As this EdWeek article explains, digital portfolios allow students to showcase not just their work, but their growth over time.

Over the years, we’ve seen how digital portfolios in the classroom can transform learning and empower students to showcase growth. These are the top ways we’ve seen digital portfolios transform student learning.

Capture learning in accessible ways

How students are asked to show their learning can make a big difference in their development and confidence.

Writing and multiple choice tests are common ways for teachers to assess mastery. Both have a place in the classroom. Yet for many learners, these mediums can be a barrier to students fully expressing their understanding.

Digital portfolios offer multimodal ways to share learning that leverage students’ strengths and interests. The same students that feel limited by traditional assessments can shine when given the opportunity to use photo, video, collage, audio recording, and more.

Emerging writers, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities in particular benefit from having choice in how they communicate. When they’re not limited by how they share their learning, students can experience success for the skills they have mastered. This bolsters motivation to tackle challenges and supports a positive attitude toward themselves as learners.

When adding assignments to their multimodal portfolios, students can also use multimodal tools to add layers of explanation and reflection. Students not only show what they know. They explain how they know it.

In turn, teachers get a complete picture of each student’s strengths and areas for growth, which helps them target instruction and push learning forward.

Foster reflection and growth mindset

Digital portfolios are equipped to capture the entire learning process. With everything in one place, students can look back and see how much they’ve grown.

Regular opportunities to reflect on learning is one of the most effective ways to foster a growth mindset – the belief that skills and success are the result of effort and persistence – which research shows contributes to higher achievement and well-being.

But reflection is a complex skill. Digital portfolios can help in key ways.

When students add to their portfolios throughout the learning process, the focus shifts from celebrating perfection to celebrating growth. Students realize that learning happens over time, and making mistakes is a key part of achieving their goals.

Having a multimodal record of learning makes reflection concrete. Students see what they used to be able to do, hear how they used to think, and compare it to where they are now. Reflection becomes more accessible and meaningful for learners of all ages.

Designating time for reflection activities takes it one step further. Students get regular opportunities to practice this critical skill, and reflection becomes a core part of students’ portfolios and classroom culture.

Support student ownership of the learning process

Portfolios have the greatest impact on learning when students are empowered to take ownership. With the right digital tools, even our youngest learners can create their own learning portfolios and shape what goes in them.

Choosing what goes into their portfolios prompts students to self-assess and make connections between their work and learning objectives.

When given the opportunity, students of all ages can show incredible self-awareness. Identifying their own successes and areas for growth makes students more engaged, motivated, and independent.

By promoting ownership, portfolios go from an assessment of learning to an assessment for learning, and achievement soars.

Boost student motivation with an authentic audience

One key benefit of digital portfolios is that students are more motivated when they have an authentic audience for their work. Connected portfolios allow students to share their learning with peers and family members.

With age-appropriate scaffolds, students can practice giving each other positive and constructive feedback. Not only does this develop important digital citizenship skills, it also reinforces and deepens learning.

Inviting families to connect opens a window into the classroom, which helps families stay informed about their child’s progress. Family involvement is one of the best predictors of student success, and multimodal portfolios are an effective way to engage families as partners in learning.

Taking portfolios digital transforms them from static artifacts to multidimensional reflections of the learning journey. Students are empowered to capture their accomplishments and the process that got them there. Multimodal tools empower students of all ages to take ownership of their learning. And connecting peers and family members gives students an authentic audience that boosts engagement and motivates them to be their best.

The post How Digital Portfolios Transform Student Learning appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Seesaw Updates

*Updates here span all subscription levels

What is my Seesaw subscription plan type?

Updated July 10, 2025

New Layout for Teachers, Students and Admins

Our new layout features a streamlined left side panel. This panel gives you quick access to your classes, messages, saved activities and library. It also makes it easier to view your account settings, switch accounts, and access help.

Help Center ->

Teacher Homepage

A new landing page when teachers log in to Seesaw that is a step above the Class Journal.  The idea is to give teachers a space to go to for information and understand the use cases of Seesaw before they land in the class journal.  

Help Center ->

Library Updates

Search improvements get teachers to high-quality, ready-to-teach lessons faster by providing easier navigation, filters, and improved search. 

Help Center ->

Seesaw Instruction & Insights 

Exclusive Updates

What is my Seesaw subscription plan type?

Updated July 10, 2025

Focus Mode Update – Disable Individual Drawing Tools

You asked, and we listened! Provide students with even more guidance in Focus Mode by selecting which drawing tools students are available to students.

Admin Learning Insights Dashboard

Equip instructional leaders with deep learning insights to make data-driven decisions. Monitor how students are performing on standards and gain visibility into what standards are being taught using Seesaw. 

