March 26, 2026
March momentum: How to plan, reflect, and prepare for the second half of the semester
March is the calm before the storm. Midterms are winding down, spring break is calling, and before you know it, the semester is over. But for student teachers, March is actually the perfect time to reflect about what comes next. In this episode, we slow down and plan how to set yourself up for a stronger, smarter second half of the year. From reflecting on your placement to building habits that will carry you into your very first classroom, this one's for you.
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Hello Edu Magicians, welcome to
the Edu Magic podcast with your
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host, Doctor Sam Fesich.
Doctor Sam is a professor of
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education, author of Edu Magic,
and a Pumpkin Spice Latte fan.
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This podcast is designed for pre
service teachers.
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Remember friends, teaching
doesn't begin at graduation, but
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during that first class at 8:00
AM.
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Let's get this party started.
This podcast is a proud member
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of the Teach Better Podcast
Network, Better Today, Better
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Tomorrow, and the podcast to get
you there.
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Explore more podcasts at
www.teachbetterpodcastnetwork.com.
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Now let's get on to the episode.
Hey there, Edge Magicians, and
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welcome back to another episode
of the Edge Magic Podcast.
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My name is Doctor Sam Fasich,
and today we are doing a March
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momentum reset.
How to plan out your best
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semester before it even starts.
So I'm so excited to have you
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back, especially here in March.
We're ending out March because I
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know what this time of the year
feels like.
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It feels like we are in between
exhaustion and hopeful and
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excited and the spring weather
is coming.
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A little bit of spring fever,
midterms just ended or maybe
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they're winding down.
Maybe you just ended spring
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break or maybe it's just coming
up somewhere in your head.
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You start to think, Oh my gosh,
this semester is almost over.
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I have 5 or 6 weeks left.
What happened to the spring of
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26?
Well, that's where you are.
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This episode is just for you.
Welcome, my friends.
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Today we are talking about
planning and not in a super
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stressful way.
We're going to plan with purpose
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because here's the thing, March,
it's kind of like a gift, right?
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It's a special window time where
we can look back what we've
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what's happened, what's going on
in our placements and in our
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course and look forward to
things that are happening at the
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end this semester, things we
want to accomplish, our goals
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that we have.
So let's talk about how we can
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take advantage of that special
window of time, and then we're
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going to walk into the next
semester ready to rock'n'roll
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with clarity and confidence.
So let's jump into some of this
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March momentum.
First things first, before we
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plan to go forward, we got to
kind of look back on the
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rearview mirror, right?
We want to know what's going on
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right now in our placements, in
our coursework.
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No judgment, no pressure, just a
gut check.
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How are things going?
So if you are student teaching,
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I want you to think about how
your semester placement during
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student teaching has gone so
far.
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Maybe you just switched
placements, you're getting to
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know a whole bunch of new kids.
Maybe you are in the 10th week
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of your 16 week placement and
you're really feeling it.
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You know, really think about how
things are going.
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What are you enjoying about
teaching?
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What are some of your glow
areas?
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What are some things you really
rock at and what are some
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challenge areas?
Really be honest with yourself
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and be real with what's going
on.
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What lessons have you learned?
What lessons have you taught
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well?
What content are you really
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confident with?
Which lessons have you taught
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where the students were engaged
with you from start to finish?
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What about classroom management?
What strategies are working?
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Do you need to rethink classroom
layout?
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Really think about some of these
ideas and use them to reflect
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upon so you can end that student
teaching, student teaching
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semester strong.
For those of you on our courses
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who are going through coursework
right now, how are you doing
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with as midterms are ending?
How are you doing with your
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grades?
Are they really reflecting what
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you're doing in class, how
you're showing up, how you're
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participating and engaging in
course content?
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What about with the assignments?
Are you keeping up with the
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assignments?
Are you keeping your planner
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updated?
Put building in study time.
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Are you really going through
those readings and analyzing
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what's going on in the content
and how it's relating to course
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objectives and outcomes?
Really do a honest gut check.
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How are things going in your
coursework?
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Are there some class you're
like, Yep, I got this, I'm
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rocking out with it, I know what
I'm doing, I feel comfortable in
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it.
I know it's expected for the
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next few weeks.
Are there others really?
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Oh, I don't know really what's
going on.
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I'm a little lost.
Go ahead and just reflect upon
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that.
Now back to our student
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teachers.
We talked about the glows,
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right?
We talked about some things that
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are going well.
Now flip it.
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What are some things that did
not go well?
