Ah, the myth of having summers off. Those outside the teaching profession tend to become filled with jealousy every year about this time because they’re stuck at work and teachers are stuck...doing absolutely nothing. Or so that’s what they think. The fact is that, especially today, teachers cannot afford to take summers completely off. They need to continue learning in order to stay current with the trends, technology, and needs of their students. There are conferences (most notably ISTE), workshops, and a number of other little things teachers tend to during the summer months. Here are a few ways they can stay sharp while re-energizing to some extent.
Summer EdCamps a Valuable Form of Professional Development
Over the last seven or eight years, it’s become apparent that teacher development can’t stop just because the school doors have closed for the summer. Not by coincidence, that’s about the time frame in which EdCamps have sprung up and gained popularity among educators. Part of the reason they have become so popular among teachers and principals is because they are completely different than most forms of professional development. In fact, they’re sometimes even referred to as ‘unconferences’ because they offer a more dynamic and fun learning opportunity for educators. Instead of attending sessions with one speaker addressing a large crowd of teachers—most of whom are thumbing through their phones—EdCamps are interactive sessions based on group discussions and personal conversations, which is much more enjoyable and beneficial for the teachers who attend.
The key to getting and keeping teachers’ attention over the summer is providing them with voice and choice. This allows teachers to have a bit of control over what they are learning rather than them always being told what they need to learn. Especially in the summer, when their brains aren’t always turned all the way on, this is a helpful approach. EdCamps are less structured than traditional summer PD and don’t require any one set of requirements for how teachers will apply their new knowledge, where the learning will take place, and, of course, what they are required to learn. Research indicates that teachers who attend EdCamps rather than traditional PD feel more supported and better prepared to take what they learned and implement it in their classrooms in the following school year.
Part of the reason teachers do not like traditional PD sessions is because they are often not relevant to their needs. EdCamps combat this by allowing for a more personalized learning experience. Teachers who attend EdCamps tend to appreciate hearing things from fellow educators as well and this often resonates with them more effectively. EdCamps also allow for an unlimited amount of collaboration and give veteran teachers something new to try. There are plenty of EdCamps available, especially during the summer months, and many school and district leaders don’t mind if their teachers try something new. We recommend them, too—instead of attending the same PD sessions you’ve been to a million times!
A Few Quick and Useful Summer Learning Ideas for Teachers
Summer is a critical time for innovative teachers to both sharpen their existing skills and learn new ones in order to better cater to this generation of students. Some of the things they can do over their time away from the classroom are large scale, but there are plenty of little things they can do each day to strengthen their teaching repertoire. In fact, there’s plenty teachers can do that doesn’t even require them getting out of their poolside chair or going in to their school! Most importantly, summer should be a time of fun for teachers, so anything that’s both beneficial and enjoyable is something they’re going to want to try. We’ve got some suggestions for how to get the most out of the summer break without breaking your summer fun!
One of the easiest and most important things teachers can do over the summer is build their Professional Learning Network. If you take 20 or 30 minutes a day to scroll through Twitter or Instagram, you’ll find a bunch of companies and fellow educators who have shared thousands of invaluable ideas on the Web! If your school is focusing on active learning or project-based learning in the upcoming school year, take some time to think up some specific learning goals and how you will achieve them. Having a plan to follow is a lot easier than making things up on the fly. Teachers can also take some time during the summer to learn how to code since that’s one of the most important skills kids need to know and something a good amount of them will be teaching. There are plenty of sites or products that can teach you easily and enjoyably!
It’s equally important for teachers to take a few moments—perhaps each week or each day—to reflect on how far they’ve come and where they would still like to go. Going outside, especially in the summer, can help teachers get lost in their thoughts while enjoying some beautiful scenery. Once back indoors, a more in-depth project is researching some of the best ways to use technology in teaching. There is no wrong way, but, again, having a plan before the start of the new year will make things go much more smoothly. You can also take your social media use to the next level by joining Twitter chats. They’re always happening so be sure to monitor the hashtags posted by your favorite accounts. And, finally, sign up for some EdTech newsletters. Ours is free and it’s filled with interesting content, recommendations, and deals for educators!
Teachers Go to Summer Camp Now, Too
Not many kids nowadays get excited about spending their time off from school at a summer camp. It used to be an exciting summer destination as children would spend those eight weeks in the middle of the year designing cool projects, hiking, swimming, and making new friends. In large part, camps are a thing of the past now, though, at least in the traditional sense. Sure, some kids attend STEM camps during the summer months, but most of them are happy sitting at home and doing nothing but using their smartphones for two straight months. Teachers have that option too, but they’re smarter than that. They know they need to make the most out of the summer months and have found some interesting ways to make sure they’re able to do just that.
