I was inspired by Kristy, @LoudenClearBlog, to reflect on last school year and think about what I'd like to focus on this year for 2017-2018. I've had a very restful summer. I chose to focus on family and professional growth this summer. I've since gone back to school and we just ended week 4 of 36. Although I had a hard time narrowing my list down to 5, I think I have it squared away and I'm ready to apply my list for a productive and successful school year.
Five Things I'd Like to Focus on this School Year
Student Choice: I personally believe that giving students choices is powerful. When students feel that they have a choice they begin to take ownership. For the past 9 years years I've been on a quest for this "magic pill" to make students care as much about their education as I do. I think choice will do that for me. When students are given choice there is a ripple affect. Students are given choice which in turn empowers them then they feel accountable for their learning because they made a choice in the beginning. I think this will be epic for learning and behavior management in my class this year.
Critical Thinking: "How do you get students to think for themselves?" is a questions that I've been asking for many years. I don't want to be the teacher that tells students what to think because I love it when they think outside of the box. I want students to analyze, evaluate, infer, and formulate on their own among other things. The idea of critical thinking got me to pondering about a poster that hung on the wall of my classroom for my first 3 to 5 years as a teacher. It was a poster made by my first building's content coach displaying the "12 Powerful Words." Critical thinking by definition is the objective analysis and evaluation of an in issue in order to form a judgement. I plan to focus here by stressing Growth Mindset this year.
Small Groups: Students develop various gaps along the way. Some students need that small group/one on one attention to fill in those gaps. My entire reasoning for switching to a Flipped Learning Model was to be able to meet those kids where they are and fill in those gaps. I'd also like to use small groups to catch students before they fall when they are not understanding new concepts. Usually middle school does not come to mind when you think about small groups in the the classroom unless you are considering a Special Education setting. Small groups will be a safety net for my students this year.
Content Videos: I've struggled to consistently create my own content for my flipped lessons. I think my students will appreciate the information more if it all came directly from me. I attended a session during my 1st EdTechTeam Summit about blended learning and flipped classrooms. The one thing that stuck with me from that session was, "Your students want to see and hear you on the videos." I took that to heart and every year I've created more and more videos. My goal is to create 90% of the videos I use for my students.
Consistency: Earlier this year I did the #oneword2017 and consistency was my word. I plan to continue the journey of consistency across the board. I will be consistent in my classroom as well as in my personal life. I find that when I do get off track it is because of a lack of consistency. This also ties into my 2-5 things on my list. I must do the things that I plan to focus on consistently in order for those things to make a difference during my educational journey this year.
Have you thought about things that you'd like to focus on this school year? Have you had a chance to reflect on last school year? Let me know below.
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