Rana Cheikh Ali

Re-thinking learning for the 21st Century

Rana Cheikh Ali

Urgent vs Important – Reflections on the return to school

October 3rd, 2026 · No Comments · Uncategorized

Question 1

I joined Cohort 21 because I wanted the opportunity to step outside of my day-to-day teaching and think more intentionally about my practice. My professional goal this year focuses on AI while assessment is an area I want to continue exploring over the next few years.

Now that the year has started, one important question for me is how we assess what students can actually do independently, especially in Core French. AI and translation tools are becoming increasingly accessible to students, and while I see a lot of potential in these tools, I also want to make sure students are developing their own language skills and confidence.

I would like to use Cohort 21 to explore what meaningful assessment can look like in this changing environment. How can I create opportunities for students to use AI appropriately while still being able to see their authentic learning? How can assessment focus more on the process of learning and not only the final product?

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Urgent vs Important – Reflections on the return to school

September 30th, 2026 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized

Welcome to your first post!: Following each Cohort 21 Face to Face session, we will provide you with several questions to reflect on. By making your thinking visible and publishing your thoughts to this blog, you will be able to engage our powerful support and feedback system and accelerate your professional growth. Please follow the following steps:

  1. Answer questions #1 and 2 below.
  2. Replace the “Featured Image” at the bottom of your screen with another image of your choosing that fits with your answers and theme of your post.
  3. Press the blue “UPDATE” button on the right to save your work along the way and publish your post.
  4. Click the  “Helpful WordPress Tutorials” link on the left sidebar to explore some of your blog’s features.
  5. Answer the questions  below by Nov 1st so we can give you feedback before our 2nd face to face session on @ Havergal
  6. **Delete all the text above once you have responded to the questions below ***

Question 1: During the first face to face we used the language of Urgent vs Important to help frame our thinking around our use of TIME. Reflect on why you joined Cohort 21 and your professional goals for this year. Now that the year has begun and you have met your students what IMPORTANT  goal might you like to address and leverage this community to get support with.

Question 2: Which of the Season 15 Strands resonates with you and why? Share what you feel is both urgent and important about it for you and your school at the moment and some of the questions you have around moving forward.

 

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