templates for active learning through google slides, and we appreciate it!

17.  Choice Boards - Student choice and agency took center stage in 2021 as educators realized the necessity of giving students more ownership in a chaotic world. There are times in our classrooms where all students have to complete the same activity to meet the standard. However, there are more times that students can choose how to show they have met a standard. As educators in a volatile world, providing students a little bit of choice can go a long way.

16.  Catlin Tucker's Project Playlists - Catlin Tucker has been talking about blended learning and playlists for several years. As is the case in many of the educational celebrations on this list, Tucker's playlists grew in popularity as teachers turned to student choice, critical creativity, increased agency, and student centered planning. With the templates and ideas provided throughout her blog and podcast, any teacher can create a playlist for student learning in 2022.

15.  CommonLit 360 - CommonLit was already an incredible resource for English and Spanish teachers. In 2021, CommonLit upgraded their resources to an entirely free ELA curriculum for grade 6-10 teachers. The units include vocabulary, rubrics, essential questions, and teaching ideas to cover an entire year of English instruction.

14. Retrieval Practices - While the research on retrieval practices is not new, my own learning around brain science and retrieval changed my instruction significantly this year. As I continue to support teachers in helping students to be active retrievers of information versus passive receivers, I rely on strategies like brain dumps, daily quizzes, and metacognition to pave the way.

13. Learning for Justice - The popular website rebranded itself in 2021 to provide a justice centered view into classroom pedagogy. The website is overflowing with teaching ideas, texts, and resources that can be used in any classroom.  

12. Cult of Pedagogy's Vision Board Episode - In true Cult of Pedagogy fashion, Jennifer Gonzalez invites in guests with creative ideas that put a new spin on an old idea. The focus of this episode is around unit planning with vision boards. Teachers should invest the thirty minutes to listen so they can create a clear and creative vision for their units as they head back in 2022.

11.  Project Based Learning Research - As the pandemic raged and schools went online, teachers feared that so much of the experiential learning they loved would also disappear. When we moved back into schools throughout 2021, we reflected on how much we appreciated project based learning. Part of that appreciation was a set of new studies that prove the efficacy of the model. Now we have the research, and a new surge of virtual visitors to the classroom, to support our passion. Here's to more real world projects in all classes in 2022!

10. Facing History Teaching Strategies - Another website that added fantastic resources in 2021 Is Facing History and Ourselves. One of my favorite quick formative assessment protocols from this website? A 3-2-1 strategy. Give it a try!

9. Building Thinking Classrooms Vertical Whiteboard Engagement - Very few texts have completely changed my thinking around student engagement. We often read a book or go to a workshop, pick up a few new ideas, and then move on. However, Peter Liljedahl's Building Thinking Classrooms discussion around grouping and vertical whiteboard engagement was game changing. Are your students disengaged? Stand them up and put them at a whiteboard to do the practice. I have seen it successfully at work in multiple classrooms, and it is brilliant.

8. The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez - College writing professor, Felicia Rose Chavez, took on the writing workshop in her 2021 book. This book is not just for teachers of writing, however, but for anyone looking to humanize a creative classroom. Ideas for peer critique, evaluation, and texts by writers of color are scattered throughout a book that is part memoir, part practical guide to the classroom. 

7. Modern Classrooms Project Self-Paced Learning - When significant inequities and opportunity gaps were put on display during the pandemic, teachers turned in droves to the Modern Classrooms Project. The need to provide appropriate pacing, clear mastery check points, and time for the teacher to work closely with students individually and in small groups became clear. One absolutely significant win for education in 2021 is that thousands of teachers around the country are participating in the Modern Classrooms free course and learning how to utilize self-paced learning in unique and beneficial ways.

6. Spark Creativity Podcast and Blog - Betsy Potash has been inspiring English teachers with creative ideas for several years. In 2021, she moved her family to Bratislava, updated her website, and appeared on several podcasts. Her website, blog, and podcast are full of creative ideas around choice reading, one pagers, projects, and more. If you want to get creative in 2022, Betsy is a great starting place.

5. Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education by Alex Shevrin Venet - Unfortunately, it is difficult to find an education book that is both philosophically invigorating and full of practical ideas. In Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education, Alex Shevrin Venet provides discussion on the larger difficulties in educational systems while also ending each chapter with simple, practical action steps that any individual teacher can take in her classroom.

4. Cult of Pedagogy's Teacher's Are Barely Hanging On Episode - Jennifer Gonzalez has always been teacher centered and rarely shelves difficult conversations. However, in her October podcast on the state of teaching in 2021, she supercharges her support. There are things that need to change about education to better support teachers and students, and she has no problem naming exactly what they are. It is a must listen.

3. Learning That Transfers by Stern, Ferraro, Duncan, and Aleo - New educational books in 2021 are largely pointing in one direction: Learning Transfer. The framing of each book becomes inconsequential because the messages are so similar. As educators, we must support our students in becoming members of a classroom that actively acquire knowledge, connect it to other disciplines, and transfer it to a world in which they will become responsible and active citizens. It is a big ask, but an inspiring look into the future of education.

2. Teacher Mental Health at the Forefront - If one message became clear in 2021, it was that teacher burnout is increasing and districts have to focus on supporting and sustaining teachers. Districts took action to provide days off, talk about teacher mental health openly, and acknowledge areas for improvement. The work is far from over, but the conversation clearly escalated this year. My hope for 2022 is that schools cut a path through the weeds to focus on what is most important.

1. Hexagonal Thinking - For me, 2021 was the year of the hexagon. Technically, the strategy has been around for several years. This year, however, it spread rapidly into education circles and has been featured in several blogs, podcasts, and educational workshops. The strategy is creative, interesting, and asks students to think in critical ways about complex topics to make connections in their learning. If you have not tried it, stop everything in 2022 and do it.

While 2021 was rife with overwhelm, burn out, and varying degrees of dismay, it also made clear the path forward for education. Our students need us to learn from teaching in a pandemic. They need humanity. They need agency. They need creativity. They need expectations and accountability. 

They need teachers.