Since creating the Ed Deck this winter, it has been so fun to see it in action in the world. I love hearing from teachers and seeing their photos!
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain. The Ed Deck is a set of cards featuring a ton of creative teaching strategies, to help make it easy for you to plan your lessons using the innovative options you want to rely on instead of the go-tos that tend to dominate when you’re tired and don’t have time to plan. You can find the set I designed here, or create your own special deck of your favorite teaching strategies.
If you’ve got your cards ready for action and are wondering how to use them to their fullest potential, you’re in the right place. This week I’m sharing six fun ideas for making the most of your Ed Deck.
#1 Grab-and-Go
Try stringing your Ed Deck along a wall in your department office or faculty room. Post a little sign inviting teachers to grab a strategy they’d like to try and keep it until they use it, then return it to the line. This simple visual can get everyone talking about new methods and sharing their results around the photocopier.
#2 Gift a Student Teacher on Day One
If you’ve got a student teacher or student observer in your classroom this year, spread the pedagogy love by printing an extra set for them! Consider gifting it on their first day instead of their last, so the two of you can talk about the ideas and put them into action together during their stay.
#3 Make it easy for YOU to use
#4 Interactive Display
Have you noticed the trend toward interactive bulletin boards for students? These bulletin boards give kids a chance to grab a card, peek under a fold for an idea, or scan a QR code to dive deeper. The Ed Deck is a perfect way to create an interactive display for the FACULTY you work with. Put up a few cards with their QR codes, and you’ll give everyone something more fun to do with their phones than check email as they wait for photocopies or coffee.
#5 Department or Faculty Meeting Stations
Since the Ed Deck is organized by category, it would be easy to spread them out into categorized stations – one with ideas for discussion, another for project options, etc. Give your faculty group a chance to explore new possibilities when you set up stations as a chunk of a meeting – either as people come in, for ten minutes during a coffee break, or even for the whole meeting. Folks can read about new possibilities and follow the QR codes to learn more on the more complex new pedagogies.
#6 Set Goals
Is there something you’ve been meaning to try and you just haven’t found the time? Grab the card and set it out front and center somewhere near your computer! You’ll be sure to include it in a lesson plan soon if you’re seeing it every day. Then, when you do that one, grab another. Let your team borrow goal cards too, then ask them how the new strategies went when they bring the cards back.
The Ed Deck is an easy way to bring innovation and creativity to your school. Interested teachers will have a chance to collaborate with you as you experiment with new strategies, and hopefully teachers who are attached to their rut will slowly begin to get curious about what you’re up to. Bring on the creative teaching conversations, right?!
Do you find your inspiration in VISUALS? I love ‘em too. Let’s hang out on Instagram! Click here to get a steady stream of colorful ideas all week long.
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