Chris Muller

In a polarized world, a key to happiness is being hard to offend. Feeling slighted takes a toll. It's possible to object without getting upset. Rudeness says more about the perpetrator than the target. If they haven't earned your respect, they don't deserve your attention.

Difficult conversations are rarely as unpleasant as we expect. 7 studies: we're too pessimistic about leveling with friends & partners. We fixate on what could go wrong, overlooking what might go right. Relationships stagnate in silence. Candor opens the door to growth.

This is disturbing. 😞 17 percent of teens 13-17 say they're on TikTok "almost constantly." The impact? Decreased attention. Distorted views of reality. Hard on learning. Scary for our future, too. pewresearch.org/internet/2023/…

Leaders shouldn't aim to be liked. They should strive to be respected.   We don’t have to agree with every decision. We need to align with their visions and admire their values.   Trust isn’t granted for competence alone. It's earned through caring about people and principles.

Lately, I've been using generative AI to come up with ideas -- but not in the way that I expected. When I first saw the power of generative AI, I assumed I would use it as a brainstorming tool and then turn those ideas into creative work. But I'm convinced we need to become really good at what AI can't do and really different at what it can do. So, if I want to create something distinct, I can use AI to get past the initial set of ideas and move toward more divergent thinking. Here are two ways I'm doing this. #1 - Avoiding the cliché I start with a prompt and ask the AI to come up with ideas. Then, I look at the ideas and ask: 1. Which of these seem cliché and overdone? 2. Which of these ideas can I modify to make something interesting? 3. Whose perspectives aren't represented? What approach or organizational perspective might be missing? 4. What is something totally original that the AI didn't generate? I'm challenging myself to come up with something truly different than what the AI generates. I've been creating a series of visual writing prompts and I often take the initial set of images and make it a challenge to draw something entirely different from what it generated. For example, when I created a prompt related to superheroes, it generated an image of a muscular white male with a cape. So, I chose to draw a girl who was African-American and had a steam punk outfit. Similarly, I've taken some of the initial writing prompt ideas and said, "Let's turn this into something a little more quirky." Thus the prompt, "Create a new sport" becomes "Redesign fantasy football with actual elements of fantasy." I took the prompt, "Tell the story of an alien ship that lands in your school" and modified it to be, "Use this line: To our surprise, the aliens weren't angry or scared so much as bored. And that made them all the more dangerous." This process is forcing me to think more divergently about my writing prompts. #2 - Use it as a thought partner I start with brainstorming a series of ideas on my own. Then, when I've exhausted all ideas, I go to a tool like ChatGPT and use the prompt, "What am I missing?" Often, seeing just a few new ideas pulls me away from my previous line of thinking and into a new domain, where I can brainstorm ideas again. Another option is to type, "Can you come up with a mash-up of multiple ideas?" AI can be a great tool for synthesizing multiple ideas and these mash-ups can spark new ideas as well. I then challenge myself to add my own element to this mash-up. I'm not sure if this helpful to anyone. However, I thought I would share my process of using AI as a tool to be more creative in my work.

Great education systems don't just invest in “gifted and talented” students. They bring out the best in all students.
 Top schools create opportunities for teachers to specialize in their students—not only their subjects. Deeper relationships unlock hidden potential. nytimes.com/2023/10/22/opi…

It's exciting to see how the testimonials for the benefits of equitable grading keep growing, from classrooms to state policymakers! [And concerns often reveal misunderstandings &, more unfortunately, misapplications in classrooms] oregonlive.com/education/2023…

A new reason to work out in the morning: it builds confidence to overcome obstacles. On days when people exercise before work, they’re more engaged and less exhausted. They see tasks as challenges to conquer rather than threats to avoid. Early wins boost energy and efficacy.

More important than affirmative action in elite schools, here are steps that must be taken to create equality of opportunity for far greater numbers of kids. via @NYTOpinion nytimes.com/2023/07/26/opi…

"When I like the teacher, I want to do their work. And I'll be like, 'I can learn this.'" Students who feel safe and supported by adults at school are better able to learn, research shows. #HowLearningHappens

ChatGPT is really good at the five-paragraph essay. And what that tells us is not that we should ban the technology but that we need to change the task. @MichaelFullan1 @DrTonyWagner @bjfr @kaser_linda edweek.org/technology/opi…

As you're thinking about classroom assessments next year, remember that we grade against criteria for standards, outcomes, learning goals, i.e., evidence of learning, NOT the vehicle used to deliver that evidence. So, unless we're teaching the assessment format itself, whether or not students do a project, test, paper, demonstration, etc is irrelevant: It's whether or not they presented evidence of their proficiency. This blows the hinges off the doors on the way to success as it opens new and meaningful ways to demonstrate mastery. There's a lot of agency here, which leads to students owning their learning. For some units of study, teachers can even ask students for proposals for how they will demonstrate the evidence of the standard. Then, as with most assessments, ask students to prove their evidence, to explain how the standard is manifested in their presentation. Gosh, this makes learning -- and teaching -- way more fun, and for students, more substantive.

Establishing a Restorative Ecosystem in High School edutopia.org/article/using-…

Attention parents, teachers, and students: here are some great tips for using ChatGBT as an aid to learning. It is the first step in understanding how to work with AI as a tool — something all kids will need to master for future work. via @NYTimes nytimes.com/2023/06/30/tec…

Establishing a Restorative Ecosystem in High School edutopia.org/article/using-…

Including an 'Objective' and a 'Criteria for Profiency' on your Mastery Checks is an excellent and simple addition to help students to identify when they're ready to move on to the next unit. Create classroom-ready materials like this today: bit.ly/40zSHly.

"To implement mastery-based grading you have to challenge the status quo of traditional systems where all students have the same amount of time to achieve competence." Read more via @cultofpedagogy: cultofpedagogy.com/mastery-based-… 🚀