In my previous school district, I was the only teacher teaching a physics course with set, district-wide learning outcomes. These same outcomes were also taught in physics classrooms at the other high school in our district. But at our school, I was one of the 2 physics teachers. The other teacher taught the AP-level physics courses. So, in many ways, I had opportunities to incorporate strategies I believed were best for learners and that I found worked best for them without being seen as out of alignment with anyone in our building. My amazing friend and one of my teaching philosophy goddesses, Katie Novak, stated the following misconception about alignment: All teachers must deliver instruction in the exact same way. True alignment, she says, is about shared goals, rigor, and outcomes. Thank you, Katie! Katie has taught me to truly believe that learner variability is the rule, not the exception. I encourage you to take 10 minutes to listen to Katie Novak explain it in the ...
When I think back to where I was 4 years ago, I would have to say I had an extremely limited professional learning network. I communicated within my department, but rarely outside of it. Since then, my desire to dramatically shift the learning model in my classroom and my increased use of social media tools have transformed me into a networked educator with a PLN that functions in many different spheres. The value of my PLN cannot be underestimated. They have improved my practice with new ideas, feedback on my practice, and emotional support when I need it most. Rather than waste your time reading about how much I value each distinct voice in my PLN, why don't you check them out for yourself. Use the Thinglink below to explore my PLN. As I said my PLN covers many sphere and topics. Building Level I’m fortunate to have a very progressive building administration and department staff. It’s been great to have likeminded educators who are taking risks in their cla...