To encourage dialogue and reflection about goals and the steps we take towards their realization, our question for this week is: What goal(s) do you want to focus on over the last few weeks of this school year? What step(s) are you taking to meet this/these goal(s)? Mapping Steps (Week of 5/21/23) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
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Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
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The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey
Last weekend felt like a bit of a blur with lots of things going on for us - 8th grade dance Friday night, Gray and Owen’s basketball games, Katie’s 30th high school reunion weekend, Taylor Swift concert Saturday night (it was awesome!), and getting ready for the 8th grade trip to D.C. this week! I slept in Saturday morning until 9:15 and can not remember the last time that happened! I want to extend a special thanks to all of the staff members who chaperoned the dance, helping to provide a safe and fun night for our students: Jillian Shaw, Kelly Campbell, Heather Gonzalez, Jen Dondero, Marcia Berkowitz, Elise Malone, Kevin Farrahar, Sarah LoMonaco, Sarah Pratt, and Connie Doolan.
The ‘shares below’ are ones that have helped me this week do what I believe I need - slow down a bit, reflect, articulate some goals to help me be present and energized as we end the school year, and center in on what is important to motivate myself and others for growth, development, and learning. The podcast episodes are part of a series from the Hidden Brain podcast with direct implications/learning for our students and structures in school, and the other posts are a ‘mixture’ that share lessons and ideas that speak to and apply to all of our work.
Success 2.0: Getting What You Want
(50 min) from Hidden Brain podcast
We all rely on incentives to get people to do things they might otherwise avoid. Parents reward kids for doing their homework. Companies offer bonuses to their high-performing employees. Charities send gifts to their donors. In the second episode in our "Success 2.0" series, economist Uri Gneezy shares how incentives can help us to achieve our goals, if we know how to avoid their pitfalls.
Success 2.0: The Obstacles You Don't See
(48 min) from Hidden Brain podcast
Think about the last time you tried to bring up an idea at work, and it was shot down. What did you do? Most of us think the best way to win people over is to push harder. But organizational psychologist Loran Nordgren says a more effective approach is to focus on the invisible obstacles to new ideas. In this episode of our Success 2.0 series, we revisit a favorite 2021 interview about overcoming the obstacles that hold back innovation.
Questions to Ask Yourself as the School Year Winds Down (Opinion)
by Justin Minkel in Education Week
Think of a school year as a human life. It has a birth, messy and hopeful and new. It has a death, too. That last day will soon come when the individual personalities who make up our class will never be together as a class again. In between, a lot happens: new abilities acquired in fits and starts, a midlife crisis or two when it all feels hard and hopeless, and some peace near the end with all that was accomplished and all that wasn’t.
When the school year is suddenly counted in days rather than months, we begin to take stock of our triumphs and failures. These precious few weeks, close enough to the end to feel a sense of urgency and introspection, but with enough time to act on any epiphanies that come, are a perfect time for reflection.
Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, recommends that everyone in our profession find 10 minutes a night to jot down a few thoughts on these questions: What do I do well in my classroom? What do I need to work on? What do I want to do next?
…the real reflection on what kind of teacher I have been this year is deeply personal and very specific. It has to do with my own test of conscience about how closely my actions have aligned with my beliefs about children and teaching. Evidence of the gap between philosophy and reality in my classroom tends to come “from the mouths of babes"—from what my students tell and show me every day.
The month of May sometimes feels like a stumbling stagger toward the finish line. It can also be a time to reflect. Before the rush of the school year recedes into a hazy memory, give yourself 15 minutes to ponder these five questions…
- What have you taught? This means a lot more than the bulleted content outlined in the standards. What have you taught the children in your care this year, by your words or example, about how to be a human being in the world?
- What have you learned? What do you know now that you didn’t in August about children, teaching, and yourself?
- What have you done well? Teachers tend to be hard on ourselves. Don’t gloss over your strengths and successes, large or small.