Video Tutorial ->

Help Center ->

School & District Library Collections

School and District Library Collections will allow admins to bring their scope and sequence into Seesaw, helping them customize their use of Seesaw to align with their school and district initiatives. Teachers can browse the curated collections in a space they already utilize, helping save valuable time!

Tutorial Video ->

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Read-with-Me

AI-powered guided reading with built-in scaffolds. This tool narrates passages with word-level highlighting, supporting emerging readers and Multilingual Learners by reinforcing the connection between spoken and written language.

 

Tutorial Video  ->

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Reading Fluency Assessment Tool

This powerful tools gives teachers hours of time back. Students record themselves reading and our AI powered assessment provides teachers with valuable data on accuracy, words correct per minute, and specific reading challenges.

Teachers have the ability to override machine-generated accuracy scores to ensure fair evaluations.

Tutorial Video  ->

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Free Response Assessment Type

The Free Response Assessment Type adds additional flexibility to Seesaw AI assessments by allowing teachers to collect open text responses to formative assessment questions. The tool allows for manual grading and autograding and provides aggregated response data in reporting.

Tutorial Video -> 

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Focus Mode 

Focus Mode makes any activity align to the developmental level of the students completing it by helping to minimize distractions and ensuring students respond in the appropriate and desired formats.

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Question Assistant

Effortlessly generate and deliver AI-Powered Assessments – all within Seesaw. The question assistant was added to the activity creation page called “Generate Quiz”

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Flexcard

Flexcard expands the way teachers engage with students! Flexcard offers more customizability and variability in activities to meet the unique needs of your classroom. Flexcards can contain text images and voice, or a combination on each side with up to 30 sides. 

Tutorial Video  ->

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Seesaw for Schools Updates

*All Seesaw for Schools updates are included in Seesaw Instruction & Insights

What is my Seesaw subscription plan type?

Updated July 10, 2025

Creative Tool Enhancements 

You asked, we listened! Creating new activities is easier than ever with the ability to select multiple objects at once and move, scale, apply styling, and bulk lock/unlock on the creative canvas.

 

Activity Templates 

Save time creating new activities with simple reflection and assessment templates in the custom activity creation flow.

Help Center ->

 

Quarterly Digital Portfolio Activity Templates

Guide students to showcase their learning with ready-to-assign templates, perfect for conferences!

Assign Now ->

 

Admin Engagement Dashboard

Gain deeper insights into how students, teachers and families are engaging on Seesaw. 

Get visibility into teacher and student activity on the platform, number of activities assigned, how many families are logging in, and more! 

Tutorial Video ->

Help Center ->

Sitewide Standards

Sitewide Standards allows schools and districts to localize to their state/region standard sets. This saves teachers time and makes all places within Seesaw easier to use and more personalized.

Assigning and Grading Against Standards Tutorial  ->

Standards view on the Progress Dashboard Tutorial  ->

Help Center  ->

The post What’s New in Seesaw appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

A Late-Blooming Passion

Diane’s journey into education wasn’t traditional. As she shared in a recent podcast interview, “I actually started my education journey later in life. My boys were in kindergarten and fourth grade when I started.” She was working as a bank teller and had an unfulfilled feeling. She was called to education from a dive to be a strong positive role model for her children.

Her journey to education was motivated by a profound realization: “I saw the way they looked up to their teachers and I saw the way they enjoyed learning.” This insight prompted her to quit her job at the bank and pursue education. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher finding joy in play and hands-on learning. She continued to invest in STEM education eventually becoming her school’s STEM lab specialist.

During her journey, she continued to use technology. While scrolling through Twitter one evening, Diane discovered Seesaw, the digital platform that would become instrumental in her professional growth. She quickly tried this tool on her own and implemented it into her classroom. Within just two weeks of implementation, 90% of her parents were actively engaging with the tool. As she candidly describes, “It’s all in one place. I’m not trying to sell anybody, but I don’t know why anybody would use other things.“

Transforming a Classroom

In her STEM lab, Seesaw became more than just a communication tool. It became a platform for capturing learning in its most authentic form. The built in multimedia tools allow every student to share their understanding in a way that fits them best. One of her favorite projects illustrates this perfectly – a limestone cave model where students used sugar cubes and clay to demonstrate erosion.

“The kids take pictures and a final video as they are making it rain and showing how it is eroding the rock,” Diane explains. “Because we can take pictures and video and integrate it all in Seesaw, the teachers and parents can see that they fully understand it before we even go on our field trip.”

Diane focuses on teaching resilience and creativity. “Getting these kids to recognize that failure is okay… getting them to think of multiple ways to come up with an answer is a big deal,” she emphasizes. Seesaw is the perfect tool to build a growth mindset in children. The multiple ways that students can share their understanding intuitively leads to their not being one way to answer the question.

