Learning in a 100 Words or a Little More

One of my requirements for my students is that they bring their enthusiasm to learn each day. I realize that I can't expect them to be enthusiastic about memorizing information and reiterating it later down the line. I think that meaningful learning occurs when students are engaged and immersed in an experience. For example, when I teach A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley my students create an original character to portray at a Victorian-inspired event where they share their research and learning as they portray their original Victorian character. I still get letters from past students explaining how much fun they had and how much they learned during that unit. I know that it is essential for our students to know particular things and have certain skills, but I also know that I can help my students learn these things through collaborative experiences with some fun purposefully incorporated. My goal is for my students to leave me with enthusiasm to learn the rest of their lives.

Written for topic #5 of the @YourEDUstory blog challenge 2015!

Comments

Growth

My one word intention for 2015 is growth. As an educator it is essential that I provide the best instruction and experiences for my students. In order to achieve this, I know that I need to continually grow both professionally and personally. Keeping my focus on the word “growth” will help me improve my lessons, progress on the SAMR model, and continue to meaningfully connect with my students on daily basis. When I reflect back on writing my teaching philosophy as a new teacher several years ago, I remember pondering growth and stagnation. I knew that I never wanted to become complacent with my teaching style, curriculum, or role as an educator. I made a promise to myself to always focus on moving forward and becoming a better educator throughout my journey. I want to keep up that goal by consciously focusing on growth each day in my classroom as a teacher and outside of my classroom as a I prepare and create for my students.

Fall Cue 2014 Learning Highlights

As a Tech II Leader/Coach for my district, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the 2014 Fall CUE Conference. This was my first Fall CUE experience, and I LOVED it! It was a weekend full of learning and connecting with other educators. I left the conference feeling inspired and rejuvenated as an educator. I wanted to share some of my favorite Aha moments to continue the impact of CUE. Learning Highlights: It is important to Cultivate Curiosity within the classroom! In Karl Lindgren-Streicher’s and Robert Pronovost’s session, a group of educators discussed their thoughts, ideas, and best practices for cultivating curiosity. One of my biggest takeaways was that curiosity is where learning comes from. I see the validity of this statement as I reflect on my own journey of learning. The learning experiences I remember the most are the ones where curiosity played a large role. I still remember when I was in third grade an

Design Thinking: The Wallet Project

This year I am extremely fortunate to teach an elective class called Design Thinking. Last year, through the support of my principal and district, I was able to attend many professional development sessions focused on Design Thinking. In this elective, modeled after Stanford's Institute of Design, teams of students are introduced to the creative process of designing meaningful solutions to problems at a local, domestic, and global level. Students are encouraged to think and go “big,” while focusing on the key stages of the design cycle: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Students are guided to identify needs, design solutions, collaborate with peers, and present their findings to a meaningful audience. As my colleague and I designed our Design Thinking curriculum over the summer, I would often second-guess my decisions: Will the students enjoy the class? Will they understand the importance of the Design Cycle? Will they be engaged? Will this elective be meaningful

Learning and Growing as an Educator

Search This Blog