In fall 2021, Rutgers Alternate Route launched its Content Conversation Series. The Content Conversation Series is an initiative created for educators to learn collaboratively. A volunteer facilitator is selected by Rutgers Alternate Route to lead a virtual hour-long session on a skill, topic, or resource relevant to an instructional content area. For the fall Content Conversation, attendees discussed implementing the Next Generation Science Sciences (NGSS) from veteran science educator, Minal Thakur.

Faced with responding to the needs of our communities during the height of the pandemic, our faculty and staff proved exceptional at every turn, starting with the sheer logistical challenge of turning an in-person learning landscape into remote classrooms nearly overnight. Returning to in-person instruction brought new challenges. To even begin, we needed to connect with our staff and understand what they needed to be successful. We did our best to ensure the safety and health of our faculty and staff, but even our most valiant efforts did not please everyone. At the beginning of the school year, we too had teachers resigning at the eleventh hour.  All the while we continued to recruit new hires who would be a great fit and who wanted to be in-person with scholars. I’d be lying if I told you this was easy.

As one of the many alternate route teaching programs in New Jersey, the Rutgers Alternate Route program recognizes the potential for technology in education and leverages the power of social media to support increasing competency in this area for new teachers. The program hosts Twitter Chats attended by current teaching candidates, course instructors, and guest commentators who are seasoned education professionals and savvy users of social media. In an hour-long synchronized group discussion, candidates volley ideas that expand their knowledge of tools and practices. The overwhelming majority of candidates leave the chat energized and inspired to try new practices and explore new tools. They also express feeling understood and less alone thanks to the transparency of other chat participants.

It's no secret that teachers are among the best resources when it comes to finding great educational websites and apps for teaching and learning. It's also no secret that teachers are among some of the busiest professionals and appreciate saving time whenever possible. 

That's why teachers at Rutgers Alternate Route have done the leg work of plowing through hundreds of websites to share with other teachers their go-to resources for supporting learning in their content areas. They have curated a list of mostly free teacher resources that we've categorized by subject area to make it easy to quickly identify something useful. What's more, each resource includes a hyperlink to the site and a brief rationale for why it made the teacher's toolbox.

Educators have a huge opportunity to create a safe space and positive mental-health experience for students of military families. Students spend a big chunk of time in the classroom and if they feel seen, supported and understood, their learning experience can be transformed. 

Luckily for educators, supporting students of military families simply means taking the tools you already have and adapting them to a new situation. Below are six ways you can transform learning for your students living the military life.