Perhaps most importantly, Seesaw gave Diane confidence. From initially being ostracized from colleagues when suggesting the tool, she had to prove its value. “Probably about 18 out of 20 parents in my classroom were on board with it and they really liked it,” she recalls. This portion of parents were far higher than the current methods being used and was a selling point for her coworkers.

Transforming a Career

The tool didn’t just transform her classroom, it expanded her professional horizons. “Seesaw has really given me confidence,” she says. It enabled her to speak at state and national conferences, connect with educators, and share innovative teaching strategies. These opportunities would not have been possible without Seesaw.

Diane’s story illustrates how the right educational technology tool can transform any classroom. It’s more than just choosing and using a tool, it’s about creating connections, building confidence, and continually evolving as an educator.

As Diane herself puts it, “We learn by talking to different people and sharing ideas.” Her journey with Seesaw proves that embracing educational technology can open doors to unexpected opportunities and discover profound professional growth.

To hear more about Diane’s success with Seesaw, tune into her podcast episode here.

The post The Tool That Transforms Teaching Careers appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

At Seesaw we believe the student’s experience matters, offering diverse multimodal tools that cater to different learning styles. The platform engages students by giving them voice and choice in their learning journey, allowing them to interact with content in ways that resonate with them. They can easily share their progress with peers, teachers, and family members, building a strong support network that celebrates their achievements and fosters their growth. Even students who may not yet be able to read, write, or speak can communicate and express their needs through our accessible tools. Additionally, Multilingual Learners benefit from visual and audio aids, as well as support from family members, with translation capabilities in over 100 languages to help them master English.

Here’s how Seesaw enables students to experience learning:

I can get into Seesaw quickly with a QR code so I don’t have to remember a passcode.

I feel like I know our classroom routines because it’s easy to find what I need to work on.

I have lots of fun with my assignments because I get to choose from different tools to show what I know, like a camera, microphone, or pencil.

I like showing off my digital portfolio with my friends.

The post The Experience Matters appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Educators, policy makers, and governments have been paying more attention to literacy instruction in the past few years, but it has always been a critical part of elementary education. Much of this attention comes from the post-pandemic effects; students not performing at grade level. Moreover, recent movements have highlighted the lack of evidence backing popular reading programs. Schools and districts are currently reviewing their literacy programs and searching for research-backed, evidence-based solutions for early literacy.

Schools are constantly looking for additional programs and will often adopt multiple solutions. This is because early literacy skills require ample, differentiated practice. Going beyond what the core curriculum has to offer enables students to stay more engaged and learning to be differentiated easier. 

Seesaw’s early literacy content and instructional tools support schools’ needs for high quality supplemental curriculum. But don’t take our word for it. Hear from our community of educators the secrets that make Seesaw the perfect tool to unlock powerful early literacy growth.

How has Seesaw revolutionized word recognition activities and early literacy development in your classroom?

• “I love to see growth in students’ reading and spelling. A few years ago I looped with my class which included a few students who were well behind reading level. After two years of doing a reading intervention with them, getting them more interested in reading, and using Seesaw for spelling and phonics pattern sorts and work, I saw so much growth in these students by the end of the second year.” – Amara B., 5th Grade Teacher
• “Seesaw allows all my students to record themselves. This allows all students to engage throughout the lessons versus just listening to the teacher speak.” – Margaret O., 2nd Grade Teacher
• “Seesaw made small group instruction a breeze as each person had what they needed.” – Gwendolen G., Dyslexia Interventionist
• “I am able to differentiate my students’ learning with Seesaw. Seesaw allows me to provide the perfect amount of support.” – Diane D., 4th Grade Teacher

These teachers have found that using Seesaw has been a crucial tool in dramatically improving their early literacy instruction. By adopting Seesaw’s easy to use platform and accessible tools, they were able to help their students get back on track quickly and easily.

How is language development practice made better when done with Seesaw?

• “Our reading program has a really boring phonics piece that is all just pencil and paper. I created assignments to go with the program and the students are so much more engaged and invested in their learning!” – Julie B., 2nd Grade Teacher
• “Students can be assigned different activities based on their own learning pathways. Then use Seesaw tools to reflect and share. This allows students to progress at their own rate and use Seesaw to share their growth!” – Mckinzie K., 2nd Grade Teacher
• “During reading groups, I can work with students at different phonics levels, while others can be doing high quality Seesaw activities. For students that are new to English, Seesaw is a life-saver.” – Carly A., Year 2 Teacher

Early literacy programs emphasize practice and repetition. However, this may be at the cost of losing student engagement and interest. Seesaw enabled these teachers to reengage learners and provide them with specific learning opportunities tailored to their needs by providing them with the tools they needed. 

