When Teachers Feel FOMO
It’s easy to feel fear of missing out over new pedagogical tools and strategies. Here’s how to avoid getting overwhelmed.
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There are lots of cool ideas out there. Awesome strategies, great tools, and new processes. I discover things I absolutely must try at least three times a day. Of course, I already have a lot of tools that I’m really happy with in my pedagogical toolbox, but I always catch myself thinking “This new tech tool looks really great, and that teacher I respect is using it, so shouldn’t I be doing it too? If I’m not doing it, does that mean I’m falling behind or that my students won’t be prepared? Am I missing out on something that would totally change my professional life?”
I don’t think I’m the only one who suffers from periodic professional FOMO (fear of missing out)—that nagging sense that I need to be doing more or using the latest strategy, the coolest classroom design, or the most innovative organizational process. I see things other people are doing and worry that by not doing those things, I don’t belong to the community of “really good teachers.”
But there’s no single way to being a good teacher—we all know that. And while it’s a good idea to revisit and clarify your philosophy of education from time to time to make sure that your practice and beliefs align, it’s also important to keep learning. So what do we do when FOMO gets a hold of us?
Understand that teachers are students
We’re students of our students, every single day of our careers. I’d say, in fact, that the teacher is the most important student in the room. No matter how long you’ve been teaching. As Barbie Diewald, a faculty member at Mount Holyoke College, notes on her syllabus, you’re “advancing,” which is “a more porous, dynamic, and responsive way to articulate a consistent, rigorous practice. ‘Advancing’ implies depth and agency, rather than mastery or arrival.”
When we view new resources as offerings rather than expectations or mandates, we’re able to curate them into today, someday, and no way. As you sort through ideas to build student agency, facilitate reflection, or use formative assessment, it can feel exciting—and overwhelming. Remember that those ideas are someone else’s interesting ideas that they’re offering to you, but you’re under no obligation to accept every invitation.
Set learning goals for yourself
When we have a lot of options ahead of us, it can be helpful to spend a little time reflecting before we decide which direction to go. Before I go to a conference where I know I’m going to be inundated with new ideas, I take a few minutes to think about what I want to come home knowing. For instance, wanting to know, “Can AI help me with my work?” requires me to examine where I am (I like the idea of AI but I’m uncomfortable with some of the ethical and environmental issues I’m hearing about). This determines what I want to know more about (How are other folks using it? Are they addressing those concerns? What are my colleagues saying about them?)
These questions can help you get a better sense of what you want to focus on now (I’d like my students to spend more time talking to one another), what you’d like to think about in the future (Someday I’d love to be able to see my students solve big problems together, but they’re not there yet), and what you can deprioritize (I’m just not in a place to do a lot of community-based work right now. I don’t have the bandwidth). These answers can help you curate resources as they cross your path.
Set up a system to curate new tools, strategies, and processes
Using an annotated-bibliography approach to all of the cool things you discover can help you build a specialized personal library that contains some stuff you can use now, some that may come in handy later, and some that you may find interesting, never apply to your own work, but share with someone else who's looking for an idea. You never know, what doesn’t work for you might be a game-changer for someone else.
You probably have a lot of things open in tabs, reading lists, bookmarks, or items saved in folders from conferences. Start by selecting a tool you like—ideally one that you’re already using or that you really want to learn how to use—and start “filing” the things you’re discovering.
Selecting a curation tool: Here are some curation tools you might want to explore (some I’ve used and some that come recommended):
Adding items: Get specific in the tags you use, and be sure to include a short description of why you included it, what problem it might help you solve, or what you think is really cool about it. Don’t delete anything. The last thing you want to do down the road is waste time looking for that cool thing you saw and never thought you’d use (the digital equivalent of throwing away the box of cords in the basement right before you need them).
Using this “annotated bibliography” approach to all of the cool things you discover can help you build a specialized personal library that contains some stuff you can use now, some that may come in handy later, and some that you may find interesting, never apply to your own work, but share with someone else who's looking for an idea. You never know, what doesn’t work for you might be a game-changer for someone else!
Reflect on your goal: Once your system is up and running, take some time to reflect on your goal. Let’s say you created a set of Pinterest boards to organize your resources. Your categories are student collaboration, assessment, community builders, PBL, and SEL. As you go back to your earlier reflection and think about that goal you set (I’d like my students to spend more time talking to one another), start with the student collaboration board, where you’ve added a great article about using playing cards.
Put it into action: Pick a specific strategy to try (for example, a suit jigsaw activity) and ask yourself these questions:
- Why this one? (I think my students will be able to grasp it quickly, and it fits with the lesson I already planned.)
- How is it serving me? (Organizing jigsaws is really hard for my students and for me. If this works, it could be a system that I apply to a lot of different situations. Plus it will get the students talking about the content more quickly, since we won’t waste so much time trying to figure out who goes where.)
- How long will I try it before I decide whether it works? (I’ll try it in three classes today and, depending on how it goes, maybe again later in the week with the same students.)
- What will I see happening that will let me know it’s a good fit? (The kids will get into their groups easily and be able to focus on the work versus the process.)
Keep in mind that learning a new tool, strategy, or system is a process, not an event, so give yourself (and your students) time to make sense of what they’re trying to do. Remember, there’s a lot of power in yet—you’re not missing out on anything if you’re choosing which, where, and when those awesome strategies, great tools, and new processes fit into your pedagogical life.