My favorite session was 4, Putting Relationships First. I appreciated the framework in the content - Start with Yourself, Cultivate Curiosity, Center Learning. I was able to practice Cultivate Curiosity recently with a specific student who loves to play D&D (a topic I'm not familiar with). I asked him to teach me about it, which strengthened our relationship and gave him confidence in other topics in the classroom. I liked the "Class Scrapbook" activity, and would like to implement something similar in my classes!
I appreciated the authentic assessment activity from Module 2, Activity 2.6.3. In particular, I found it really helpful to extend my thinking about assessment beyond just authentic assessment, a concept with which I feel comfortable, and into the realm of equitable assessment. The equitable approach to grading practices was really exciting to me and is something I would like to share in my PD as a VE. I think teachers can get so tied to the more traditional ways of grading--something I myself have been guilty of, working in higher education where the grade is key. And beyond that, it's not just teachers, it's students who fixate on grades. I have worked hard in the last few years to shift my students' focus from GPA to a growth mindset, asking them to self-assess, using peer feedback, using detaileds rubrics for grading high-stakes assignments, and even "ungrading" some of my assignments. This is a hard shift for students, and I imagine it will be even harder for their teachers. I found the equitable grading practices to be helpful, clear, and realistic. They represent a nice starting point for me as I think about my PD.
As an administrator who has been out of the classroom for 7-plus years, Module 2 was a challenging one to find my footing with, and therefore it took some dexterity and creativity to meet the spirit of the activities. With that said, I found Session 4, especially Activity 2.4.1, to be really insightful and one that I would utilize in my future practice. The further down you go in your career, the more mentors and impactful people you have in your life that have helped you get from one place to the next, and it is a real neat experience to think about those people and how they helped you, and most importantly, how they made you feel. I really liked the prompt of thinking about the short term benefits and the long term benefits of this relationship. I liked this prompt so much, that in Session 5, I wove it into the critical dialogue I created for faculty in Lesson 2.5.2b.
One session that stood out to me was Activity 2.4.3 - Building Strong Relationships Across Environments. This session encouraged me to reflect on my current practice and enhance it for a more meaningful effect. It helped me with the creation of our current unit where students are placed in the driver's seat for their final art project. For this project, students will pick their topic, choose a medium, work with a partner or individually, and present their work to the class at the end. I am there only as a facilitator and resource in guiding them to the finish line.
Session 2 was probably my favorite session in Module 2, mostly because of the content. Cultivating welcoming and affirming communities is so very important and sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of the "business" of education. I enjoyed listening to the podcast.
My favorite session from Module 2 was Activity 2.4.3 - Building Strong Relationships Across Environments.
For this session I created a Celebrate your Heritage Night that came out of the Celebrate your Heritage CultureGrams research project.I presented this to my administrators to be part of our future plans for family engagement. For this session's assignment, students would set up a station where they would present on their findings from the Celebrate your Heritage CultureGrams research project. Families would be encouraged to participate. The goal would be to have an International Food Court, Music, Dance Art, Poetry representing the various heritages and cultures of our community.
My favorite session was 4, Putting Relationships First. I appreciated the framework in the content - Start with Yourself, Cultivate Curiosity, Center Learning. I was able to practice Cultivate Curiosity recently with a specific student who loves to play D&D (a topic I'm not familiar with). I asked him to teach me about it, which strengthened our relationship and gave him confidence in other topics in the classroom. I liked the "Class Scrapbook" activity, and would like to implement something similar in my classes!
I appreciated the authentic assessment activity from Module 2, Activity 2.6.3. In particular, I found it really helpful to extend my thinking about assessment beyond just authentic assessment, a concept with which I feel comfortable, and into the realm of equitable assessment. The equitable approach to grading practices was really exciting to me and is something I would like to share in my PD as a VE. I think teachers can get so tied to the more traditional ways of grading--something I myself have been guilty of, working in higher education where the grade is key. And beyond that, it's not just teachers, it's students who fixate on grades. I have worked hard in the last few years to shift my students' focus from GPA to a growth mindset, asking them to self-assess, using peer feedback, using detaileds rubrics for grading high-stakes assignments, and even "ungrading" some of my assignments. This is a hard shift for students, and I imagine it will be even harder for their teachers. I found the equitable grading practices to be helpful, clear, and realistic. They represent a nice starting point for me as I think about my PD.
As an administrator who has been out of the classroom for 7-plus years, Module 2 was a challenging one to find my footing with, and therefore it took some dexterity and creativity to meet the spirit of the activities. With that said, I found Session 4, especially Activity 2.4.1, to be really insightful and one that I would utilize in my future practice. The further down you go in your career, the more mentors and impactful people you have in your life that have helped you get from one place to the next, and it is a real neat experience to think about those people and how they helped you, and most importantly, how they made you feel. I really liked the prompt of thinking about the short term benefits and the long term benefits of this relationship. I liked this prompt so much, that in Session 5, I wove it into the critical dialogue I created for faculty in Lesson 2.5.2b.
One session that stood out to me was Activity 2.4.3 - Building Strong Relationships Across Environments. This session encouraged me to reflect on my current practice and enhance it for a more meaningful effect. It helped me with the creation of our current unit where students are placed in the driver's seat for their final art project. For this project, students will pick their topic, choose a medium, work with a partner or individually, and present their work to the class at the end. I am there only as a facilitator and resource in guiding them to the finish line.
Session 2 was probably my favorite session in Module 2, mostly because of the content. Cultivating welcoming and affirming communities is so very important and sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of the "business" of education. I enjoyed listening to the podcast.
My favorite session from Module 2 was Activity 2.4.3 - Building Strong Relationships Across Environments.
For this session I created a Celebrate your Heritage Night that came out of the Celebrate your Heritage CultureGrams research project. I presented this to my administrators to be part of our future plans for family engagement. For this session's assignment, students would set up a station where they would present on their findings from the Celebrate your Heritage CultureGrams research project. Families would be encouraged to participate. The goal would be to have an International Food Court, Music, Dance Art, Poetry representing the various heritages and cultures of our community.