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And think about why.
Even if you've had a I'm using
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air quotes bad lesson, there's
always a positive part of that
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lesson.
But think about why maybe that
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lesson flopped.
Was it pacing?
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Was it materials?
Was it your instructions or
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grouping students?
Did you not anticipate how long
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it would take students to a
certain part of the project?
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Did you lose them after like the
first 5 minutes of your hook?
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Did you forget to close with an
ending statement and
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understanding of what's going on
in the lesson?
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So really think about why
something did not go as well as
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you thought it would be.
Did it have to do with planning,
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preparation, the way you
delivered the instruction, the
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way you engage students, the
materials and the content?
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And then back to my students who
are in coursework, When you
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think about, OK, things that
went really well, now think
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about things that did not go so
well.
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Was there a certain test you did
not do great on?
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Did you forget to turn in that
one assignment that's worth like
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40 points?
It's OK.
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Go ahead and plan that out.
Plan out.
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It's time for study.
Maybe you didn't put in enough
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time to study for that class or
that test.
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Maybe you forgot to put that
assignment on your planner to
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fell off your radar.
Regardless, you know, you can
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always reach out to the
professor and say, you know, I'm
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so sorry I forgot to submit this
assignment and see if you can
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get some points back.
You never know unless you ask
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and everybody makes mistakes.
It's OK.
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All right.
So let's go ahead and continue
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working through our reflection
of where we've been and where
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we're going.
So when we think about the
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momentum that we've made this
semester, what or who has helped
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you this semester?
Has it been a family member, a
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friend, a colleague, A peer, a
professor who has been a great
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support system for you?
Or maybe you've changed up your
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routine.
Maybe you started eating healthy
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or working out or implementing
some mindfulness or meditation
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into your routine.
Is that helping you out?
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So think about some practices
that have helped you.
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And then on the flip side, what
can you kind of take away and
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not put put back on your plate?
Think about what are some things
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that are not helping you?
What are some things you just
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need to cut out and think, Think
about those things and reflect
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upon them.
All right, we've done our gut
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check.
Now let's talk about what we do
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with all that.
So I want you to hear there's a
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difference between surviving
student teaching and using it as
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a learning opportunity.
Both surviving and getting it
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and learning from it get you to
that finish line of graduation.
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But only one helps you get ready
for what comes next besides
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crossing the stage of graduation
and getting a job, right?
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So let's talk about, for our
student teachers, how to build a
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semester road map for the next
part of your placement.
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And we're going to talk about it
really simple.
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We're not going to go all
color-coded and Google Docs.
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We're talking about 3 simple
things.
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Thing one, pick two or three
measurable goals for the rest of
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your student teaching placement.
And I'm not saying get better
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across your management.
That's way too big.
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I want you to try something like
by the end of the semester, I
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want to have tried two different
classroom management strategies
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for transition times to be able
to describe what worked and what
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difference and what didn't.
So there's a difference there.
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It's specific, it's observable,
observable, it's timely, it's
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reflective.
And then you can find some time
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to research some classroom
management strategies for your
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grade level content area related
to transition from one time of
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the class to another.
So thing one, pick two or three
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measurable specific goals for
the rest of your placement.
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Thing two, talk to your
cooperating teacher now.
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And I know it can be a little
intimidating, but you can share
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something like I've been
reflecting on my practice and I
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want to see and I want to be
really intentional about what I
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developed before the semester
ends.
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What do you see as an area of
growth for me?
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And just start that
conversation.
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Ask for some insight, ask for
some resources, ask for some
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ideas so you can start to grow
that area now instead of your
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first year of student teaching.
All right, thing three.
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Decide what kind of teacher you
want to show up and what you
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want to be for the rest of the
semester.
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Think about it.
Who are you going to be for
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these next 6-7 weeks for your
students?
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How are you going to show up for
them?
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Does that mean greeting them at
the door, saying reaching the,
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reaching out to them during
class, seeing how things are
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going, building into minutes of
reflection?
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Pick something intentional and
do that and really show up for
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yourself these last few weeks of
your placement.
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Practice something new, practice
a new technique or tech tool.
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All right, so let's review thing
one, pick two or three specific
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measurable goals for the rest of
your placement.
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Thing two, talk to your Co-op
and ask them about a specific
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grow area.
And thing three, really reflect
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and decide on what kind of
teacher you want to be for the
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rest of your placement.
