Why am I writing this personal entry? Well, it is not an attempt to gain any sympathy. It attempts to show what is possible if a clear intention and goal serve the learner's needs. In May of 2022 just near the end of another fantastic school year, I do not remember what happened. But, I was unable to finish the school year and was unable to teach the following year. Why? On May 21st, 2022, I fell down a flight of 16 stairs (luckily carpeted) from the 2nd to 1st story of our home. I was found at the bottom of the stairs. I was found foaming at the mouth. This would lead to a 2-month hospital stay which included an induced coma because my seizures would not stop, several rounds of lumbar punctures, and relearning basic physical movements like something as simple as being able to roll in the hospital bed. Simply put, when I was admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed as being “critically ill.” Please take a moment and read those words: critically ill. They are not terms...
As a part of my Edutopia reading practice, I came upon the following post:
Mid-Year Reflection: Setting PD Goals by Monica Burns
In the post, she recommends a process of
- Looking back on the year so far and acknowledge all you have done
- Determining areas your like to grow
- Draft a plan to accomplish those goals
- Hold yourself accountable to these goals
So, I'm taking some time today to look at steps 1 and 2 as I reflect on the first half of this school year.
Changes in Learning and Assessment
- Started the year with new collaborative seating arrangement.
- Students completed a Personal Learning Preference sheet on the first day of class and revisited it during the course
- Unlike last year, I began AP Physics by giving students options for demonstrating mastery from unit 1.
- As the year went on I transformed the student portfolio into a vehicle to submit course artifacts for grading rather than simply a place for reflection.
- I set up my online gradebook to be categorized by objectives. Each objective was a grading category and the final category was Success Skills. These included content objectives and science skills. I graded all of these objectives on a rubric 0 - 4 scale.
- I switched over to an integer grading scale 0 - 4 in my grade book, rather than points.
- This year we implemented our first large scale Project Based Learning assignment. I brought outside speakers into class first time as a part of this project.
- As a part of our summative assessment in AP Physics for our sound unit, Students ventured out to teach 4th graders the science of sound with demonstrations and interactive lectures.
Technology
- Peer reviews in Canvas
- Used pear deck as new tech tool
- Learned more about explain everything
- Students generated their own progress reports which were sent home to parents
- Gave students options for practice work
What am I struggling to accomplish?
It's tough making sure that students are being asked to take their learning beyond the simple understandings. I really want to push them to deeper application. And, hold them more accountable for it.
Where do I continue to need help?
Making sure the narrative of the learning is clear for students. I don't want the learning in my class to be a series of unconnected events.
Action Plan
As I begin to plan for term 3, I am going to work on revisiting my objective rubrics. I plan to rewrite them specifically with Costa's Levels of Questioning as my guide. I am positive this will be a future blog post.
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