Five Winning Tips for Teachers from Veteran Teachers

1. How can I ensure that each member of my team feels engaged?
Assure that everyone on the team plays a role! Here are some roles you can consider for your students:

• Designer - In charge of the team flag and team swag (if you decide to print shirts, etc.)
• Motivator - Encourages team members to think through their approaches and ideas. The Encourager uses probing questions to help facilitate deeper thinking and group-wide consideration of ideas.
• Quality observer - Assists when someone needs technical support/assistance. Checks over work in problem-solving contexts before the team members finalize their answers.
• Strategy Reviewer - Observes team dynamics and guides the consensus-building process (helps team members come to a common conclusion).
• Documentor - In charge of the process documentation - takes pictures of everyone's work, records videos, etc. Share your videos with our team; your work may be broadcast during the world finals!

2. What is the best way to track my student's progress? 
Use the Heat Maps! The heat map is a monitoring tool that allows you to track your team activities and help you focus your communication with students who need more help in completing missions and challenges, and identify students who can help other students in the team. For more information, see pages 20-23 in the user guide.

3. What can I do to make CoderZ a true experiential learning experience? 

Apply for an award! We have multiple awards, but we specifically like to highlight the ImpACT award, which aims to showcase the competition's added value. The ImpACT Award is the biggest award in the CoderZ League. It was designed to promote, develop, and showcase students’ 21st-century skills throughout the CoderZ League 2022 season. It is open to all teams participating in CoderZ League who want to present the impact the League has had on the team members, the class, the teacher, the school, and the broader community. For additional information about this award and how to apply, please check out the user guide, page 24

4. What's the best way to encourage my struggling students?
Praise them for their hard work and tell them they can do anything they set their minds to. Fight the urge to give your students the answers (even when it’s really tempting). Give them tools that they will be able to take with them for the rest of their lives - help them search, use the tips on the platform, practice and practice (they can redo the missions of  the training camp for additional practice) and ask their friends how to solve a mission. 

5. Know that you're part of a global community! And we got your back. The CoderZ League is an annual event that unites our entire teachers community. By participating in the competition, you’re an integral part of a global network of driven professionals that are going through the exact same things, at exactly the same time. If you ever need to consult, ask anything or simply want to connect with others around the world, you’re welcome to post in our teacher's community Facebook group or contact our team, and we will gladly answer any question or make the connection for you.

Wishing you an incredible week ahead,

The CoderZ League Team