Final Fall Semester Report
What Should I Do? Confronting Dilemmas of Teaching in Urban Schools by Anna Ershler Richert grouped common dilemmas that teachers face almost everyday into four areas: teaching in urban settings, students, curriculum, and assessment. So often we all think that we are alone in our struggles to make the “right” choice, and this book helped me see how common these struggles are for every teacher. I think that was the biggest lesson I took from the book, that I need to communicate my struggles with other teachers so that I can find more support from within my teaching community.
During my focus group and teaching demonstration, I learned that I needed to be willing to adapt to the challenges presented, and that changing my approach or focus did not mean I was failing at it. By adapting my focus, I was able to more clearly articulate that my focus was about making understanding visible. This step helped me clarify my own goals with my projects and lessons, which made it much easier to see where I needed to change my approach. I also learned that if you ask, you can receive! Apple really came through with my desire to address technology deficiencies, and developed the students abilities in movie-making as well.
I work with a great team of teachers, and I was blown away by their willingness to make things work even if they were inconvenienced when they saw how it would positively impact the students. They gave me some great feedback about my dilemmas, and they also helped me clarify some points in my ImagineIt so that I could explain it better to others.
I have learned through this process that I can’t hurry the process of making understanding visible. It simply is not a clean and clearcut method, and each student takes their own time in constructing their visible representation. I have often been frustrated with the lack of a quick pace with some of my lessons, but as I implement Round 2, I will need to construct the challenges and projects in a way that allows students who take a little longer the time they need to finish. I also look forward to continuing to implement Quickfires as a way to push students to try new modes of literacy.
During my focus group and teaching demonstration, I learned that I needed to be willing to adapt to the challenges presented, and that changing my approach or focus did not mean I was failing at it. By adapting my focus, I was able to more clearly articulate that my focus was about making understanding visible. This step helped me clarify my own goals with my projects and lessons, which made it much easier to see where I needed to change my approach. I also learned that if you ask, you can receive! Apple really came through with my desire to address technology deficiencies, and developed the students abilities in movie-making as well.
I work with a great team of teachers, and I was blown away by their willingness to make things work even if they were inconvenienced when they saw how it would positively impact the students. They gave me some great feedback about my dilemmas, and they also helped me clarify some points in my ImagineIt so that I could explain it better to others.
I have learned through this process that I can’t hurry the process of making understanding visible. It simply is not a clean and clearcut method, and each student takes their own time in constructing their visible representation. I have often been frustrated with the lack of a quick pace with some of my lessons, but as I implement Round 2, I will need to construct the challenges and projects in a way that allows students who take a little longer the time they need to finish. I also look forward to continuing to implement Quickfires as a way to push students to try new modes of literacy.
My ImagineIt project is continuing to evolve as the year goes on. I am still very excited about all of the effects that are coming out of the implementation of this project. I am also enjoying the challenge of rethinking how I am bringing instruction and learning to my students. The creative challenge of thinking about how students are showing their understanding makes me more accountable for how their understanding is impacted.
We have had several more quickfires focused on technology implementation. I’m struggling with some of the length of the quickfires as I try to balance the content learning and the technology side. The biggest struggle is trying to balance the technology learning with how much content is actually being learned. I know there are going to be growing pains, but it has been tough trying to keep moving on the curriculum while still addressing the deficits.
I’m looking forward to how the year will continue to go as I continue to make understanding visible. Keeping everything in the the sweet spot of T-PACK will be my main goal. It can be very easy to just get caught up in the “coolness” of a technology or a new fad, but I want it to me a meaningful learning experience that keeps content as the focus.
In the video, you will see a few of the projects and lessons that have taken place because of the focus on making knowledge visible. You will also hear me speaking about the experiences in class. Thanks for watching!
We have had several more quickfires focused on technology implementation. I’m struggling with some of the length of the quickfires as I try to balance the content learning and the technology side. The biggest struggle is trying to balance the technology learning with how much content is actually being learned. I know there are going to be growing pains, but it has been tough trying to keep moving on the curriculum while still addressing the deficits.
I’m looking forward to how the year will continue to go as I continue to make understanding visible. Keeping everything in the the sweet spot of T-PACK will be my main goal. It can be very easy to just get caught up in the “coolness” of a technology or a new fad, but I want it to me a meaningful learning experience that keeps content as the focus.
In the video, you will see a few of the projects and lessons that have taken place because of the focus on making knowledge visible. You will also hear me speaking about the experiences in class. Thanks for watching!