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With the rise of video calls in the workplace, knowing how to prepare for a Zoom interview will go a long way if you want to get hired. This list of effective Zoom interview tips will help you make a great impression and move on to the next round of the hiring process. What is […]
The post 20 Zoom Interview Tips To Help You Prepare & Get Hired appeared first on Career Sherpa.
Firstly, many new data concepts have emerged in the last few years, such as data mesh and data fabric (the subject of a future post) which seek to solve the problem that data need to be distributed to the entire organization and users want to access it faster. The idea that we need a more integrated and distributed data environment is well accepted and makes sense in data analytic circles.
The data mesh as defined, in this case by Wikipedia, which for data mesh is as good a source as any: a sociotechnical approach to build a decentralized data architecture by leveraging a domain-oriented, self-serve design. With data mesh, the responsibility for analytical data is shifted from the central data team to the domain teams, supported by a data platform team that provides a domain-agnostic data platform.
To achieve the promise of distributing data to drive insight presumes that the data is of quality and that business domains have the readiness and maturity/skills to harness the power of the data and to “self-serve” to create insights to drive business impact. The vision of distributing data and insights to increase business impact is one that most CDAOs, CAOs, and CDOs embrace; in fact, most of us advocate for centralization first to stabilize and to quality assure data and to create platforms with gold standard data only to then create a hybrid model where the platforms are well maintained but access and teams are decentralized/linked throughout and to the business lines.
A few observations include the fact that it appears that data mesh has been put forward as a conceptual or theoretical idea without defining it well and pointing out its strengths and weaknesses. There is a history in technology circles of failed adoption of CRM platforms and more, so as we journey into this, we don’t want to âbuild it, and they will comeâ or go from data mesh to data mess. Ok, so let’s define the data mesh from what is known so far. Hopefully, we can debunk some of the nebulous shiny object syndromes related to the mesh so we can go forward with our eyes wide open asking good questions and adopting the best parts of the mesh wherever possible.
First and foremost, and I will say this throughout this piece, it will be necessary to put forward a tested commercially viable data mesh solution, which does not exist to date. Well, that’s the spirit of test and learn, I suppose. Ok, so here we go. Are you ready to fasten your seat belts? If I could bring back Janice (OMG lady) from the series Friends right now, I would.
In summary, if we are serious about the data mesh, we need to do an entirely new business case and rationalize all of the global concerns that the data mesh presents. For me, data mesh is currently a theory that could turn into an official architecture or a guiding principle. As of now, the data mesh has raised more questions than answers. The data mesh does not necessarily point out the differences and uses case between operational and analytical data, which in my mind, still have a different fit for purpose use case. Changing everyone’s mind will take more than just one vendor coining a term to flip the current paradigms on their head without significantly more research and testing. Said differently, we need data about the data mesh (case studies, success stories, and more).
I look forward to your thoughts and comments. What has your experience to date been with the data mesh and how far away do you think you are from adopting this concept?
When companies go through hard times, they must do whatever it takes to stay afloat. This looks different in every industry, but the solution is always to cut costs. Executives and other business leaders within a company need to decide what expenses they should target.
We recently asked our leading executives what cost-cutting measures their industry takes when hard times hit.
Here are their responses…
Generally, marketing budgets are usually cut first, no matter the industry. There are a few reasons for this, but one of the most probable is that marketing can be difficult to track and justify.
This is the nature of marketingâit can be intangible and thus hard to show that the work being done is benefiting the bottom line. For example, how much value does a new branding campaign bring to a company? There are ways to approximate this, but showing concrete results in dollars and cents isnât easy.
The best way for marketing departments to hold on to their budgets and prove their effectiveness is through detailed (and time-consuming) tracking in a CRM system. If itâs possible to draw a clear line from marketing efforts to new customer acquisition, then itâs worth it.
However, many beneficial marketing activities simply cannot be tracked or measured. For example, determining the effectiveness of a billboard in a highly-trafficked area is a challenge. No one can argue, though, that it is likely seen by the hundreds of thousands of people who pass by. Tracking results is ideal, but itâs nothing to obsess over.
Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.
Cost-cutting has become synonymous with corporate survival, and the marketing budget is typically the first to go. Unfortunately, most leaders see marketing spending as an expense, not an investment. This is a shortsighted approach as a strategically developed and executed marketing strategy is a source of revenue.
That said, there comes a time when we all need to figure out how to do more creatively with less. Here are five tips to consider when looking to reduce your marketing budget.
