Cohort21… A Community as, for and of Learning

COmmunityOverwhelmed… a common side-effect of the first F2F session of C21! There is so much flying around; the Toolkit, #DesignThinking, what other people are doing and your own ideas on how to apply your learning all flood your brain at once! Other side effects include bouts of edu-nerd giddiness, fear of inadequacy, feeling of invincibility, desire to change and in rare cases dizziness and vomiting… but rest assured that many of these subside by the 2nd F2F and are replaced with more edu-nerd giddiness and desire to be agent of change!
The main take-away from the first F2F is the value of Community. A key aspect of C21 is learning and growing through relationships. As @aharding and @gvogt mentioned in the video, the community is always there for you, so learning and growth never end! Having a supportive Professional Learning Network (PLN) where people are working to #tryonething and aren’t afraid to fail is comforting and empowering. @gnichols shared “Continued growth does not mean success” which sums up everything we need in order to feel secure when wading into unfamiliar territory.

Another take-away was the importance of Chunk, Chew, Check when introducing new things. At the end of the day, participants were all chewing on their learning, and through Twitter Chats, Google Hangouts and emails the facilitators and coaches are checking to see where people are at, and ready to provide support and guidance. I think those coming from afar are at an advantage because in the two hour drive home with @timrollwagen we were talking about C21 the whole way!

Finally, I am reminded that compassionate educators often experience what Rushton Hurley describes as “Comparative Inadequacy Syndrome” (CIS) when amongst an incredibly gifted group of educators such as those in C21. It’s important that “the only person you compare yourself to, is the YOU you were yesterday” Rushton Hurley, October 2015.

C21 Participants, Coaches and Facilitators are invested in you! We are invested in your journey, whatever it may be and wherever it may lead you. What will your #tryonething be? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments, and let’s learn together!

7 Replies to “Cohort21… A Community as, for and of Learning”

  1. I love the idea of only comparing yourself to the you that you were yesterday. This is such a great message for all of us to remember! Your role as a facilitator is critical to challenging and supporting our members in their own area of needs. You’re doing a great job, as is witnessed by the incredible blog posts that are addressing how overwhelmed they feel/felt, but how they are moving forward.

    Keep up the great work!
    garth.

  2. I still feel this way 2 ywars after cohort 21! In a good way though, that pushes me to want to try new things! Awesome post!

    • Hey @carolynbilton
      Thanks so much! I feel the same way, and we want to reach out to Alumni of C21 so that we can still push each other’s teaching. What are you working on now in your school? Will you be able to make it to the second Face to Face for the social?

  3. What an inspiring post! It definitely helps to hear that the symptoms many of us experienced during the first F2F were completely normal! Even through the feelings of being overwhelmed, or at times sheer confusion or inadequacy- the feeling of edu-nerd giddiness definitely out weighed those symptoms. I look forward to moving past stage 1 and jumping in full force.

    My #tryonething leads me to Inquiry Based Learning in the Kindergarten classroom.

    I as an educator of the youngest learners need to step back and hand over some of the responsibility to the children. I can do this by honoring their ability to drive their own learning by placing students questions at the center of the learning process. What I find most challenging is being responsive to the students’ learning needs. It is in our nature to want to step in and help when a child appears to be ‘failing’ or quickly answer a question that a student asks without challenging them to solve it on their own. What I need to work on is supporting them to take risks, and help them learn from their mistakes.

    Skills that I am trying to instill in my students this year are: resiliency, grit/perseverance and passion.

    • I love it! Something to think about is the value of Peer Feedback – Here is video called Austin’s Butterfly – not sure if you’ve seen it before but speaks to the value of collaboration and shared feedback, not to mention the willingness to try again! https://vimeo.com/38247060

      My daughter will be entering the system next year and I am really interested in where your journey leads you! Looking forward to reading your posts!

  4. I’m not sure I ever got the point of vomiting (though remember Skeleton Lake after the 1st f2f?), but I certainly hear you. I was describing the Cohort journey to new member @kwhitters , telling her the best and most terrifying approach is to be completely honest about our practice – finding and attacking areas of potential growth. And now, as I re-engage with Cohort, I’m again both exhilarated and terrified.

    Thanks for the words Doucet and for introducing the concept of “Comparative Inadequacy Syndrome” (CIS). You have provided comfort.

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