I think the first part of my growth plan is to take a step back and reflect on the last two years. I'd like to then take that reflection and decide what it is that I really want to do now. What kind of teaching do I want to do and what student population would I really love to work with. I know I don't have a choice in all of these matters right away, but I think it will be important for my future goals.
The following goals I will hope to achieve within my first year of teaching:
1) Maintain my blog. I've really enjoyed having a blog. I find it a great tool to use for reflecting on what I've done and I think that I would love to have a blog for each year of school to use as a communication tool for students and parents. I also love looking at and reading other blogs as a way of getting new ideas and I would someday love to share my own ideas.
2) I really want to explore some of the technologies that I've learned about this year but have not yet had the chance to tinker with. On the Spark podcast that I listened to yesterday, they spoke of the idea of tinkering with technology or anything to learn how to use it. They said the art of tinkering is being set aside, but I disagree with that because I know that's how my kids learn how to use and do things. I want to incorporate tinkering into my life and learn about these technologies so I can use them if they fit with what I'm teaching.
3) When I do get a job at a school, I would like to find a mentor in the school. I would really love to have a mentor that is using inquiry in the classroom so I can team up with them and learn and share ideas with them. I would love to be a part of a collaboration and create meaningful work for my students to do. I think a team approach to inquiry is a great way to make quality projects.
4) I want to actively seek out PD sessions or conferences to go to that will keep me current with new trends in teaching, technology and inquiry. I would like to be always using current research to support my teaching and challenging me to be the best teacher I can be.
5) One thing that I'd really like to learn more about is outdoor ed. One of my peers gave her exit presentation yesterday and she has a lot of experience in this area, she reminded me of how valuable it is to students. It is something that I think I do with my own children and I think would be a good fit for me as a teacher.
I'm definitely looking forward to the new challenges that I will be facing in the next several years and to the change in career for me. I hope that I can make a difference for the children that I will be teaching as I know they will make a difference in my life.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
April 11 2011
I wasn't able to be at the peer evaluations of our IO student inquiry projects, but I did get a chance to look at a couple that have been shared with the class. They look really good, and I'm very excited to have been able to try creating a project on IO and be part of a group to do that. I learned a lot about creating inquiry projects on IO and look forward to learning more and becoming better at creating the projects. I really think that I will use that process to create my own projects in the future. The one thing that I hope is that I can be a part of a group when creating projects because I think it is very valuable to do this in a group. I really found that my group worked well together and that they kept me on track as I tend to worry that things aren't the way they should be and want to change things too often. I thought this was a very worth while assignment and I've learned a great deal, and am sure that things will improve the more I create inquiry projects.
Friday, April 1, 2011
April 1st 2011
Assessment for engaged learning:
"Feedback is the most impactful elements of students learning"
The film that was shown that was produced by a grade 8 school was amazing. I only hope that I can help my students to create such amazing peices of work. These projects show what great work students can achieve and be engaged in. In a project that is so involved the amount of learning that took place was evident in the films. I also really thought that the documentry style of the film was very professional which seems to parallel the academics of school.
The students are encouraged to make their work public. They bring the work in progress to the group for feedback to help to make it better. By sharing the work with others and the group as a whole the other students learn about the information that each group is doing. This way the students learn about all areas of the unit of study from their classmates. They become experts in their chosen area, but still learn about the other areas as well.
The use of rubrics and creating them with the students was very helpful. The suggestion was to create one area of the rubric at a time and have the students work with that section of their project. They are not given the rubric at the end of the project after all the work had been done. They use the rubric to help with there learning as they work through each portion of the project.
The idea of teaching kids how to give useful feedback is very important. You have to show them that they are critiquing the work not the person. Also to teach them that they have to give comments that will allow the person or group to improve their work. Is the comment hurtful or helpful, these are what they need to think about while commenting on work. This preteaching students of how to give feedback reminds me of what Dr. Pam Bishop said in case class last year, "you have to loose time to gain time". She was saying that you have to front load your projects with teaching the students about how to do these things and build relationships with the students so they feel safe to participate in a community like this. I think that the word "loose" might not be the right word because teaching these skills is as important as is the curriculum.
"Feedback is the most impactful elements of students learning"
The film that was shown that was produced by a grade 8 school was amazing. I only hope that I can help my students to create such amazing peices of work. These projects show what great work students can achieve and be engaged in. In a project that is so involved the amount of learning that took place was evident in the films. I also really thought that the documentry style of the film was very professional which seems to parallel the academics of school.
The students are encouraged to make their work public. They bring the work in progress to the group for feedback to help to make it better. By sharing the work with others and the group as a whole the other students learn about the information that each group is doing. This way the students learn about all areas of the unit of study from their classmates. They become experts in their chosen area, but still learn about the other areas as well.
The use of rubrics and creating them with the students was very helpful. The suggestion was to create one area of the rubric at a time and have the students work with that section of their project. They are not given the rubric at the end of the project after all the work had been done. They use the rubric to help with there learning as they work through each portion of the project.
The idea of teaching kids how to give useful feedback is very important. You have to show them that they are critiquing the work not the person. Also to teach them that they have to give comments that will allow the person or group to improve their work. Is the comment hurtful or helpful, these are what they need to think about while commenting on work. This preteaching students of how to give feedback reminds me of what Dr. Pam Bishop said in case class last year, "you have to loose time to gain time". She was saying that you have to front load your projects with teaching the students about how to do these things and build relationships with the students so they feel safe to participate in a community like this. I think that the word "loose" might not be the right word because teaching these skills is as important as is the curriculum.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)