(notes from our conference attendees)

Delivery is important.

Students need to feel like they belong.

Having personal conferences improve student focus. 

Find ways to teach content that draws students in.

Integrate life lessons.

Out crazy the students.

Focus on what I can do.  Leave naught to chance in education.

Have small group lessons on reading strategy for my lower readers.

Frontload background knowledge and preview information.

Introduce the pronunciation of difficult words and pair the strongest with weaker readers.

Help students learn the concept rather than the procedure.

Jar of marbles – put a marble in an empty jar when I do something positive.

If I’m more grounded, I’ll be grounded in the classroom, a more functional human being.

Let students use various means to demonstrate their knowledge talents and gifts.

Connect with your students to get to know them.

Use more graphic organizers in prewriting exercises. 

Encourage students to write more in the math class (expressing their ideas, problem areas, likes and dislikes).

Simplify, show all the steps.

Focus on the positive and what you (or your students) are good at to decrease conflict and anger behaviors.

Use humor in handling difficult situations.

Make more time for collaboration.

Change!  Encourage teachers to learn about students lives and establish relationships with parents.

Empower and trust more.

Discover what my students are passionate about by initiating those conversations with them. 

Find a way to get students involved in classroom activities.

Small learning communities are such a powerful way to create a sense of community and connect students to a bigger community. 

Listen.

Re-institute life skills in my classroom.

Stop using “they” as an excuse.

Give the students responsibility and trust.

Let kids write about their own interests where they can express themselves.

Empower and encourage students to search for the truth in their own voices.

Math is a language with parts of speech.