Bill Ferriter

42.

(Man, I travel too much.)

Stop using generative AI as a search engine Sometimes ChatGPT spits out something original — and wrong, like fake presidential pardons.

This was a really interesting read about the growing trend of using AI chatbots as search engines. I liked the distinction between "answer engines" and "search engines." (And I'm blown away by the number of 'journalists' who are using ChatGPT as a source.)

"The school that actually does the work of a PLC will develop its capacity to help all students learn far more effectively than the school that spends years preparing to be a PLC."

Rick DuFour
#atplc
#EduSky

"It is important, however, that leaders do more than prompt a staff to take new actions: they must consistently communicate the underlying rationale to support the action."

Rick DuFour
#atplc
#EduSky

"People who are determined not to act can always find a reason to justify inaction."

Rick DuFour
#atplc
#EduSky

When teams become the focus of celebration and every team feels it too has the opportunity to be recognized and applauded, schools begin to move away from a culture of internal competition and toward a sharing culture.

Rick DuFour
#atplc
#EduSky

"Educators who hope to build PLCs will focus less on writing mission statements and more on demonstrating their missions at work through their day-to-day actions."

Rick DuFour

#atplc
#EduSky

"The true mission of a school is revealed by what people do, not what they say."

Rick DuFour

#atplc
#EduSky

"The problem is not that we do not know enough -- it is that we do not do what we already know. We do not act on or refine or apply those principles and practices that virtually every teacher already knows."

Mike Schmoker

#atplc
#EduSky

"Consequently, I believe learning in schools becomes energized and likely to spread to out-of-school time only when young people have as many opportunities to pose and address their own problems as they do to grapple with problems posed by teachers."

Roland Barth
#atplc
#EduSky

"What would happen if a school took seriously the goal of promoting profound levels of learning and graduating students destined to sustain prodigious levels of learning over their lifetimes?"

Roland Barth

#atplc
#EduSky
#worthasking

"Clearly the most basic graduation requirement, then, is that our students leave each grade and each school imbued with the qualities, dispositions, and capacities of insatiable, lifelong learners."

Roland Barth

#atplc
#EduSky

"At every possible opportunity, express what you believe about effort-based ability and what you think it can do for the children in your school...Leaders often underestimate the power of simply standing for something publicly and with perseverance."

Jon Saphier

#atplc
#EduSky

Just going to leave this right here #teaching #education #teacher #educators #edusky #langchat #iteachWL

Amazing shares for physics teachers here from Michael.

You and me both, Ryan! It will take some time, but I'm super excited about being away from Twitter for the most part. Such a toxic space.

👊

Tool - Using AI Chatbots to Develop a Survey on Belief in the Abilities of Learners Tool - Using AI Chatbots to Develop a Survey on Belief in the Abilities of Learners Research on successful schools consistently points to four core beliefs that must be in place for professional l...

Just pulled together a series of AI prompts that guiding coalitions can use to develop a survey for their school community on the belief that ALL students can learn at high levels. Check it out here:

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

#EduSky
#atplc

Tonight's adventure.

Thanks for recognizing this, Ann! Best idea I ever had and I didn't put my name on it.

Thanks for listening to my Ted Talk.

😂

#steppingoffsoapbox

#EduSky

And let's be real: We give "developing risk takers" lip service, too. We say that we value that trait in learners, but we aren't willing to study the best strategies for developing it in our students because we have "too many other things to do."

(Read: Standards to teach and tests to give.)

Sadly, I think we give lip service to building a supportive classroom culture. "Team building" is reserved for the first few days of class and almost always involves a cheesy activity that we do once and move on from.

The result: Our kids don't take risks in our spaces.

And if we REALLY wanted our kids to be risk takers, we'd invest significant time into developing meaningful relationships between all students in our rooms.

We are willing to take greater risks in front of people we trust.

Which means if we REALLY wanted our kids to be risk takers, we would engineer lots of opportunities for students to take low-stakes risks in our rooms -- and to take those risks together.

Those moments are full of social implications for students. Answering the question wrong or giving an opinion that the group doesn't agree with has long-lasting consequences for kids.

Those stakes aren't worth it to kids -- and as a result, they don't "take those risks" in our rooms.

Here's the thing: The only real risks that I see teachers asking kids to take come with pretty high stakes. An example: Answering a difficult question in class or sharing a personal take on a topic.

I've been thinking a ton about our desire to see our students "take risks" in our classrooms.

🧵

#EduSky

Man. I'm sitting here all choked up again. A bunch of parents and former students found me in LinkedIn and buried me in kind words and well-wishes.

I miss those deep connections with families, y'all.

Our profession can be frustrating and exhausting for sure.

But it is always beautiful.

That's a great analogy, right?! I learned that from Tom Schimmer and it made a ton of sense to me. Been sharing it ever since -- and it makes me want to make pancakes every time! Glad it helped...

Really good point, Michelle. Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't considered that!