Substantial Classrooms

Book excerpt: Transform Your School’s Substitute Teaching Experience Just like everything else, substitute teaching is about to undergo a big change. In Substantial Classrooms: Redesigning the Substitute Teaching Experience, authors Jill Vialet and Amanda von Moos usher in a new era of innovation in substitute teaching. Threaded with concrete and actionable ways to improve the experience of substitute teaching for administrators, students, and the teachers themselves, Substantial Classrooms is a leading voice for innovation and renewal in substitute teaching. Instead of viewing substitute teachers as a placeholder in an educator’s absence, this book encourages readers to view substitute teachers as vital resources that diversify the typical classroom learning experience. While other books look only at making a bad situation bearable, this book re-examines substitute teaching with an eye towards reinventing it as a unique and valuable part of students’ educational experience. Key themes of Substantial Classrooms include: How substitute teaching works today Applying human-centered design to create change in legacy systems like substitute teaching Concrete and inspiring examples of different models for substitute teaching, for example, reimagining it as paid fieldwork for aspiring teachers. In addition to these key themes, every chapter includes stories and techniques from dynamic and innovative educational practitioners. This must-have guide to substitute teaching can improve schools everywhere and revolutionize the way educators, school and district leaders, colleges, and community partners view the experience of substitute teaching as a lever to positively impact schools.