No, we’re not talking about a teachers going off into the woods and making a whole bunch of new teacher friends that they’ll be forced to leave behind a few weeks later. We’re talking about 21st century camping—the kind you can do in a classroom or makerspace. Summer camps for teachers count towards professional development requirements and can encompass general knowledge or allow them to specialize in fine tuning on specific aspect of their teaching toolbox. One of the finest and most common examples of teacher summer camps is for coding. We’ll come up just short of referring to this as a coding bootcamp—partly because those have seen better days—but, rather, these camps are similar to EdCamps in that they allow teachers to control their learning in a fun and relaxed summer environment.
Since many teachers are having their roles redefined thanks to the need to implement more STEM-focused instruction, a lot of them are having to teach coding to students no matter what grade level they’re in. And, unfortunately, a lot of them aren’t exactly masters of this craft. These summer coding camps are extremely valuable to modern-day educators simply because they cannot teach what they do not know themselves. At coding camps, teachers can learn the concepts but also the best techniques for teaching coding to somebody else. And, depending on the camp they attend, they could wind up learning other skills, like soldering, computer programming, or creating circuit boards—all of which are very valuable in today’s classrooms. Summer is definitely the time for teachers to go to camp and the things they learn—even if it’s just at a day camp—could have a ton of upside for their students.
Hosting Summer STEM Camps Help Prevent Teacher Summer Slide
When teachers think about the summer, they’re not always planning for the beach or the pool—as much as they would like to be. That’s not to say that they’re not ready for some fun of their own, though! Summer STEM camps have been established all around the world by innovators and educators who believe in the value of using the summer months to their full advantage. Since STEM is a fairly broad umbrella, there’s no requirement for the camps to be dedicated to only one concept. They could have a focus on making, 3D printing, hands-on learning, coding, or anything else that will help teachers better relate to their contemporary students. Some of these areas could even be combined to create a custom camp if organizers know what their teachers are passionate about.
At these STEM camps, teachers learn a lot of valuable tactics for engaging modern-day students. One of the most important takeaways they have is identifying and learning how to implement new ideas for students to practice design thinking in the classroom. Design thinking is an integral part of STEM education and regular practice can help students develop problem-solving and creativity skills faster and more fully. Design thinking is great because it applies to all areas of STEM education. If teachers can learn the basics as well as how students can apply it to problem solving, they’re in a much better position when it comes to preparing these kids. Design thinking is used in coding, prototyping, and a number of other profitable present and future careers and students will greatly benefit from learning in an approach similar to this one.
While at STEM camps, teachers learn the importance and the methods of using technology tools, equipment, and other, more advanced kits. They learn how to apply these tools to project-based learning and help identify some of the most crucial subcategories of STEM education. It’s also about getting teachers in the habit of indicating how something students are studying in the classroom can relate to the real world. As this happens, design thinking will come to be a skill that they heavily rely on and use to solve problems that are both large and small. It’s a successful summer if educators learn tricks for getting their students to realize when a program they’ve created works, why their problem-solving approach was successful or not, or they build up some new maker skills of their own. Any time spent at a summer STEM camp is time well spent for teachers.
Teaching Strategies to Learn in the Summer and Use Next Year
These days, so much of teaching in a K-12 school is about being efficient. When teachers are able to maximize each day and save as much time as possible, they tend to be happier and more productive. We’re not saying that educators should spend the summer getting ahead and lightening their workload for September and October, though. It’s still important to relax during the summer months, but they can take some time to learn some new teaching strategies that will help them save time and help their students try new things, which could end up saving them some more time, so that’s a good thing. Even coming up with a consistent plan for connecting tech tools in the classroom during summer downtime will save a good amount of time and headaches come fall.
Beyond that, teachers can spend summertime learning various teaching methods they may not have tried before. One of the mindsets they can practice is not being afraid to fail in front of their students. Showing students some good ways to handle failure and that they can learn a lot from it is a valuable technique both in the classroom and in the real world. Teachers can also take some time to decide on the best ways to handle being stumped by students. They simply will not know the answer to every student question. Instead, it might be a good idea to respond to those tough questions with questions of their own—ones that make students think critically—which this could lead to expanded creativity as they work towards possible answers. Some other steps teachers can take are learning how to assign and receive homework digitally and truly organizing each of their files for easy locating—perhaps by student or by subject.
Backing up data is another important thing to know and a skill that’s also easily learned over the summer. So too is knowing what digital devices will be available in the classroom (this doesn’t usually change, but it could be helpful to double check, especially for teachers starting at a new school). Knowing whether they will have access to laptops, iPads, or other tablets will help teachers prepare more efficiently and even start thinking about lessons during the summer months. And, then, there’s learning how to use those devices as well as new apps before stepping back into the classroom. Besides that, it’s important for teachers to learn how to be flexible when it comes to using technology and to develop a backup plan if their tech fails them, which, unfortunately, does happen. So, nothing too involved, but if they want to have a smoother school year, teachers can take time during the summer to address some of the small things.
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