Reimagine your school community. This practical guidebook will help you shift your mindset of online and blended learning from “backup plan” to unprecedented opportunity for rich connections and high-level learning. New and veteran teachers alike will gain insight on how to build in-person and online relationships with students and coworkers to achieve a learning community that supports social-emotional learning, equitable and inclusive instruction, and academic success. Educators of hybrid learning environments will: Understand why relationship-building is fundamental to student success and gain best practices for establishing this foundation - Discover new blended, online, and in-person strategies for strengthening connections with your diverse students - Gain strategies for offering instruction that is affirming, representative of our diverse world, and rooted in equity - Be empowered to think critically about and to change systems currently in place that limit students’ ability to connect and thrive - Choose strategies that fit your teaching style from the myriad of vibrant experiences contributed by educators around the world Contents: Preface: Our Journeys to Blended Education Introduction: People-Centered Approaches to Teaching Part I: Reimagining the Online Classroom Chapter 1: Reimagining School as a Global Community Project Chapter 2: Cultivating Strengths-Based Approaches for Inclusion, Support, and Counseling Chapter 3: Fostering Relationships Through Connection-Based Feedback Part II: Inclusive Practices: Diversity and Equity in the Online Classroom Chapter 4: Centering Student Stories Chapter 5: Honoring Multilingual and Multicultural Learners Chapter 6: Accelerating Opportunities for Gifted and Talented Students Epilogue Appendix Glossary References and Resources Index “Connected Classrooms is a must-have guidebook for the modern classroom. Teachers will learn intentional strategies to assist them in cultivating connected classrooms both in person and online. This book will help you build deep, meaningful, lasting relationships with your students that will foster student success both in and out of the classroom setting.” ---- Naomi Sanders , fifth-grade teacher, Morrilton Intermediate School, Arkansas “While focusing on the thread of connectivity, Kathryn Fishman-Weaver and Stephanie Walter have crafted a book that brings into focus the heart of all teaching―the need of humans to feel connected. This book shows how focusing on this principle allows us as educators to be effective and fulfilled, be it through in-person, online, or blended learning. The combination of exposition, teacher accounts, and reflection activities made this an enjoyable read and a valuable resource.” ---- Hannah Valencia , second-grade teacher, Madison Elementary School, Sanger, California Kathryn Fishman-Weaver, PhD , began her teaching career as a special education teacher for a public K–8 school in Oakland, California. Since then, Kathryn has taught and led programs in special education, gifted education, English language arts, and teacher preparation. She currently serves as the executive director of Mizzou Academy. She is the author of three additional books in education, Wholehearted Teaching of Gifted Young Women (2018), When Your Child Learns Differently (2019), and Brain-Based Learning With Gifted Students (2020). Her work has appeared in numerous publications and been referenced by the U.S. Department of Education. Kathryn supports the University of Missouri’s teacher education program by coordinating required courses on culturally responsive teaching. Prior to her appointment as executive director, she served for five years as the director of academic affairs and engagement for Mizzou Academy during a period of rapid international growth. Kathryn has lectured and led professional development sessions around the world. Kathryn holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Missouri, a master’s degree in special education from San Francisco State University, and a PhD in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri. Stephanie Walter, MEd , serves as the director for teaching and learning for Mizzou Academy. Throughout her twenty-plus years of teaching, she has taught in public, private, and blended classrooms, meeting students from all over the world and encouraging them as they evolve as writers and learners. During her tenure with Mizzou Academy, Stephanie has authored and coauthored twenty-one online and blended courses and also led professional development and workshops around the world. Stephanie’s current role affords her the opportunity to develop curriculum, support lead teachers, manage a large team of instructional specialists, and partner with classroom teachers. In these roles, she shares best practices in online and blended education and helps foster student success. Stephanie holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary lan