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Let Flexibility Lead To Alignment

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  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 ...
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A World of Learning in 2018

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As 2018 comes to a close, I think of all of the great resources that have helped me reflect on and improve my practice. Although the year is over, I know these will continue to be wonderful resources to come back to in 2019 and beyond to continue growing. Ive inserted single slides so that the links would be live unlike a static image. So, please click on the names to access these amazing resources!

Blogs

Whether I read them on my phone or laptop, I always love reading the stories of bloggers. Blogs are the number one way I've grown my PLN starting with the first IMMOOC run by George Couros and Katie Martin back in the day.




BTW I'm still looking for the best way to curate the blogs that I follow on a mobile device so that I can keep up to date rather than relying on bookmarks and email newsletters. Who's got a good tool for that?

Presentations

I was lucky enough to attend several conferences this year. I heard some great presentations and had lots of great takeaways. But for me, there is nothing like a powerful keynote presentation. Yes, YouTube has some great inspirational videos to push thinking. But, there is nothing like feeling the energy in a room swell as it is being engaged and challenged.


Books

I love reading fiction and educational books. I read a lot of great books this year. Two educational books stuck out to me. One touched my heart as an educator. The other touched my aspirations as an educator.


Podcasts

Podcasts are my number one source of PD. I listen to over a dozen of them regularly. There is such variety out there that it's hard to pick just a couple. But, I limited myself to only 4. It was tough because I also love Barbara Bray's Rethinking Learning because of the stories it allows the guests to tell. But it didn't fit on the slide. Damn constraints. 



I hope you can take an opportunity to check these out. And of course, please share your favorites with me! PLEASE!
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