And this is a really fun when
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you can create a beautiful
little vision board if you'd
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like, or create a beautiful text
document that has some
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adjectives that describe you as
a teacher that you want to be as
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you show up.
Alright, so that's for my
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student teachers, for my
students who are in coursework,
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three things I want you to do.
Same, same.
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Pick one, pick two or three
measurable goals for the rest of
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your semester, whether that is
penciling in time for for study
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breaks, preparing for finals,
creating a study group, whatever
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that might be.
Have a two or three measurable
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goals for the rest of your
semester thing to connect with
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your academic advisor.
Start to share with them your
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plan for next semester, next
year, any paperwork you need to
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fill out, whether that is
checking in about clearances or
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maybe you have to fill out
paperwork for your education
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department or start planning to
take those practice exams.
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See where you are in your
timeline and make sure that
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matches up with your academic
advisors timeline as well.
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Also, you might need to do
paperwork or courses that maybe
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you transferred in or courses
that happened.
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Wait, that was a great time to
connect with that.
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I'm making sure you have all
your ducks in a row for the fall
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semester, your fall self.
Well, thank you if you've done
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this planning ahead of time.
And then the third thing I want
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you to do, if you're still in a
course work, is think about how
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are you going to show up for
yourself and your future
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students these last few weeks of
classes?
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Because I know it can be like a
grind going to class, doing the
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work, showing up, engaging.
But now reframe it.
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OK, I'm showing up to class so I
can learn to be the best
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elementary teacher I can be.
I'm just showing up to class so
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I can learn these strategies
that I can take into my middle
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school science class.
So I want you to think about
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maybe create a vision board or a
beautiful document that shows,
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hey, here are the ways I'm going
to show up for myself and my
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future students and these last
few weeks of classes.
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And I'm really going to engage
and lock in and be ready to go
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for my students.
All right, we talked about some
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mindset shifting to carry us
through the rest of the
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semester.
So let's go ahead and talk about
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our last part of today in our
podcast episode, which is going
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to be a very practical 5 minutes
for my student teacher friends.
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And then we'll talk about
practical 5 minutes for our
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friends still taking courses.
All right, so there's a category
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in preparation that you know is
sometimes overlooked.
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And it's the stuff that really
matters when you're applying for
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jobs, finishing up your program,
and getting ready to walk into
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your first classroom.
Let me lay it out for you.
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You're creating lessons, you're
creating materials, you're
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creating resources, you're
creating handouts and slides and
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00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,680
assessments, formative and
summative.
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00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:53,320
You're tracking student
engagement.
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You're tracking student grades
and you know by the time, by the
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00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,720
time all this is going on in
your student teaching, maybe you
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00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,640
have some information in
folders.
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But let's try to tame the chaos
with our folders.
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So this is what I'd like you to
do.
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Here's your action item.
Create a simple folder system
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00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,400
today, like now get organized.
Think about how you want to
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00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,400
organize your content.
All the stuff you created, you
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00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,840
want to organize it by class,
subject, grade, module, chapter,
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00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:29,240
unit, whatever.
Every week, as you're creating
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00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:33,080
material, put it in that new
folder and then organize content
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00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,640
as you can.
That way you have a nice simple
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00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,200
system with all the stuff you've
done for a student teaching your
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00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,560
assessments, your slides, your
handouts, your materials, your
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00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,880
resources all in one spot.
So you're not doing that later
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00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:48,680
on.
So from now on, I'd like you to
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create that folder and every
week make a little copy, put it
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in there before you send it out
to your call for your
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00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:59,160
supervisor, because you're going
to start to create your teaching
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00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:00,960
toolkit, and this is where it
starts.
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00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,440
And then as you have time, sort
the other things you've done for
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00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,200
the past 10 or 11 weeks into
that folder.
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Also, what I'd like you to do is
start creating student or start
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00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,920
collecting student samples.
Take the names off because you
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00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,680
want to protect our students
privacy.
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00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:21,000
Start to gather example of work
that students have done that are
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00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,920
fantastic examples.
That way you can reflect upon
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00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,960
them and use them in an
interview during hiring process.
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00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,920
But please make sure you take
off any identifying information.
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And since we're talking about
student work, it was just a
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great piece for our student
teaching portfolio.
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Let's talk about portfolios.
If you have not started a
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00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,080
digital portfolio, now is a
great time to do so.
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00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:53,560
Create a website on Canva, Wix
or Weebly and start to develop
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your portfolio that has your
welcome page.
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Your about your teaching
philosophy.
