I was thrilled to see this news report out of Clearfield, Pennsylvania on wjactv.com. The emphasis on quality materials and student engagement makes my heart sing. I’ve been sharing resources on TpT since 2010, and it’s been an exciting experience to know that other teachers are using resources I designed. Receiving feedback of teachers using my “stuff” in ways I never thought to use it helps me implement my own materials better! Likewise, when I use a resource another teacher created and my students go bonkers, I can’t wait to provide feedback to let that teacher know how much my students enjoyed it. Teachers Pay Teachers provides a great way for teachers to help one another grow our students… and grow ourselves as educators.
I love the support that administration very clearly articulates here as well. There is immense value in gaining perspective about how other teachers are engaging students through high-quality resources. When administration supports and understands that, it’s a good thing!
http://tinyurl.com/encouragingTpT
Side Note: I always cringe, however, when the title of such reports calls TpT a site where teachers sell “lesson plans”. I don’t think “lesson plans” are what TpT is all about. Teachers plan lessons based on learning targets/objectives for the “what” of lessons. TpT helps with the “how” by providing teacher-created classroom-tested resources and activities. The “what” and the “how” are quite different.
Final Thoughts: There are certainly TpT critics out there… (I often wonder just how many products the critics have even closely examined… it is so easy to criticize something one knows nothing about…) so I wanted to share just one of many precious pieces of feedback I’ve received in my own TpT experiences. Authentic feedback like this is quite rewarding!
