Cohort 21 | bblack | Mentions https://cohort21.com/members/bblack/activity/mentions/ Activity feed mentioning bblack. Thu, 25 Jun 2026 19:59:51 -0400 https://buddypress.org/?v= en-CA 30 hourly 2 31a203cdbcc682a8373aa9b7170eca44 Garth Nichols posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2022/01/17/strength-of-community/#comment-139 Fri, 04 Feb 2022 18:33:42 -0500 Thanks @bblack for your vulnerability in this post. TCS is a fortunate community to have you thinking so intentionally about community, contributing and care as key pillars. I love this line: “Teachers are the first responders for the preservation of student emotional well-being”.

Thanks for sharing this,
Garth.

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Think back to your favourite memories of high school; what do you see? What do you remember? Who do you remember? I suspect in those moments you’re envisioning t […] ]]> 0aa0e6effc5192a7fd666f73defba810 Jennifer Bairos posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/jenniferbairos/2021/09/14/dipping-my-toes-into-equitable-classrooms-and-social-justice-education-in-fsl/#comment-132 Tue, 01 Feb 2022 19:16:40 -0500 Hi @bblack, I love this comment. Having a wider variety of pronouns in the classroom has lead to some genuine conversations with my students. I have students using the iel pronoun in their work, and other students using it when talking about their non-binary classmates. I think that has been the most meaningful classroom decor addition, and I’m…Read more

In reply to - Jennifer Bairos wrote a new post on the site Jennifer Bairos Like many of us, I am taking a hard, uncomfortable look at my curriculum and the resources in my classroom. What is missing?  What needs to be removed? […] ]]> 28e495b0a5b4635b18bf91132ea99a85 Esther Lee posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/jacquelinepriolo/2021/10/08/what-is-going-well/#comment-3 Tue, 11 Jan 2022 23:46:34 -0500 @bblack I couldn’t agree more that trust and resilience are so important in helping guide our students. Empathy also plays an important role in helping us develop the relationships of trust that underpin our ability to guide. @llamont‘s talks about how important it is to stop and and listen to our students.

@jpriolo Thanks so much for sharing…Read more

In reply to - Jacqueline Priolo wrote a new post on the site Jacqueline Priolo Question 1: During the first face to face we used the language of Urgent vs Important to help frame our discussions and thinking around the use […] ]]> 180043178c1b0e37abb1b463d9ec6e5f Garth Nichols posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/jacquelinepriolo/2021/10/08/what-is-going-well/#comment-7 Mon, 15 Nov 2021 18:10:50 -0500 Yes, @bblack I agree with you here.

In reply to - Jacqueline Priolo wrote a new post on the site Jacqueline Priolo Question 1: During the first face to face we used the language of Urgent vs Important to help frame our discussions and thinking around the use […] ]]> d5307a2ae63e9d8450fc687d6a397ebc Garth Nichols posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/amygreig/2021/10/08/what-is-going-well/#comment-18 Mon, 15 Nov 2021 17:58:33 -0500 Thanks for this post @agreig and I echo @bblack and @jbairos comments above. I would also extend this comment: “My overall goal as an educator this year is to focus on the importance of relationships” and layer on top of this the matrix – so my question to you would be how do you do the important work of building relationships? What are elements…Read more

In reply to - Amy Greig wrote a new post on the site Amy Greig     When I think about time spent at school, I think about it in three categories.  First of all, there is the time that we devote to our relationships wi […] ]]> d0780a94bdb432ef6bacc7a60281d3f7 Garth Nichols posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/adamdrenth/2021/10/11/what-is-going-well/#comment-4 Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:52:09 -0500 Wow! This is a very powerful post and one thing that resonated with me was “My job has morphed into triaging a lot of resources, pedagogy and ideas to see what checks all the boxes.” I would challenge you to dig into these boxes a little more: who made them, what are their purposes, and what is the impact once you’ve checked them all?

