NUO Conference: Organizing Chaos Workshop

 Organizing Chaos

The workshop: “Organizing Chaos” presented by Kelly McGill is one that all educators should consider. In this workshop I learned about what being overwhelmed really means for an educator. Being overwhelmed inhibits your ability to think clearly. You need certain structures and time in order for it to be in place and it all starts with organization. A few tasks you will be managing as a new teacher include setting up the classroom, writing IEPs for the first time, parent communication, tracking all the deadlines you need to be mindful of, teams and clubs, annual learning plan and building relationships with staff. You should set realistic expectations for your first three years as a teacher and take control of your spaces by organizing them. Calm and clear spaces impact students too in the classroom. An educator should model good organization for students and teach them about this essential lifelong skill. 

The speaker went through helpful tips including three spaces you need to get under control as a teacher: 

1. Physical space: Declutter first by making sure everything in your space is worthy of your mental energy. Zone your space so you could find whatever you need quickly and easily. Some zones to consider creating include teacher desk, teaching resources, whiteboard, document camera, big tables, bulletin boards, folders, bins, notebooks, math tools etc. Invest in a planned and prepped cart such as assigning a drawer for pages that need to be photocopied, work to be graded, materials gathered, stuff to hand back  etc. Use a V.I.P binder in which you keep student marks, year at a glance, parent contact info, communication log, curriculum expectations for subjects you teach, copies of current IEPs. 
2. Digital space :  Rename files as soon as you copy or download them and organize digital files/resources belonging to a certain subject under the same folder. 

  3. Mental space : Organize and highlight items according to priority and create a customized year at glance and   reference it regularly and keep notes of holidays, special months, meetings, etc. 

The learning provided in this workshop  was so meaningful in reducing new teacher overwhelm. The tips offered in this session is something I will definitely use to keep the classroom organized as it  helps create a daily schedule, and saves time by being prepared ahead of time.

The strategies offered in this workshop are crucial to reducing  that first year teacher overwhelm. I will use them in saving time, creating focus, and supporting mental calm. It will help me with time management, and having a better understanding of  individual student needs as I will have an organized binder where I can find whatever documents I need such as IEPs, curriculum expectations, etc. 

Brought to you by: RaveenD@NUO-EDU491