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.
I was drawn to Cohort 21 for a few key reasons. Not only have colleagues of mine spoken very highly of Cohort 21, but I myself was also intrigued by the opportunity to ‘dig deeper’ in a way that is uniquely possible given that this is a year-long professional development experience. What also appealed to me about Cohort 21 was the opportunity to converse with other CIS educators and engage in meaningful inquiry/learning together. I particularly liked the collaborative element of Cohort 21 (the support network that is formed) and the ways in which this contributes to educators improving their practice/reaching their goals.
Time management and ‘making time for what matters’ is the main area that I would like to focus on when it comes to thinking about and addressing my professional goals. More specifically, I would like to make more time for documentation of learning that is not intended for a particular purpose (i.e., more open-ended/low stakes opportunities). Time constraints and deliverables are usually the reasoning behind why I am unable to do this more open-ended documentation. This idea of ‘making time for what matters’ was and remains top of mind for me as I reflect on the beginning of the school year. I also felt this focus was timely/relevant given the ways in which it connected to the activity we started off with (Urgent-Important Matrix) during our first face-to-face session.
Question 2: Which of the Season 11 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.
The strand that resonates with me the most is Pedagogy, Belonging, and Well-Being (JK-6). Not only is the commitment to student wellness and belonging at the forefront of my teaching philosophy, but this is also a key focus for my school when it comes to looking ahead at their respective goals. We are at a moment in time where mental health awareness and the need for social-emotional learning/literacy is more prevalent than ever. With all the uncertainty that exists in today’s world, I believe it is extremely important for schools to act as a stabilizing force for students in which they feel a strong sense of connectedness, belonging, familiarity, trust, and safety. A key goal of mine is to foster this type of environment for my youngest (and most impressionable) learners.
Questions:
-How can I best equip my youngest learners with foundational SEL skills and understandings?
-What strategies can I use to incorporate more authentic SEL experiences into daily learning (i.e., making time for what is important/matters)?
So glad you joined Cohort 21! Looking forward to your posts.
Hi Rebecca, these are such important questions, especially post-Covid. One thing I have done that I have found my students really appreciated and helped me sort out things and make time in the classroom was to actually tell my students about my participation in Cohort 21. I think this will do two things for you; first, it will allow you to make space for your work in the classroom and second, it will allow you to model some great SEL skills for your students! In my experience, students love seeing that you are also still learning and get excited at the chance to help. It will also help when you want to try new ‘low stakes’ things that you mentioned and most likely increase their engagement in the activities.
Let me know if you try it out. Looking forward to chatting on the 18th!
Robin
Hey Rebecca,
Thanks so much for sharing! SEL is so important for all students and it’s so great that you are focusing on how you can help them with the foundational skills. One of my professional goals this year is something similar, so I can’t wait to meet up and swap stories, ideas and strategies!