Mike Anderson

Maybe It’s Okay Not to Meet All of Our Goals I was once hit by a car while running, and it helped me realize that maybe it's okay to not meet all our goals.

I was once hit by a car while running, and it helped me reflect on good goal setting in teaching. leadinggreatlearning.com/maybe-its-ok...

Resources - Mike Anderson Consulting Looking for Resources? Are you facilitating a staff meeting or in-house PD event and need some resources for teachers to explore? Or are you looking to further your own PD for your professional growth...

Looking for great resources to lead your (and/or others') professional learning? I've added a section to my site with free binders about common topics I support in schools including Hugging Porcupines, Teacher Talk, Boosting Student Motivation, and more.
leadinggreatlearning.com/resources/

Delayed Gratification - Mike Anderson Consulting In both teaching and running, many of the benefits show up down the road (ahem, sorry for that). But it's not all about delayed gratification!

So much of what makes teaching so purposeful involves delayed gratification. That's fine. But let's not forget the importance of finding purpose and motivation and joy in our daily work with kids! leadinggreatlearning.com/delayed-grat...

Delayed Gratification - Mike Anderson Consulting In both teaching and running, many of the benefits show up down the road (ahem, sorry for that). But it's not all about delayed gratification!

In both teaching and running, many of the benefits show up down the road. But it's not all about delayed gratification! leadinggreatlearning.com/delayed-grat...

Is It Time to Try Something Different? Sometimes it's time to try something really different. If you're struggling with the same problem day after day, it might be time to shake things up!

Teachers--is there something in your classroom or teaching that's just not working right now? Don't be afraid to really shake things up to find a solution. Here are a few examples to consider: leadinggreatlearning.com/is-it-time-t...

Runners Gotta Run. Readers Gotta Read. Runners gotta run. They need to log a lot of miles. And readers gotta read (like actual reading!) a lot to get better at reading.

If reading is so important for kids, why do they spend so little time doing it in school? It just doesn't make sense. #commonsenseteaching

leadinggreatlearning.com/runners-gott...

A Special Event Sharpens Purpose An upcoming race gives daily training runs a greater sense of purpose. The same is true in the classroom. A special events boosts purpose.

Welcome to the winter doldrums, folks, where (even awesome) learning and work can start to feel like a slog. This is a great time of year to try a special event with your students to sharpen their sense of purpose for learning. leadinggreatlearning.com/a-special-ev...

Run Toward Oncoming Traffic Whether you're running or working with families, it's better to face potential trouble head-on. This helps you get ahead of it!

Teachers are often hesitant to let kids experience consequences in school, because they worry about push-back from parents. Whether you're running or working with families, it's better to face potential trouble head-on. leadinggreatlearning.com/run-toward-o...

How to Set Good Goals for New Year’s Resolutions You'll be more likely to be successful with New Year's resolutions of you make them about habits and keep them realistic.

It's that time of year again. Are you going to set a New Year's resolution? If so, here are a few ideas to help you set one you might actually follow through on: leadinggreatlearning.com/how-to-set-g...

Motivation Comes and Goes Runners and teachers know that motivation comes and goes. We need strategies to keep ourselves (and our students) moving forward.

#Motivation comes and goes, for students and teachers. Here are a few ideas, drawn from my experience as a runner and educator, about how to navigate the natural ups and downs of motivation: leadinggreatlearning.com/motivation-c...

Motivation Comes and Goes Runners and teachers know that motivation comes and goes. We need strategies to keep ourselves (and our students) moving forward.

My latest blog post is finished! It's part of a series I'm working on that explores what #running reminds me about #teaching and #learning. This one explores how to navigate the natural ups and downs of motivation. leadinggreatlearning.com/motivation-c...

12 Routines to Revisit in January - by Mike Anderson Students have been away from school for the holidays, and you'll need to help them regain their school groove. It's time to revisit key routines!

