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Showing posts with the label Professional Reading

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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Taking Time for Kindness

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I have been reading Tamara Letter's new book A Passion for Kindness . Although I am not finished with it yet, it has created a lot of space for personal reflection and action. When I finish the book, I hope to speak more on the actions. But for now I'd like to use this space for a bit of reflection. When Tamara outlines creating a culture of kindness, she describes the process as CULTIVATE Kindness. It is not a simple creation, it is an intentional process that is multi-faceted. The word cultivate brings to mind a gardening metaphor.  As an avid gardener, I understand the many variables that play into a successful harvest. Tamara outlines the variables that play into being able to cultivate kindness in her book. C–Compassion (desire to act to improve another's situation) U–Understand (understand rather than making assumptions) L–Listen (listen for meaning behind the words) T–Take Time (sacrifice your time for another's needs) I–Inspire (actions can lead ...
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From Type X to Type i

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I finished the audiobook of Daniel Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us yesterday.  Today, I had to go to the library to pick up a physical copy to reread some sections.  This book is definitely a read - steep - reread.  There is a lot to digest and act upon.  The ideas Dan Pink brings out are deeply tied into the movement towards personalizing learning in our classrooms.  Rather than recap the entire book, I would recommend you take the time to listen to his powerful TED talk where he lays out the fundamentals of his argument.  Seriously, if you haven’t watched it or read his book, you owe it to yourself to watch it (also, read the book). The focus of the talk is from a business perspective.  But, I imagine you can think of how it relates to your classroom as you watch. What Pink puts forth with a slew of evidence is that There is a gap between what science knows and what institutions do.   T...
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Spring Reading

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Book reports, do teachers still use them?  When I remember doing book reports in school, they were focused mostly on a simple plot summary.  I imagine teachers who do them today have students be more reflective in their reporting. I read three different books over this spring break.  Two were fiction All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders and The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.  The other book I read was T apping the Power of Personalized Learning by Dr. James Rickabaugh . For this report out I’m focusing on Dr. Rickabaugh’s book. The subtitle of the book is A Roadmap for School Leaders.  A teacher looking at that subtitle may not see herself as a school leader, but this is not a narrow definition of the word “leader” educators may have become accustomed to.   In this case, leaders are those looking to institute change.  Educators are leaders.  Everyday we guide students through activities/lessons we played some role in des...
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Random Points & Imprecise Percentages

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I finished reading Thomas Guskey’s On Your Mark last night in preparation for a discussion we had today on grading as a part of our PD at Brookfield Central.  As a part of the preparation for the discussion, we were asked to read an article on grading and share out our thoughts in an Ed Camp style environment. Different rooms focused on different practices.  I was shocked to realize we had been talking for almost an hour when our time was up.  I felt like we had just begun digging deep.  It was a great feeling to hear these conversations occurring with a positive mindset. Every once few months I read, see, or hear something that really makes me realize the box I’ve placed myself in.  The box that has been revealed to me this week is the box of using percentages to guide grading.  Like anyone trying to look outside of the box they are in, these views may seem a bit fragmented.  It’s my hope that putting them down will help me see the logic in ...
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