How does Seesaw enable early intervention for all learners?

• “With Seesaw, I was able to pinpoint specific at risk students, thus allowing early intervention and an opportunity to close the gaps much earlier in the year.” Crissy C., PreK Teacher
• “The best thing about Seesaw is the ability to respond to and receive feedback orally. It opens doors for success along the way.” – Christy D., 2nd Grade Teacher
• “When seeking progress monitoring documentation in an early childhood setting, performance based tasks are where the action is at. Seesaw as digital portfolio is perfect for tracking their progress.” – Debra M., Instructional Coach

The ability to make faster, better decisions that support concrete evidence and learning artifacts is one of the key characteristics of effective teaching. Through Seesaw’s digital portfolio, teachers gain the ability to do just that making it the perfect teaching partner.

How does Seesaw foster a safe and supportive learning environment, particularly for students with diverse learning needs?

• “Seesaw enables me to record video scaffolds and prompts so that children who are working at a level significantly below their peers have the support they need, this has an enormous positive impact on pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.” – Joanna C., Year 6 Teacher
• “Loading daily Phonics activities in Seesaw for students enabled them to work independently using the various tools to show what they know, so I was able to further differentiate their instruction during small group time to meet their needs.” – Lisa W., 3rd Grade Teacher
• “I use Seesaw for its accessibility features to help meet the needs of all of my different types of learning. Some prefer to speak than write. Some need visuals and the ability to actually move items around. My students really love doing phonics lessons in the Seesaw program.” – Katherine G., Reading Specialist

Providing equal access to content means removing learning barriers, especially for diverse learners. By providing students with a safe and supportive learning environment through Seesaw, they were able to see themselves in the content and access it at a level they were comfortable with.

How has Seesaw involved families in early literacy instruction and supported students’ reading development outside the classroom?

• “We use Seesaw to post a video of reading a just right book and send it to their parents. Parents can see the text the child is reading as well as see their child in the video. They love listening to their child read on a daily basis and can see the reading growth.” – Carol J., Inclusion Teacher
• “Seesaw has allowed me to make lessons based on our home readers that students can access at home. I engage with parents about how they are supporting their child with their reading. I hear students read, give feedback and engage with the learning even while at home.” – Maria-Anna M., K-6 Coach

Involving families in learning not only keeps them informed about growth on a regular basis, but also establishes a strong partner for at home support. Through Seesaw, these teachers strengthened their relationship with their families and fostered support for home learning.  

Seesaw is a ESSA-Validated Early Literacy Solution

Seesaw’s supplemental curriculum is validated by LearnPlatform, a third-party edtech research company, to satisfy Level IV requirements according to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The programs systematic evidence-based practices and explicit instruction of phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension align with research-based practices to accomplish this task. Read the full report outlining how Seesaw satisfies this validation here.

Experience the Seesaw Difference

Seesaw has proven itself to be a powerful tool for enabling more effective early literacy instruction. The ability to cater learning to different learning styles, keep students engaged, and connect families fills a niche that many schools desire. With our research-based content, we aim to provide flexible implementation, engaging learning, and build a passion for reading in every classroom. Our curriculum supports foundational reading skills with more than 500 lessons that bring joy to an area that may normally feel dull & boring. 

Try out the following collections, which also include formative assessments, to support your students in literacy:

• Fun Phonemes, also offered in Spanish, helps students build phonemic awareness. By listening to, identifying, and matching sounds, students build mastery of each phoneme.
• Alphabet Garden introduces learners to letters where they practice letter formation, phonemic awareness, and making connections to each letter in the real world.
• Alphabet Treasures assists students in building rapid letter recognition and identification in multimodal ways.
• Phenomenal Phonics, also offered in Spanish, helps students recognize sound-spelling relationships by sorting, blending, segmenting, and making connections.

The post How Teachers are Unlocking the Power of Early Literacy appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Instructional Strategies for Gradual Release and Active Learning

The gradual release of responsibility¹ is an instructional framework where teachers slowly release responsibility of learning to students over time. Teachers begin by describing learning objectives, modeling and thinking aloud to demonstrate key vocabulary and skills, and highlighting the relevance of the lesson. Students observe, make connections, and discuss initial learning with classmates. In this stage, teachers should explicitly teach² routines to support cognition and comprehension. Seesaw Lessons aid teachers with this crucial explicit instruction. Every lesson begins by introducing important new vocabulary and modeling skills through visuals, audio, video, and more.