This post…Read more

In reply to - Adam Drenth wrote a new post on the site Adam Drenth The image I picked I liked because it had different kids in the room, it was messy (like full-on learning usually is) and one student is clearly thinking really […] ]]> d714956aae7467cf4105f6e1665adf81 Jacqueline Priolo posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2021/10/21/the-biggest-issue-facing-educators/#comment-125 Tue, 02 Nov 2021 14:15:28 -0400 @bblack Brandon, thank you for sharing and for being vulnerable. I had a particularly exhausting day today myself (after a 15 hour round trip for one school hockey game yesterday). When I feel overwhelmed I always blame myself for not managing my time well. The reality is, we do not have enough time to manage. Our time with students, building…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black After coming home overwhelmed and exhausted yet again, one of countless times since the start of September, I thought to myself, “What are the biggest issues y […] ]]> 03acb1700d107b2c423bf5fb3cb0e396 Derek Doucet posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/melissakurenoff/2021/05/01/taking-a-step-back-to-reflect/#comment-31 Sun, 02 May 2021 12:13:26 -0400 Hey Melissa, what a great final post and you are no imposter! I love that idea of leading from the middle and exploring your sphere of influence. I have enjoyed learning from you in our sessions and through your blog.

Have you seen @BBlack blog post? https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2021/04/30/do-as-little-as-needed-not-as-much-as-possible/…Read more

In reply to - Melissa Kurenoff wrote a new post on the site Melissa Kurenoff   Over the course of this PD, I set out to develop leadership skills and learn as much as I could from the collective, and I came away with so […] ]]> 6c283da48c7681e3d0a636c7eeab1a52 Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/carolinefreibauer/2021/04/30/the-magic-of-learning-communities/#comment-5 Sat, 01 May 2021 11:40:30 -0400 @cfreibauer I am so glad you connected with @amacrae as I would completely agree with her assessment of your success this year with this learning experience. Learning come in many forms and does not need to be a product that we can see and read. It can be a connection made, an idea generated, a project that is sparked, a meeting that is booked, a…Read more

In reply to - Caroline Freibauer wrote a new post on the site Caroline Freibauer I believe in the magic of learning communities. Although they can be terrifying, requiring vulnerability and risk, the learning can be powerful. […] ]]> 5e2eea653e7199d6c586ff16c4b8f3fe Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/daniklein/2021/04/30/doing-my-very-not-worst/#comment-12 Fri, 30 Apr 2021 22:26:43 -0400 @dklein Well I might be a little biased here; but this is exactly the evidence of learning/growth/action we hoped this years participants would be able to surface and share back this year. Thank you! for finding the time/space/energy to distill your learning, struggle and resources. As someone who is lucky enough to know first hand the impact you…Read more

In reply to - Dani Klein wrote a new post on the site Dani Klein I have this metaphor for what it’s like to teach in a pandemic. You’re swimming in the ocean and at first you’re doing fine; treading mostly, but you’re managing […] ]]> b85b5fe67a3778f9d9fe14689ac03cb5 Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/ashleighhabets/2020/10/17/what-is-going-well/#comment-2 Wed, 18 Nov 2020 17:53:03 -0500 @ahabets

Looking forward to catching up on Saturday! If you have a few minutes from now until then we would love to know how things have been going in your classroom. See the above prompt for details. If you want to save time feel free to record a small 2 min screencast reflection. Just processing and sharing what school life has been like for…Read more

In reply to - Ashleigh Habets wrote a new post on the site Ashleigh Habets I have not seen my students faces this year and I remain faceless to them. These are connections that I truly miss on daily basis. Often times I am […] ]]> 87e922d72acaaaa6a8cc1976f0247638 Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/carolinefreibauer/2020/10/17/what-is-going-well/#comment-2 Wed, 18 Nov 2020 17:50:52 -0500 @cfreibauer Welcome to the CIS Ontario community! While certainly a loss for the school board you came from we feel very lucky to add another new librarian to our network of school. Many count many librarians among our Cohort 21 alumni. @lmustard @jweening @dneville @wdarby @nbrooksbank @thutton @chazzard @sgupta just to name a few. You will…Read more

In reply to - Caroline Freibauer wrote a new post on the site Caroline Freibauer As a teacher-librarian working in a high school, I always aim to be three things: an opportunist, a catalyst and an optimist. For the most part, […] ]]> cdfda5f2155b974cd02b8d10e645d702 Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/pennylawson-cameron/2020/10/17/what-is-going-well/#comment-4 Wed, 18 Nov 2020 16:38:38 -0500 @bblack Sorry I called out the wrong username above 🙂

