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My Action Plan question is on the wall in my class. I look at it every day for a couple of seconds and try to think about one thing I can do that day to make sense of it.
I look at it every day for a couple of seconds and try to think about one thing I can do that day to help my action plan.
My first How Might We question was “How might we create content that helps students feel more connected to a Spanish Speaking World?”, and as we were working during our F2F at The York School I started to realize that this question was going to change soon.
With this question I wanted to find more innovative ways to engage my Spanish students, but was this the main goal of my action plan?
After interviewing my students and looking at some of the amazing blogs and tweets from other members of the cohort, I started to change my question to “How might we create more meaningful content for my Spanish students”? I thought that if my students have more meaningful content then they will be more connected to the Spanish-speaking world.
Since then, I’ve spent some time looking at different teaching blogs and resources that will help me with my goal of trying to engage my students and at the same time increase their connection to the Spanish-speaking world.
The first day back from the holidays I looked back at the question and realized that I was directing my question to only a small part of my students. What about my technology students, my soccer team, my maker’s club, can I help other teachers engage their students?
So… a new question was created
“How might we create more meaningful content for students”
From this question here is where my action plan is at
This is what I have done until now with my action plan
and this is where I think I am going
“How might we create more meaningful content for students”
This is my final question. I promise…. until next Friday at MaRS when I will change it again.
Thomas- I love reading about the path of your Action Plan, and how the focus moved from your Spanish students outwards to all of the students that you teach and interact with, and then to how to create meaningful content for all students. It’s a big question but one that is so important to ask. I wonder if, after honing in on a specific question, then zooming out to look at things at a higher level, you will again focus in to look at one specific way to create more meaningful content or if your action research will end up growing in scope as you examine a variety of methods and possibilities- maybe a multi-year endeavour?!
I am excited to see where you go next and look forward to chatting next Friday.
@tjohnstone Love where this is going. Taken a step further what ties you to the word “content”? What would happen if you replaced it with the word “learning?”
“How might we create more meaningful and authentic learning experiences for students?”
If we are to focus on just “content” they we must drill down into content and what makes it meaningful and engaging.
If we expand into the world of “learning” then content is a big part of that world but so too are pedagogical approaches, management techniques, experiential opportunities etc.
@ddoucet has a few great posts on how he did just this for his FSL learners. @jenbibby had her FSL student engage with Passion Projects in an attempt to achieve the same goal. @lmcbeth often brings in the “real world” into her classroom connecting to your goal of “meaningful” Definitely mine their blogs for ideas and touch base with them on Friday.
This is AP that everyone can benefit from!
Tomas, a powerful role model you are for your students, and for all of us at Cohort 21! The way you are thinking deeply, and processing your Action Plan has brought you to a critical spot, one that @jmedved has highlighted above.
Last year, @vkraus struggled with the same piece. She tried several different approaches, and made some remarkable headway! Check out her blog at http://cohort21.com/viviennekraus/
Ooh, I love that you include both “questions for students” and “questions from students”. Sometimes, Inquiry can be too open-ended. Asking someone what they want to learn is much more effective after we prompt some thinking or show interest in who they are and what they already know.
Also, the Languages department at SCS have been working hard to bring Language Learning to life with a focus on the cultural contexts that surround the languages themselves – not just how the grammar works (obviously) but how the lives of the language speakers are involved. Mention your plan to @kcarlson and I’ll bet she’ll be interested in your journey, too!
Thanks @vboomgaardt and @gnichols for your comments. I will definitely check the blogs you have mentioned. Thanks @jmedved, maybe that’s where I am heading with my AP.
@tjohnstone – it’s great to see the thought processes and iterations that your action plan has already undergone. I am impressed with how you’ve managed to keep it at the forefront of your attention by thinking about it just a little bit every day – it’s clear that by doing this, you’ve managed to refine it along the way. Looking forward to hearing more about it and working with you to continue to refine it on Friday!
Jen
Amazing documentation of your process. It is astounding how one little question posed different ways can leads us on very different paths. As I continue to think about my question, I find I am tweaking different areas of my action plan. If I can get past my first key result, things will really start moving!
Looking forward to seeing your continual evolution of How Might We…
Gillian