@mshoofs_kinders #seesawlearning #seesawpartner @seesawlearning ♬ original sound – Lauren

The gradual release of learning continues through opportunities for students to respond to teacher’s questions and practice new skills with teacher and peer support. Magic happens when students engage in active learning activities with partners and independently. Through investigation, creative activities, discussion, and reflection³, students are able to connect new learning to prior knowledge and transfer learning into longer-term memory.

The Seesaw Library has thousands of activities to help teachers and students engage in investigation and capture creating learning in the real world on a digital platform. Built in prompts spark engaging discussions and questions. Multimodal tools empower students to engage in hands-on learning experiences and select their preferred method for showcasing it.

Seesaw’s elementary Computer Science curriculum empowers both teachers and students to observe, learn, and apply computer science skills to their everyday lives. Teachers can leverage the instructional videos and example coding programs to explicitly model coding skills and vocabulary. Students collaboratively and independently reflect on their interests and create coding projects such as an animated story, game, dance, and more to share with their learning community. Seesaw Lessons help teachers transfer the responsibility of learning to students over time while engaging students in rich active learning experiences.

Some coding with @bishopkinder today using @ScratchJr! Introduced coding using Code Crew lesson from @Seesaw Library. Then we used ? to create ourselves as a character and coded ourselves to move across the background. Great job, coders! ?? pic.twitter.com/jkAqSOB9oF

— Traci Piltz ? (@TraciPiltz) September 18, 2023

Multimodal and Interdisciplinary Instruction

Multimodal instruction is the practice of using multiple formats–such as text, visuals, video, audio, hands-on experiments, and movement–to activate students’ thinking in multiple ways, leading to deeper connections and skill mastery. Students often receive multimodal instruction (inputs), but only text-based opportunities to show their understanding (outputs). This presents teachers with a conundrum: how might they tap into what’s going on in their students’ heads?

Teachers often have a narrow window into students’ understanding. Worksheets and assessments offer written insights. Small group and 1:1 oral assessments provide additional insights, but are often time-consuming to implement routinely. 

Alternatively, these eight thinking moves⁴ can help teachers tap into their students’ heads to get a fuller picture of student understanding while empowering students to build new ideas and connections:

1. Observe closely and describe what is there
2. Share explanations
3. Reason with evidence
4. Make connections
5. Consider different points of view and perspectives
6. Understand deeply and draw conclusions
7. Wonder and ask questions
8. Investigate

Students often engage in many of these thinking moves, but are not given opportunities to capture or share their learning with others. Seesaw’s portfolio with multimodal tools makes it easy for teachers to leverage these eight thinking moves. Learners can capture their wonderings, observations, evidence, and reasoning using their choice of tools: drawing, text, audio, video, and more.

Learning new knowledge also requires different cognitive pathways. Quick checks for understanding reveal short-term memory cognition, but how might teachers tap into students’ longer-term memory and mastery of learning? The key is interdisciplinary, project- or inquiry-based learning.

With Seesaw Lessons, students engage in a variety of activities to activate these pathways that focus on attention, memory, reasoning, communication, and visualization. When students are able to engage in digital inquiry⁵ and apply learning across subjects or to the real-world⁶, they develop a more complex, transferrable understanding. These practices empower them to use rather than simply acquire knowledge.

Incorporating Formative Assessment and Providing Immediate Feedback

Formative assessments provide insights to teachers and students about their learning to inform instruction. Immediate feedback⁷ empowers students to self-correct and redirect their learning. This type of feedback also boosts students’ self-esteem and identities as students⁸. Researchers Carol Dweck, David Yeager, and Jo Boaler refer to this boost of self-esteem and identities as a growth mindset⁹. When students have a growth mindset and reflect on their learning, they realize they can learn almost anything when they persevere and try new things.

Formative assessment helps teachers encourage their students’ growth mindsets. Teachers can better differentiate and support their students with timely, actionable feedback. Their can create small groups or engage students in collaborative activities¹⁰ to reinforce skills and their growth mindsets.

?AMAZED by the new formative assessment tools in @Seesaw! It took me less than 3 minutes to make an exit ticket using the ?AI BOT! Instant Ss feedback, self-grading & data by class or broken down by individual Ss! The possibilities are ENDLESS! #cbgroveland #seesawlearning pic.twitter.com/IY822rq9nK

— Lindsay Toub (@miss_toub) September 18, 2023

Seesaw’s Formative Assessment feature provides students with immediate feedback¹¹ on multiple-choice, drag and drop, and poll assessments. These quick checks provide students with immediate feedback and the teacher with insights to scaffold or extend learning. When these formative assessments are paired with more open-ended multimodal tools, teachers can get a more holistic picture of students’ understanding. Additionally, teachers can create their own activities with formative assessment or grab standards-aligned, ready-to-go lessons with this tool in the Seesaw Library.