In reply to - Penny Lawson-Cameron wrote a new post on the site Penny Lawson-Cameron Welcome to your Cohort 21 Blog. This journal is an integral part of your Cohort 21 experience. Here you will reflect, share and connect with […] ]]> d165f67469fea004cd9b09faea122cc5 Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/daniklein/2020/11/16/what-is-going-well/#comment-5 Wed, 18 Nov 2020 15:56:04 -0500 @dklein Thank you for sharing pictures of your space and snapshots of your “mindset”. The very act of opening up your thinking to others and “What isn’t going terribly” is so helpful at a time when we all feel so alone. There is an element of group therapy going on here that is so important if we are to make it to June. Keeping it real and not…Read more

In reply to - Dani Klein wrote a new post on the site Dani Klein When I first read this prompt, I sort of wanted to laugh. Going well? A more accurate question most days would be “What isn’t going terribly?” That’s why it […] ]]> 339a209c1975e9fcd2e8279d79d132aa Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/10/03/finding-purpose-after-7-months-of-loss/#comment-92 Sun, 04 Oct 2020 16:35:05 -0400 @bblack Your writing and thinking brings so many of us JOY. Great to have you back as a coach. Your pen has the POWER to lift up others at a time when we all need it most. Thank you for THIS!

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black It’s been almost 7 months since my last blog and my last Twitter post: 7 months of what seems like perpetual loss. If you haven’t been paying attention, let me giv […] ]]> c0105218692519e1f5ba609dd3d2ddca Eric Daigle posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/16/feedback-before-the-submission/#comment-67 Mon, 20 Jan 2020 14:44:29 -0500 @bblack,

You had me at hello. Well done, again! You are a fabulous writer, and by the sounds of it, a generous and reflective educator. Your posts are a joy to read and I feel you have truly committed to this Cohort21 experience. My hope is that one day this type of assessment practice is not needed as an “innovation” because it just makes damn…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Quickly, think about three things you enjoy most about teaching. I’ll wait. Got all three? While I can’t be certain, I’d make a bet that one of those top three […] ]]> c4e1c0e34357f76d2aa5bbdf07d7686f Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/16/feedback-before-the-submission/#comment-68 Fri, 17 Jan 2020 03:23:25 -0500 @bblack I love what you have started here. This a really cool “re-thinking” of the WHEN and HOW of feedback. I know that
@cfong @tfaucher and @echellew will really dig this too.

I can imagine a writing assignment that also begins with the question “what feedback from the last assignment will you make an effort to apply in this one?

