Date: January 11, 2021

Cost: $115

Date: January 27, 2021

Cost: $205

CSTP's WERD Book Study featuring Caste (only a few spots remain)

Date: February 18, 2021

Cost: Free

"In business, a pivot is a true change of course. The product is not selling, so change the product or get a new one to sell. I’m feeling more like that. Students are failing in record numbers. Teachers and students are struggling with engagement and isolation. Not only is this a problem in itself, but it has also revealed and highlighted some troubling pre-existing conditions in education. (There are many, so I will leave you to imagine your favorites.)"

"The first question we wanted to solve was, How? How do we fix the problems in front of us?

Instead, the first question we asked ourselves was, Why? What makes the students (and families) less engaged?"

Amy Campbell, Washington 2020 Teacher of the Year, was recently featured on KGW8 news, talking about the challenges teaching during the pandemic. She also talks about the importance of self-care and offers several tips for fellow educators.

NBCT Tammie Schrader talks about how a student assignment to design a game led to increased student engagement and students from other classes knocking on her door to play a science-based video game after school.

This article explores the unintended consequences of remote learning with educators adapting curriculum in an online environment and the potential to reinvent education post-pandemic. Washington NBCT and Stories from School blogger, Mark Gardner, is quoted in the article saying “I think a huge part of [some students’ work improving] is that we’ve dramatically ratcheted down the total workload in order to make tasks accessible rather than overwhelming.”

In this feel good video, Kindergarten teacher Angelah Quidachay is welcomed to the staff of Riverview Elementary School in Evergreen Public Schools where she was a student 19 years ago. Her classroom neighbor and teammate is none other than her former Kindergarten teacher, Jodie Brusseau.

Are you running a course or book study online and want to offer Washington State clock hours? CSTP is an approved Washington State clock hour provider and can approve your courses for clock hours. It is free for the course instructor to apply for the course with course participants paying a nominal fee for clock hours.

CSTP is offering statewide online component facilitation for National Board candidates in January 2021. Components 1 and 3 kick-off in January, but registration is almost full. Register now to guarantee your spot!

In partnership with OSPI, CSTP is excited to announce the WERD (WA Educators Read and Discuss) Book Study. This opportunity is open to all Washington paraeducators, teachers, principals, administrators and ESAs. Registration is free and 10 clock hours per study will be available.

Our book study will feature Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson and will kick-off on February 18.

Visit our website to learn more and register.

CSTP, in partnership with OSPI, will pilot three free synchronous trainings for educators in early-2021. These modules were created by Washington teachers to support engagement, community and differentiation in the online classroom. These one hour trainings offer participants the opportunity to engage and collaborate around ideas that can be implemented immediately into their distance learning reality. Participants of the trainings will be asked to review and offer feedback of the content. The three modules are explained below.

Making Learning Fun and Feedback Useful gives helpful ways to keep students engaged in their digital learning and provides educators ideas for how to offer relevant feedback.

Community Building explains the importance of a classroom community and the positive effect it has on student learning. It provides many examples and opportunities for teachers think about their own online class communities and how to make them stronger.

Differentiation in the Online Classroom explains why providing content appropriate for individuals is vital to students’ success. This module gives ideas and methods for how to meet students’ individual needs successfully. 

Do you have a question about your Learning Management System? Submit it here, in our Facebook group or to our Twitter accounts.

Student View is coming to individual Canvas pages next month. See how this feature works in your beta environment.

Quick Tip for Grading in Google Classroom: Use the To Review list (and the Reviewed tab) for quickly looking up those late submissions.

Did you know you can share a powerpoint with our class and students can work together in the same file? Learn how to use this as a collaboration tool in your class.

We have expanded information about using rubrics and other tools for grading in Schoology in our Resource Guides.

Looking for a way for your class to be together, despite being virtual or in hybrid teaching mode? Pixton lets you create a "class" where each of your students can create their own avatar and you can upload it into a class picture! So cute and easy!

The class picture is free and your students do not need to make an account-- they just click on the link to your classroom. You can then download the picture to your computer and e-mail it to your families or upload it to Seesaw to share!

Badges and clock hours are available for those completing any of the 16 available asynchronous modules in the Teacher Tech Project. Each completed module is worth one clock hour.

Learn more on the CSTP website.

Not being able to see students has been one of many disappointments in 2020, further perpetuated when students don't turn on cameras during virtual learning. A tik-tok video of a group of students surprising their professor by turning on their camera and his reaction has gone viral and inspired other students to do the same, including in Olympia, WA. This is a trend we hope will continue in 2021!

Your gift ensures that CSTP continues to support student achievement through a focus on teaching excellence. With you as a partner in CSTP’s mission, you directly make a difference in the lives of youth across Washington State schools. Donations are tax deductible and essential as CSTP works to support educators navigate unique models of student engagement during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Liking and sharing our posts on social media is another way you can support CSTP during these times. Thank you for sharing our message.