Have you heard of Voxer? It’s an app for your device that allows you to communicate with others on a walkie-talkie type platform. I like it because I am always on the go and keeping in touch with others through text can be tricky and unsafe. But with Voxer, I can tap the ‘talk’ button and…

I enjoyed the #educoach Twitter chat that went down last night. I met some amazing instructional coaches around the nation. What I love most about them is that they realized although they have a lot of knowledge to share with teachers, they still have areas they need to grow as well. #lifelonglearner Coaching is one…

During the summer, I work as a new teacher coach for TEACH Charlotte under the non-profit company The New Teacher Project. I love what I do. Just like students have the “aha” moment in a lesson, new teachers have the “aha” moment in the classroom while you’re coaching. It’s so rewarding to watch someone grow before…

During the summer, I work as a new teacher coach for TEACH Charlotte under the non-profit company The New Teacher Project. I love what I do. Just like students have the “aha” moment in a lesson, new teachers have the “aha” moment in the classroom while you’re coaching. It’s so rewarding to watch someone grow before…

One of my favorite past times is snuggling up on the couch and watching a feel-good movie. What is even more exciting is when a movie about education and/or an amazing teacher comes out and I can get re-inspired about my career choice. However, as numerous movies have been created and hit the big screen,…

I used to rack my brain for how I could reach my students better. There were times that I felt no matter what I did I wasn’t effective, or at least I thought. What I learned through much trial and error was that it had less to do with what I was doing and more…

I often get asked, “Gretchen, how do you do it all?” When I respond to this question, the person usually says “hmm…that makes sense.” Their response tells me that what I think is a logical solution or train of thought might not be as obvious to others as it was to me. Let me explain……

As a new teacher coach for TEACH Charlotte this summer, we often give feedback. My fellow coach and I felt like we continued to give the same feedback in the same area of lesson plans. This let us know that our expectations for what must be included in a lesson plan must be unclear to our…

It’s no secret that our nation is in need of quality teachers. We talk a lot about getting teachers, but rarely do we talk about keeping the ones we have. Out of the many years I have been mentoring and coaching new teachers, I always ask “why did you want to become a teacher?” The…

I had a double aha moment today…double! I’ve always said the best professional development for me as a teacher has come from Twitter (specifically Twitter chats). [See my previous posts on Twitter’s influence on teacher development here: Twitter Chat Firstie, Twitter Chat How-To, 5 Twitter Hashtags Worth Following .] I know you might think its…