Reflective Teacher Day 26- Go-to -sites

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Day 26- @TeachThough  30 Day Reflective Teaching Challenge 

What are your three favorite go-to sites for help/tips/resources in your teaching?

Find resources is necessary for all teachers. Content is constantly changing and students need to be engaged with up to date learning materials. Where do I go?

1. Twitter- I am on twitter daily. My PLN is a great resource. One of the first places I stop when I am looking for engaging material is twitter. A quick tweet to the world with the right hashtag or to the right person can turn up resources very quickly. Of course sometimes it also can turn up nothing new. Great first stop on the journey to finding resources.

2. YouTube – I start my class every day with a 3 to 5 minute video to engage and activate prior knowledge. I was going to make a few of my own, until I found the many wonderful teachers have made endless hours of resources for the world to use on YouTube. Thankfully our district unblocked it a few years back. I subscribe to so great teacher channels.

3. The Science Spot – A wonderful science teacher Tracy (Trimpe) Tomm has created The Science Spot. A must go-to spot for any middle school science. The science is well organized, with printable lessons. I find it a great resource for lessons that engage my students. Full of many hands on science activities.

Of course I have many more resource sites I go to depending on my need. I love to explore the internet and find new resources for lessons every week.

A great jumping in point for any teacher is Cybrayman’s Catalogue of Educational Sites.  If you can’t find what you need there, it doesn’t exist on the internet.

Reflective Teacher Day 25- Student collaboration

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Day 25- @TeachThough  30 Day Reflective Teaching Challenge  

The ideal collaboration between students–what would it look like?

Student collaboration has many faces in the classroom. From the students leading over to show their neighbor where a question is in the book to a project based learning activity where each students role is dependent on each other. In my classroom I want students to collaborate. A procedure in my class is for student to ask 3 before asking me. This build a support network and promotes a “WE are in this learning thing together” attitude for my students.

Ideal collaboration looks like? This is a tough question to answer, depends on the students and the project. Ideally the students would be dependent on each other for successful completion of the task. It would be seamless. Each student would know their task, its value to the overall product, they would communicate clearly, producing something epic. To me it would be like the harmony that comes form Dave Mathews Band songs.

Many adults have issues when it comes to collaborating so reaching the ideal in a middle school classroom is magic. I do have many collaborative projects in my classroom. Occasionally ideal was near by. Will keep striving for it!

Reflective Teacher day #24 – Education Trend

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Day 24- @TeachThough  30 Day Reflective Teaching Challenge  

Which learning trend captures your attention the most, and why? (Mobile learning, project-based learning, game-based learning, etc.)

Over the past couple of years being connected, many trends have appeared. All of them have their place in education, because our world is diverse, teachers need diverse resources and methods to reach ALL students. Not every method is for every teacher or students. Teachers need to find new methods that fit their interest, level of comfort and learning style. (Just like students.) No teacher should resort to ONE style mixing things up allows for students to show their learning in different ways.

One trend that has caught my attention is Genius Hour (Passion Projects, FedEx time, 20 Time). This method allows students to learn what they want, how they want and show their learning in a unique way. There are many ways for teachers to run Genius Hour, but they all start with the creation of driving questions, contain research and end with a presentation to a larger audience. Some teachers guide their students with driving questions based on curriculum others give students more freedom and allow for any “High Quality”, research based questions to be use. The key to Genius hour is giving students control of their learning. This is the future of education. When the students design the tasks, they take ownership, are engaged and learn the most.

For many teachers this can be hard idea to swallow, ALLOWING every student to take learning into their own hands and create something different! When I first gave it a shot in my classroom, I found it took planning and skill to manage every students learning. I had to trust them. I had to give them space and time to explore. I had to let some fail, but we discussed what they learned in the failing process. I discovered that learning happens best in the risks teachers take in the classroom.

Reflective Teaching Day 23- Community

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Day 23 – @TeachThough  30 Day Reflective Teaching Challenge  

Write about one way that you “meaningfully” involve the community in the learning in your classroom. If you don’t yet do so, discuss one way you could get started.

I currently don’t meaningfully involve my community in my classroom. I think it is something I need to put more effort in to accomplishing. Currently, I do tweet and post pictures about the learning in our classroom. I connect to my students homes by using Remind, sharing assignments and classroom information.

Working in Southeastern Michigan, I feel I should be bringing in auto engineers to explain how science is used in their jobs. Being near the Great Lakes, Boat Captains that navigate the lakes should be coming in to share about their experiences. My students should have an invention week where they are allowed to be “makers’ and create solutions to problems, culminating in a community sharing day where we invite the community in to see the wondrous learning. I hope to add these elements, to connect us to the community.

School districts need to have community managers that help the teachers reach out into the community and make these connections happen. I have tried in the past and often it seems all the work is for just a few.

Reflective Teaching Day #22 – PLN

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Day 22- @TeachThough  30 Day Reflective Teaching Challenge  

What does your PLN look like, and what does it do for your teaching?

My Personal/profession learning network is diverse and broad. It contains students, teachers, administrators, college professors, authors and parents. Members come from all over the world. Most of my PLN has some passion towards teaching. Some are technology experts, grading experts, middle level experts and pedagogy experts. All of them are learning experts. It is my belief that smart people surround themselves with people smarter than themselves. My PLN sure surrounds me with intelligence that can answer any question in regards to teaching.

What does my PLN do for my teaching? My PLN helps me be a better teacher!

It inspires me. Challenges me. Gives me advice. Suggests tools. When I struggle they offer suggestions. When I have a bad day in the classroom they pick me up. Having a PLN re-energizes me. Reassures me when I lack the confidence to try something new. A PLN helps us grow with failures instead of seeing them as a destination. My PLN helps me grow as a teacher passing the growth on to my students.

Reflective Teaching Day #21- Hobbies

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Day 21- @TeachThough  30 Day Reflective Teaching Challenge  

Do you have other hobbies/interests that you bring into your classroom teaching? Explain.

Hobbies other than teaching and technology? Of course! Sports, outdoor activities and my passion for history are very visible in my teaching. Sports make for a great connection for many science topics. When talking about force and motion, the conversation almost always ventures into sports. These connections hook students’ interests into the topic. Students need to see that the learning happening in the classroom is not just for the classroom. Seeing and hearing the connections makes them realize they need to learn about the topic.

When talking about simple machines, I like to share how I use many of them when sailing a sail boat. When talking about plants, I talk about my enjoyment of hiking in the woods and share many experiences with nature. Students relate to many of teachers hobbies. They or their parents share hobbies. By sharing your personal stories students connect to teachers and are more likely to be motivated to learn.

I try to bring my entire life into my teaching. I share stories from my youth till now. Students want to know their teachers not just the topics they teach. It is vital for teachers to foster this connection.