Written by I’m looking forward our first face-to-face this Saturday at The York School! It’s going to be great to meet the new Cohort 21 members, and to re-connect in person with those I haven’t seen in awhile. There were so many rich layers to my Cohort 21 experience last year. What were the highlights?
- The face-to-face sessions, where I came away with so many ideas made concrete by the blogging practice that I started on that first day. I remember referring back to a colleague’s page multiple times because she had summarized the day so well! There was no way I could implement all of the strategies I had learned that following Monday in school, but when I was ready, I had great reference tools at my fingertips and a community behind me to offer feedback as I ventured to try something new.
- The common themes & big ideas we discussed in person and explored online throughout the school year. It was refreshing to share what interested us and what we were grappling with across disciplines and age groups. We don’t often get the same opportunity at our own schools.
I have been thinking about what my Action Plan could look like for this year. I would certainly like to link it to the goals I’ve already set for myself in my practice. My department is looking at ways to increase oral proficiency in French and Spanish using tools like voicethread, providing more authentic cultural experiences in Toronto and in virtual communities using e-pals, and adopting the philosophy of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) through the use of a language portfolio. I’ve also been provided with an iPad as a department head and asked to find strategies to support/enhance student learning in a second language using this device; I’ve started looking into it and hope to find more guidance through Justin, Garth and others with more experience than me-maybe you!
See you on Saturday!