1. Define Measurement Strategies: Identify KPIs (i.e. conversions, cost per acquisition, ROI) across key marketing strategies to ensure you are focused on driving the bottom line.
2. Templatize Your Content: Create design templates that can help with reducing a more agile testing process, design costs, and improving efficiencies.
3. Repurpose Existing Content: Take existing content, make it relevant, and reuse it across multiple channels.
4. Go Digital: Going online with your marketing collateral can save time and money.
5. Vendors That Focus on ROI: Ensure the vendors you are working with are focused on giving you the most value for your investment, ensuring a positive ROI.
Making marketing cuts are never easy. Keep in mind that whatever cuts you decide to make, ensure that you are investing strategically in your business.
Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.
In the wake of COVID-19, the Federal Government has provided ESSER funding (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) to schools which will continue through 2022. However, next year, all bets are off when it comes to how much money schools will have in their coiffures.
When public schools face financial downturn, non-discretionary costs come first. The biggest non-discretionary cost is usually salaries often followed by special education services that districts are mandated to provide students with individualized education plans. If schools cannot provide these services in-house, schools must pay to send students to outside programs that can support their needs.
Transportation also is usually a large expenditure for some school districts as is electricity, power, and heating (in colder climatesâthis is why some districts like NYC have traditionally had winter recess to cut down on expenses). Far from fixed, we have seen many of these inescapable costs rise exponentially during our current times of inflation.
Some private schools have endowments to weather financial storms. However, for public district schools, financial insecurity usually means that extracurricular programming and extra academic supports are on the chopping block.
This sometimes even includes professional development services for teachers like the services that I provide as a learning coach and consultant. While many school systems have used ESSER funding to provide post-COVID-19 catch-up tutoring that is still gravely needed, tutoring supports may also fall by the wayside in turbulent financial times.
In addition to a reduction in extracurricular programming, we also usually see a reduction in course offerings in non-âacademic coreâ subject areasâlike arts and music educationâand field trips/excursions. Although controversial and perhaps not in line with healthy life choices, under duress, we may see some schools allowing certain companies (such as food/beverage companies) to brand/sell their merchandise in school, in exchange for financial compensation, so that extracurricular programming can continue.
John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.
During economically uncertain times, many tech companies enact deep cost-cutting measures as an alternative to a reduction in force (RIF). Budget âdownsizingâ is a frequent topic of conversation these days among corporate communications leadersâwhat to cut and for how long are common discussions.
Aside from obvious OPEX cuts like freezing incremental headcount requisitions, reducing business travel, and canceling sponsorships, the following reductions should be considered with care:
AR and PR Agencies: While agencies consume a big part of most marketing budgets, reducing hours/scope of work should be well thought out. The impact that effective AR and PR have on a business is significant to supporting business and revenue goals. And, in smaller companies, an agency often serves as an entire department.
Influencer Programs: Co-marketing activities with influencers may seem like an easy place to take budget cuts, but these programs are high profile, touch a lot of buyers, and should be generating positive PR. Itâs difficult to establish and grow brand awareness and preference, but taking your âfoot off the gasâ after establishing that momentum with influencers, isnât a great strategy. And, remember, influencers need to make a living; if they arenât working with your company, they may start working with a competitor.
Sarita Kincaid is a tech media executive with a demonstrated ability to build and grow award-winning programs. She brings a data-driven approach to influencer relations with a focus on developing strong brand advocates and aligning them with sales programs.
What cost-cutting measures are usually taken in your industry? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.
Seasonal affective disorder affects approximately 5% of the population and as much as 20% of people can relate to some degree of the winter blues or […]
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Most job fairs run between January and May. When spring rolls around, things usually ramp up because most employers want job openings filled before summer kicks off.
If you are among the job seekers attending job fairs, then take down these tips to prepare for it and make the most of your time there.
Many employers have a presence at job fairs to increase brand awareness, but also to save time in the screening process. Job fairs offer an opportunity for employers to conduct initial screenings of potential candidates on the spot. Due to COVID-19, virtual job fairs have become more popular and allow employers and job seekers to meet safely, going around geographical barriers.
Employers have an idea of what they are looking for in a candidate for each job opening, so anyone who appears to make the cut can be interviewed to advance the process along right then and there.
Job seekers who come prepared will strike up opportunities quickly, so here are five things you MUST do before attending a job fair.