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Really think about answering the
question, why do you want to
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teach?
What does education mean to you?
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00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,360
What does your classroom look
like, feel like?
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00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,160
How do students feel in your
space?
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00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,720
So we are starting to create a
simple folder system for all of
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00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:23,360
our resources to house student
work, our materials, our slides,
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00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,320
our lesson plans all in one
spot.
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00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,600
And we're starting to think
about our teaching philosophy
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and our digital portfolio.
I'm going to share in the show
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00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,960
notes a quick resource for
writing your teaching
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00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,400
philosophy.
That's going to help you out
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00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:43,480
because it can sound really big,
but it's really something simple
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00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,360
that you can do.
So start to build out your
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00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,440
resources, your future self.
Well, thank you.
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00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:54,360
So that's my 5 minute plan for
my student teachers, my 5 minute
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00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:58,200
plan for my students who are
currently in coursework.
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00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,880
Kind of similar.
You're going to start to build
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00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,760
out the same thing, but yours is
going to be aligned to
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00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:08,640
coursework.
So create a folder, Spring 2026.
291
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,000
Go ahead and put a folder for
each of your classes in there.
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00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,240
Whatever your class titles are,
go ahead and put them into that
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00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:21,200
folder and then start to copy
and put all the information into
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00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:23,920
that folder.
If you want to get really fancy,
295
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,480
you can have a folder called
content assignments, papers all
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00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,120
within those other ones all
within those other folders if
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00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,720
you wanted to.
But this is just to help you to
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00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,720
get organized for for the summer
so you have everything ready to
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00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,560
go.
And bonus if you put it into
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00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,360
OneDrive or Google Drive, it's
available across platforms, not
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00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:46,680
just hanging out on your
desktop.
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00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,080
And you won't lose it.
So go ahead, create a folder
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00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:54,640
called Spring 2026, create a
folder for all your courses, and
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00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,840
then go ahead and put your
content, your discussions, your
305
00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:02,600
papers, your projects all into
these folders as they relate to
306
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,240
the classes.
And then the second action item
307
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,600
I want you to do is I want you
to reflect on your classes.
308
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:14,400
What 2 projects are you really
proud of that you can showcase
309
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,480
in a digital portfolio?
And guess what?
310
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,240
Go ahead and start creating 1.
You can create a digital
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00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:24,680
portfolio at any time and you
can have examples of your work
312
00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,240
embedded within there, which is
fantastic.
313
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,920
So you can example, have example
lesson plans or example
314
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:35,080
presentations you've done.
Maybe you have examples of class
315
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,840
field trips that you went on or
you visited something, you went
316
00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,840
to a leadership summit, put
those things into your digital
317
00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:45,680
portfolio.
It looks really professional and
318
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,720
is something you started to
curate now instead of your
319
00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,800
senior year.
All right, so before we close
320
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:57,760
out, I want to thank you so much
for joining me today during our
321
00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,800
Building March momentum.
We had content for our student
322
00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,160
teachers.
We had content for our students
323
00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,120
still in curriculum and in
classes.
324
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,320
Either way you go, it's a time
for reflection.
325
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,800
Look where you've been.
Look where you're going with
326
00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:16,840
goal setting, identify who you
want to show up As for the next
327
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,160
part of the semester.
How are you going to keep keep
328
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,840
those great practices going and
implement some new changes or or
329
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,040
maybe take some things out of
your life you know that you
330
00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,000
might not need anymore that are
not serving you well.
331
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,000
So I want to thank you so much
for joining me today.
332
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,800
I hope that you take these 5
minute challenges and just jump
333
00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,360
in and start getting them done.
I wish you the best of luck the
334
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:43,680
rest of the semester and
remember you have the edgy magic
335
00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:45,280
within you.
Bye for now.
336
00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,640
And there you have it, edgy
magicians.
337
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,720
If you enjoyed this episode,
please subscribe and share it
338
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:04,680
with your friends.
For more Edu Magic, check out's
339
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:10,000
fessage.com and follow Doctor
Sam on Twitter and Instagram
340
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:15,960
at's Fessage Until next time you
have the Edu Magic within you.
00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:07,280
Hello Edu Magicians, welcome to
the Edu Magic podcast with your
2
00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:11,480
host, Doctor Sam Fesich.
Doctor Sam is a professor of
3
00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:16,239
education, author of Edu Magic,
and a Pumpkin Spice Latte fan.
4
00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,720
This podcast is designed for pre
service teachers.
