This week, I am reminded of how great teaching is such an art, something that is never truly mastered, but refined over time. I am working through Necessary Conditions by Geoff Krall, which is a book you should certainly look into if you teach secondary.

In an effort to get into more classrooms and try some strategies I have been reading/learning about over the past few weeks (including the idea of active caring versus passive caring, as well as student discourse during the class period), I reached out to some teachers who I felt would be willing to let me join them for a series of three days spread throughout the semester. Today, I was with Ms. Ward, an ambitious teacher who cares immensely for--and about--her students' well-being. The lesson she was planning to teach was a review of supplementary, complementary, and vertical angles, and I was given permission to try something new.

So I did, creating a Desmos Activity Builder that let students explore different angle measures and explain their reasoning, giving them an opportunity to wrestle with the meaning of supplementary, complementary, and vertical angles. 

For me, the planning goals were:

• Try the geometry features of Desmos with a teacher who might end up using them again. 
• Let students explore and discover content on their own, through minimal guidance
• Get students talking as much as possible about academic material
• Actively care about students
• Be aware of who I was calling on, and how, during the periods

A while back, Kassia Wedekind talked about a research study showing that teachers do not equitably call on students of color, notably black female students. The classroom in which I worked, for the entire day, was a great display of diversity, so it was a fun opportunity to check my own biases and make sure that I was elevating voices from students who don't look like me. While I can easily look back and think that I was fair in who had the floor, this is something I can actively work on, grow from, and strive to be better about.

The day went really well. Students worked through the first few slides before we paused them, reflected on the material, then kept moving. This was the pattern throughout the day, giving students about 6 minutes to explore the next set of prompts. Using the Teacher Dashboard, I was able to pick out a couple students who could share their thinking and allow us to use that as a launching point into deeper conversation about the reasons why finding supplements and complements is really just subtraction at its finest. Yes, I was sure to check in on all students, but I made a point of choosing at least one black girl in each period. The reactions I received validated the conscious work to empower people who don't look like me: they were proud to share and seemed honored to do so.

Today, overall, I had the honor of elevating the voices for students of color, accumulating dozens of fist bumps and smirks of affirmation in a way that no other job can do. Today was a REALLY good day.

Teachers, please do not discount the work that you do on a regular basis to actively care about, and for, your students. In talking with Ms. Ward after the last bell had rung, I was reminded of how many little things go into the day for the teacher who truly, actively, cares for her students. Knowing that this student is struggling because (fill in Maslow-related need here) is paramount to being able to teach them content.

From Geoff's book, and website, here is a graphic that can help:

How are you working to elevate the voices of students who don't look like you or come from the same background as you?

I am looking to grow even more, and I thank Geoff and Kassia for pushing me to think.

Happy "Working More Angles Than A Geometry Book" Fishing

Congratulations! You have just been accepted to speak at (insert really great conference) in (insert destination location) about (the topic that helps you get out of bed every morning).

That's great! It really is. Congratulations are absolutely in order. Hundreds of people apply to the conference where you will be presenting, and only a handful of entries were selected to represent the growing body of practical and research-based ideas to be shared within the audience. You had better start planning your session. Sure, there is the cue sheet, the objectives, and the intentional talk time, but something I have come to realize about presenting is that there is much more to it than that.

There is a lot more to your session than the content you'll deliver, so I wanted to give you some of the things I look for. As always, I'm interested in what you look for as a presenter, so drop it in the comment section below.

Here are some things to keep in mind, and research, before strolling into the room where you will be hosting a group of adults.

Most conferences are in locations with a floor plan that is publicly available. The first thing I do when I get the notification of where/when I will be presenting is look up the size of the room.

While you may think that the bigger the room, the better, it all depends on your message. There are presentations I would be much happier to give to 30, and others that are good for 3,000. Therefore, knowing the capacity of the room plays a big role in what I can do with an audience. If it's a smaller room, I am going to assume it will fill up, whereas a bigger room will need me encouraging people to sit closer to the front before it begins.

