Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Day 17 to 23 (double whoops!)

I have not been doing well with this blogging challenge this week - I did however, do well with with my personal 30 Day work out challenge - I've only missed two days!

Day 17
What do you think is the most challenging issue in education today?
The most challenging issue in education today is that we are in the midst of a huge change in education and we don't quite know where we're going or how we're going to get there. 

Day 18
Create a metaphor/simile/analogy that describes your teaching philosophy. For example, a “teacher is a ________…”
Community is life.

Day 19
Name three powerful students can reflect on their learning, then discuss closely the one you use most often.
I'm not sure what this question means?  Perhaps tools that students can use to reflect on their learning?  If so, one of the most powerful tools that I use to help students reflect on their learning is visual journals and the visual thinking routines from Project Zero.
Day 20
How do you curate student work–or help them do it themselves?
I use the visual journal!  We collect samples of our work, sketches, notes, etc. in a chronological order.  A fantastic thing to use, one of my favourites.
Day 21
Do you have other hobbies/interests that you bring into your classroom teaching? Explain.
I have a passion for outreach and the environment.  I spend a lot of time making sure that my students understand the wider world around them and their responsibilities and privileges in making this world a better place - "be the change you wish to see in the world!" (Gandhi) 
Day 22
What does your PLN look like, and what does it to for your teaching?
 I have had several PLNs.  My main PLN is a core group of Twitter educators that I connect with on various topics, edchats, etc., a wider one is the core group of teachers that I encounter at local PD an conferences, and then I also had a small group of grade 4 teachers that got together a few times a year for the past 1.5 years to plan and discuss teaching.  It was great!  We'd say, "I'm doing Light and Shadow and I'm having trouble teaching this concept, anyone have any ideas?" and then share.  I loved it.  I'm sad that it's over, I'm hoping that we can pick it back up again next year.....this year, we're kind of on hiatus as two of our group are teaching Grade 3 this year, two are on maternity leave, and I'm in Montessori Gr4-6, so we've got just one Grade 4 teacher left at this point! 
Day 23
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 try very hard to meaningfully involve the community in the learning in my classroom through a variety of projects. We ensure that we have parent involvement in some way over the year and often invite parents to share their area of expertise, we invite guest speakers, connect via Twitter, visit local seniors' homes, and try take our learning out into the world as much as possible.  We interact with various levels of community, including school, neighbourhood, city, province, country, and internationally.  It's a great way to learn!

No comments:

Post a Comment