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Thank You for 20 Years.

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After 20 years of teaching at Brookfield Central, I am saying goodbye. Although I spent the majority of that time in the physics classroom alongside my learners. That changed for my last 18 weeks. I ended up in a place similar to where I started, teaching chemistry and biology. So, rather than dealing with juniors and seniors at the end of their high school careers, I was in classrooms with freshmen and sophomores still trying to find their place. At the same time, I was learning and teaching a set curriculum I hadn't taught in over a decade. So, we were learning. But, of course, I already knew the content.  The point of this post is to take a step back, take in, and share the gratitude from the last students I had in my 20 years at Brookfield Central High School through the cards and notes they made for me on my last day with them.  I don't take many yay me moments. But after 20 years, I think I'll soak this one in.
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The Simple WHY of Personalized Learning

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Everyone needs motivation to push a little further. There needs to be a reason to make that effort. There needs to be a “why”.
At the completion of an instructional unit, I ask my students 3 questions:
  1. What helped you learn
  2. What didn't help you learn
  3. What's one thing I should try to improve your learning
At the end of the current term, I asked those questions again. The results were clear. My students have diametrically opposed needs which is the WHY of personalized learning.  Based on these results, I need to personalize even more.

Helped Me Learn Didn’t Help Me Learn

  • Canvas problems
  • The canvas problems.

  • Flexibility of the class, as well as interactive presentations. 
  • I didn't like the somewhat flexible due dates because they make it difficult for me to be motivated to finish my work.

  • The canvas quizzes allowed me to learn on my own
  • I did not learn as well when we had to learn individually.

  • The group projects helped me the most.  Not only was it more engaging, but it also helped teach me more about the application of physics in the real world.
  • Group projects.

  • The notes in class (with a printed copy) really helped me. I liked how you went through everything in the notes and explained it in a way that was easy to understand.
  • Lecture Style Notes

  • The different test options so I could choose the best way for me to show my learning.

  • the multiple different methods of learning and the multiple opportunities to obtain the material

The other big takeaways were that students loved both Pear Deck and Kahoot.  They are both large group interactive pieces of web based software.  They allow students to process knowledge in real time with peers.  I will continue to find more ways to incorporate these into my classroom.  As for the things they recommended I should try, that will need to be a part of my action plan for next term.  Also, no one liked the course hardcover AP textbook.  I will continue to find and incorporate more online learning resources into Canvas to help.


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  1. David JefferyJune 14, 2019 at 12:43 AM

    Good post in Learning Software.Its really helpful for me, awaiting for more new post. Keep Blogging!..

    Adaptive Personalized Learning

    ReplyDelete

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