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Quickly, think about three things you enjoy most about teaching. I’ll wait. Got all three? While I can’t be certain, I’d make a bet that one of those top three […] ]]> c05494d94093face710db67d481b3ac9 Laura Mustard posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/16/feedback-before-the-submission/#comment-62 Thu, 16 Jan 2020 16:23:29 -0500 Thank you for sharing, @bblack! I’m sure teachers from all across our schools will love to hear about your new approach to feedback, assessment, and grading. As you say, famously unloved tasks in education. I love that you started by talking to your students, and modelled your learning journey, showing vulnerability, and ultimately creating more…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Quickly, think about three things you enjoy most about teaching. I’ll wait. Got all three? While I can’t be certain, I’d make a bet that one of those top three […] ]]> bbb182951b82b8e9781d2f3414fe2c70 Jess Sheppard posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/16/feedback-before-the-submission/#comment-61 Thu, 16 Jan 2020 16:23:27 -0500 This is great, @bblack! You write: “Further, if students receive feedback afterwards, what then can they do with it unless the same assignment is being written again? Perhaps an idea that struck me most was the fact that, even if students receive feedback the very next day, that feedback is still too late for them to use it in a meaningful way.” A…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Quickly, think about three things you enjoy most about teaching. I’ll wait. Got all three? While I can’t be certain, I’d make a bet that one of those top three […] ]]> 922a78dc174fed7d7b1fb81fa59bc421 Wendy Darby posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/12/30/my-grecian-urn-project/#comment-59 Wed, 15 Jan 2020 17:38:46 -0500 Everyone has those moments in first year teaching @bblack, I think that’s why they put so much emphasis on reflection in teachers college. We can learn from these moments and improve them. It sounds like you certainly have! My GUP was having students write a comic in Latin based on a myth. I thought it would spice up the ‘dead language’, but it…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black When I was in grade 4, my teacher, who was walking us through an exploration of the middle ages, tasked us with a project. The assignment, likely one that is still […] ]]> d0c307fb08eaaad0528f6e6681cea279 Tracy Faucher posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/09/an-alternative-to-due-dates/#comment-58 Wed, 15 Jan 2020 01:25:08 -0500 @bblack
Brandon,
Amazing, engaging blog post- all the things have been said- Bravo!
“Publishing week” is an incredible idea. It takes away pressure, it gives them room and your students know they have a safety net. We need to be the place that if and when student flop we can be there and say, it’s ok, I’ve got you. Hard deadlines are us…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Of the many memories I have from high school, many come from my grade 9 physical education teacher. On several occasions, he would have us run the track out back of […] ]]> 8ccb5f9223e63dd373db49cc3edf64aa Jess Sheppard posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/09/an-alternative-to-due-dates/#comment-56 Tue, 14 Jan 2020 01:23:36 -0500 @bblack Love this “specific aspect” approach to reviewing students’ work. “Is this what you want?” and “Did I do this right?” can be such frustrating questions, because they are often so directly linked to checking boxes rather than actually learning. I ask these students to let me know what about their work they’re unsure of, but they can’t…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Of the many memories I have from high school, many come from my grade 9 physical education teacher. On several occasions, he would have us run the track out back of […] ]]> 528f5e4dd96255711785075c09aeff3b Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/sarahendsley/2019/12/19/how-might-we/#comment-12 Sat, 11 Jan 2020 22:08:08 -0500 @sendsley Check out @bblack ‘s recent post on feedback and due dates and deadlines. Some really cool thinking that can inform your own in the post and in the comments.

In reply to - Sarah Endsley wrote a new post on the site Sarah Endsley After our last face to face I recieved a lot of encouragement and ideas from all of the wonderful members of #Cohort21. I have been really focused this year […] ]]> 8bdfbc7010f88c5f02bed0b33b98077b Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/12/24/the-best-gift-that-i-ever-received-as-a-teacher/#comment-51 Sat, 11 Jan 2020 22:06:03 -0500 @bblack Thanks for sharing this. It reminds me about the power of compliments and this quote:

“Compliment others more.
You’ll barely remember you did it, but the other person may never forget that you did.
Kindness has unlimited upside.”

You will never forget getting that email.

Looking ahead to 2020 “How might we use kudos, c…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Sitting on the couch during a beautiful summer day, my phone buzzed, signifying that a new message had been received. I glanced at the screen to see a red […] ]]> a2582da2d1dc62782688c4421bf26c8f Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/12/13/that-time-i-spilt-the-tea-in-class/#comment-50 Sat, 11 Jan 2020 21:54:01 -0500 @bblack I learned a few new terms today 🙂

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Gen-Z Decoder Tea- gossip Spill the tea- sharing gossip Wig- freak out Shade- insult Triggered- angered Get the bread- let’s do it Full send- work h […] ]]> ccca074bf14ec7c36cb2fb7b4607148b Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/09/an-alternative-to-due-dates/#comment-49 Sat, 11 Jan 2020 14:51:14 -0500 @bblack
I love your HMW question “How might we shift student thinking from marks to skills through meaningful assessment and individualized, timely feedback.”
given your post and really innovative approach to addressing it it could also be rephrased as

“HMW re-imagine assessment and feedback (in the english classroom) in order to maximize…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Of the many memories I have from high school, many come from my grade 9 physical education teacher. On several occasions, he would have us run the track out back of […] ]]> ae68fe16f1df87b5a0ae05e76b5ba790 Eric Daigle posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2020/01/09/an-alternative-to-due-dates/#comment-47 Fri, 10 Jan 2020 14:38:01 -0500 @bblack,

This is one of the best Cohort21 blogs I have ever read. Well done! Seriously. The encouraging tone of your writing, the personal stories, concrete strategies, all make for wonderful education takeaways. I think a PUBLISHING WEEK is an absolutely brilliant idea and one that should be mandatory for ALL educators.