INSERT LESSON PREVIEW IFRAME OR IMAGE AND DELETE THIS TEXT

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Culturally responsive teaching honors and encourages students to connect their cultures, languages, interests, and life experiences to what they’re learning at school. Student strengths are celebrated and nurtured, leading to an increased sense of belonging¹².

 

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A post shared by Marisa | 5th grade teacher (@teachwellandsel)

Seesaw Lessons help students see themselves in their learning through diverse characters, stories, and experiences¹³. Activities help them build empathy, see diverse learners like themselves, and make connections to everyday life¹⁴. Extra care has been given to diverse representation in our computer science collections, as a historically homogeneous field. Students learn digital leadership, coding, and computational thinking skills alongside diverse characters. Lessons collections like Careers in Computer Science, Story Pirates: Story Sparks, and What’s My Job highlight real-life individuals working in a variety of professions, helping students better imagine themselves as digital innovators¹⁵, with intersectional, complex identities.

 

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Students also draw from funds of knowledge¹⁶, a wealth of diverse experiences and skills, in which they can share to enrich the diversity of their classroom. Seesaw’s portfolio with multimodal tools empower learners to showcase their learning in their preferred way. Every lesson in the Seesaw Library is equipped with audio directions in English and Spanish to increase access and support learners. Spanish lessons include fully translated text, audio, video, and visuals to support multilingual learners practicing and sharing their learning. These learners have access to screen, video, and audio recording tools to orally rehearse before sharing.

 

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Fostering Family Engagement

Family engagement research¹⁷ shows the impact of engaging families as co-owners of student outcomes. Families are the experts on their child’s interests and cultural experiences. When there are natural ways to bring that expertise to and from the classroom, students are able to connect new information with their experiences and background knowledge, leading to deeper learning. There are high gains in student achievement when parents are informed of what their child is learning and how to support them at home. Consistent outreach to parents (messaging and sending resources to support the child at home) result in high student achievement. Teachers want to engage with their families to support their students, but reaching every family is complex and time-intensive.

Seesaw helps teachers save that time. Once families are connected to their student, they can participate in their child’s learning by viewing their portfolio, commenting on progress, messaging with teachers, and participating in family activities. Teachers can choose to message student work examples to families, or families can already automatically see their child’s work once it is approved and added to their journals. Teachers invest time in the initial setup so that families are automatically kept in the loop every time their child creates something new in Seesaw.

Families can tap into their funds of knowledge and contribute to classroom culture and their child’s learning by commenting on their child’s work and messaging with the teacher. Messages and comments translate into over 100 languages, increasing accessibility. Families can stay up-to-date with classroom events and follow up on student learning at home. Teachers can send reminders or share helpful resources for families to utilize to support their child at home.

Seesaw Lessons also include activities designed to be completed with partners at home or school. These activities explain the importance of this activity or domain to their child’s development. Videos and instructions model for parents how to support and engage in the activities with their child. At Seesaw, families are essential partners to students’ growth. Teachers can easily engage with families with ready-to-go resources, student portfolio work, and messaging tools.

 

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Conclusion

Seesaw is the one learning platform all teachers need to spark engaging, personalized learning for every student and family in meaningful ways. Check out our free Quick Start Guides for teachers and Messages guides for teachers and families to bring multimodal tools, culturally responsive lessons, active learning opportunities; formative assessments; and family engagement practices into your classroom today. Rest assured that you are integrating research-based best practices into your pedagogy by integrating Seesaw into your daily instruction.