There can be hundreds of companies to talk to at each job fair, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have the time to reach out to all of them. Research ahead of time which ones you want to approach so you make the most of your time there. (You should always have your interview bucket list readyâa list of the companies you would love to work for someday!)
When you know your targets, you can also start to customize your materials. It’ll help to look at the company’s website so you see what job openings they have and the requirements/job descriptions for each position.
This information can help you tailor your resume and what you communicate when you meet with the individuals at the job fair. It’ll also help you write your disruptive cover letter when you formally submit your job application.
Job fairs are great for networkingâit’s not simply about dropping off your resume. You want to start conversations with the right contacts.
If there is an employer you desire to work for, but they’re not recruiting for the job you want, it’s still important to go over and talk to them. You never know when the position may suddenly open up.
The contacts there may also direct you to information in regards to who’s leading the department you want to work in so that you can follow up with that individual directly. It’s all about connections!
The key to connecting with others is to engage in conversation. Ask insightful questions! Be someone they will remember at the end of the day or use it as an opportunity to open the door to more conversation.
Employers are looking to hear what you can do for them, so come prepared with a quick pitch on your skills and experience, as well as how it can help solve their problems.
Your elevator pitch is essentially your personal branding statement. It’s important to know what you bring to the table as a business-of-one. If you can clearly explain how you’ll add value to the company at the job fair, you’ll stand out in a sea of other potential job candidates.
On-the-spot interviews happen at job fairs, so dress the part and be ready with copies of your resume in hand. As you introduce yourself, be mindful of your body language, including your handshake, eye contact, facial expressions, and voice.
Employers take notice of job candidates who smile and exhibit enthusiasm. They want to see a candidate with a strong desire to work with them, not someone who’s simply swinging by randomly. Some may also screen your interest level by asking common interview questions like “What do you know about us?” and “Why do you want to work for us?” So, be prepared!
Like a job interview, you should plan to send a follow-up note to the contacts you meet. It’s a chance to help keep you top of mind and it gives you an opportunity to reiterate why you have what they are looking for. You should also send a connection request on LinkedIn for the same reasons.
Before ending each conversation, be sure to collect business cards from the people you speak with and take good notes so you know how to best personalize the follow-up note.
Approached the right way, job fairs can open many conversations and doors to job opportunities. If you do these five things, you’ll be well-prepared for any job fairâand you’ll definitely stand out from the competition!
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âWhy are you interested in this position?â is an interview question that seems simple enough, but many job-seekers approach it incorrectly. In this guide, youâll find out why interviewers ask this question and learn how to answer it. There are also some great example answers to get you started! Table of contents The Real Reason […]
The post How To Answer “Why Are You Interested In This Position?” appeared first on Career Sherpa.
You hate your job. You find yourself complaining about it daily to your family and friends. Every Sunday night, you tell yourself that you’re finally going to quit and find a new job because you just can’t take it anymore. But you don’t.
Instead, you go to work, come home, complain, and start the whole cycle over again. You’re completely miserable in your current job, but you’re absolutely terrified to find a new job. Why?
Yes, starting a new job can be scary. You have to adapt to a new work environment, make new work friends, and even learn some new skillsâand you don’t know if you’ll even like it after everything’s said and done. What if it turns out to be worse than your last job? What if they don’t like you? What if you don’t fit in? What if you don’t perform at the level they expected? It’s similar to starting at a new school where you don’t know anyone, where anything is, or how your teachers are going to be.
The truth is, starting a new job can be intimidating. You’re walking into a new situation and you’re not sure what to expect. The best thing you can do is get to know the company as much as you can before accepting a job offer there. Learn it inside and out, make an effort to get to know people you’d be working with over LinkedIn or coffee, and ask questions that can give you insight into the company culture.
Don’t feel like you’ve got what it takes to make it anywhere else? Afraid to find a new job because you don’t want to look like an incompetent employee? If you think you’re lacking the skills to succeed elsewhere, take an inventory of your skill sets. Then, compare them to the skill sets that are required for the jobs you’re considering.
What are you missing? Where do you need to ramp up your skills? Do you have additional skills that could lend themselves to the job? Make a list of the skills you have and the ones you need to develop.
You need to understand what you have to offer so you can market yourself effectively to employers.
Again, go in and take a look at your skill sets. Think about past accomplishments at work. What have you achieved? What are you proud of? What problem do you solve at your current company? Make sure you quantify your work experience on your resume so employers know what you have to offer and can see the value you provide as a business-of-one.