- What do you need to work on? Not a single teacher in the entire world has had a flawless school year, so don’t beat yourself up for the ways you may have fallen short. But think about what you can change or learn to better meet your students’ many needs. Seek out resources on teaching English-language learners. Resolve to speak more kindly to the children in your class, even when you’re frustrated. We still have a little time left to make those changes.
- What impact did you have beyond your own classroom? Teacher leadership doesn’t have to happen on a grand scale to be significant. If you led a professional development session at your school, gave your grade-level team an idea for a project, or gave a new teacher a little reassurance and wisdom right when she needed it most, your influence extended beyond your own students.
We live our lives in a straight line. The years accumulate one by one; each new school year begins and ends. Time keeps flowing in its single direction, carrying us onward. But for those of us who teach, time is also circular. We end the ritual of another school year, reach the summer and rest our spirits, then begin the cycle again.
Whether we stagnate or become better every year has everything to do with taking the time to reflect, then finding the courage and tenacity to change. The mercy of the annual cycle built into teaching is that we get another chance each year to do right by our students, with the benefit of an additional year’s expertise and wisdom under our belt.
10 Ideas for Reflecting at the End of the School Year
by Katherine Schulten in The New York Times
Inspired by Times articles and features from across sections, these exercises can help both students and teachers think about their growth.
Three Lessons for Teachers from Grant Wiggins
by Jay McTighe (@jaymctighe)
Lesson #1 – Plan Backward from Authentic Performance.
Grant advised us to think carefully about what students should be able to do with their learning. Rather than simply creating a long list of fragmented objectives, begin by identifying the authentic performances that will demonstrate student understanding and make learning relevant and meaningful...Grant argued that such a “backward design” approach offers an effective alternative to a practice we see too often in our schools and classrooms—a focus on learning long lists of discrete knowledge and skill objectives without application and relevance. Moreover, teaching students to be able to apply their learning will help them develop the very capabilities needed for success in college and careers.
Lesson #2 – Feedback is Key to Successful Learning and Performance.
Grant reminded educators that providing learners with helpful feedback was a key to successful learning and continuous improvement...Grant cautioned us against thinking that feedback takes the form of grades (B+) and exhortations (“try harder”). To be effective, Grant pointed out that feedback must meet several criteria:
• Feedback must be timely. Waiting two weeks or more to find out how you did on a test will not help your learning.
• Feedback must be specific and descriptive. Effective feedback highlights explicit strengths and weaknesses (e.g., “Your speech was well-organized and interesting to the audience. However, you were speaking too fast in the beginning and did not make eye contact with the audience. These are areas for you to work on for your next presentation.”).
• Feedback must be understandable to the receiver.
Lesson #3 – Empathize with the learner
Grant thought deeply about the craft of teaching and cautioned teachers, especially experienced ones, about succumbing to what he called the Expert Blind Spot.
These three key ideas—the importance of planning backward from authentic performance, the need for helpful feedback and opportunities to use it, and having empathy for students—are but a few of the many lessons that Grant offered us. Although he is no longer with us, his brilliance lives on in his thought-provoking blog posts (https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com), articles and books. His advice elevates our profession and our teachers and students deserve the benefits of his wisdom.
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What and/or who do you appreciate most in your life? Why?
- MY PARENTS!!! They are always there for me, and they never leave me alone. They also help me in hard times.
- I appreciate my friends and family most because I know they love me.
- I appreciate the fact that life is short, and we must embrace each and every memory. Without mortality, life is a meaningless spiral (and not very good for the economy or warming). We must do what we can with the time that we have.
- My family members because of how much they help me
- My family because they will always be there for me.
- My family, including my husband, dogs, mom, siblings and in laws! I feel so grateful to be supported and loved while also enjoying spending time together. Truly a blessing that impacts my life.
- My family and friends
- My sister she keeps me alive
- I appreciate harmony between people.
- Family and very close friends
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Take care.
Nat