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An Uh OH Moment, a Desire for a Difference and What I've Found
Uh Oh:
I suppose there comes a point in one's teaching career where he or she looks across the classroom and sees the glazed look of semi-interested students. I had one of those days last year. To add to the intensity, I was staring at eighth graders. I believe they may be the hardest group to connect with. I switched my perspective and thought about what it'd be like if I were the student. Uh oh. It wasn't good.
I thought back to fifteen years ago when I'd first started teaching. The students' interests and needs really have significantly changed. But, my teaching really hadn't (well, let's clarify...it HAD changed, but I knew I had some missing pieces). My students have been well-prepared for the subsequent grade level or at least made significant advances. I've taught with, my favorite buzzword, fidelity. And, I truly enjoy watching those Aha moments and the growth in my students' academic and social lives.
However, I also became aware that it was really time to change how I could best serve my students. Not a change because the newest, shiniest teaching strategy or tool was making its rounds through the educational system, but because I had a desire for making a difference in my teaching delivery. So, how to do it? Well, anything with the title Innovative caught my attention. Why not be taught cutting-edge material from people who are actually in the field doing it? So, I joined Touro University.
So, here's a site, always in progress, where you can explore what I've found so far. You can read about my foibles, new understandings, cool tools to for the classroom and a bit of my journey as I hone my skills at integrating technology into my classroom.
I suppose there comes a point in one's teaching career where he or she looks across the classroom and sees the glazed look of semi-interested students. I had one of those days last year. To add to the intensity, I was staring at eighth graders. I believe they may be the hardest group to connect with. I switched my perspective and thought about what it'd be like if I were the student. Uh oh. It wasn't good.
I thought back to fifteen years ago when I'd first started teaching. The students' interests and needs really have significantly changed. But, my teaching really hadn't (well, let's clarify...it HAD changed, but I knew I had some missing pieces). My students have been well-prepared for the subsequent grade level or at least made significant advances. I've taught with, my favorite buzzword, fidelity. And, I truly enjoy watching those Aha moments and the growth in my students' academic and social lives.
However, I also became aware that it was really time to change how I could best serve my students. Not a change because the newest, shiniest teaching strategy or tool was making its rounds through the educational system, but because I had a desire for making a difference in my teaching delivery. So, how to do it? Well, anything with the title Innovative caught my attention. Why not be taught cutting-edge material from people who are actually in the field doing it? So, I joined Touro University.
So, here's a site, always in progress, where you can explore what I've found so far. You can read about my foibles, new understandings, cool tools to for the classroom and a bit of my journey as I hone my skills at integrating technology into my classroom.