You want to find a new job, but you have no idea what you want to do. All you know is that you hate your current job and you want out. If you’re having trouble figuring out what you want to do next, you need to take some time to explore.
Research different jobs, industries, and companies. Talk to people about their workâwhy they like it, hate it, and what excites them about it. Take some time to figure out what interests you and what projects energize you.
What if you don’t get the benefits you have at your current job? What if you have to take a pay cut? What if it takes too long to find a new job and you run out of money? Research competitive salary rates using Glassdoor’s salary calculator before you look for a new job. Also, research the companies you’re interested in to learn about what kinds of benefits they offer employees.
It’s important to understand what your priorities and must-haves are in your new job. The last thing you want to do is accept a job knowing that it won’t meet your needs because it will just result in you looking for a new job in a few months. However, understand that you might not necessarily make the same paycheck as your current job. Research so you know what to expect.
If you’re terrified to find a new job, you’re not alone. We hope that by identifying these fears and following the tips above, you’ll have the confidence and courage to look for your next job. Remember: you’ll never know what you can do until you try!
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There are a number of common second interview questions youâll need to be ready for if you want to progress through the hiring process. Some are simple, some are tricky, but theyâre all important. This list of questions youâll likely be asked during a second interview will help you prepare effective answers that make a […]
The post 21 Common Second Interview Questions & Answers (2022) appeared first on Career Sherpa.
Can engineering benefit from the lean principles of waste? The simple answer is yes!
To begin, what are the lean wastes?
Do engineers waste time? NEVER!!! Are you sure? How long did it take you to look up a part number for your last project? Have you spent hours on the internet combing for the perfect transformer? Did you rework the drawing because it was missing information? All of these take time.
Time is an engineerâs best asset. With any project, more time is always preferred. Despite our best efforts, everything has a deadline, and you will be out of time. So why do things take so long to accomplish?
Much like production, everything an engineer does has a processâformally or informally. If your process requires you to do unnecessary tasks or wait in a queue for information, it all takes away from our time.
Review what it truly takes to complete a task versus the total time to complete an action. The difference is your opportunity. How can you make tweaks or eliminate wasteful tasks to improve your time?
In the classical sense, engineering typically does not have dozens of parts on their desks or stacks of products on the shelves.
How many projects are on your desk needing your attention? How many drawings need revisions from production markups and changes? Do you have software programs written for customers? How many documents need approval?
Each of these âsoftâ products is inventory. Thinking broader, any accumulation of work ahead of you is your inventory. The more projects, tasks, and activities on your desk, the higher the inventory for you as a worker. How do we deplete inventory?
For administrative tasks, plan a time every day to work through the tasks. Approvals in the ERP system are complete at 9 am each day. Drawing reviews are scheduled at 2 pm on Tuesday. Some days you may have five or more of these tasks, and other days you may have none. Scheduling your time to complete these tasks is essential.
Larger tasks can be managed the same way. Use large blocks of time with no meetings to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Make sure you take action weekly on these tasks to prevent overwhelming inventory numbers.
Finally, do you need to do this task at all? Delegate or eliminate the work. Is it necessary? Am I the right person to do it? If the answer is no, get rid of it!
The goal is to minimize your inventory and focus effort on where you add value.
Unlike production where work may be completed in different physical locations, engineers typically work in their station and may even be sedentary. So how do I eliminate motion?
Do you walk to meetings twice a day in a different part of the building? Do you need to cross the room to use the copier? Are you required to deliver signed documents to another member of the team? Is your telephone or headset across the desk?
Motion is trickier in an office setting; however, with some creativity, you can eliminate the waste. Can my meetings be scheduled back to back to keep from leaving your office as often? Do I rearrange my desk for better optimization of my mouse, keyboard, phone, etc.? Think outside of just walking back and forth.
âHow often do you need to wait for a customer to agree to a specification? Does accounting owe you a price for the transformer you are quoting? Is your boss sitting on the drawing approval needed to submit to the customer?
Each time an engineer waits for an answer or another process, this leads to waste. You cannot proceed without someone elseâs action. You rely on someoneâs actions to complete your own.
How do we eliminate waiting? It is inevitable to be waiting on someone. Can you send an email ahead of time asking for their help to approve the drawing? Could you call your customer asking for clarification versus sending an email? Could you walk something to the accounting department asking for their attention?
