Anti-Burnout For English Teachers
Anti-Burnout For English Teachers
41. Beyond the Yoga Mat: What Lululemon's Billions Can Teach Us About Engaging Students
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I’ve got a $7 billion question for you: What does a yoga pants company have to do with innovative teaching practices for your English classroom?

In this episode, we explore teaching strategies inspired by Lululemon’s business model. We discuss how a multi-billion dollar athleisure brand’s approach can revolutionize your English classroom, transforming curriculum design, content curation, and classroom culture.

You’ll discover:

  • Applying community-building strategies in the classroom

  • Parallels between product design and curriculum development

  • Reframing our role as ‘experience designers’ in education

  • Practical ways to implement these insights in your teaching

Whether you’re looking to refresh your teaching approach or simply curious about cross-industry insights, this episode offers food for thought for educators at all levels. Get ready to think outside the script and revolutionize your teaching practice.

Resources Mentioned:

Key Concepts

  • Applying business strategies to classroom community building
  • Creating a class motto: “Question the page”
  • Framing English skills as essential life skills
  • Focusing on quality and innovation in curriculum design
  • Building a sustainable teaching practice
  • Designing experiences that transform students’ relationships with words, ideas, and themselves

Episode Timestamps

00:40 – Overview of how business strategies can be applied to education
02:19 – Discussion on teacher burnout and student engagement statistics
04:03 – Exploring Lululemon’s vision statement and strategies
07:15 – Introduction of the class motto “Question the page”
10:03 – Framing English skills as essential life skills
11:10 – Focusing on quality and innovation in curriculum design
14:14 – Example of curriculum revision (removing A Tale of Two Cities)
18:02 – Building a literary community with branded assignment types
20:58 – Discussing sustainability in teaching practices
24:27 – Reframing the teacher’s role as experience designers
26:27 – Reflection on creating voluntary engagement in the classroom
28:55 – Recap and teaser for upcoming episodes in the series

Opportunities for Discussion

  1. How can you create a “literary lifestyle” in your classroom that extends beyond traditional teaching methods?
  2. What aspects of your curriculum could benefit from a quality-over-quantity approach?
  3. How might you incorporate “Easter eggs” or other engagement techniques into your lesson plans?
  4. If student attendance wasn’t compulsory, how would you design your class to make students want to attend?

Detailed Breakdown of Innovative Teaching Practices Discussed

  1. Class Motto Strategy: “Question the page” This innovative teaching strategy encourages critical thinking and deep engagement with texts. It can be applied to various activities throughout the year, promoting a consistent approach to literary analysis.
  2. Framing English Skills as Life Skills: This helps students see the relevance of their learning beyond the classroom. It involves connecting literary analysis to real-world critical thinking and communication skills.
  3. Quality-Focused Curriculum Design: This approach involves carefully evaluating each element of the curriculum, as demonstrated by the removal of A Tale of Two Cities. This innovative teaching strategy prioritizes depth over breadth, ensuring each text serves a clear purpose.
  4. AI-Enhanced Learning Activities: Using AI to generate educational content, such as the Macbeth recap songs, represents an innovative teaching strategy that combines technology with traditional literary study.
  5. Branded Assignment Types: Creating product-like names for different types of assignments (e.g., “glittery devices”, “literally lit”) is an innovative teaching strategy that builds a sense of continuity and community within the classroom.
  6. Easter Egg Content: Hiding additional content for students to discover, like the “algorithmic storytelling” vignettes, is an innovative teaching practice that encourages exploration and connects different parts of the curriculum.
  7. Experience-Based Teaching: Reframing the teacher’s role as an experience designer rather than just an information provider is an innovative teaching strategy that can lead to more engaging and memorable learning experiences.

These teaching strategies, inspired by Lululemon’s business model, aim to create a more engaging, sustainable, and community-oriented classroom experience. By thinking outside the traditional educational framework and drawing inspiration from successful brands, teachers can revitalize their approach and potentially reduce burnout while increasing student engagement.

In future episodes, we’ll continue to explore innovative teaching practices inspired by other brands and influencers, providing you with a toolkit of ideas to transform your classroom into a vibrant, engaging learning environment.

Additional Resources for Creating a Literary Lifestyle

Follow @englishclassroomarchitect on Instagram for more ideas on innovative teaching practices.

More About Anti-Burnout for English Teachers

Are you wanting a classroom strategy that keeps you energized and joyful but want tools and resources to make teaching high school English more manageable? It’s possible, and I’ll share what I’ve learned through my years of trial and error. Let’s build a better classroom!

41. Beyond the Yoga Mat: What Lululemon’s Billions Can Teach Us About Engaging Students

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