Substantial Classrooms

Transform Your School’s Substitute Teaching Experience Just like everything else, substitute teaching is about to undergo a big change. In Substantial Classrooms: Redesigning the Substitute Teaching Experience, authors Jill Vialet and Amanda von Moos usher in a new era of innovation in substitute teaching. Threaded with concrete and actionable ways to improve the experience of substitute teaching for administrators, students, and the teachers themselves, Substantial Classrooms is a leading voice for innovation and renewal in substitute teaching. Instead of viewing substitute teachers as a placeholder in an educator’s absence, this book encourages readers to view substitute teachers as vital resources that diversify the typical classroom learning experience.  While other books look only at making a bad situation bearable, this book re-examines substitute teaching with an eye towards reinventing it as a unique and valuable part of students’ educational experience. Key themes of Substantial Classrooms include: How substitute teaching works today Applying human-centered design to create change in legacy systems like substitute teaching Concrete and inspiring examples of different models for substitute teaching, for example, reimagining it as paid fieldwork for aspiring teachers. In addition to these key themes, every chapter includes stories and techniques from dynamic and innovative educational practitioners. This must-have guide to substitute teaching can improve schools everywhere and revolutionize the way educators, school and district leaders, colleges, and community partners view the experience of substitute teaching as a lever to positively impact schools.

Foreword by Dr. Susie Wise 10 Introduction 14 How We Got Here 16 What’s Ahead 18 Building Empathy: Parallel Journeys 20 How Substitute Teaching Works Today 32 Surprising Stats 34 Who Are Substitute Teachers? 36 Requirements to be a Sub 37 The Need for Subs 41 Substitute Teaching as a System 46 Outsourcing 50 The Impact of Uneven Coverage 51 What Happens in the Classroom 53 Why Isn’t Substitute Teaching Receiving More Attention? 55 The Four Defining Characteristics of Substitute Teaching 58 Takeaways 61 Start Where You Are 62 What Matters: Subs Coming Back 64 Language Matters 68 Building Relationships at the School Level 69 Sub Plans, Every Time 71 Build Schoolwide Practices 73 Small Things That Make a Difference 75 Why Focus on it? It Works 78 Building Relationships at the District Level 79 Small Things That Make a Difference 87 Takeaways 89 Design Lab 90 What is Design Thinking? 92 Doing Design Work—Our Basic Cycle 96 Key Mindsets 104 Design Principles 108 Substantial Classrooms: Redesigning the Substitute Teaching Experience 9 Developing an Idea: Steps Along the Way 113 Journey of an Idea: SubPlans 121 Takeaways 126 Opportunities 128 The Heart of the Opportunity: Under-utilized Student Time 129 Why These Ideas 131 Meet the Innovators 132 The Art of the Hack 133 Go Forth and Innovate! 133 Opportunity: Reimagine Substitute Teaching as a Full-Time Fellowship 135 Opportunity: Part-Time Jobs for College Students 140 Opportunity: Community Talent 145 Opportunity: Teacher Pre-Service 151 Opportunity: District Teacher Pipeline 155 Opportunity: After-School Staff 159 Emerging Opportunities 163 Takeaways 167 The Commencement Chapter 168 Resources 172 Design Moves Playbook 173 Getting Ready for a Substitute Teacher: Sample Lesson Plan 188 Resource Guide: Learning About Design Thinking 192 Resource Guide: Research on Substitute Teaching 196 Books Referenced 203 Acknowledgments 204 About the Authors 206 Index 207