Leveling up the “Oldies but Goodies”
Rediscover proven teaching practices with fresh approaches to differentiation, communication and student autonomy for today’s classrooms.
This summer, I’m working on the second edition of my first book—now a decade old! As I read each chapter, make adjustments and additions, as well as add new resources, I’m happy to say that many of the things in the book are still relevant today. In fact, the answer to many of my “what do we do about education” questions come down to this: In this political landscape, with the anxious kiddos, AI dilemmas, and gaps in skills, we need to level up our “oldies but goodies.” What I mean is that as I look at what I was doing a decade ago, I’m realizing that it was good teaching. Practices and protocols that we need to return to. Choice boards, strategic groupings, overt vocabulary instruction, project-based learning, partnering with parents. I don’t know about you, but on the pile of things sacrificed to COVID-19, there are things we need to salvage. Here are three ways I plan to level up on the oldies but goodies from a decade ago.
Differentiation
Isn’t the “D” word kind of overwrought? Like, doesn’t it feel ominous in some way? To me, it feels like a category on an overhyped lesson plan template that you are required to do for your formal observations. It also seems that it is the answer to every problem in education. Students not meeting standards? Did you differentiate? State test scores too low? Did you differentiate? Behavior struggles? Did you differentiate? It feels like when there are no good answers, “But did you differentiate?” is the question we are asked. Kind of like when things are feeling hopeless, and we are tasked to “remember our why” and put it on a collage in the cafeteria.
The thing is though, differentiating and remembering our “why” are not intrinsically bad things to do. Rather, when anyone oversimplifies the work we are doing, it stings. The most important realization about differentiation that I’m excited to share is that we can level up with a wide variety of tools. No matter your opinion on how artificial intelligence should be used in the classroom, it is very difficult to argue with the really incredible work being done to assist students who need layers upon layers of scaffolding to help them access the curriculum. Videos like “Using AI to Differentiate Lessons for ELLs” (from webinars like “The AI Educator Brain on Differentiation and AI: Empowering Educators and Engaging Parents”) and “Empowering Every Learner: AI in Action for Diverse Classrooms” (for AFT members), and “The AI Educator Brain on Special Education: Unlocking Possibilities with Generative AI” are filled with information that can help you level up, even if AI is new to you. There are a wide variety of blogs as well; for example,” Prompt Engineering: Why Educators are the Original (OG) Prompt Engineers” and” Best AI Tools for Teachers in 2026: 10 Free Picks That Save You Time” are informative and written with the newbie in mind.
Communication
With constant chatter from social media, a million emails, apps that constantly want to share something with us as we go about our day, it can feel like we are communicating so much. The truth is that it is like trying to take a sip of water and being blown across the room by a fire hose. We aren’t communicating well. In fact, the opposite is true. We are all saying lots of things; but for communication to be effective, you need three things: a clear message, a sender and a receiver. Adam Bazer’s article “It’s All Too Much: Communication Overload in Today’s Workplace” may not be about schools, but wow, it is definitely about schools! Long quote, but this is worth noting:
Establish governance about what is appropriate to communicate over Slack or Microsoft Teams, what needs to be communicated by email and what requires a phone call or face-to-face meeting. Establish the governance and then communicate it to current and incoming employees so that the burden of figuring out the company’s communication culture isn’t left to the individual.
Every day in schools, we are bogged down with what we need to share, how to communicate it, with whom, and on which platform. The same is true in reverse. Parents and students grow frustrated when their Remind message isn’t responded to, even though that isn’t the protocol. As a parent who often felt I was being given the runaround, it is crucial that we all get on the same proverbial page about communicating.
We are all saying lots of things, but for communication to be effective, you need three things: a clear message, a sender and a receiver.
I’m doing three specific things:
- First, I’m going to change my own responsiveness expectations. I just took my work email off my phone, and I’ll be adding “Life is complex, and we all have our own work/life balance. Please don’t feel the need to respond immediately.” Tiny nod to the chaos we live in.
- Second, I’m going to actually practice what I preach. I’m going to make it clear to everyone—admin, my union members, and families—I will respond to emails each morning. No other promises.
- Finally, I’m going to commit 100 percent to an initiative that I tout in the decade-old Flexible ELA Classroom: “For the first few weeks of school, I send between five and 10 emails a day until every parent has been contacted.”I wasn’t just saying that I did this—I did. As so many good things do, it fell away. Well, now, more than ever, that communication is needed, and I’m committed.
Autonomy
The American Psychological Association’s article, “Developing Responsible and Autonomous Learners: A Key to Motivating Students” has given me hope in the midst of attendance issues, learned helplessness and snowplow parents. (I was one, and I say this lovingly, a snowplow parent who removes all obstacles is not doing anyone a favor. Trust me, I learned the hard way!) Here’s the insight from Barbara McCombs, Ph.D., University of Denver, “Research has shown that motivation is related to whether or not students have opportunities to be autonomous and to make important academic choices. Having choices allows children through young adults to feel empowered that they have control or ownership over their own learning. This, in turn, helps them develop a sense of responsibility and self-motivation.” One of the “oldies but goodies” of a decade ago was an emphasis on igniting motivation. Unfortunately, I think many of us gave up on that possibility. I’m bringing this research into my classroom and hope to reignite some of the magic.
We must not discount the lessons that worked, the philosophies that were beacons and the professional insights that we have.
Teaching is hard. It always has been. It always will be. However, we must not discount the lessons that worked, the philosophies that were beacons, and the professional insights that we have. There’s a pretty crazy world on the horizon, so looking forward seems to be counterintuitive in some ways. I’m going to look back at the “oldies but goodies” because I do believe that my current students deserve the same kind of intentionality that my students had a decade ago. I’d love to know what your “oldies but goodies” are!
New Teacher Collection
We know as a new educator, you must have a lot of questions (and may be a bit nervous), but that’s where Share My Lesson comes in. We’ve put together a set of resources and practical tools from experts and educators in the field – just for you!
More Resources for the New School Year
Get the new school year started off on the right track with more resources on topics such as classroom management, social-emotional learning, family engagement, supporting English-language learners, building successful community schools, and more.
Amber Chandler is a National Board Certified middle school ELA teacher in Hamburg, New York with a Master’s Degree in Literature, as well as a School Building Leader certification. She is the 2018 Association for Middle Level Educators’ “Educator of the Year.” Amber has enjoyed a wide variety of... See More
Advertisement
