A guide for bringing colleagues together to celebrate what you Know, Want to learn

and Love about teaching!

Co-Created with Teacher Amy Steadman

#WHATIKWLTOOLKIT

We’re excited that you’re joining our community’s #WhatIKWL celebration!This project was inspired by teachers like you. Every day, we hear that you’re excited to share your expertise with colleagues and students – and that you’re eager to keep learning and growing your practice. That – taken together with all that you love about your calling – inspired our back-to-school spin on the classic KWL.

We’re hoping this project will allow you to share an area of expertise (what you “know”), a goal (what you “want to learn”) and something you love – and give you a chance to connect with fellow teachers near and far. Teacher Amy Steadman started the movement of bringing teacher KWLs into her school community. We’ve worked with Amy to put together everything you need to try it yourself in your school, too!

STEP 1Reflect on what you K-W-L about teaching!

1. What do you KNOW? Here’s a place to shout out that expertise you’ve built through practice and/or study. What’s an area in which you feel confident as an educator?

2. What do you WANT TO LEARN? Share a goal for your own growth. What are you focusing on next? What would you like to learn from fellow teachers?

3. What do you LOVE? This is a chance to reconnect with your “why” – what’s at the heart of your practice?

STEP 2Check out our #WhatIKWL inspiration library, where we’re featuring other teachers’ #WhatIKWL reflections. You can pick an idea you see in the library to inspire your own! Visit the library here: share.teacher2teacher.education/knowwanttolearnlove

STEP 3Enter your answers into our generator to create your graphic!

STEP 4Share your #WhatIKWL! We’ll give you tips for sharing on the next page.

It’s time to share your #WhatIKWL! Here are some ways to start:

Share it with the Teacher2Teacher community and the rest of your online personal learning network on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Make sure to include #WhatIKWL and tag @teacher2teacher in your post so other teachers can find it easily and grow and learn together! Sharing positive stories from inside schools is so important.

Print out your #WhatIKWL sign! Put it on your wall or door – or invite colleagues to join you in posting it by the copy machine or in the hallway. This is a chance for you and your fellow teachers to encourage one another in your learning and growth!

If you’re the first teacher at your school to join the #WhatIKWL celebration, look at it as an opportunity to model! Show your colleagues your own heartfelt reflection so they understand the intention of this activity.

We’ll share some ideas on the next page to help you invite other teachers to join you!

“I invited fellow teachers to join me in creating #WhatIKWL signs, and here are the results! It’s a great reminder to us that, like our students, we’re always learning and growing.” – Amy

Get other teachers involved!Host a #WhatIKWL team-building celebration at your school, and make time to learn about your colleagues’ strengths and goals. This is such a great way to foster community and engage fellow teachers in learning together.

Encourage other educators to create their own #WhatIKWL using our generator, or print out #WhatIKWL templates for teachers to fill out. (You can find the template at the end of this toolkit!)

“I love this idea from teacher Elizabeth Follis! She laminated her colleagues’ #WhatIKWL charts and added some Bitmoji Flair.” – Amy

Teacher Tips

In advance of the event, print your own #WhatIKWL and consider printing others from our inspiration library. This will help your fellow teachers brainstorm the wide range of goals and strengths they can draw on.

Consider setting specific time aside for teachers to use the #WhatIKWL generator – such as asking them to bring laptops to a PD session or releasing a staff meeting 10 minutes early so teachers can use the generator in their classrooms.

Social media is a great way to share stories to inspire other teachers and amplify teacher voices. Encourage teachers to share their #WhatIKWL on social media, and then ask their other teacher friends to join, too.

Encourage teachers to print their #WhatIKWL signs and display them in a public space – such as on their doors or in a hallway – to inspire conversation and allow teachers to connect around their strengths and goals.

Invite teachers to identify and seek out a colleague who can support them in what they want to learn, and suggest a regular check-in.

PRINTABLE TEMPLATES

FIND SUPPORT!Connect with others teachers at:

share.teacher2teacher.education /knowwanttolearnlove

facebook.com/tchr2tchrtwitter.com/teacher2teacher

instagram.com/tchr2tchr