The size isn't the only thing, though...

While you're looking up the capacity of your room, check to make sure you know where it is in relation to the exhibit hall, the keynote speaker room, any major presenters' rooms in the slots before, and how close it is to the city's attractions, if at all. 

When I make my conference schedule, I don't just look at presenters and their sessions. I try to make a strategic move based on what I wanted to see before, where I'm planning to go next, and how far each of them are from each other. While there are some anomalies, this gives presenters a general idea of how much traffic your room's doors should see. At a recent conference, I was tucked into a hallway room, far away from the two big featured speakers. I knew that it wasn't going to be a packed session, so I could adjust accordingly and not get bent out of shape when the room didn't fill.

​That said, there's something about timing...

Is your session during the morning of Day 1? You should see a bigger, more energetic crowd. The folks just arrived, their minds are ready to be filled, and there hasn't been a ton of other stimuli to distract them from the work they have left behind to be there. You have the chance to knock it out of the park, but the expectations will also be very high. This is my favorite time slot to fill because I love the challenge. Research also shows that people are more likely to remember the first and last things they do in an experience, and, well, you are the first. Nail it.

Is your session right before, or right after, lunch on Day 1? Just like students on a new schedule, attendees' bodies aren't adjusted to the new schedule, so they are likely to be hungrier than usual in the session before lunch, and more sluggish in the session right after lunch. In order to get the most out of your attendees in these slots, there needs to be more moving around, more time for conversation, and less of you. I know, it's hard, but find a way to make it happen. As mentioned in the previous scenario, your attendees are not likely to remember your session; how are you going to change that?

Is your session the first thing on Day 2? This is the slot I call the Hangover Session. Aside from the actual hangover that some folks enter your room with because they're away from home and want to enjoy themselves a little more than usual, there is also a content hangover. Day 1 of the conference was likely intense, with 3-5 sessions of high-intensity, lots of content, and new things to consider that will change their thinking. They're exhausted, and still they are coming to you. This means your attendees need a more energetic version of you, more time to process the information you present, and time to figure out how this is all going to work for them. This, to me, is the most demanding time slot to draw.

Is your session the middle of Day 2? Good luck. Now that the hangovers have worn off, your attendees are likely looking for something to replace another idea that they have already heard thus far in the conference. We can't absorb that much information in such a short period of time, so it's either the content they heard yesterday or the new ideas that are considerably better than what they already started thinking about doing differently. Intentional and deliberate time needs to be included in your session about how your ideas are going to be incorporated into their busy lives. If not, you are unlikely to have your idea land.

Is your session at the end of Day 2 (or the end of the conference)? Come in for a hug. Look, it's nothing against you; you grabbed a rough slot and there's no way around it. People are looking to go home early, begin their vacation 2 hours in advance, or they're just tapped out of information and have found a place to curl up and take a nap. Either way, don't expect an audience of wide-eyed enthusiasts to fill the seats, no matter where you are in the conference center. What this does mean, though, is that who does attend is likely looking for one more idea that will send their experience over the top. Give it to them! They have, or someone has, paid a lot of money and spent a lot of time to be there, and they made the effort to spend it with you. As mentioned earlier, people remember the first and last things from an experience, so you have that going for you, for better or worse. How are you going to be the cherry on top of their conference experience? If you act tired, or bummed that the room didn't fill up the way you'd hoped, people will notice. If you make the most of it and give them your best, people will notice.

And there you go. The fact that your name was chosen to speak at that fancy conference of yours is an honor, and should be treated as such. None of these time slots, room choices, or room sizes are meant as a slight to you or your ideas. They are a validation that your ideas matter enough to the people who book presenters and the audience who will attend, so own that and do something to make their experience, as well as yours, a great one.

If you ever want to bounce ideas off me, I would be happy to be a sounding board for you!

Happy "Hangover-Session-Free" Fishing