Do you remember making that magic clay or “goop” out of water and cornstarch? The stuff that remained a solid if you kept working it through your hands but turned into a liquid once you stopped and it would melt through your fingers onto the table. That’s how I’m feeling about my #actionplan. I need to keep moulding it and working it through my fingers to keep the ideas alive and adapting to what I’m hoping to achieve, which is…
- to use formative assessment tech tools to check my students learning and allow me to adapt to fill in the gaps in my teaching
- to engage my students in the course material by using teaching strategies that allows them to learn at their best
Having figured out a plan has been challenging though I am more confident with what it looks like. I have found that every time we had a face to face I walked away feeling energized and excited about incorporating new and existing technologies into my class. I felt challenged by others questions and it made me reflect on what I really wanted to accomplish throughout my year. And then it happened… the weekend went by, then the week and then the month and my energy and excitement for growth was overcome by the sheer logistics of my job. A job where I wear many hats and am having to constantly switch gears to figure out what part of my job I’m trying to work on. It’s tiring, and I recognise as teachers that we all go through it. However, I feel disappointed. I feel like I haven’t ‘done’ or ‘accomplished’ as much as I was envisioning when I was bright eyed and bushy tailed back in October. As the school year has gone by I feel like I have been in a state of ‘ebb and flow’ or ‘failure and success’ as described by author Jeff Olson of ‘The Slight Edge’. A state where my attention to my teaching and my student’s learning comes, and things are working well and then eventually they get derailed.
Though I feel this way I have truly enjoyed my Cohort 21 experience and feel as though I will approach my teaching in September with a goal to continue working on my action plan. Like many, I think I tried to accomplish too much and need to recognise that refining my teaching practice takes time.
Things that I have accomplished.
- I have introduced a variety of tech tools into my classroom – some they liked more than others!
- I have allowed my students to give me feedback on ways in which they best learn, (#LCSLearns) which has allowed me to adapt my teaching to ensure they are walking away with a solid understanding of our EQs
- I have been provided the opportunity to evaluate my teaching practices and look at the areas that are working well and the ones that need some improvement. This is something that I have been wanting but never really felt like I had the time or the space to commit to.
I would recommend the Cohort 21 program to anyone who is wanting to look closely at their teaching practices and re-evaluate their approach through dynamic approaches that will arm our students with the skills of a 21st-century learner.
As a participant, I would love to see a second-year opportunity, where first-year participants can continue to be a part of the Cohort 21 experience (without attending all sessions) but work with a group to continue to evolve and adapt their action plan. I feel as though I have only just scratched the surface with my #actionplan and have needed time to digest my approach so come September I can implement my plan from the beginning.
So now that my Cohort 21 experience is winding down I will continue to mould and manipulate my ‘goop’ so that is meeting the needs of both myself and my students.
Alaina – great post! Like you, I too am not ready for this experience to be over! I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface of my action plan and I’m going to still need tons of support in the coming year! Maybe we could make a plan for a mid-year check-in with 2016’s C21 alums?
I like that idea – I would like there to be structured check-ins, as I know the school year will just take off and it might get forgotten about.
Alaina, I love your goop analogy, that totally resonates with me and I’ll be sharing many of the same feelings in my final reflection this year. But let go of your Cohort 21 guilt! I think you should be really proud of all you’ve accomplished – trying out new tools (love how much your students love Kahoot), incorporating student feedback, and re-evaluating your own practice. Those are big, huge things!!! Congrats!
Thanks Laura, I loved playing with that stuff! I am proud of what I’ve done and am looking forward to starting the school year with a goal in mind (but first the long break before that happens:))
I have to agree with @lmustard and @jweening you have much to be proud of! I think we forget sometimes how much effort it takes to try something new and take that step forward. When we do we don’t take the time to pat ourselves on the back but rather look forward to the next step. Be proud of where how far you have come and the fact that you want to continue to push. I would love to hear about your biggest take away. What tool resonated with you most? Where will you go next? All of this is so valuable to share and reflect on. See you Friday!
@ddoucet @timrollwagen @adamcaplan @gnichols @ckirsh – I know you will agree!
Justin posted this week about the benefits of performing PD alongside students, and your data tables show the power of reflecting on your teaching practices using data that comes directly from students. You can do the work to connect the dots between their comments and the trials you ran throughout the year – but it’s clear that your movement has been successful and left you with valuable experiences to take with you, past the end of the beginning. Way to go!
Thanks Adam, I definitely feel like I’m still very much in the beginner phase of all this and look forward to continuing to grow with my students as you mention
Great post Alaina!
This is an excellent summary of your experience but you have nothing to feel disappointed about. I think you’re on to something with the 2nd year aspect. We’ve chatted a lot about what the future of C21 looks like for alumni and how to keep people engaged and collaborating with current C21 crew.
The end of the beginning – you’ve taken a critical look at your teaching, received student feedback, and have adapted the way you facilitate learning. You’ve got the ball rolling and now all you have to do is keep up the momentum, the hard part is done. The best thing now is that you’ve got people in your PLC (@timrollwagen, @marsenault, @su11armstrong & @mrathier – past C21ers) plus you’ve got people in your PLN #cohort21, among other connections you’ve made.
The ears of C21 coaches, participants & facilitators are always there when you need a sounding board or you’re looking for ideas. So leverage the communities you’re a part of and keep blogging – that way we can all learn and grow together!
You’ve had a great year Alaina, and you should be proud of it! #LCSLearns is lucky to have you!
Thanks Derek! That’s the best part about an experience such as this is all the great networking that happens as a result! I look forward to taking greater advantage of it.
Great work here Alaina – so impressed by the comments above that I can’t really build on them; however, know that we want to encourage you and others to take this message to heart: “this is truly the end of the beginning!” Know thave you have taken the first step, please do continue to engage us (the Cohort 21 community) for support, advice, and to lend your expertise too!
garth.
Hi Alaina. Do not feel guilty. You are unbelievably loaded up at LCS and the quality of what you do is apparent to anyone paying attention. I have found that the process of integrating into Cohort for me started 3 years ago when I asked Rollwagen why he was so excited after each session. I keep trying new things on for size, it feels comfortable for me, then I find ways to integrate and iterate. I have your back… willing to chat and help anytime, lets keep this alive for each other in the future.
Thanks Mike! I look forward to continuing the Cohort 21 journey with the awesome LCS team that we are a part of. I know there’s a lot of support from colleagues to bounce ideas off of, which I feel so lucky to have.
Alaina,
I echo the comments of Mike, Derek and Justin – as we talked about the other day, I am so appreciative of all you do at LCS. You do wear many hats and you are a wonderful teacher! Reading how many things you’ve tried this year in your classroom is inspiring and exciting and demonstrates to me how much you are reflecting and growing as a teacher. I know you will look back on this experience and feel satisfied as learning is a life-long experience. Thank you so much for taking advantage of this opportunity!