References

1. Fisher, Douglas, and Nancy Frey. Better Learning through Structured Teaching: A Framework for the Gradual Release of Responsibility. ASCD, 2008. https://files.ascd.org/staticfiles/ascd/pdf/siteASCD/publications/books/Better-Learning-Through-Structured-Teaching-3ed-sample-chapters.pdf
2. Pearson, P. D., & Gallagher, M. C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8(3), 317–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-476X(83)90019-X
3. Resnick, Mitchel, and Ken Robinson. Lifelong Kindergarten : Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Mit Press, 2018. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262536134/lifelong-kindergarten/
4. Ritchhart, Ron, et al. Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. San Francisco, Ca, Jossey-Bass, 2011. https://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Chapter%201%20MTV%20Ritchhart%20Sample.pdf
5. Coiro, Julie, et al. From Curiosity to Deep Learning: Personal Digital Inquiry in Grades K-5. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Stenhouse Publishers, 2019. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED596069
6. Repko, Allen F. “Assessing Interdisciplinary Learning Outcomes.” Academic Exchange Quarterly, Fall 2008, p.171-178. https://interdisciplinarystudies.org/docs/syllabi/Assessing_Interdisiplinary_Learning_Outcomes_(Allen_F._Repko).pdf
7. Fyfe, E. R., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2016). The benefits of computer-generated feedback for mathematics problem solving. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 147, 140–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2016.03.009
8. Black, Paul, and Dylan Wiliam. “Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment.” Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 92, no. 1, Sept. 2010, pp. 81–90, https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171009200119.
9. Dweck, Carol S., and David S. Yeager. “Mindsets: A View from Two Eras.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 14, no. 3, Feb. 2019, p. 174569161880416, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6594552/, https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804166.
10. Boaler, J. (2000) (Ed) Multiple Perspectives on Mathematics Teaching and Learning. Ablex Publishing: Westport, CT. (pp 171-200). https://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Chapter-7-of-Multiple-Perspectives-on-Mathematics-Teaching-and-Learning.pdf
11. Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Memory & Cognition, 36(3), 604–616. https://doi.org/10.3758/mc.36.3.604
12. Cohn-Vargas, Becki, et al. Belonging and Inclusion in Identity Safe Schools. Corwin Press, 17 Aug. 2021. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED614224
13. Morris, T. T., Dorling, D., Davies, N. M., & Davey Smith, G. (2021). Associations between school enjoyment at age 6 and later educational achievement: Evidence from a UK cohort study. Npj Science of Learning, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00092-w
14. Ryoo, Jean J. “Pedagogy That Supports Computer Science for All.” ACM Transactions on Computing Education, vol. 19, no. 4, 16 July 2019, pp. 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1145/3322210.
15. Kimberly A. Scott, Kimberly M. Sheridan & Kevin Clark (2015) Culturally responsive computing: a theory revisited, Learning, Media and Technology, 40:4, 412-436, DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2014.924966. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439884.2014.924966?journalCode=cjem20
16. González, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (Eds.). (2005). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-06807-000
17. Henderson, Anne T, et al. A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. Austin, Tex., National Center For Family & Community Connections With Schools, 2002. https://sedl.org/connections/resources/evidence.pdf

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Pick one word that is your focus or intention this school year.

Lindsay: Embrace

What are some traditions or superstitions you have for the first day of school?

Lindsay: I love reading students the book “Don’t Eat Your Classmates” on the first day of school. It’s fun and silly and gets everyone laughing.

How does Seesaw bring learning to life in your classroom?

Lindsay: It gives students an authentic reason to do their work. Students are so excited to share their writing, reading, creations, etc. with others.

What is the best advice someone ever gave you?

Lindsay: A wonderful mentor of mine taught me to have high expectations for all students. It’s made such a difference in my teaching.

How do you use Seesaw to connect with families?

Lindsay: I love that parents can see first-hand what we are doing in the classroom. It’s like being a fly on the wall. I love it and so do they!

If you were able to have an unlimited amount of something for your classroom, what would it be and why?

Lindsay: Fine point dry-erase markers. My students use these every day and we can never have enough.

Share one Seesaw goosebumps moment. Was there a time learning was captured on Seesaw that gave you goosebumps?

Lindsay: I love when students hear a recording of their reading from the beginning of the year and compare it with one at the end. It’s so fun to hear their excitement and surprise.

What is the best compliment you could get from a student or a parent?

Lindsay: “When they tell me how impressed they are with the amount of growth they’ve seen from their child.”

What would your students be surprised to find out about you?

Lindsay: That I have written a book for teachers about teaching reading! I’m so excited to share my new book with my students this coming year. I’ll tell them about how I wanted to be a writer when I was a kid and now I finally am one. I hope this inspires them to reach for their goals and dreams.

Share a notable teaching moment that you still think about today.

Lindsay: The moment one of my students excitedly exclaimed, “Mrs. Kemeny! I am ACTUALLY READING THE WORDS!” I can still hear his voice and see the look on his face. Best moment ever.

What/who inspired you to become an educator?

Lindsay: I was a serious dancer when I was younger and would often perform in school assemblies. It was being in those schools that made me realize I wanted to be a teacher.

If you could take your students on a field trip to anywhere in the world, where would you take them? And why?

Lindsay: I’d say an educational tour of Disneyland, but to be honest…I’d be way too stressed about losing a student there! Haha. Since I love teaching reading, maybe Powell’s Bookstore in Portland which is the largest independent bookstore in the world. And then I’d pair that trip with something fun like an aquarium or the coast.

Join Lindsay Kemeny at Connect 2023!

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Reflection allows us to pause and process our experiences and interactions. It allows us to recognize and celebrate accomplishments and progress made, think critically about our actions and practices, consider alternate perspectives, and plan for improvements or changes we may wish to implement moving forward.  

Continuous reflection is powerful for students and teachers alike! In this article, we will discuss ways in which you can engage your students in meaningful reflection, as well as ideas for purposeful self-reflection for teachers.