5
00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,480
Remember friends, teaching
doesn't begin at graduation, but
6
00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:25,600
during that first class at 8:00
AM.
7
00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:32,800
Let's get this party started.
This podcast is a proud member
8
00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,080
of the Teach Better Podcast
Network, Better Today, Better
9
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,440
Tomorrow, and the podcast to get
you there.
10
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:44,200
Explore more podcasts at
www.teachbetterpodcastnetwork.com.
11
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,480
Now let's get on to the episode.
Hey there, Edge Magicians, and
12
00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:51,320
welcome back to another episode
of the Edge Magic Podcast.
13
00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:56,080
My name is Doctor Sam Fasich,
and today we are doing a March
14
00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,720
momentum reset.
How to plan out your best
15
00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:05,640
semester before it even starts.
So I'm so excited to have you
16
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,200
back, especially here in March.
We're ending out March because I
17
00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:10,840
know what this time of the year
feels like.
18
00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:17,280
It feels like we are in between
exhaustion and hopeful and
19
00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,600
excited and the spring weather
is coming.
20
00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,440
A little bit of spring fever,
midterms just ended or maybe
21
00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:25,960
they're winding down.
Maybe you just ended spring
22
00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:29,600
break or maybe it's just coming
up somewhere in your head.
23
00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,960
You start to think, Oh my gosh,
this semester is almost over.
24
00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:37,040
I have 5 or 6 weeks left.
What happened to the spring of
25
00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,920
26?
Well, that's where you are.
26
00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:43,560
This episode is just for you.
Welcome, my friends.
27
00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,600
Today we are talking about
planning and not in a super
28
00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,000
stressful way.
We're going to plan with purpose
29
00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,920
because here's the thing, March,
it's kind of like a gift, right?
30
00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,480
It's a special window time where
we can look back what we've
31
00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,080
what's happened, what's going on
in our placements and in our
32
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,640
course and look forward to
things that are happening at the
33
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,639
end this semester, things we
want to accomplish, our goals
34
00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,400
that we have.
So let's talk about how we can
35
00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:17,280
take advantage of that special
window of time, and then we're
36
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,640
going to walk into the next
semester ready to rock'n'roll
37
00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:25,880
with clarity and confidence.
So let's jump into some of this
38
00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:30,040
March momentum.
First things first, before we
39
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,760
plan to go forward, we got to
kind of look back on the
40
00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,120
rearview mirror, right?
We want to know what's going on
41
00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:41,360
right now in our placements, in
our coursework.
42
00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,560
No judgment, no pressure, just a
gut check.
43
00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,280
How are things going?
So if you are student teaching,
44
00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,320
I want you to think about how
your semester placement during
45
00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,000
student teaching has gone so
far.
46
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,280
Maybe you just switched
placements, you're getting to
47
00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,840
know a whole bunch of new kids.
Maybe you are in the 10th week
48
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,000
of your 16 week placement and
you're really feeling it.
49
00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,480
You know, really think about how
things are going.
50
00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,440
What are you enjoying about
teaching?
51
00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,560
What are some of your glow
areas?
52
00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,520
What are some things you really
rock at and what are some
53
00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,760
challenge areas?
Really be honest with yourself
54
00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,480
and be real with what's going
on.
55
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,600
What lessons have you learned?
What lessons have you taught
56
00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,080
well?
What content are you really
57
00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,680
confident with?
Which lessons have you taught
58
00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,440
where the students were engaged
with you from start to finish?
59
00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,040
What about classroom management?
What strategies are working?
60
00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,480
Do you need to rethink classroom
layout?
61
00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,200
Really think about some of these
ideas and use them to reflect
62
00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,240
upon so you can end that student
teaching, student teaching
63
00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,200
semester strong.
For those of you on our courses
64
00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:00,160
who are going through coursework
right now, how are you doing
65
00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,880
with as midterms are ending?
How are you doing with your
66
00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,040
grades?
Are they really reflecting what
67
00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,000
you're doing in class, how
you're showing up, how you're
68
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,360
participating and engaging in
course content?
69
00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,760
What about with the assignments?
Are you keeping up with the
70
00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,560
assignments?
Are you keeping your planner
71
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,920
updated?
Put building in study time.
72
00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,400
Are you really going through
those readings and analyzing
73
00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,120
what's going on in the content
and how it's relating to course
74
00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:36,840
objectives and outcomes?
Really do a honest gut check.
75
00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,000
How are things going in your
coursework?
