[PODCAST 254]: Teaching with STEP: Community Ideas and Strategies for a More Organized Classroom

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2M ago 16:20

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There’s something so special about getting organized, but there’s something even more special about having a supportive community behind you to provide encouragement!

I compiled some best practices from teachers and educators that have been shared over the years in our STEP Mastery group, and I hope you enjoy listening to (or reading through) them! It was so fun to go through the group and see how teachers have lifted one another up over the past seven years.

As mentioned in the audio, our first-ever STEP Momentum accountability group is starting on August 28th, 2024! If you’re ready to set up your own Command Central with check-ins and support from Team LearnDoBecome, please check out our full information page here!

Here are a few messages that we’ve received from teachers going through the STEP program:

I teach in a different location each day. Without STEP, I would be a wreck.
I set my Command Central up at home over the summer and then took aspects to school and started weaving them in little by little. So far I’ve kept them separate. School gets enough of my time and I’m trying to keep my life my own.
I am a teacher of multiple classes, I coordinate work study for the students, do scheduling, discipline, and counseling, and manage multiple students and support staff. The first thing I learned when I started this program is that I could not keep up all the work that I have and be effective as a teacher. I’m actually supposed to have another teacher but I can’t seem to get that support in place from my school. I almost quit this program because it showed me the truth what I’m doing is not physically possible for anybody. The truth hurts! But I’m slowly trying to do is delegate and expect more from other people.

It was fun to read this from Karen (one of our STEPpers) and see how her system is supporting her life as a teacher: “HUGE WIN. Because I added class periods folders into my school Command Central, I can ask sub teachers by email to put papers for my review in them. I am so grateful for this class.”

Another STEPper recently shared this response to a post from a brand-new teacher in our STEP Mastery Facebook group:

“I’m not a teacher but have had multiple locations for work / volunteering. I have had physical work areas at all locations with a physical and digital inbox at each. And then I also did weekly reviews at each location (Fridays for work location and Sunday afternoons for Home location). Weekly reviews are where I have gotten the most momentum in STEP. For example, on a Friday (or whichever day works), schedule an hour of weekly review for the high school, schedule a break and then schedule an hour for the Jr High. Add this time to your calendar so that it is blocked out and prioritized. For your weekly reviews, this is where a portable container will help you – just throw everything from the physical inbox into your container slot for that location, and then process at your centralized location (wherever you decide you will have your home base). I have a main Context-Based Next Actions List in an app. I have used prefixes for contexts to help me ID tasks per location. So for work, I’d use ‘Work – Desk’, ‘Work – Phone’, etc; for volunteering I use ‘Volunteering – Bookstore’, ‘Volunteering – Email’, etc and similarly for Home contexts.”

Several STEPpers shared their thoughts and ideas on a post from a busy, homeschooling parent who was wondering how to implement the STEP program when there is so much going on.

These are such great words of wisdom, and I think they apply to teachers in all capacities:

“Homeschooling mom here! By the end of the day I know I was generally completely physically intellectually and emotionally tapped out. One suggestion: consider if you could institute say a 30 minute quiet time, maybe right after lunch or mid afternoon, where the littles get to do something they can do without your direct supervision, maybe something they really like that they don’t get to do except during that time, maybe even just watch a video or a program. If that gives you a 20 minute window for STEP training, that will really add up over time. And what you are looking to do initially is begin to retrain your mind to some new ways, before you even do any steps. Slow but steady, you can begin to shift this…”
“Do STEP first thing when you wake up and they haven’t yet. That’ll give you a chance to listen and do a microburst & help you feel motivated throughout the rest of the day. I’m currently doing that with STEP and it makes a world of difference!! (From a mom of two, teacher of 4th grade, & a single married parent because my husband works opposite shift!) We got this!!! You can do it!”
“I am homeschooling and understand your longing to boost productivity and incorporate April’s genius STEP strategies to simplify much of the complexities of life. Even the smallest step in the right direction is progress. We are generally creatures of habit. It takes time for us to process change. Give yourself time to adjust. Remember… Some goals may be learning goals. Letting new ideas like STEP principles sink in to my mind for a bit is helpful for me. Watching a module five times may be helpful. Not all goals have to be ‘I climbed Mt. Everest’ action type goals. Maybe one of your kiddos would volunteer to check up on you every morning to see if you finished a STEP related job the night before. Or just once a week. Saturday may be a good day if you don’t have homeschool teaching that day.”

Here are a few more ideas from teachers that were shared in our STEP Mastery program:

I have a Google calendar just for teaching related stuff, connected to my personal calendar.
My routines are printed and sit on the front cover of my binder (bell schedule and a few “remember to items.”)
I keep several lists in my phone. I’m learning that “day of the week” lists work best for me. “Siri, add copies for a specific subject to my Tuesday list.” And then it is there during my office time Tuesday.
When it comes to paperwork, consider your classroom procedures for turning in and returning assignments. What is your grading routine? When?
I have a separate list for school projects.

Supporting Students with STEP Principles:

One of the most life-changing things I was taught as a 10-year old was how to break down a large project into Next Actions.

I received a science fair project packet when I was in 5th grade and it just about consumed me. I hated having a looming deadline and feeling like I couldn’t make enough progress to make an entire science fair project, experiment, poster board, etc. happen.

My mom sat down with me and showed me exactly how to break this project down. We sorted my Next Actions into things I could do alone, things I needed my mom’s help on, and things that needed to be done on the computer/errands (things I could sometimes do on my own, but more often than not, I needed help with them).

For any teachers out there, if there’s just one thing you’re able to share with your students that relates to STEP, this is what I would recommend sharing first and foremost!

This approach to projects completely changed my life and is what I continue to use to this day!

You are amazing, teachers! If you have any other best practices or favorite STEP principles you’d like to share, please leave them in the comments below!