Teacher Reflection for Goal Setting 5/1/17

As we all prepare for our summative conferences with leadership, it is important to be honest with ourselves and determine our next steps. I challenge you to read one of my favorite blog posts that will help you privately have a "Gut Level Teacher Refection" to assist you in setting goals for next year.

Teaching is a true calling, in my opinion, but that does not mean that it is easy. Please use this tool to help you see your successes and also acknowledge what has been difficult, thus warranting a need for more support and training.

As you look through professional development that is offered from our district as well as local trainings and see that your specific need is not being met, please let me know so I can help you find opportunities that will help you be the best professional you can be! There are many PD offerings throughout the school year and I keep a running list of your desires so I can be on the watch. I look forward to hearing from you and learning of your new goals.



Read the blogpost here! The Gut-Level Teacher Reflection

You talk and people listen!!!! NEARPOD 4/24/17

You talk and people listen!!!!  NEARPOD

At the request of many teachers, all GCISD K-12 teachers will soon have access to the District Edition of Nearpod.com, a presentation tool that works on any device. YOU should receive a "welcome email" from Nearpod very soon. If you already have a free account it will simply be a welcome message. If you do not currently have an account the email will include your account credentials.

Some features included in the district edition include:

• more storage space
• 3D objects
• Virtual reality field trips
• student notes and other interactive features
• student paced mode/homework mode
• access to all content - over 4,000 lessons from third party publishers
• Digital Citizenship Curriculum from Common Sense Media
• private shared library- ability to create lessons and share them with all teachers at the site/district
• complete integration with Google Classroom/Apps
  

For more information about Nearpod, check out their Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/Nearpod/featured 

When you receive the welcome email, please begin exploring. There will be 

UCAN Hyperdoc 4/17/17

UCAN Hyperdoc

Please don't forget to complete your UCAN Hyperdoc "Explore & Explain" section in order to be prepared for UCAN on Monday to share at least one idea on how to use your new learning! Hopefully, you have already been able to implement a new idea into your instruction.

It has been exciting to see several teachers also implementing the use Hyperdocs within their classrooms as well! Check out this excellent example of how 5th grade used a similar format to create a student choice board for their West Nile Research project!

We are so excited for everyone to have this chance to learn from each other - thank you for your participation!

Cooperative Groups: INTERDEPENDENCE - 4/10/17

Cooperative Groups: INTERDEPENDENCE

How successful are your cooperative groups? Do you struggle with some students doing all of the work while others sit back? Well, Dr. Spencer Kagan has devoted years of research and development to Cooperative Learning structures. Throughout his studies, he identified four basic principles symbolized by the acronym PIES. (Positive Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Equal Participation, Simultaneous Interaction). Each principle has critical questions that help you determine if that structure is in place, in order to MAXIMIZE ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT within your classroom.

For a group to function, positive interdependence must be in place. Think about these two questions:

1. Does the success of one benefit others? (positive)
2. Is everyone’s contribution necessary? (interdependence)

Students must feel a sense of TEAM as they encourage and help each other within the group. This is important to continually build within your classroom culture. However, interdependence goes a step further and makes the contribution of one necessary for the success of another, so students need each other to do well. When planning, it is important that we place students in situations in which they cannot reach their goal without the contributions of others; the contribution of one is necessary for the success of the other.

Creating a team culture in your classroom, as well as selecting good cooperative structures, can make a huge difference in classroom management and the success of your scholars. When goal setting for next year, you might consider learning more about collaborative structures as a goal.

Blindspots 4/3/17

Blindspots

There are blindspots that we do not recognize about ourselves as people and as teachers. One blind spot might be that we focus more on our teaching than on the learning that happens in our classes. It is imperative that we use quick formative assessments to determine if we are meeting the needs of our scholars. Let the students' needs guide your instruction.

It is also important to examine our classroom through more than one lens. As a teacher, you come to school ready to tackle the content that must be covered so you do not fall behind. One day recently, Heather Hagar told me how her students came to school one morning very talkative. As she listened while the students began their breakfast and put up their backpacks, she realized that they were worried about going to middle school. (The night before all incoming 6th graders & their parents visited GMS.) Taking care of her students' social and emotional needs prior to the curriculum made for a much more productive day for her scholars. Sometimes we are in our routine but maybe not really reflecting on how students are seeing what's happening in our classes through their eyes. We should ask ourselves, "Would I want to be a student in my own classroom?"

Consider using this topic during circle up time to determine how learning is going in your classroom and really listen to help maximize growth.

Motivating Students 3/27/17

One issue we all deal with as teachers is working with the unmotivated student. Not only is it frustrating for you as the teacher, it has to be miserable for the student as well. Jennifer Gonzalez wrote an excellent blog post about this topic and did research to try to find what the most current studies say about what motivates students. This is what she found:

1. Students are more motivated academically when they have a positive relationship with their teacher.
2. Choice is a powerful motivator in most educational contexts.
3. For complex tasks that require creativity and persistence, extrinsic rewards and consequences actually hamper motivation.
4. To stay motivated to persist at any task, students must believe they can improve in that task.
5. Students are motivated to learn things that have relevance to their lives.

Please take a moment to read her honest personal reflections on each of these points along with several suggestions on how we can do better. Making a small adjustment can make all the difference for one of your scholars.

Click here to read this great post!

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What legacy will you leave? Teacher-Student Relationships 3/20/17

As we come back from Spring Break rested and revived, take a few moments to reconnect with your students. Remember according to John Hattie, teacher-student relationships have a .72 effect size. It's all about relationships. One of my all time favorite TedTalks is "Every Kid Needs a Champion" by Rita Pierson. I am thankful for those teachers that took time to see something in me that I did not even see in myself!

Take a quick look at this Viemo video to hear from students. "Kids have an inside perspective" that we need to tap into so we can help them reach their full potential. You make a difference everyday!!! What legacy will you leave?