Tips from a top teacher

Nicole Dodendorf's advice …

• Build relationships: What if school is the only place a student has to experience truly positive relationships? My ability to build relationships with students and other staff members is absolutely critical to establishing a positive classroom culture.

I have had the fortunate opportunity to work with some phenomenal co-teachers. What began in just one of my classes has expanded to two. The reason? We model a positive working relationship. We also teach our students how we come to compromise and how we solve conflict within our teaching day.

Our end of the hallway is in a pod. It is seven classrooms that exit into a large circle. In between classes, teachers stand in the hallway. We greet students and the teachers talk to one another. We are constantly modeling positive relationships for students, even when we think they are not watching.

What about the times when I don't have a co-teacher? The great news is that I am still an example for students! And, as I teach class content, I am sure to analyze characters, make inferences about historical leaders and debate the dialogue and research between scientists.

I want to help students grow to see events in their learning and in their own lives from multiple perspectives. I extend the curriculum to include communication and experiences that mimic positive relationships. That would also include parents in the equation too. Parents are the students' first and most important teachers. Student relationships are increased and enhanced when parents are able to play a role in the educational setting.

My students know sincerity. They know immediately when I am vested and passionate about what I do. Boy, do they respond to it too.

I don't recall an overly positive junior high experience. I remember every teacher who I thought was mean or abrasive. I remember the bullies. I remember my insecurities. I don't want any kid walking out of my room in that mental place. I think twice before I speak too critically.

More important than any curriculum, I want students to know that I care about their development, their experiences, their well-being. Ultimately, if I can care about these three things, then the learning of the curriculum can and will occur.

• Learning opportunities: A quote by Benjamin Franklin was recently used in my graduate class and he stated, "All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move."

What a statement! We should be doing whatever it takes to help shape our students to be those that move. I want them to move … students need the responsibility to learn as much as they can now so that when they are ready to "move," they have the work habits, communication skills and social-emotional skills to be successful.

I have the responsibility to provide the opportunity to learn in an engaging way for them. I take the responsibility very seriously.

Teachers have to continue to learn and it doesn't have to be a graduate program. Pick up a new book, follow a new blog, read from a trusted online organization.

But the key is using established relationships with students to show them how learning will move them forward.

I am relentless with letting students know what I'm learning … where I've learned it from … and why I think it's important. I share the nonsense along with the crucial stuff. I want students to see that the person I am today is not the person I was last August, or last year, or in eighth grade.

I also use the opportunities to show them that learning is what keeps doors open, the mind refreshed and thinking about the world. Life is long and getting longer with technological advances. I want students to learn from everything and everywhere.

• Flexibility and growth mindset: We all know life happens. The best-laid teacher plans will often experience a hiccup. A dead computer. A downed network. A broken copy machine. A shortened class period. It is so important to remember that everything is going to be all right.

Students will still learn. Objectives and learning goals will still be achieved. It might take an extra day. You might have to find a new way to reteach a lesson to half the class.

I try to tell myself to view these temporary setbacks as opportunities for reflection. I tell my students, "Well, that didn't go as I thought it would!" Or, "Next time, what should we do differently to make it better?"

It's remarkable to see how a classroom transforms when students see that their input is needed to make class better and the teacher listens to them.

In 15 years, I have never used the same lesson twice exactly as it was done before. My favorite saying is, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten."

It's a good reminder that if I'm going to be better today, I've got to do something different than I did yesterday. If I'm going to be an excellent teacher next year, what I do this year will need to be examined and changed to meet the needs of those students next year.

I'll never throw in the towel. Never. I always thought I was an eternal optimist. I think it just turns out that I am an expert at looking for opportunities of growth and acknowledging that I can always be better.