Sometimes it is good to shake things up a bit to help get you out of your normal routine. Last fall, Rushton Hurley built The 5-Day Teacher Challenge to show that we can all get better at teaching by making just a few small changes. 
Each day of the challenge, you are asked to change one thing – you are even provided with a pair of options for each day! Try something new. Learn a new tool. Have some fun! You and your students will appreciate the change!
I encourage you to explore and embark on the full challenge but for now, here is a summary. (The quotes below come directly from Rushton Hurley’s challenge.)
Day 1: Build Rapport With Your Students! “When students trust that you are someone who is genuinely interested in them, and not someone paid simply to be in the classroom, they are notably more likely to put forth effort when you ask it of them.”
Day 2: Assign More Interesting Student Work: “I’m guessing that if we had meaningful data about such things, we would see that not nearly enough assignments generate truly creative and fun responses from our students.”
Day 3: Improve How You Communicate: “While the students’ willingness is obviously significant, your creativity and patience with how you present material are arguably the most important factors in whether they will give your lesson a chance.”
Day 4: Tap Into the Insights of Your Peers: “In most parts of the world, teaching until very recently has been a highly isolated profession. However, with all the connections that are possible now, the potential for saving time and having fun building off the ideas of colleagues near and far has increased exponentially.”
Day 5: Connect With Those Who Have (and Can) Help You: “The people that make a school work well are driving buses, delivering food in the cafeteria, answering phones, sweeping floors after hours, etc. Connect with these folks and appreciate how large the team is that wants the best for the community’s children!”
Through all of these experiences, I was shocked to find out that my students spend nearly their entire school day passively sitting and listening to instruction. No wonder they are often disengaged, lethargic and disconnected. They are half asleep! Spending time in my students shoes reinforced my problem of practice – they way I teach needed to change!
I started this stage with a solo brainstorming session where I jotted down any and every thought, idea and question regarding my POP. Later, I sat down with a coworker for a group brainstorming session. This time, we used a whiteboard and markers to write down everything that came to mind – even if it did not seem relevant. Brainstorming with someone else seemed much more helpful as our ideas often built off of each other. After these brainstorming sessions, I purposely took time away from my POP to let these thoughts and ideas incubate. I kept a journal on 
Once I had a rough outline in place, I changed the topic of each lesson into a question (ex. Topic: Cell Membrane, Question: How are materials transported into and out of a cell?). At first, it seemed like a monumental task to do this for each lesson but once I accepted the fact that prototypes are a work in progress and that my prototype will undergo many drafts, I felt more relaxed and things started to come together. In the end, my prototype became a 
Therefore, I invited them to view the prototype of my suggested organization and to offer comments on the order or topics, placement of standards, proposed lesson questions, and any suggestions as to unit and/or course questions. Their feedback was collected in two places. First, they were encouraged to leave comments within the Google Doc. Since I invited each of these contacts to the same Google Doc, this allowed a sort of brainstorming dialogue to emerge where we could build off of each other’s thoughts and ideas. In addition, I created 
Linked to this request was a new copy of the Google Doc for them to comment on as well as a link to my survey. Finally, I emailed a former AP Biology teacher who currently trains teachers in good science practices. She felt more comfortable discussing this organizational prototype in a person so we will be meeting in the near future (the meeting was delayed due to spring break). 
Run With EdTech! 