(Ctrl) F that!

 

Quick Tip:

Ctrl+F is also known as the "Find" shortcut, and it allows you to open a search window in the page you have open on your browser--or in your Google document, PDF, etc. Type in the word (or part of the word) you want to find, and it will highlight the instances of that word on your page. 

There are many everyday uses for Ctrl+F that may make this a daily trick to use. If you are best described as an "okay" speller, using Ctrl+F to find and then REPLACE that word or name you repeatedly butchered can be a huge time saver. Or, if you tend to use the same word/phrase over and over again, you can find each instance and revise with a more colorful and accurate sentence!

Additional Uses: 

Ctrl + F is also valuable for those teaching reading or media literacy skills. The uses for this in the classroom are multiple, including the following:

Quickly evaluate a source for usefulness.
When researching, whether on a webpage or PDF, you can quickly see if the key word or phrase you are looking for is present--or how many times it appears. If it only shows up once, that might be an indication to move on...

Support students in identifying key words.
Sometimes students don't know whether to look up a word they don't know. A quick search for the word in the text will show the number of times it appears, and thus give them an indication of how important it is to define and understand.

Quickly find citations, etc.
Ctrl+F also works in Google documents! This time-saver is great for checking instances of a specific source cited or finding instances of the parenthesis ( on a page to count the number of parenthetical citations.

Check for plagiarism.
Quickly find key words or phrases that you suspect are copied. This is also a helpful tool for students to check that they have paraphrased appropriately!

Support students in evaluating sources for credibility.
Ctrl+F is great for finding key pieces of information fast, especially if you are practicing lateral reading and trying to confirm information found from another source.

Lateral reading helps you determine an author’s credibility, intent and biases by searching for articles on the same topic by other writers (to see how they are covering it) and for other articles by the author you’re checking on. That’s what professional fact-checkers do.

In fact, there is a Canadian program called CTRL+F that has a free program for media literacy, including lessons, videos, examples, and assessments (pre/post) for students in Grades 7-12. For those familiar with the News Literacy Project and its Checkology curriculum for Grades 6-12, this is similar but more easily used in pieces--Google slides, paper handouts, and with no student data sharing--to suit your learners. If this is something you have been thinking about, check out the introductory video below:

How else have you used Ctrl+F in the classroom or in your teacher life to increase productivity? Let us know in the comments below!

Finding Balance with Grading

 

February is always the longest short month, but this year feels harder in many ways for teachers. While there are no miracle cures, one step teachers can take to enhance teacher well-being AND student well-being is finding a balance with our assignments.

While there is plenty of research that shows the value of feedback (and tips for how to make that feedback the best possible), there is little research that supports the value of grading for student learning or well-being. Research shows that grades MIGHT impact student motivation positively if they are perceived as providing helpful feedback, but on the whole:  

"Grades did not enhance academic motivation. Instead, grades enhanced anxiety and avoidance of challenging courses. In contrast, narrative evaluations supported basic psychological needs and enhanced motivation by providing actionable feedback, promoting trust between instructors and students and cooperation amongst students." 

So, what do we as teachers do, when the reality is that grades are expected and still carry importance in the wider world?

The most recent episode of Catlin Tucker's podcast The Balance is an 11 minute gem devoted to grading. If you find yourself drowning in student work to assess, this is worth the listen. 

In her blog reflection, Catlin Tucker shares:

"A few years ago, I hit a breaking point. My grades didn’t feel like an accurate reflection of my students’ skills, and I was spending hours wading through paperwork instead of designing dynamic learning experiences for my students. Now, when I work with teachers, I encourage them to ask these questions: What is the purpose of this work? Why am I grading this?"

Catlin found that a few changes helped her spend MUCH LESS TIME grading, shift her practice to more time spent in class on feedback, reflection, and setting goals for learning, and find MORE MEANING in the time she spent giving feedback. She shares the following helpful flowchart in her blog:

If this seems interesting, take 15 minutes to check out the blog and podcast. Let TLI know if you want to chat about how you might strike this balance in your classroom!