What a great year it has been...learning new forms of technology, challenging myself to try things in the classroom that I never would have tried if this program had not been there to push me. I so glad to have had that push. I am so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone because I feel like so much growth has happened. My journey of self- improvement is far from over. That is why I became a teacher in the first place. I love that I get to keep trying new things. I hope that I can inspire my colleagues to take a step in the direction of trying new innovative techniques inside the classroom. So often we stay in our comfort zone because it is safe and it is what everyone else is doing. We have to be brave enough to fail. We have to start sending the message that a growth mindset starts with the teacher and if we aren't brave enough to try something and fail at it then we really aren't showing our students what having a growth mindset is all about.
I am proud of what I have done this year. I am happy with what the movement I have created. I think that with an already busy schedule of things to do it seems daunting to take on another thing. I hope that in this move to 5th grade I can hold on to my aspirations. Even if it isn't in year one that it takes place. I know that in year 2 or 3 once I have my feet on the ground peer feedback will be a functional modality in my classroom.
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Consider how the work you have done during this program fits within Touro’s values and how you are going to take what you have done into the world to make a change. Will you share your work with your principal or colleagues? Will you post about it on twitter? Or will your focus be making a change within your classroom or something else? What practical thing will you do to be of service?
I believe that my work fits with Touro's Values because I intent to bring what I have learned to the staff and students I work with with the intent to improve the practices and systems that we work in. My hope is to broaden the minds of my teaching peers and students by showing them the tech tools and strategies I have learned about. My principal is already aware of the work that I have done and is already aware of my passion to make change. I have been at AVID training this week and I have learned so much about great strategies that we already use in the classroom. SO often teachers feel overwhelmed by what is expected of them. We have been mindful of the fact that staff members feel this way already and need to be given the WHY piece before the WHAT or the HOW. I think that it is imperative to always bring new information to colleagues in this way. Also, it is so important to point out the good things that are already happening inside the classroom. Just like we do for our students we build off of their prior knowledge. This needs to be done for our colleagues as well. I plan to offer my help on any and all technology I encourage my colleagues to use. I plan to create a google doc and google form for the people I work with to assist with questions and gather more information on next steps. I also plan to share videos, ideas and helpful resources to try as I come into contact with them to keep people interested and invigorated to try things that are pertinent to them and their classroom. |