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Tim Riley
@timlriley.bsky.social
HS ELA, Dual Credit,Journalism Teacher, MA, MS, English Adjunct, @cwstudies #TeamEnglish #ITeachELA #CNFtweet #highered #elearning #TeachELA #multimodalcomposition #EduSky #ELASky #NCTE
After a brief summer hiatus, The Important Work will be back in September. If you teach writing to high school or college students, work in writing centers, take writing classes, assign writing in any context, I would love to hear from you and publish your reflections. Guidelines are here. /1
Write for The Important Work
Submission Guidelines
theimportantwork.substack.com
Taking advantage to show off my new generic-social-media-post-image, I'll share again my latest post. ● If not Direct Instruction, or Constructivist Teaching, then what? The middle stance isn't just a mix of the two. christianmooreanderson.com/teaching-wit...
The wrong ends of the constructivist stick – Christian Moore-Anderson
Despite the perennial debate on whether teachers should "just tell" or not, both sides of the discussion tend to accept constructivism. Constructivism is a stan
christianmooreanderson.com
Gemini Canvas is a tool in Google Gemini To create a side panel to create fast apps! This is really a game changer!! You can "Create a spinny wheel that chooses a random student" fast, free, and avoid sharing data with other companies. youtu.be/HqBs2CNEcN4 #TeacherTech #GoogleEDU #EduSky
I love these desk decals and am redoing my desk numbers because of them. I’ve missed this space (and being inspired by @marcusluther.bsky.social) Ready to get back at it.
Marcus Luther@marcusluther.bsky.social · 3d agoIt's that time! A little time prepping for the classroom this afternoon—starting to get very excited for this year. 🐙
@edutopia.org does a lot of things well, but I think nailing an animated version of me has to go up to the top of my list. Quite the surprise for me. Here's a short video that details how I arrange my classroom: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvFX...
Rethinking Classroom Seating With Caves, Campfires, and Watering Holes
YouTube video by Edutopia
youtube.com
Christian Moore-Anderson@cmooreanderson.eurosky.social · 23h agoThere is something to @benjaminjriley.bsky.social 's ways educators see the "science of learning". I think the SoL is a term more popular in the US. This post could have been the same in the UK as a way educators talk about "cognitive science". buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
From card-stacking challenges to drawing activities to beach ball toss, these 22 get-to-know-you activities can help teachers lay the groundwork for a strong class culture. 🙌 #BackToSchool #EduSky
22 Fun Ways to Spark Classroom Connections
These engaging, low-stakes, and teacher-tested activities can help students quickly warm up to each other—and to you.
edutopia.org
Whatever's on your mind and wherever you are, we'd love to hear how you're grappling with AI, what you've figured out, and what you think teachers and students should know. Here's one more, from a group of high school writing tutors. /5
We made a writing tutor GPT; here’s what we learned
AI has promise, but it can’t replace human connection
theimportantwork.substack.com
For 2 years we've published pieces about not using AI, using AI, finding ways to engage students in new ways, testing AI tools, not testing AI tools, and more. A few of examples here. This one, from August 2025 is still the most read of all (and still resonates) /2
At my high school no one is talking about AI
But everyone is using it
theimportantwork.substack.com
When students learn to solve small problems on their own, everyone can stay focused on learning. 🔎 Educator Donna Paul tells us the management methods she uses in her Montessori school classroom. #SEL
An Approach to Classroom Management That Builds Students' Independence
Elementary teachers can empower students to address some of their own needs, allowing for smoother lessons and more time spent learning.
edutopia.org
trevoraleo.substack.com/p/who-owns-h... Why I wrote this ⤵️
Who Owns High School English?
On communities of practice, corporate capture, and what happens when teachers are cut off from the disciplines they teach
trevoraleo.substack.com
Trevor Aleo@mraleosays.bsky.social · yesterdayThis is (one of many) reasons why I am always banging on about why it’s imperative for literary scholars, teacher educators, & teachers to cooperate & coordinate more. Otherwise “disciplinary thinking” becomes a product owned & operated by CB, instead of our shared sensemaking practices.
