Failing Forward with Flair

As I’m starting this blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about what to focus on. I’ve got the AI. I’ve got the Earth science. But there’s this one other piece I keep circling back to—and here it is: structure has never really been my strong suit. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it or see its value, or know how to do it. I do - kind of. It’s just that my brain comes preloaded with more of a chaos-with-a-purpose kind of preset. I've got all the right pieces, I just don't quite know how to organize it.

So—I’ve added a new category I’ll be including: Teaching Ambitiously. These posts will follow my journey as I figure out how to blend inquiry-based learning with structure—yes, both. At the same time. I’ve got this… I think.

What inspired all this? Well, to be honest, it was watching my students struggle. Sometimes they fail in class. Their quizzes? Yeah, sometimes they totally bomb them. Sometimes, they just don’t get it. And I’m pretty sure I play a part in that.

But here’s the thing—I am really good at some things. I’m great at crafting storylines and weaving in phenomena. I see connections in content that others often miss. Honestly, I can build a lab that’ll have you saying, “Yes—this is awesome,” and your kids saying, “Wait, class is over already?” What I struggle with, though—as previously mentioned—is the structure. Especially when it comes to notes. You know, the clear, concrete, just-tell-me-what-this-means kind of notes that help students anchor what they’ve learned in those amazing labs.

Why? Because there just aren’t a ton of models out there showing how to blend inquiry-based teaching—whether it’s storylines, phenomena, Ambitious Science Teaching, or 5E—with solid, structured support. It’s all about students exploring and coming to their own conclusions… but sometimes, they still need a map to figure out where they are. Even when they’ve crushed one of my labs, that experience eventually fades, and they’re left needing something to refer back to - those darn notes!

Over the past month, I got some thoughtful (and genuinely helpful!) feedback from my vice principal—and no, that’s not sarcasm. She’s truly wonderful. She shared some ideas for adding a little more structure into my teaching without losing the heart of it. And that’s what sparked this new category. So please, tag along with me as I fumble forward, flail a little, and (hopefully) collect a few wins along the way. Let’s call it failing forward—with flair.

So I'll end this post with my first tip: Have a homepage. You may already have something like it - people call it various things. I had half a homepage, up until recently. I had a BrainStrech (a warm up page), but this just wasn't enough. I needed something to anchor and orient my kids at the beginning of class... enter the homepage.

The homepage consists of five main parts:

1. The Driving Question This is where you place your essential question that drives the unit of study. For example: What does a hot core do for planet Earth? It's the kind of question that gets students curious and keeps them thinking throughout the unit.

2. The Connecting Questions (or Connecting Task)This part is where you drop in your daily question—the one that links to the lesson for the day. For example: What evidence do we have of a hot core? It builds on the big idea but makes it bite-sized and lesson-specific. Make it into a task if you're doing a lab.

3. Things to Do This is the section where students jot down their homework or tasks. In my class, this might be quiz redos, finishing a lab, or any other classwork they need to wrap up. And while it would be lovely if every student had an agenda, the reality is many don't. So at the very least, they’re writing things down somewhere, which is a win.

4. Class Summary Space To the side of the page, there’s a lined section meant for students to summarize what happened in class. They could respond to the Connecting Question, reflect on the Driving Question, or even write a quick summary that ties the two together. It’s flexible and reflective.

5. The Back – Brain Stretch! On the back of the page is where students do what I call the Brain Stretch. You might know this as a warm-up or a “do now,” but I like calling it a Brain Stretch because I believe language is important - its clearly stating what I’m asking students to do— warm up their brains because we're getting ready to do something challenging!

Here's a blank copy for you. Simply add in text boxes OVER the post-its to make a quick editable homepage. Ditto with the BrainStretch page.

The homepage gives your students that one steady spot to land every day—and just as importantly, it gives you that anchor too. It’s the structure you both crave in the middle of all that constructive chaos we call learning.