At SiTE School we…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Of the many memories I have from high school, many come from my grade 9 physical education teacher. On several occasions, he would have us run the track out back of […] ]]> fa7a471153cb33b2ea42b32f48693e65 Justin Medved posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/11/19/saturday-morning-pd-is-it-worth-it/#comment-23 Wed, 20 Nov 2019 13:56:25 -0500 @bblack You just made my day 🙂

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black You wake up, blurry-eyed, in the early hours of a Saturday morning in what has been a frigid and dreary November. You should be sleeping in, at least, that’s what y […] ]]> 51304db8dfe4fafb5c25b07eec20baf2 Tracy Faucher posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/jengravel/2019/11/03/valuing-the-learning-process-over-the-final-mark/#comment-33 Fri, 15 Nov 2019 15:18:35 -0500 @jgravel so many gems in this post! (@bblack, this maybe something you could add to your student conversations as well.) I think this is such a great way to accomplish the goal you are trying to achieve with your students- focus on the learning. No matter if it is their best mark, their worst mark or something in between havings students take a…Read more

In reply to - Jen Gravel wrote a new post on the site Jen Gravel As I write this post and try to put my thoughts into words, I’m still trying to determine the focus of my Action Plan this year. Just like last year, I have a few […] ]]> b756eae5c6d138a32dd90f79c8513fbf Tracy Faucher posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/11/04/taking-a-risk-in-unit-conferencing-1-2/#comment-10 Mon, 11 Nov 2019 15:26:48 -0500 Awesome series of posts @bblack! Welcome to the world of the student lead conference! It is definitely a shift in the traditional paradigm! A colleague of mine and former corhort21’er @dganley would be a great person to bounce some ideas off of when it comes to next steps in pushing the student lead conference to the next level. It is also great…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Do you ever just need a breath? As teachers, we can all appreciate the craziness that is our lives, as we often fluctuate between moments of (relative) bliss and […] ]]> bc4cab52a1876989903df67251bbd334 Michael Moore posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/11/04/taking-a-risk-in-unit-conferencing-1-2/#comment-11 Mon, 11 Nov 2019 15:26:46 -0500 I was so excited to read this @bblack ! This is my big blind spot in teaching. I want to do it more regularly but I have so many questions about timing, the subjective nature of assessing it, etc. and I desperately want to speak to others who are doing this successfully, i.e. you and @mmurray ! Please continue to share your practice with all of us…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Do you ever just need a breath? As teachers, we can all appreciate the craziness that is our lives, as we often fluctuate between moments of (relative) bliss and […] ]]> b86458cddc1003821cc6423ad9447bf6 Mary-Ellen Wilcox posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/10/22/conferencing-take-two-and-a-step-in-the-right-direction/#comment-9 Wed, 23 Oct 2019 18:49:26 -0400 I love the messages here. You are so reflective in your teaching and that’s exactly what kids need. Reflective teachers who have their best interest at heart. @bblack

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black “I think they’re useful,” I said, referring to my recent student conferences, “though I want them to be more efficient and effective.” “What do you want to get […] ]]> a30e1a7c332e4fb6d527cf8cc1295a40 Wendy Darby posted a new activity comment https://cohort21.com/brandonblack/2019/09/08/hello-world/#comment-3 Tue, 08 Oct 2019 02:59:46 -0400 Thank you @bblack

I, like you, had many great learning experiences in my education. How lucky are we! It’s good to know and recognize those moments as educators ourselves. What was so special about those times? I like that you use the word ‘valued’. I have noticed this word in a few different posts. It’s such an important part of education and I…Read more

In reply to - bblack wrote a new post on the site Brandon Black Welcome to you Cohort 21 Blog. This journal is an integral part of your Cohort 21 experience. Here you will reflect, share , collaborate  and converse as you move […] ]]>