Find ways to eliminate or minimize wait times. Take proactive actions to ask for assistance. Ensure all the necessary information is available to the next person in the process. Look for those subtle little items that add up over time.
âBoth of these wastes involve doing more than what is expected. Throughout my career, I have been encouraged to under-promise and over-deliver. Why?
Of the wastes, I would say these two are the most difficult for engineering. We are expected to (over) produce products that exceed customer expectations.
Experience will tell an engineer when enough is enough. Over-designing a solution is a waste. Making more drawings than are necessary is a waste. Look for opportunities where you are handling the same item more than once. Can I do both tasks at the same time?
Be careful of the trap of tinkering with a project simply because you have time. If your work is complete, meets the need, and is robust, stop. Continuing to tweak is an example of overprocessing. Learn from your mentors what finished looks like!
Defects are an enormous opportunity for anyone to eliminate wastes! Who likes doing the same task twice because it was wrong? If an engineer needs to do rework, the results are wasted.
Similar to the goal of âzeroâ safety incidents, engineers need to strive for perfection. This goal is philosophically correct, and reality shows our human side. Mistakes will occur.
How do you eliminate these defects? If you make a mistake, begin by correcting it, and follow up with changes to keep the mistake from returning. Write a procedure, make a checklist, and educate yourself (and your team) to prevent the error. When you have âextra time,â check your work. We all get tunnel vision on projects, so taking another step to verify your efforts is valuable!
When mistakes occur, learn from them. Do not swipe them aside as a trivial element of your work. Take time to make improvements to eliminate the chance of error in the future. We all make mistakes⦠Some of us learn to keep from repeating them repeatedly.
The concept of eliminating wastes is paramount to a lean journey or continuous improvement. Look around every aspect of life, and you will observe wastes. Knowing what wastes look like is the first step. Your best opportunity is to find ways to eliminate them from your work. Make something better, eliminate an unnecessary step, error-proof your processes, and make things better.
So is TIM WOOD my friend? For years, the answer was no. I had no time for him in engineering because he worked in production. Now that I see him clearly, I embrace him and use him to make me, my team, and my company stronger.
YES â TIM WOOD is my friend!
Looking for a job has become relatively tough for many people. Even some professionals with advanced academic qualifications, such as bachelor’s degrees and even MBAs, are currently having a rough time on the market. However, there are still plenty of jobs out there for the right candidates.
One of the ways of differentiating yourself from other job seekers is by having transferable skills. Broadly speaking, a transferable skill is an expertise that you can use across a wide range of industries.
According to the University of Southern California, many graduates change jobs as many as four times within a period of five years. If you are a job seeker, identifying your transferable skills and articulating them to employers is likely to increase your chances of getting a job.
Here are five transferable skills all job seekers need:
In almost every career, from banking to the hospitality industry, good communication skills are vital. As such, it would be to your advantage if you have the ability to articulate your ideas in writing as well as orally. Since communication normally involves more than one party, you should be a good listener as well.
Employers often look for people who can communicate with co-workers effectively and in an objective manner.
Don’t know your workplace communication style? Take our FREE quiz today!
This is a vital skill in almost every field of work mainly because the majority of businesses generate revenue by solving problems that clients face daily.
For example, cloud-computing companies provide data storage solutions, thereby ensuring that their clients have a backup of data stored on site. Employees can access company data on the go knowing they have secure storage for their information. In such an environment, analytical skills are likely to come in handy when clients face problems such as uploading data or updating certain files. To solve those issues, one would have to identify and define the problem’s parameters.
This skill also involves collecting and analyzing data in order to design creative solutions to complex problems.
Most organizations and business enterprises employ more than one employee. Because of this, it may not be possible to have all the employees in leadership positions. Therefore, a few employees who show the ability to lead generally take charge of the others.
Leadership is all about motivating fellow employees and leading them to work toward a common goal. In addition, leaders analyze tasks and set priorities for the other employees as well as identify and allocate resources that employees need.
Traditionally, businesses kept a few records such as sales, purchases, and salaries in-house. In most cases, this data was no more than a few gigabytes. However, the emergence of social media, the adoption of e-commerce by consumers, and the large number of data points generated by businesses and corporations have upended the traditional model of managing information. As a result, most employers need employees who can sort and present data objects in an understandable manner.
Information management also involves evaluating and synthesizing information against industry standards. Industries where you can apply this skill set include finance, education, manufacturing, and print media.
