contemplating a brave new classroom
Written by Celeste Kirsh
I was “himming and hawwing” (spelling suggestions welcome on that one) on how my exploration of portfolios as a means of teaching growth mindsets really enhanced / pushed forward 21st century learning in my classroom and then reading this Mind/Shift article called “What Meaningful Reflection on Student Work Can do For Learning” by Larissa Pahomov helped me … Continue reading “The Three Rules of Reflection”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
I’m taking a break from writing about portfolios for this brief interlude on Zaption. This past week in school, my co-teacher and I wanted to have the students watch some clips of the Canada A People’s History documentary. Instead of using my precious time in class for this watching, we flipped the learning for the … Continue reading “I have a crush on Zaption”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Here is the problem with student portfolios: Most of the time, students and teachers hate them. Teacher pretend like they don’t, but they fake it very badly, the whole process gets rushed, then executed at the last minute, leading students to hate it equally, because it is obvious the process is ridiculous and inauthentic and … Continue reading “The Problemn With Student Portfolios”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
In the spirit of this growth mindset focus in Grade 7, my core team and I shifted around how we approached the Fall learning conferences. The students would generally come to these conferences and they would share their insights and highlights from the last two months of school, but this time things really felt different. … Continue reading “A new approach to learning conferences”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Being able to be part of this learning community for three years now feels like being part of the cool club. I’ve drank the Kool-Aid and it’s quite tasty! Each session on Twitter that Danielle and I ran, I learned something new. By no means am I a Twitter expert, so discovering new people to … Continue reading “I’ve drank the Kool-Aid”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
There are only a handful of PD experiences that I can think of that have truly been a game changer for my teaching practice. I’ve been lucky enough to have had some really amazing learning opportunities, but nothing really comes close to what I have gotten from being part of the Cohort 21 community. While many … Continue reading “Top 5 Reasons Why Cohort 21 Is The Bomb”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Now that I have pulled growth mindset into the forefront of my imagination this year, I have been seeing its implications everywhere: from how I consider the first weeks of school to how I have been thinking about my own Cohort 21 research this year. I had a mini-panic moment wondering if I’m investigating growth mindset … Continue reading “A classroom that lives, breathes, and models growth mindsets”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
By no means do I think that I have ever been (or ever will be) the “smartest” person in any class I have ever taken. I think this fact has actually made me quite fortunate as a learner. In high school I knew, without any wavering, that if I put forth effort, I could grasp … Continue reading “Getting messy with mindsets”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Whether or not you teach in a school with students who could be labelled as “challenging”, reading Jeffrey Benson’s “Hanging In” will prove to be time well spent, as any teacher can learn from the gut-wrenching and heart-string-plucking stories in this 180 page, 2014 text. This book was my final check mark on my “required summer reading” list … Continue reading ““Hanging In: Strategies For Teaching the Students Who Challenge Us Most” by Jeffrey Benson (a book review)”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
This text was as useful as it was brief. This 104 page manual on supporting character development in schools was a swift, enjoyable read that helped refresh my perspective on teaching and mentoring young people. Truthfully, I might not pick it up off a shelf had it not been on our summer reading list. I … Continue reading ““Breaking Into the Heart of Character” by David Streight (a book review)”
