Teachers: when was the last time you walked in your students' shoes?

Image from an interactive, multisensory learning project I once ran.

Massively vital reading for teachers (even more so secondaries). This insightful post by Alexis Wiggins, was original scripted anonymously. She later outed herself - rightly so, absolutely nothing here to hide!

She starts with, "I have made a terrible mistake. I waited fourteen years to do something that I should have done my first year of teaching: shadow a student for a day. It was so eye-opening that I wish I could go back to every class of students I ever had right now and change a minimum of ten things – the layout, the lesson plan, the checks for understanding. Most of it!"

She goes on to describe her experience and provide 3 key learning points, each with practical suggestions to her past and future self, and all other teachers out there.

Read it and then do it. And then if you can, get your managers / heads / team to read and do it too. 

Some of you will already include some of these things in your practice but I guarantee some will be new inspiration.

I'd also extend the basic principle to all people who work with audiences, customers, learners, pupils, participants etc... when was the last time you walked in their shoes. Turn the tables on yourself and see what you can improve.

There's already some discussion of this going on on my Facebook page if you want to join in... *here*

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