Written by Lao Tzu – The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
I am all about the learning journey, and I have started on a big one today at Cohort21. I learned a lot, mostly about how far behind I feel with things like Diigo and Twitter. I find it interesting that I was a little ahead of the curve when Twitter first came out and I asked if I could use it to have reluctant class participants ask their questions and share their ideas electronically. It wasn’t in the cards then – maybe now?
I really appreciate all the help that fellow members, coaches, and facilitators offered today and promise to give in the weeks and months to come. I am very excited to work on the art and craft of teaching – I am a believer in the idea of teaching as an art, a craft, a trade like masonry or weaving in the sense of requiring lifelong learning and refinement. I cannot wait to work on an action plan to help me to be a better teacher and to learn and grow with my colleagues and students. I really love to learn about learning and the wonderful subjects that I get to teach.
I am energized by the excitement of everyone and hope that I can share my own with you!
I’m so glad that it was a worthwhile day for you, Dan! I’m looking forward to seeing where your journey with Cohort 21 takes you this year. You are certainly approaching the process with the best possible attitude – any teacher who thinks they have “finished” learning is not one that I would want to learn from! See you in November!
Thanks for your kind message, Jennifer! I was happy to meet you and to chat for a little in person – reading your action plan and seeing its great layout this past week helped me to understand a little more about the process we started today.
@dbailey You have found your tribe Dan. Welcome to the community that will help you think and refine your practice. Welcome aboard! @gnichols @rutheichholtz @ddoucet @lmcbeth @shelleythomas
Thanks, Justin! I really appreciate the work you all have done to create this wonderful opportunity. I am looking forward to the journey!
I really enjoyed connecting with you again Dan. You’ve jumped right in and are making a splash! I look forward to more to come from you as you develop an action plan.
You may be interested in the Action Plan archives, available on the C21 site once you’re logged in. That may serve as inspiration 🙂
It was great to meet up with you again too, Garth. I appreciate your leadership! I will check out the other action plans.
Hi Dan,
Great first post, it sounds very hopeful and I look forward to sharing the journey with you this year! In terms of your action plan, as @gnichols mentioned you can access all former action plans via the site but I might consider starting with your students. What are some challenges they’re encountering with their learning or what is an opportunity you’d like to introduce to your teaching? You have time to think this over and you don’t have to lock anything anytime soon but I look forward to hearing about all of your ideas!
Thanks, Derek! It was great to meet and work with you the other day!
That is great advice – I have come into this learning opportunity looking at how to increase student engagement through inquiry-based learning in science and social studies. My classes, like yours perhaps, have a wide range of learners and learning styles, so I think inquiry is a way to provide a place for all of them. It is a wonderment at this stage…