Episode 89 Lessen Your Mental Load by Establishing Student Agency

Raise your hand if you have felt unsure, ill-equipped, or stressed out when making decisions about writing instruction. Teachers tend to place too much responsibility on themselves when it comes to instruction in general, and definitely with writing instruction! This creates unnecessary stress that can be alleviated by establishing student autonomy and agency.Involving students in their learning and putting more of the responsibility on them will:Increase engagement and motivationMake learning stickLesson your mental loadIncrease student growthIn this episode, Melissa shares examples of ways to include writers in their learning that you can implement tomorrow. About Melissa:Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.  Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by MelissaLinkedIn Connect with Melissa!