Working Reflections Into the Classroom

It can be overwhelming for students and teachers to try to think through and answer a laundry list of reflection questions. There are many simple ways to implement reflection into your instruction or routines. 

• One or Two at a Time

Rather than trying to cram 50 reflection questions, you might consider posing a question or two a day to students throughout each quarter of school. This will allow students to give deeper thought to each individual question instead of breezing through a long list of questions. You could pose these questions to students during morning meetings or class circle, in a quick-write format, or even have them reflect in pairs or small groups. 

• Move Around

Get students up and moving as they reflect through a scoot or musical chairs activity where students rotate to different areas or stations until they have had a chance to reflect upon and answer the questions you prepare. 

• Go Digital

Leverage the power of Seesaw’s multimodal tools by engaging students in digital reflections that they can add to their digital learning portfolio for the year. Whether you choose to assign one of our ready-to-go highlight lessons created by our talented Seesaw curriculum developers or wish to create a customized reflection activity completely from scratch, the sky’s the limit when it comes to using Seesaw as a resource for digital quarterly reflections! 

Try this highlights lesson for grades 3-4

Questions for Students

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but here are some ideas of quarterly reflection questions to pose to your students:

• • • What’s something you accomplished this quarter that you’re proud of?
    • What was your favorite part of class this quarter and why?
    • What was the most challenging part of class this quarter and why?
    • If you could change one thing about your learning experience so far, what would it be and why?
    • How did you know you were learning?
    • What was your favorite moment at school this quarter? (nicest moment, most exciting subject, funniest memory, etc.)
    • Describe your school so far in three adjectives, or three words. 
    • How do you think you’ve grown?
    • What’s your favorite thing you learned so far?
    • What is your favorite subject?
    • What’s something you wish you had learned and why?
    • How prepared & excited do you feel for upcoming learning?

Reflective Teaching Practices

Engaging in reflection allows for teachers to continuously engage in ongoing professional development. Examining your own practices can be a great starting point in deciding where you want to improve or expand your knowledge base. Reflective practices allow for us to keep a pulse on the ever changing educational landscape and ensure that our teaching is relevant to our students. Consider implementing one of these reflective teaching practices into your routine:

• Peer observations

Team up with a colleague and take turns observing each other and providing feedback. You could give them some specific look-fors or just keep it more broad. 

• Gather data

Taking some data on your own teaching practices can be incredibly powerful. Consider tracking the types of questions you ask students, what portion of their day students are engaged in instructional time, how much you are talking, how much time students are talking, ways in which you offer suggestions or corrections to students, student interactions, etc. 

• Record yourself teaching

Although the thought of it can make some teachers cringe, recording yourself teaching can be a great way of not having to try to remember specific details or take notes while you teach. It allows you to come back and watch it later. You might also catch things you didn’t notice in the moment. 

• Start a reflection journal

Journaling is such a customizable approach to self-reflection. You could write your reflections in a physical journal, keep an ongoing reflection journal document digitally, or use any other format that feels right for you. You could try some of the reflection questions suggested below, or simply journal stream-of-consciousness style after a lesson! 

• Make a list

Maybe even less time-consuming than keeping a reflection journal, making a list can be a quick and easy way to embrace gratitude and mindfulness. A few ideas for getting started with list-making include ways I’m thankful for my students, ways I’m thankful for my students’ families, ways I’ve celebrated myself, and ways I’ve persevered. 

Try this highlights lesson for grades 1-2

Reflection Questions for Teachers 

• • • What did you accomplish that you’re most proud of?
    • What would you change about and why?
    • What do you feel you could have improved in your instruction?
    • How did you grow professionally?
    • What was your most stressful moment or biggest challenge? How did you overcome it?
    • What was your biggest mistake and how can you correct it and prevent it from happening in the future?
    • How did you make an impact on your students?
    • How well did you manage your classroom? How could you do a better job?
    • What was the strongest part of your curriculum? What was the weakest and how can you improve it?

Looking for Resources?

The Seesaw Library includes ready-to-assign lessons that are chock-full of engaging learning experiences and activities with built-in scaffolding to support all learners! Highlight your students as learners each quarter as they select and reflect on content-area work to build a portfolio. Guide students to show pride in and take ownership of their cumulative learning as they share it with others. The Highlights Collection is perfect for student reflection for each quarter:

Click the image to see the entire Highlights collection

Deepen Student Engagement & Diversify Learning Strategies with Seesaw

As you reflect on specific ways in which you can improve your teaching strategy, consider using Seesaw to make your teaching even more impactful and your life easier! Seesaw is such a powerful tool for deepening student engagement and diversifying learning strategies for learners! 

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