76
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,800
Are there some class you're
like, Yep, I got this, I'm
77
00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,400
rocking out with it, I know what
I'm doing, I feel comfortable in
78
00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:47,320
it.
I know it's expected for the
79
00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,760
next few weeks.
Are there others really?
80
00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:51,360
Oh, I don't know really what's
going on.
81
00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,200
I'm a little lost.
Go ahead and just reflect upon
82
00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,440
that.
Now back to our student
83
00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,000
teachers.
We talked about the glows,
84
00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:00,200
right?
We talked about some things that
85
00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,040
are going well.
Now flip it.
86
00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,000
What are some things that did
not go well?
87
00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:09,400
And think about why.
Even if you've had a I'm using
88
00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:15,040
air quotes bad lesson, there's
always a positive part of that
89
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,600
lesson.
But think about why maybe that
90
00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,360
lesson flopped.
Was it pacing?
91
00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,320
Was it materials?
Was it your instructions or
92
00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,800
grouping students?
Did you not anticipate how long
93
00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,400
it would take students to a
certain part of the project?
94
00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,440
Did you lose them after like the
first 5 minutes of your hook?
95
00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,160
Did you forget to close with an
ending statement and
96
00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,600
understanding of what's going on
in the lesson?
97
00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:43,520
So really think about why
something did not go as well as
98
00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,480
you thought it would be.
Did it have to do with planning,
99
00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,160
preparation, the way you
delivered the instruction, the
100
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,960
way you engage students, the
materials and the content?
101
00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,560
And then back to my students who
are in coursework, When you
102
00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,040
think about, OK, things that
went really well, now think
103
00:05:58,040 --> 00:05:59,840
about things that did not go so
well.
104
00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:02,920
Was there a certain test you did
not do great on?
105
00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,640
Did you forget to turn in that
one assignment that's worth like
106
00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,440
40 points?
It's OK.
107
00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,320
Go ahead and plan that out.
Plan out.
108
00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:13,400
It's time for study.
Maybe you didn't put in enough
109
00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,760
time to study for that class or
that test.
110
00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,000
Maybe you forgot to put that
assignment on your planner to
111
00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,280
fell off your radar.
Regardless, you know, you can
112
00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:25,080
always reach out to the
professor and say, you know, I'm
113
00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,880
so sorry I forgot to submit this
assignment and see if you can
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get some points back.
You never know unless you ask
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and everybody makes mistakes.
It's OK.
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All right.
So let's go ahead and continue
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working through our reflection
of where we've been and where
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we're going.
So when we think about the
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momentum that we've made this
semester, what or who has helped
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you this semester?
Has it been a family member, a
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friend, a colleague, A peer, a
professor who has been a great
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support system for you?
Or maybe you've changed up your
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routine.
Maybe you started eating healthy
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or working out or implementing
some mindfulness or meditation
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into your routine.
Is that helping you out?
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So think about some practices
that have helped you.
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And then on the flip side, what
can you kind of take away and
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not put put back on your plate?
Think about what are some things
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that are not helping you?
What are some things you just
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need to cut out and think, Think
about those things and reflect
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upon them.
All right, we've done our gut
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check.
Now let's talk about what we do
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with all that.
So I want you to hear there's a
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difference between surviving
student teaching and using it as
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a learning opportunity.
Both surviving and getting it
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and learning from it get you to
that finish line of graduation.
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But only one helps you get ready
for what comes next besides
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crossing the stage of graduation
and getting a job, right?
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So let's talk about, for our
student teachers, how to build a
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semester road map for the next
part of your placement.
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And we're going to talk about it
really simple.
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We're not going to go all
color-coded and Google Docs.
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We're talking about 3 simple
things.
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Thing one, pick two or three
measurable goals for the rest of
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your student teaching placement.
And I'm not saying get better
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across your management.
That's way too big.
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I want you to try something like
by the end of the semester, I
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want to have tried two different
classroom management strategies
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for transition times to be able
to describe what worked and what
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difference and what didn't.
So there's a difference there.
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It's specific, it's observable,
observable, it's timely, it's
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reflective.
And then you can find some time
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to research some classroom
management strategies for your
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grade level content area related
to transition from one time of
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the class to another.
So thing one, pick two or three
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measurable specific goals for
the rest of your placement.
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Thing two, talk to your
cooperating teacher now.
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And I know it can be a little
intimidating, but you can share
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something like I've been
reflecting on my practice and I
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want to see and I want to be
really intentional about what I
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developed before the semester
ends.
