So...lack of posts over time still continues to be a theme in the presence of my blog posts. I get so wrapped up in everything I do that I forget to take time to write about and reflect on what I am doing. I've had "blog post" on my to do list for the past several weeks, but it just seems like there is always another fire that is burning a little hotter. Today I am back at the ESU for Language Arts days, and we have been talking about reflective practice with our students and so I figured it is time to be reflective in my own practice.
So an update on where I am at in my Reboot projects:
1. Passion Blogs - Over the summer I met with a fellow teacher who does 20% time in her classroom to work on a more authentic experience for a my students. Last year my passion blogs had no end product outcome that students could share. This year I created a more structured experience where students had to propose to learn something and then will do a project presentation at the end of the semester. I renamed the project from passion blogs to Independent Learning Projects. I was nervous with this group of students because I wasn't sure how committed they would be to the project or if they would take it seriously. I took the plunge and started about a month ago and it took my students a while to get into the project and pick ideas, but I think we have some good projects listed. If you want to take look at the beginnings of their projects, take a look at my learning project blog and theirs are linked on the right.
2. Boost Student Achievement - I think this has been my favorite goal so far. I have received so much positive feedback from the communications I have done. Parents contacted the principal after the beginning of the year letter went out to say they appreciated it. I sent a postcard to a senior boy's parents and he came to class the next day and said something along the lines of, "I was worried at first when I saw it, but then it was good. Then my mom said 'It only took you 12 years to get a good note home!'" It just reinforces the idea that when we get to the high school level we don't do enough positive communication.
3. Increase My Web Presence - As this blog is a testament, I have failed a little on this front. I've done some clean-up of my profiles on various social media, but I still am not doing as much tweeting and blogging as I would like (professionally or personally). It is my goal between now and when we meet again as a Reboot group to blog at least once a week to update on progress and ideas. I am just going to set aside one afternoon a week to make sure that I blog. Tuesday and Wednesdays I have homework due, so if I haven't blogged by Thursday that is going to be my blogging day. Keep me on track!
So an update on where I am at in my Reboot projects:
1. Passion Blogs - Over the summer I met with a fellow teacher who does 20% time in her classroom to work on a more authentic experience for a my students. Last year my passion blogs had no end product outcome that students could share. This year I created a more structured experience where students had to propose to learn something and then will do a project presentation at the end of the semester. I renamed the project from passion blogs to Independent Learning Projects. I was nervous with this group of students because I wasn't sure how committed they would be to the project or if they would take it seriously. I took the plunge and started about a month ago and it took my students a while to get into the project and pick ideas, but I think we have some good projects listed. If you want to take look at the beginnings of their projects, take a look at my learning project blog and theirs are linked on the right.
2. Boost Student Achievement - I think this has been my favorite goal so far. I have received so much positive feedback from the communications I have done. Parents contacted the principal after the beginning of the year letter went out to say they appreciated it. I sent a postcard to a senior boy's parents and he came to class the next day and said something along the lines of, "I was worried at first when I saw it, but then it was good. Then my mom said 'It only took you 12 years to get a good note home!'" It just reinforces the idea that when we get to the high school level we don't do enough positive communication.
3. Increase My Web Presence - As this blog is a testament, I have failed a little on this front. I've done some clean-up of my profiles on various social media, but I still am not doing as much tweeting and blogging as I would like (professionally or personally). It is my goal between now and when we meet again as a Reboot group to blog at least once a week to update on progress and ideas. I am just going to set aside one afternoon a week to make sure that I blog. Tuesday and Wednesdays I have homework due, so if I haven't blogged by Thursday that is going to be my blogging day. Keep me on track!