Teachers, which routines in your room are solid? Which are shaky and will need some review in January? Good routines help students function independently and help you devote more of your attention to teaching. Start making a list now.

leadinggreatlearning.com/revisiting-r...

On Nov. 10, I worked with Ka'elepulu School in Kailua, HI. We dug into student motivation and considered how to lean into intrinsic motivators (autonomy, competence, belonging, purpose, curiosity, and fun) and away from extrinsic ones (tickets, points, prizes, grades, etc.).

A Calm Start to Monday Morning Monday mornings set the tone for the rest of the week at school. Read on for practical strategies to have a calm start to Monday morning.

A calm start to Monday morning sets a tone of safety and productivity for the rest of the week. Start thinking ahead to next week with some ideas from this article: leadinggreatlearning.com/a-calm-start...

Foods that Fuel Attention, Good Behavior, and Learning As parents, we all want to help our kids succeed in school. Let's pack them foods that fuel attention, good behavior and learning.

Teachers, here's a blog post to pass along to parents about how to pack foods for kids that help them have a great day at school: leadinggreatlearning.com/foods-that-f...

We can design writing rubrics with intrinsic motivation in mind.

Let's be careful not to diminish kids' self-motivation for writing through rubrics that use extrinsic motivators.

Kids will be more motivated to write when writing helps them meet basic psychological needs.

10 Important Reminders for the New Year Here are 10 important reminders for teachers as we all begin a new school year. Which ones seem especially important to you?

leadinggreatlearning.com/10-important...

10 Important Reminders for the New Year Here are 10 important reminders for teachers as we all begin a new school year. Which ones seem especially important to you?

leadinggreatlearning.com/10-important...

Here's the conclusion from What We Say and How We Say It Matter (amazon.com/dp/1416627049/). It's a good reminder as we head into the school year.

I had a blast with you all!

Prioritizing conformity over creativity is holding back our best teachers - SmartBrief Teachers should have the freedom to treat students as individuals with different learning needs, writes George Philhower.

www.smartbrief.com/original/pri...

Just had this comment posted in one of my online classes. I see this kind of reflection a lot. It's so true. We don't mean to demotivate with incentives, but that's just what happens in the long run.

Reflections on Final Exams After a Half Marathon Race One test shouldn't try to capture a semester's learning any more than one race should define a season of running.

I ran a half marathon race this past weekend, and it got me thinking about final exams. Should one big test really have much (if any) bearing on how we evaluate a student's learning from a semester or year? leadinggreatlearning.com/reflections-...

I'm working on a writing project about kids who struggle in school. I'd like to tell stories of famous/successful adults who struggled in school. Does anyone have suggestions of people whose stories I should explore--famous people who had a hard time in school?

Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher Amazon.com: Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher: 9781416633037: Anderson, Mike: Books

School leaders, are you looking for a book for faculty to read over the summer? This book is packed with small steps teachers can take to refresh their spirits, recover their swagger, recharge their batteries, and rekindle their professional fires! www.amazon.com/Rekindle-You...

Looking for summer learning for teachers? Many schools use these courses to support self-paced teacher learning. Popular courses are Hugging Porcupines, Tackling the Motivation Crisis, and What We Say and How We Say It Matter.

Check them all out here: courses.leadinggreatlearning.com

Three Ways to Rekindle Teachers' Professional Fires Here are three strategies school leader can use to create a more vibrant, healthy, and engaged school climate. Rekindle your teachers' fires!

Teachers get run down and burned out when their needs for autonomy, belonging, competence, purpose, curiosity, and fun (not to mention basic good health) are in deficit. Here are some ideas generated by school leaders for how to meet those needs. leadinggreatlearning.com/three-ways-t...

YouTube video by Dana Goodier "Out of the Trenches" podcast episode #340: Mike Anderson

View the latest #podcast with @balancedteacher.bsky.social Mike Anderson, #author of nine books about great #teaching and #learning @danagoodier.bsky.social youtu.be/IBXnXcYhNXY?...