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What do you see as an area of
growth for me?
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And just start that
conversation.
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Ask for some insight, ask for
some resources, ask for some
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ideas so you can start to grow
that area now instead of your
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first year of student teaching.
All right, thing three.
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Decide what kind of teacher you
want to show up and what you
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want to be for the rest of the
semester.
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Think about it.
Who are you going to be for
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these next 6-7 weeks for your
students?
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How are you going to show up for
them?
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Does that mean greeting them at
the door, saying reaching the,
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reaching out to them during
class, seeing how things are
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going, building into minutes of
reflection?
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Pick something intentional and
do that and really show up for
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yourself these last few weeks of
your placement.
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Practice something new, practice
a new technique or tech tool.
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All right, so let's review thing
one, pick two or three specific
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measurable goals for the rest of
your placement.
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Thing two, talk to your Co-op
and ask them about a specific
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grow area.
And thing three, really reflect
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and decide on what kind of
teacher you want to be for the
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rest of your placement.
And this is a really fun when
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you can create a beautiful
little vision board if you'd
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like, or create a beautiful text
document that has some
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adjectives that describe you as
a teacher that you want to be as
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you show up.
Alright, so that's for my
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student teachers, for my
students who are in coursework,
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three things I want you to do.
Same, same.
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Pick one, pick two or three
measurable goals for the rest of
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your semester, whether that is
penciling in time for for study
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breaks, preparing for finals,
creating a study group, whatever
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that might be.
Have a two or three measurable
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goals for the rest of your
semester thing to connect with
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your academic advisor.
Start to share with them your
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plan for next semester, next
year, any paperwork you need to
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fill out, whether that is
checking in about clearances or
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00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,040
maybe you have to fill out
paperwork for your education
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department or start planning to
take those practice exams.
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See where you are in your
timeline and make sure that
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matches up with your academic
advisors timeline as well.
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Also, you might need to do
paperwork or courses that maybe
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you transferred in or courses
that happened.
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Wait, that was a great time to
connect with that.
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I'm making sure you have all
your ducks in a row for the fall
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semester, your fall self.
Well, thank you if you've done
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this planning ahead of time.
And then the third thing I want
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you to do, if you're still in a
course work, is think about how
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are you going to show up for
yourself and your future
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students these last few weeks of
classes?
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Because I know it can be like a
grind going to class, doing the
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work, showing up, engaging.
But now reframe it.
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OK, I'm showing up to class so I
can learn to be the best
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elementary teacher I can be.
I'm just showing up to class so
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I can learn these strategies
that I can take into my middle
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school science class.
So I want you to think about
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maybe create a vision board or a
beautiful document that shows,
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hey, here are the ways I'm going
to show up for myself and my
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00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:02,280
future students and these last
few weeks of classes.
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And I'm really going to engage
and lock in and be ready to go
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for my students.
All right, we talked about some
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mindset shifting to carry us
through the rest of the
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semester.
So let's go ahead and talk about
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our last part of today in our
podcast episode, which is going
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to be a very practical 5 minutes
for my student teacher friends.
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And then we'll talk about
practical 5 minutes for our
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friends still taking courses.
All right, so there's a category
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in preparation that you know is
sometimes overlooked.
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And it's the stuff that really
matters when you're applying for
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jobs, finishing up your program,
and getting ready to walk into
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your first classroom.
Let me lay it out for you.
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You're creating lessons, you're
creating materials, you're
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creating resources, you're
creating handouts and slides and
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00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,680
assessments, formative and
summative.
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You're tracking student
engagement.
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You're tracking student grades
and you know by the time, by the
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time all this is going on in
your student teaching, maybe you
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00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,640
have some information in
folders.
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But let's try to tame the chaos
with our folders.
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So this is what I'd like you to
do.
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Here's your action item.
Create a simple folder system
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today, like now get organized.
Think about how you want to
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00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,400
organize your content.
All the stuff you created, you
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00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,840
want to organize it by class,
subject, grade, module, chapter,
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00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:29,240
unit, whatever.
Every week, as you're creating
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00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:33,080
material, put it in that new
folder and then organize content
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00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,640
as you can.
That way you have a nice simple
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00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,200
system with all the stuff you've
done for a student teaching your
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00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,560
assessments, your slides, your
handouts, your materials, your
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00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,880
resources all in one spot.
So you're not doing that later
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00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:48,680
on.
