#EduProtocols - Chapters 1-5

For the next book we chose to study and review “The EduProtocol Field Guide: 16 Student-Centered Lesson Frames for Infinite Learning Possibilities” (@eduProtocols) by Marlena Hebern (@mhebern) and Jon Corippo (@jcorippo).  This book is beyond amazing and a book that you read and want to take everything right into your classroom immediately. We will be doing multiple posts on this book as we read through it.  Today’s post is over Chapters 1-5.

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Jess:

First of all, this book is AMAZING and I can’t put it down.  I have been highlighting like crazy and my mind is filled with ideas to implement next school year.  So, I appreciate the space left to take notes on the sides of each page. Of course I used #BookSnaps (shout to Tara Martin) while reading, because, well, I am obsessed now.  

This quote should be put in every educators room because it is exactly what we should be doing, “The most important things: Love kids, love what I do, and desire to be better everyday.”  As I am already looking to next year and adjujsting curriculum (because curriculum maps are due next week for next year) I have desired to make next year better than this year. I also attend as much PD, edcamps, participate in twitter chats, or conferences I can, to better myself and my teaching everyday. A good educator should do the three things listed in the quote.

This quote talks about fostering and valuing curiosity, creativity, and playfulness in children to help them be successful in their futures.  In my 3rd grade classroom, those three words are what I drive my lesson planning off of. Kids need to be curious about the world, they need to embrace their creativity and imagination, and they need to play.

My final #BookSnap for Chapters 1-5 is about creating a classroom culture.  The book talks heavily about taking the first few weeks and building a classroom culture and how important it is.  They also give you ideas of things you can do to help build that culture. I don’t want to give too much away, yet I appreciate the ideas and will definitely be using them next year.

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Steph:

I am so glad we decided to pick this book up at the end of the year - it’s got me ready to plan for August!  I also know that I will be picking it up and referring to it several times while planning over my summer break because it is the kind of book educators, coaches and principals can reference over and over!  I would also highly recommend this book to pre-service and new teachers because it’s definitely got some great advice to get someone started in this field.

To start, the idea of ‘protocols’ is genius.  Of course we all have routines in our classroom surrounding behavior expectations, but EduProtocols are like learning activity ‘skeletons’ that can be applied to any content. Of course, in order to be a real EduProtocol, they must meet standards of engagement and consistency.

Jon and Marlena liken it to a chef or a trainer.  They don’t do brand new things every single day, the build a solid toolbox of go-tos.  These, my friends, are your EduProtocols.

Beyond the ‘teaser’ protocols introduced in the beginning of the book, the authors begin with helping teachers find ways to build strong classroom (or building) cultures! This is so important, and I 100% agree that “Culture is Everything” (chapter 3).  Beyond reminding us of this all important fact, EduProtocol gives teachers concrete strategies - Smart Starts - to accomplish this sense of community and culture in our rooms or buildings.

I am already planning to use the “Frayer a Classmate” Smart Start next school year and can’t wait to use it to create Classcraft teams in the first week!  If you haven’t already picked up the book for yourself, you’ll definitely want to check this out!

Finally, because teachers love a good acronym, I latched onto this:

and it’s definitely going to be hanging in my room next year!

With only 11 days of school left, this book has definitely made me excited for all of the possibilities August has to offer!

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We look forward to continuing reading this book.  Look out for a new blog post soon on some more chapters of the book.  In the meantime, give the authors a follow on twitter: @eduProtocols, @mhebern, @jcorippo.