Peter Liljedahl has taken Math classrooms by storm with his reimagining of learning. Humanities teachers have been inspired and looking for ways to incorporate Thinking Classroom strategies and tasks into their own classroom. My colleague and I have put together some thinking tasks to be used in a Social Studies class. Check out the resources from Politalks to help with teaching constructive discussions and Prompt and Value cards.
0 Comments
When wading through the all of the PL books on improving teacher practice, it's hard to know where to start. Through my own personal experience I have found these three to be the most beneficial in terms of providing me tangible strategies that I can implement immediately to improve student engagement and lessen pressures on the teacher. These research backed strategies are beneficial for students by creating ownership and autonomy. When students take ownership of their learning, teachers don't have to attempt to control every aspect of learning and allows us to transition from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side. Shift to Student-Led can be applied to all subjects and grades. Building Thinking Classrooms, while it states it is focused on Mathematics, can be applied to all classrooms and presents a paradigm shift on how we organize the physical classroom. 180 Days suggests effective literacy routines that improve student ownership and agency in middle and high school. These skills are transferable across all subjects.
Have you read any of these? If so, let me know what you think in the comments! This year, I completed the Administrative Leadership Program within my district. I learned so much from my peers and the current context in education. The program also required taking on a leadership role at my school. I decided to run a literacy book club for our staff. The book I chose to study is 180 Days by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who's looking to work on literacy at a high school level. We are still meeting to discuss the tenants of the book and I have enjoyed this time to discuss pedagogy with my colleagues. I created a presentation to reflect on the process. In this presentation is a link to my Google Drive folder that includes the discussion questions. Please feel free to take what you'd like.
In 2017, my partner teacher and I created the Mechatronics program at W.H. Croxford. We embedded our students' passions for mechatronics into our Humanities courses and we're able to create authentic learning that mimics real world tasks. Over the years, the program has seen many changes, especially in regards to adapting to a global pandemic. I am proud to say that this program has persevered through these challenges because of the students' investment in the program. As a result, I thought I'd share some of our work over the years. Check out our very first Rocky Talk!
Paul Davis came into our school today to discuss the importance of internet safety. He explained how anything you put on the internet has a digital trail. Even photos from Snapchat can reside as ghost files on your phone. This was an important lesson for students and staff, as many of us believe that when we delete something it will disappear. He will be speaking to parents tonight about teaching their children how to stay safe and accountable on the internet. Yesterday, we hosted 100 students at the Education Centre with the purpose of team building, goal setting, and skill development. Students worked with people from other academies to create a sense of community. Veronica Funk, a local Airdrie artist, delivered a presentation on the importance of social media. She spoke about the importance of maintaining a professional digital footprint, and how you can manipulate social media to network and share your work in your professional field.
Rick Gaudio and Dan McWilliams demonstrated how to create a professional head shot and Artist Declaration. Students were then able to practice their photography skills on each other to create professional shots for their online portfolios. In groups of two, students interviewed each other to help create a quick biography for their website. These skills are imperative for learning how to engage online in a professional manner. Finally, students finished off the retreat by creating SMART goals. This will help students create measurable goals that can be attain this year. Overall, it was a productive day! I have been updating my portfolio and realized that I haven't blogged since my first year at W.H.Croxford High School. I thought it would be valuable to reflect on how far the school and myself have come. I have learned so much and experienced such great opportunities at WHC. I created our school's very first yearbook, and planned our first Remembrance Day ceremony. When will I get an opportunity like that again? I have been lucky enough to coach the JV Boys Basketball team for two years now. We started out as a team made up of just grade 9 students. We struggled in our league the previous year, however, this year we finished the in second place! Go Cavs! I was also able to start planning the Ignite Project with my good friend and colleague, Nikki Johnston.
I have learned so much from experienced teachers, and have taught subjects I never thought I would. The staff is amazing to work with. Everyone is supportive and truly wants what is best for the school and our students. I feel so lucky to be a part of such talent and grace. My own growth has been exponential! I have learned more things about myself and my practice in three years than I have with all of my formal education. The district itself provides many opportunities for growth and professional development, which is something I truly value. I know it is only year three but I cannot wait to see how our school's culture continues to grow. Today was the second day of our New Teacher Professional Learning in our district. The focus of the this PL was environmental stewardship. We were able to get out in nature and explore. I was exposed to great new programs like WILD, and was able to talk to other teachers about their initiatives to integrate their lessons into nature. Having an emphasis on connecting students with nature can be so important in a time where we are always being told to be connected online. It is important that we teach students that balance. By doing so we give students the opportunity to become invested in the environment and apply 21st century competencies like global awareness, and to be civically engaged. Today a student told me that "we need to take of the earth because we are the earth. That concept can be easy to forget but couldn't be more true!
A part of our job as educators in any subject is to ensure students understand the role First Nation's culture plays in Canada. Now that I have my now English class I was excited to bring in traditional Indigenous stories into my narrative unit. Our school district has a great resource where we can bring in authentic Indigenous artifacts into the classroom.
Today I attended the Rockyview VISTAS PD for new teachers in the district. It was very informative and answered a lot of my questions. It was really helpful in understanding my contract and what my steps will be to obtain a continuous contract, and how I will reapply for my position at the end of the school year. I also was exposed to some of RVS' online resources. I was already familiar with Moodle and Mahara, but today I was introduced to CORE, school blogs, and other great resources. Another really exciting part about the PD today was that I was able to network with a bunch of new teachers in the district. This was a great experience because I was able to meet people who were facing the same challenges as me, and we were able to swap contact information for future collaboration and support. Finally, I wanted to share this gem of a video that was shared during the PD. |
Jade ChausseLearning Specialist Archives
September 2023
Categories |