Project managers are in high demand in many industries. Your work as a project manager will involve planning projects, assessing potential risks associated with the project, allocating project finances appropriately, and overseeing the execution of the project on time.
You can use this transferable skill in industries such as education, energy, consulting, and even the military.
The job sector is becoming increasingly competitive with every passing day. With this in mind, job seekers need to broaden their horizons when searching for a job.
Leverage the power of transferable skills acquired in previous jobs to get ahead of the competition. Just remember to quantify these skills on your resume. Also, make sure to mention them in your job interview, and you’ll surely stand out from the competition.
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I have had moments in my schooling that shine brightlyâplaying a card game in Mr. Ritter’s 8th grade social studies class with the true purpose being to show just how difficult it was to survive the Holocaust as well as having an opportunity to create our own country using the same economic, social, and political characteristics that define authentic nation states. I also remember Ms. Ziemba’s 9th grade English class where she would routinely pause our reading of fiction to allow us to predict what would happen next as well as my foreign language classes with Mrs. Kaneâ”Madame”âand Mr. Tellis where we would act out every day conversational scenarios using tone, props, and facial expressions.
While the content we were covering differed in each class, there was one commonalityâan emphasis on student engagement. Today, I try to pay forward the appreciation that I feel for my teachers, for making learning engaging, by mentoring new teachers on how best to engage their students through similar learner-centered practices. Educators are so much more than content specialists; they help shape the whole person. Educators facilitate the growth of student self-awareness, they flame the sparks of curiosity, and they can make connections between learning theory and real-world application.
Involving students in class is not just a feel-good practice; student engagement results in better student attention with attention leading to higher rates of student achievement. Here are eight considerations to keep in mind to not only make student engagement possible in a distracted and complex world but that also will, hopefully, bring you joy as an educator when you see your students light up like a sports stadium.
As a teaching coach, I often see well-meaning teachers planning a lesson around a fun student activity. I love that these teachers are keeping student interest front and center, but we canât forget that time with our students is limited, and we need to ensure that students are meeting certain content and skill-based standards. Instead, step one should be to develop your lesson objective and then consider how you will assess student learning outcomes in this lesson. After this, choose a student activity/task that will help students practice the learning outcome. Many students are driven by personal success; they will appreciate completing tasks and engaging in activities that they know will help them reach a defined goal.
Tip: Connect that learning goal to real-world relevance through articles, podcasts, videos, etc. Let students know how/where they might use this learning. How does this learning help explain the world around us?
How does the saying go? Idle hands are the devilâs workshop. So are idle minds. Bored students are the kiss of death when it comes to classroom management. If we do not engage students productively and consistently throughout a lesson, they will find ways through which to amuse themselves even if inappropriate.
Write learning objectives where students are consistently asked to stretch and expand their thinking. Then, plan activities, aligned to the learning objective, that will require students to assess, evaluate, synthesize, and create information. Plan activities that move beyond students recalling and reproducing information and place emphasis on student strategic thinking. One lesson planning tool that I always recommend teachers have by their side is the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix for writing/speaking and/or math/science as it combines both the cognitive rigor models of Bloomâs Taxonomy and Webbâs Depth of Knowledge (DOK) construct.
How many of you remember the 1980s movie Ferris Buellerâs Day Off? In that movie, Ferrisâ teacher drones on and on while students sleep, doodle, blow bubble gum bubbles, and even drool. Funny, yes. However, itâs sad to say but some teachers in 2022 still turn their students into hostages during never-ending lectures. Even I, as a teaching coach, sometimes get bored when observing teachers talk incessantly but at least I have the option of leaving and visiting another teacherâs class. Students do not have this option.
Alternate how you teach. Whole class instruction has its merits/roleâparticularly when introducing a topic and conducting a BRIEF mini-lecture on that topicâbut release students to practice learning both independently AND in small peer groups, during each lesson, before regrouping as a whole class during the lesson summary.
Assessment is not just formal paper and pencil tests. While tests are an important indicator of how much students have learned AFTER instruction, teachers can use cold calling, polling (i.e., Kahoot games), and choral response DURING learning to determine if students are learning material or if they must pivot their instruction for better student understanding. These informal assessment strategies can both be fun and produce assessment data.
Also, we educators can do a better job in assessing our students through more authentic assessments such as project-based learning, case studies, and scenarios as well as through student portfolio assessment. So many careers these days require collaboration. So, why then are we still often assessing in isolation?
