Got Questions? Ask the Tch Community!

Confession time: I think I'm developing an addiction to Q&A. With this new tool on TeachingChannel.org, you can type up a quick question and send it out to the Tch community. If other teachers have answers, they can fire off a response. Almost every time I sit down at my computer to work, I find myself drifting over to the Q&A page to see teachers connecting and learning from each other.

One of the reasons I'm so excited about Q&A is that it highlights how fabulous the Tch community is. From the comments you leave on videos to the insightful feedback you give us on the site, it's always been clear that you have your thinking caps on. Q&A helps to bring teachers together, pooling our resources and answering each other’s questions quickly and easily.

For teachers, there's never enough time in the day. We all know that. There are endless resources to try and there are always ways in which we hope to improve. We also know that there are amazing fellow teachers, but they're probably really busy too.

Have you ever searched for the perfect book to read to your class? Wondered if other teachers have found success with specific resources? Been stuck in a rut and in need of ideas for spicing up your teaching practice? Q&A is such a convenient and time-efficient way to solicit advice from teachers who have been where you are.

Even though Q&A has only just begun, teachers are already sharing and collaborating. During one of my recent binges, Kara's question called out to me. Kara asked, "How did you reinforce routines after break?"

I was excited to find that after I answered the question, Telannia Norfar jumped in and added to my response. I love how Telannia reminded Kara to be honest and transparent with her students about what is happening in the classroom. I can't wait to see what advice other Tchers add to this discussion!

One of the most popular Q&A threads going on right now is about finding read alouds for middle school students.

In this thread, you can see that the Tch community has rated Jennie Magiera's as the most helpful answer. As you read through the Q&A discussions, you can use the award icon to show that you like an answer.

The most popular answer rises to the top of the list, making it easy to find the most helpful answers first. What a great time saver!

You have more than 150,000 teachers at your disposal. What are you going to ask?

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Lily Jones taught K/1 for seven years in Northern California. She has experience as a curriculum developer, instructional coach, teacher trainer, and is also a contributing writer for Teaching Channel.