Isn’t there anyone out there who can help me be dead? I can’t find a job. I want to commit suicide. #suicide
What book are you holding front-and-center this school year? #EduSky
Edutopia@edutopia.org · yesterdayYour back-to-school activities are ready and your classroom is designed with care—but how do you feel? @biblio-phile.bsky.social shares 3 books that can make you feel seen *and* help protect your emotional well-being throughout the school year. 📚 #TeacherPD #NewTeachers
This is (one of many) reasons why I am always banging on about why it’s imperative for literary scholars, teacher educators, & teachers to cooperate & coordinate more. Otherwise “disciplinary thinking” becomes a product owned & operated by CB, instead of our shared sensemaking practices.
Annie Abrams@annieabrams.bsky.social · yesterday“after students wrote their own paragraph on how the setting in a novel reveals a character's inner conflict, a teacher-monitored AI would respond against the teacher's own rubric with feedback, pushing the student's reasoning further without rewriting the work itself” 👎
"Somewhere in all of the assigning and questioning and reviewing, we risk losing sight of our broader aims." @larryferlazzo.bsky.social via @edweek.org www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...
If You Don't See Value in an Assignment, Your Students Won't, Either (Opinion)
From reading to decisionmaking, educators offer ideas on how best to encourage learning.
edweek.org
Listen to our *new* podcast The Research Is In. Apple Podcasts: apple.co/4fT0Lbx Spotify: bit.ly/45v59aD
Research: 5 Principles of Superb Classroom Design
Podcast Episode · School of Practice · August 11 · 28m
apple.co
Have you differentiated content using Gemini Notebook? Upload a text that is clearly not grade level appropriate. Ask Gemini Notebook to rewrite it at the chosen grade level... and turn it into a video. youtu.be/XTKlRwM2A4E #GoogleEDU #TeacherTech #EduSky
Want to help your high school students approach their college essays with confidence and optimism? Try writing conferences! ✍️ #literacy #ITeachELA
Leveraging Writing Conferences in the College Essay Process
One-on-one talks allow teachers to build relationships with students while providing thoughtful feedback on their personal statements.
edut.to
![“The beautiful mess of student thinking isn’t a problem to fix. It’s the heart of learning. When we create classrooms where students think aloud, connect ideas, and build evolving explanations, we’re not just teaching [content]. We’re preparing them to reason through the world’s complexity.” —Thomas TJ McKenna, Educator](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4zbgbug4ilc6e6erhwm7tlze/bafkreidr4rzsd7siqqgoxjnlqvtxd2kgrp4t35i4yeyngmnpyke3tseeoq)
Sincere question: Why are journal editors obligated to give a full review to obvious AI slop or quasi-slop under the theory that there could be some nugget of worthwhile insight under the crap? Couldn't they just punt anything that's obviously not human-derived? www.chronicle.com/article/ai-i...
AI Is Ruining Scholarship
When we outsource literature review to algorithms, we lose entire sectors of knowledge.
chronicle.com
"students are still people before they are submissions, and educators are still mentors before they are investigators." 🎯 and 🎯 www.ascd.org/blogs/i-got-...
I Got Kicked Out of Class for Writing Too Well
After being falsely accused of cheating with AI, one educator learned a valuable lesson about the power of knowing students and their work.
ascd.org
Hey, Amazon has Poetry Pauses on a pretty good discount right now folks, plus this link sends a little extra to the author. If you've been a reader on the fence, I think you'll find this to be an energizing, start-of-the-year PD book :) @corwinpress.bsky.social amzn.to/4gihy6z
There's something remarkable about the idea of public education—but it's an idea that requires us living up to it, and it feels like instead we're retreating from it. And I think the consequences are just beginning to pile up from that retreat: thebrokencopier.substack.com/p/what-i-thi...
What I Think Might Be Challenging This Year
Three anticipated struggles going into Year 15 of teaching—and how I'm preparing
thebrokencopier.substack.com