Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Questions Lead the 2016-2017 Teaching/Learning Year

Who is Frederick Douglass? How can he serve as a historical
mentor that leads your work? 
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." -  Frederick Douglass

What questions lead your learning year efforts? How will you let the questions lead your teaching/learning efforts? How often will you revisit and revise your questions.
  • Who is Frederick Douglass and how does he serve as a valuable historical mentor?
    • Visit African American History Museum Exhibit
    • Read About Frederick Douglass
    • Work with team to decide how we are going to integrate this learning into the curriculum--what standards/units will we match the unit to
    • Introduce Frederick Douglass to class with standards-based efforts and SEL focus on character.
    • Use Frederick Douglass as a model for the biography project
    • Watch a living history presentation of Frederick Douglass
    • Visit the African American history museum with students. See a living history presentation there too and learn more about Frederick Douglass.
  • What protocols, policies, structures, roles, salaries, and other working conditions support educators well?
    • Consider, organize, and prioritize the many ideas shared by teachers with the union team
    • Conduct related research
    • Support the process in ways that I can
  • How can we best develop and support strong, positive, creative, and collaborative learning communities?
    • Make sure the room is well organized for student comfort and learning
    • Have a number of lunch meetings to support team building and student engagement and empowerment
    • Have regular student team meetings
    • Begin classroom lessons with SEL/cognition focused mini lessons that empower positive learning
    • Work with education team to develop these efforts including our efforts to develop a more culturally proficient teaching/learning program. 
    • Spend time observing the way that the teaching/learning communities I work with work--what processes are effective and what processes can be improved to enrich and enhance the teaching/learning we do in these communities? How can I develop my contribution to these communities in ways that matter. 
    • Plan special Boston team event with colleagues at 1/13 PLC.
  • What are the best ways to teach the math standards well? How can we enrich these strategies and efforts so that every learner is engaged, empowered, and well educated?
    • Carefully look at assessments, online data, and other formal and informal data points to note who is learning the standards well and who needs more or better to learn.
    • Continue to work towards providing at-home tech access for all students.
    • Organize standards-based website with all related exercises and supportive resources and continue to build the website to support teaching and learning.
    • Work with colleagues, students, and family members to hear ideas and develop our collective approach in this area.
    • Continue to develop students' ability to access, learn, and gain support from online math teaching/learning resources. 
  • How can we embed STEAM teaching in hands-on, real world ways that inspire positive and proactive planetary citizens?
    • Attend to the directives from leadership in this regard.
    • Focus on this teaching/learning mostly at the end of the school year when time permits.
  • What professional learning opportunities will empower your efforts to teach well?
    • Continue to focus on SEL study/writing group efforts--there's a lot of work to do here.
    • Complete ESE's TAC study work.
    • Work on MTA's Professional Learning Committee work.
    • Study alone and with team our culturally proficient teaching text, notes, and efforts in order to continue to grow this effort with our students.