Above, I mention portfolio assessment as both a great student engagement and assessment strategy. There also are additional less-involved ways through which to engage students in analyzing their academic growth and achievement daily. For example, students can self- and then peer assess essays using a performance rubric. Students can critique their and peer contributions to group work. Students can also shout out positive peer contributions during lesson summary activities. These strategies not only engage students but foster social-emotional competency as well.
I was lucky to be able to enroll in Ms. Firestoneâs ELA/visual and performing arts âhouseâ in a high school that was otherwise dominated by achievement in sports. However, while it is wonderful when districts do provide students with opportunities to learn through cross-disciplinary and theme-based learning approaches, all teachers can engage students through personalization of the learning experience.
Conduct a survey/inventory of student interests. How do you build these interests into your lesson plans? Consider the cultural backgrounds of your students. How might you bring in learning materials and/or teach content through situations with which your students already may have community knowledge? Also, students who are below academic proficiency may become frustrated and disengage while students who are above proficiency may also check out if not provided with an appropriate level of challenge. How do you use common diagnostic assessment at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to determine how many instructional groups you have in your class? What scaffolds and/or extensions might you provide your students so that they do not become frustrated or bored?
If a typical lesson is 45 to 50 minutes, and we are following a gradual release model, this means that we have approximately five minutes for an introductory activity, 10 minutes for a mini-lecture (I and we do), 20 to 25 minutes for student practice (you do), and five to 10 minutes for summation of the lesson. Therefore, our engagement activities need to be concise during a lessonâs introduction, the mini-lecture, and the summation of a lesson and can be extended/deeper process when students are practicing their learning. In other words, donât try to do an inside-outside circle activity during the mini-lecture when a quick turn and talk is more appropriate. Save the inside-outside circle activity for student practice time.
Also, have a ready bank of four to five student discussion strategies that you can swap in and out during student practice time each lesson. However, a word of caution. Donât push back against collaborative learning if you fear the loss of classroom control. It is not the discussion strategy that is faulty but how well the teacher implements it and sets classroom expectations. Students may still need the teacher to instruct them on how to engage in a discussion as well as both discussion stems and guiding questions.
Provide students with SOME choice when it comes to how they will learn content/skills and how they will demonstrate mastery. Allow students who like to move/dance an opportunity to demonstrate their learning through a role play. Perhaps students who like to draw might demonstrate learning through the creation of a poster. Still, others may want to write and/or produce a podcast. Our students are digital natives. Donât fight technology; embrace it. Regardless, make sure students are being evaluated similarly/on meeting the learning objective and not on other extraneous skills used to produce their product.
If you would like additional ideas on how to impact student lives without sacrificing your own, and have a life teaching, check out my quick hack teaching courses, including on student engagement, here. You can also reach me on LinkedIn.
As a job seeker, you’re probably not using LinkedIn correctlyâin the way that allows recruiters to find you. In fact, recruiters aren’t going to tell you what they do to find the best job candidates. If you want to have job search success, you need to use LinkedIn to its fullest potential, the way it was intended to be used.
Here are three things recruiters don’t tell you about LinkedIn that I will.
@j.t.odonnell 3 Things Recruiters Don’t Tell You About LinkedIn #linkedinprofiletips #linkedintips #linkedinprofile #linkedin #recruiter #recruiters #jobsearchtips #jobsearchhelp #jobsearch @Work It Daily ⬠original sound – J.T. O’Donnell
1. Headline
Did you know that recruiters use a technology on LinkedIn that allows them to do keyword searches? They’re looking for skill sets, the skills they were told to look for in a candidate. If you have those skill sets (those keywords they search) in your headline, you rank higher in their search results. This is how you get more recruiters to find you and reach out to you.
2. “About” Section
Recruiters don’t want to see an epic novel in your “About” section. They also don’t want it written in the third person. Your “About” section should be short and sweet. It should contain your personal branding statement and your list of skills. That way, they move on to the next section, which is my third point.
3. “Experience” Section (Work History)
I can’t tell you how many people are not putting the appropriate bullet points in their work history. The bullet points in your “Experience” section on your LinkedIn profile should be quantifiable, number driven, and accomplishment driven, and they should be the exact same as what’s on your resume. Recruiters hate a bait and switch. The work history on your resume and LinkedIn profile need to look identical.
There are a lot more things that I can teach you about this. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s fix your LinkedIn profile and get recruiters to find you.
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