This video illustrates the joy I have about education. The school supply aisle still makes me giddy. Although many people critique educators and public schools without really understanding the profession, I know that there are compassionate, innovative educators preparing for the new school year.
Teaching is not JUST a job. I am always on, thinking, creating, and questioning. I love solving problems and helping students make connections to new information. My main goal for all students is that they become thoughtful, curious people. Critical Thinking is one of the most popular teaching terms that is used constantly. Helping students as they build their critical thinking skills, is easier said than done. This year I will continue to include discussion activities, current events, higher level questioning (DOK Questions), and requiring students to rationalize their answers. I borrowed the acronym HDYK (How Do You Know?) from a teacher in my ERWC training and started using it instead of asking "Why or Why Not?" The hardest part of teaching is convincing students that failure is okay. You did not read that wrong. Failure is in fact the key to learning. It is when we fail and persevere that we truly learn. If something is difficult, we can learn from it. However, if it is easy we are not learning anything, we are merely showing off our already acquired skills. This year I will be trying to establish this change in mindset in my classes and create an EPIC FAIL board (idea borrowed from AJ Juliani). I will include my own failures, famous historical failures and encourage students to add their own failures to the board. Sometimes I have an idea for the classroom but it doesn't work within the curriculum. One idea I have been wanting to try is Genius Hour (also borrowed from AJ Juliani) where students research a topic and create a project of their own choosing. Students will have each Friday to research and work on their project. I will be meeting with each of my students to help them refine their ideas and make realistic goals. I am excited about this new adventure and the empowering nature of the projects. As I am challenging myself academically through the Admin. Program and Ed Tech, I have stumbled upon some amazing educators. George Couros, author of The Innovator's Mindset, has been challenging me as an educator to plan outside the box. I have included activity ideas from his book (such as "in 60 sec") that I want to use with our students. Jeffery Heil from San Diego (met him at GAFE in Pomona) has also challenged my love for rubrics. Although it is important to have standards for student work, rubrics are not student-friendly and allow students to "settle" for below mastery. This year students will use writing checklists to support them as they attempt to master the the specific writing skills (they will see NTY=Not There Yet as the only other option if they have not mastered the standard. See these and other strategies on the Resources page. How are you innovative in your classroom?
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About Mrs. FrankI enjoy challenging ALL students to learn skills that will help them to be successful throughout their lives. ArchivesCategories |