Written by My action plan is here, in the form of a Google Slide Presentation.
In writing up my presentation for my action plan for next week, I realized that I had much more to say than I could fit into my slides. I decided that I needed a full blog post to expand on my reflections, so here it is.
The most powerful part of my journey with Cohort 21 has been the support that I’ve gotten from my fellow 21ers.
Who else knows the pain of pouring yourself into a new initiative only to find that the students just aren’t feeling it? Where else will you find such innovative, creative, passionate teachers who want to share their ideas with you and want you to grow as much as they’re seeking out growth for themselves?
For me, this year has been a cycle of inspiration and disappointment (those who know me, know I’m graphing this in my head as a periodic function). It began each time with the inspiration of the work we did at the face-to-face sessions. I would see what lofty goals were achievable when these talented professionals took them on and I wanted to provide the same opportunities to my students. This was followed by self-imposed criticism of my failures to make the changes or in trying to make them and facing challenges I never anticipated. Then something would come along to boost me up again – another face-to-face, a Google hangout, a casual chat, a Tweet or what gave me the biggest boost of all, a project tuning protocol.
I hope that everyone got the chance to either participate in one of these or watched the recording. It was a game changer for me regardless of whether I was giving or receiving feedback. Again, it was the people of Cohort 21 who made this for me.
My action plan followed me through the highs and lows of this process and has become something that I know I will use again and again in my classes. My students are finally writing and reflecting in math class. Their first round of blogs after my re-tuning are due tomorrow and I’m back in a state of inspiration about what my students are achieving.
So thank you 21ers. You’ve made every moment of frustration worth it. In the end, this process helped me grow and supported my students in learning the benefits of reflection.
I’m so happy that you loved the power of a project tuning protocol…it’s really been a game changer professionally for me and other folks at my school. Can I quote you on my blog post about my fellow teachers exploring the protocols?
Also, if you want to explore these protocols further, you can dive in here: http://www.nsrfharmony.org/ NSRF does teacher training and it could possibly be something you pioneer at your own school one day.
I’m so inspired by your own growth mindset and willingness to lean in to the challenge of growing your practice as a teacher. Your students are so lucky to get to learn from you: both academically and personally.
I can’t wait to see you on Friday!
The power of the PLN! Hey Beth, it really is a roller-coaster ride! I think the real value is in keeping up with people as we move on to the next chapter, and continue to innovate and inspire young people. It’s easy to fall off in the rush and hustle bustle of a new year but hopefully you’ll still have a tweetdeck column for C21 and you’ll continue to share the great stuff you’ve been doing.
I really want to introduce the project tuning protocols with my colleagues too – so inspiring, and it leads to so many new ideas with all participants and that it’s hard to decide which one you want to implement. Thanks for sharing the link @ckirsch!
Looking forward to touching base on Friday and seeing your presentation!
Your honesty in your blog is so much appreciated! It can be daunting to have so much enthusiasm for a project and need to adapt more than you anticipated. It sounds like it was a valuable experience for both you and your students.
Beth! It was great to read all of your posts this year. I’m so inspired by your efforts to glean genuine reflection from your students! You’ll be missed next year. When you’re back I’ll be first in line to go through project tuning protocols with you as part of our own personalized PD 🙂