So from now on, I'd like you to
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create that folder and every
week make a little copy, put it
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in there before you send it out
to your call for your
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supervisor, because you're going
to start to create your teaching
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toolkit, and this is where it
starts.
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00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,440
And then as you have time, sort
the other things you've done for
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the past 10 or 11 weeks into
that folder.
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Also, what I'd like you to do is
start creating student or start
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collecting student samples.
Take the names off because you
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want to protect our students
privacy.
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Start to gather example of work
that students have done that are
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fantastic examples.
That way you can reflect upon
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them and use them in an
interview during hiring process.
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But please make sure you take
off any identifying information.
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And since we're talking about
student work, it was just a
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great piece for our student
teaching portfolio.
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Let's talk about portfolios.
If you have not started a
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digital portfolio, now is a
great time to do so.
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Create a website on Canva, Wix
or Weebly and start to develop
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your portfolio that has your
welcome page.
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Your about your teaching
philosophy.
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Really think about answering the
question, why do you want to
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teach?
What does education mean to you?
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What does your classroom look
like, feel like?
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How do students feel in your
space?
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So we are starting to create a
simple folder system for all of
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00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:23,360
our resources to house student
work, our materials, our slides,
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00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,320
our lesson plans all in one
spot.
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And we're starting to think
about our teaching philosophy
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and our digital portfolio.
I'm going to share in the show
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notes a quick resource for
writing your teaching
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philosophy.
That's going to help you out
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because it can sound really big,
but it's really something simple
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that you can do.
So start to build out your
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resources, your future self.
Well, thank you.
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So that's my 5 minute plan for
my student teachers, my 5 minute
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plan for my students who are
currently in coursework.
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Kind of similar.
You're going to start to build
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out the same thing, but yours is
going to be aligned to
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coursework.
So create a folder, Spring 2026.
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Go ahead and put a folder for
each of your classes in there.
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Whatever your class titles are,
go ahead and put them into that
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folder and then start to copy
and put all the information into
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that folder.
If you want to get really fancy,
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you can have a folder called
content assignments, papers all
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within those other ones all
within those other folders if
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you wanted to.
But this is just to help you to
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00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,720
get organized for for the summer
so you have everything ready to
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go.
And bonus if you put it into
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OneDrive or Google Drive, it's
available across platforms, not
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just hanging out on your
desktop.
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And you won't lose it.
So go ahead, create a folder
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called Spring 2026, create a
folder for all your courses, and
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then go ahead and put your
content, your discussions, your
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00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:02,600
papers, your projects all into
these folders as they relate to
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the classes.
And then the second action item
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I want you to do is I want you
to reflect on your classes.
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What 2 projects are you really
proud of that you can showcase
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in a digital portfolio?
And guess what?
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Go ahead and start creating 1.
You can create a digital
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00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:24,680
portfolio at any time and you
can have examples of your work
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00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,240
embedded within there, which is
fantastic.
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So you can example, have example
lesson plans or example
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00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:35,080
presentations you've done.
Maybe you have examples of class
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00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,840
field trips that you went on or
you visited something, you went
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00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,840
to a leadership summit, put
those things into your digital
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00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:45,680
portfolio.
It looks really professional and
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00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,720
is something you started to
curate now instead of your
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00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,800
senior year.
All right, so before we close
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00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:57,760
out, I want to thank you so much
for joining me today during our
321
00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,800
Building March momentum.
We had content for our student
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00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,160
teachers.
We had content for our students
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still in curriculum and in
classes.
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Either way you go, it's a time
for reflection.
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Look where you've been.
Look where you're going with
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00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:16,840
goal setting, identify who you
want to show up As for the next
327
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,160
part of the semester.
How are you going to keep keep
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00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,840
those great practices going and
implement some new changes or or
329
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,040
maybe take some things out of
your life you know that you
330
00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,000
might not need anymore that are
not serving you well.
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00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,000
So I want to thank you so much
for joining me today.
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00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,800
I hope that you take these 5
minute challenges and just jump
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00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,360
in and start getting them done.
I wish you the best of luck the
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00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:43,680
rest of the semester and
remember you have the edgy magic
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00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:45,280
within you.
Bye for now.
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00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,640
And there you have it, edgy
magicians.
337
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,720
If you enjoyed this episode,
please subscribe and share it
338
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:04,680
with your friends.
For more Edu Magic, check out's
339
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:10,000
fessage.com and follow Doctor
Sam on Twitter and Instagram
340
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:15,960
at's Fessage Until next time you
have the Edu Magic within you.
