It’s the beginning of the year and new classes are about to start. If you’re reading this, you are interested in improving education, in using evidence-based practices in the classroom or for studying. In today’s digest, we explore what is involved in making changes in the classroom. Is it better to do a complete overhaul of a course or to change one thing at a time? How will students react to the changes? What kinds of changes can you make easily? The resources below should help answer some of these questions.

1)      The Challenge of Change by Zachary Hermann @zachherrmann 

In this piece, Zach Herrmann describes why innovation in the classroom is important, but also why it can be so difficult to make changes that go against what we have perhaps been taught.

2)      How One Teacher Changed for the Good of Her Students by MindShift (excerpt by Pernille Ripp @PernilleRipp).

Mindshift posted this excerpt from Pernille Ripp’s book Passionate Learners: Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students. This particular excerpt describes a particularly poignant moment when Pernille realized that changes were needed in her classroom and the advice for making slow changes.

3)      5 Common Teaching Practices I’m Kicking to the Curb by Jennifer Gonzalez @cultofpedagogy

In her typical excellent fashion, Jennifer Gonzalez describes common teaching practices that might need changing and the research that supports those changes.

4)      Six Steps to Making Positive Changes in Your Teaching by Maryellen Weimer @teachprof

Maryellen Weimer provides concrete steps to making changes in your teaching in order to be successful. She summarizes a review article about instructional methods in STEM classrooms, but the advice here is broadly applicable.

5)      The Reflective Teacher: Taking a Look Back by Nicholas Provenzano @thenerdyteacher

Finally, any changes must come with a good dose of reflection. Here, Nicholas Provenzano describes the need for reflection and how to reflect on your changes in multiple ways.

Every Sunday, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:

Weekly Digest #86: How to Reduce Exam Stress

Weekly Digest #87: Encouraging Moral and Ethical Behavior

Weekly Digest #88: Psychological Misconceptions in Movies and TV Shows

Weekly Digest #89: Cognitive Load

Weekly Digest #90: Ways To Keep Kids Engaged With Learning During Winter Break