WOW! This month’s Inspired Classroom Office Hours was…...INSPIRING! There was no other word for it. We were joined by Arlee Science Teacher and Montana Teacher of the Year for 2022 Bill Stockton as he discussed the power of mentor relationships in in-person and online learning.
Bill is an active educational leader across the state and nation. He teaches on the Salish-Kootenai Reservation in Western Montana and with the Montana Digital Academy and creates professional development courses for the Office of Public Instruction. We are also proud to say that Bill is part of Inspired Classroom, collaborating on numerous science projects in the past five years.
During his ‘Office Hours’ visit, Bill shared his experience attending a professional development workshop from Dave Stuart. Dave’s “Six Things That Matter Most” influenced the way Bill re-engaged students as they came back to in-person instruction and has re-energized his own teaching practice.
Bill’s top six things he is incorporating in his classroom to motivate even hard to reach students are:
1. Credibility--Behaving like a professional at all times and ‘keeping it real’ with students so your word means something.
2. Competency--Confidently knowing your content and admitting when you don’t.
3. Caring--Listen to students, read what they are writing, and be involved with them in a caring way beyond the class period.
4. Feedback on Progress--Give accurate and realistic feedback to build a sense of progress instead of focusing on deficiencies.
5. Belonging--bring students together in a common goal and make sure all of the students feel part of something.
6. Growth Mindset--Building the capacity to be flexible and fluid through activities and discussions.
Bill also has some great tips about building teacher to teacher mentor relationships. Watch the entire discussion below to be truly INSPIRED. Thanks Bill! The teaching profession is very well represented!