Resources for sustainable teaching

The following resources have been created and curated by dozens of CSUWP educators participating in the Institute of Sustainable Teaching. They can help you sustain your teaching and help your students become more mindful learners, too. Check back often to see how the collection continues to grow.

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The definition of sustainable teaching is "living" and continues to evolve, based on the current needs of teachers. You can download the most recent version here.

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Check out these recent publications related to sustainable teaching: 

• "Yet the Embers Still Burn": Teaching with Hope in a Broken World
• Takes One to Teach One: Embracing Your Inner Genius
• "This time it's urgent": Becoming Skillful in Sustainable Teaching
• We Are, Therefore, We Think: Fostering Your Own Intellectual Community
• Three Keys to Unlocking Your Criticality = Aspiration + Advocacy + Joy
• "Finding a Way to Stay: Making a Path for Sustainable Teaching"

Are you a teacher with 5 or fewer years of experience who is interested in staying in the profession? We are offering an Institute for Sustainable Teaching in Summer/Fall 2026. Registration will open in mid-March on our Programs for Teachers page.

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​Links to "micropractices" for sustainable teaching, which are brief tools for reflection, exploration, and restoration, are available here:

• Sustainable Teaching Integration Exploration - Did you know that "work-life balance" is actually a myth? This exercise will help you integrate your work, self, and life more intentionally. 
• Name It to Claim It - Write an “aspirational job description” to shape your work because at the end of the day, how you define yourself is the most important indicator of the actions you will take to become the equity-driven educator you want to be.​
• Social NetWork Audit ​- Reflect on your interactions with the folks you spend the most time with at your school and explore how you can cultivate a contagion of joy and resiliency at work.
• Find Your Square Squad - This exercise, adapted from Brené Brown's work, will help you identify your biggest supporters--those folks who buoy your work, honor your vulnerability, and don't minimize your voice.
• STIC it to the stress! - Learn how to use a research-based, easy-to-remember acronym to channel strong emotion and everyday frustration when you're navigating difficult situations in (and beyond) school.
• Walking the Tightrope - If advocacy is central to your identity as an educator, this micropractice is for you. Grounded in neuroscience, it will help you regulate your body’s nervous system before, during, and after you engage in advocacy work.
• Trace Your Space -  Take inventory of the spaces you inhabit during your day, use your body’s wisdom to determine whether or not they feel hospitable, and then reflect on actions you might take as a result.
• Watch Your Words - If you are starting a new community of learning, use this glossary describing learning spaces and the challenge questions that accompany it to build a space of authentic belonging.
• IST teacher Molly Robbins uses this short breathing exercise with her high school students at the beginning of class to help them focus. It's great for teachers, too! 

For a list of accessible, hands-on practices relevant to sustainable teaching that you can use during passing periods, planning periods, and outside of class, click here.

For a list of media resources relevant to sustainable teaching, click here.

For a list of books relevant to sustainable teaching, click here.

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​SELF REFLECTION: What's your current state of being in relationship to sustainable teaching? The "Dashboard Exercise" is a useful tool to help you gauge your well-being in an ongoing way.