I like posting my yearly teaching goals in this forum. It gives me a chance to share some of my ideas and serves as a checklist to myself for reflection at the end of the school year.
1. Listen to Every Student Voice...
Sometimes the best instructional ideas come from the students themselves. I love to live by my own modo... many voices are better than one. Too often, teachers become stuck in a muddy ditch that I like to call stagnate instruction. When this occurs, learning also becomes stagnate.
2. Use the Power of Global Learning and Sharing...
Students love to share what they are learning with other students their age. Why not make it a global audience? Along with this idea, we need to also learn globally. Learning from other cultures puts ours in perspective.
3. Help Students Own Their Work...
Students tend to perform at a higher level if they have ownership of the product they create. It's hard to own a worksheet. They didn't create it, and they have seen far too many in their life time. I want to create authentic learning from authentic creations. I hope the last sentence made sense.
4. Create an Atmosphere of Trust and Respect...
I would love to have a learning environment where everyone, teachers and students, trusted and respected each other for their ideas. I will do my part by not talking at students, but create conversations in which they have a voice along with mine. I feel it's important to talk to students as if they are young adults and not baby's.
There it is, my goals. I bet these goals look a bit different from an administrators goals. We will see how successful I am with sticking to these goals. To all teachers, I invite you to list your goals. I would like to read some of your ideas. Until next blog...
1. Listen to Every Student Voice...
Sometimes the best instructional ideas come from the students themselves. I love to live by my own modo... many voices are better than one. Too often, teachers become stuck in a muddy ditch that I like to call stagnate instruction. When this occurs, learning also becomes stagnate.
2. Use the Power of Global Learning and Sharing...
Students love to share what they are learning with other students their age. Why not make it a global audience? Along with this idea, we need to also learn globally. Learning from other cultures puts ours in perspective.
3. Help Students Own Their Work...
Students tend to perform at a higher level if they have ownership of the product they create. It's hard to own a worksheet. They didn't create it, and they have seen far too many in their life time. I want to create authentic learning from authentic creations. I hope the last sentence made sense.
4. Create an Atmosphere of Trust and Respect...
I would love to have a learning environment where everyone, teachers and students, trusted and respected each other for their ideas. I will do my part by not talking at students, but create conversations in which they have a voice along with mine. I feel it's important to talk to students as if they are young adults and not baby's.
There it is, my goals. I bet these goals look a bit different from an administrators goals. We will see how successful I am with sticking to these goals. To all teachers, I invite you to list your goals. I would like to read some of your ideas. Until next blog...
4 comments:
These look like some very good goals, especially when you put them in the context of a classroom. As an administrator, I was struck by your last comment regarding your goals be much different from that of an administrator. I wonder why this would be so? Each of your goals, is in fact, exactly along the lines of my own goals - listening to people and hearing what they have to say, creating a trusting and respectful environment, having students and teachers own their work and being there to offer assistance and guidance and reaching out to the global community for input and insights is just something that I've learned that I need to do as an administrator. What do you expect to be different from administrators?
Thank you for the comment Kelly. I am only speaking from my experience. In an era of Standardized Tests, I have not seen administrators share my ideas and goals. I often find myself in staff meetings saying "and why is this important?" These ideas might get mentioned, but it always comes back to raising the scores and practicing the test. I do know that administrators have to answer to their superiors and many times are judged on their schools test scores. This is one reason I could never be an administrator. I am not willing to play that game.
I do not expect administrators to have different goals, but I haven't seen it yet. It sounds as though I would love working in your school.
I am starting the year in a new school this year. I can only hope that the administrators share my goals. Thanks again
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