The TEACH Different (not better) POD/BLOG

CREATE THE CONDITIONS THAT UNLOCK STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, ACHIEVEMENT, & WELLBEING

Ali and Annie co-founders of EDVOLUTIONARY and the TEACH Different (not better) Blog

1: Stop trying to teach better.

May 23, 20242 min read

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It's no secret schools today are juggling a lot of priorities: from challenges with student engagement and behavior to achievement.

Teachers are trying to make it all work, but it can feel like there is a different strategy, meeting or professional development session for each challenge and priority and it's leading many to burnout.

A teacher leads students through a community challenge

Many of us in education are so overloaded by priorities we don't realize that the most impactful shift that we can make first isn't focusing on doing all of the things better, but focusing on creating the conditions that naturally bring out the best in student engagement, behavior and achievement.

How? TEACH Different (not better).

Want some tools in teaching to help you create these conditions that unlock student engagement, positive behavior and achievement?

The TEACH Framework is your roadmap.

Learn more about the pillars below and see what blog posts & podcast episodes we currently have available for each!

The EDVOLUTIONARY TEACH Framework

T: Teacher sustainability & growth

Teachers need workloads that are sustainable and access to support that aligns with their values and their desired areas for growth. 

Related posts & episodes:

E: Empowering Classroom Management

Want students to take more positive ownership of the classroom and their learning? Many of our traditional management techniques end up making students dependent on us as teachers to manage their behavior in perpetuity.  Ew. No more.

Related posts & episodes:

A: Active Learning Methods

While an increasing focus on improving academic results has led us to more direct, teacher-driven instructional methods, there is much research to suggest that more active and authentic learning experiences lead to learning that lasts beyond the test. Just like we need balance in our diet, our students need balance in how we ask them to engage.

Related posts & episodes:

C: Intentional Classroom Community

When we focus on building belonging and significance in our classroom communities, we meet many core needs of students that otherwise lead to social emotional and behavior issues. A proactive focus on community can avoid 80% of behavior challenges later on. 

Related posts & episodes:

H: Human-centered environments 

There is so much research out there on how humans best learn that isn’t making it into classrooms and is causing a lot of problems with student behavior and engagement in learning.  We don’t have to choose between academic goals and student wellbeing; in fact– student wellbeing is a prerequisite for academic success.

Related posts & episodes:

Want more? Here are your next steps:

Teachers gather around to learn about play at the EL National Conference in Denver

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Ali Dabney

Ali Dabney is one of the co-founders of EDVOLUTIONARY. She has over a decade of teaching experience and focuses on helping K-2 teachers create the conditions that unlock student engagement, achievement and wellbeing.

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What do we mean by TEACH Different (not better?)

Hi! We're Annie & Ali

We are two primary educators building a roadmap to teaching that ensures children reach mastery of all required K-2 standards in an environment that also respects their developmental needs and leads them to become independent learners.

We founded EDVOLUTIONARY to share our toolbox of teacher-tested resources and strategies that create the classroom conditions to unlock student engagement, achievement well being AND make teaching more effective, fun, and sustainable.

Find posts by topic:

Teacher sustainability & growth

Empowering classroom management

Active learning structures

Classroom community-focused

Human-centered environments

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