It's important to set goals, work towards those goals, and revisit those goals time and again. As I think about readying for next year's goals, I want to take another look at this year's goals and progress.
With the year launched, it's time to revisit the big picture goals and ideas. Last spring I created the mini poster above to guide my work this year. Is this image still relevant? I'll evaluate point by point.
With regard to project based math learning, I'm struggling again due to the number of concepts and the tight scope and sequence I'm tasked with following. The schedule and quantity of prescribed learning standards and events are great leaving little time for the kind of worthy project-based math learning Jo Boaler's research recommends. What's a teacher to do? Since I'm making good headway with the prescribed tasks, I'll work to embed Boaler's activities in an upcoming unit of study in November and/or December as a starting point. I finally made some good progress in this area by fostering a fraction project and a volume project. I also signed up for some guidance in this area from DESE which will help me to promote another PBL math experience. Children noted that these projects were amongst their favorite way to learn math. So far students' math growth has been better than expected for the most part so I would say that I'm on the right track here. I surveyed students' thoughts via paper/pencil assessments, but I'd also like to conduct an online survey so that the data is easier to track-I'll do that soon to assist my goal setting for 2019-2020.
In terms of increasing rigor with regard to science study, we have instituted the use of a science journal. Soon I'll revisit science journaling efforts with students including the lab sheets, models, reflections, notes, and other information students are adding to those journals. I'll also look into the use of badges as one way to acknowledge students' learning efforts and results. Fortunately, in part, our work with Drumlin Farm helped us to look at our science teaching and learning with greater specificity and depth. That work revealed that embedding aspects of SEL, particularly aspects related to teamwork, is a positive way to deepen and develop positive science teaching and the science practices. Also the use of lab sheets vs. a notebook seemed to be a better fit for science--I will work with my colleagues as we think ahead about this--I think we might be better off having a binder-science notebook as we could easily use it to add notes, organize the materials within content areas, and include lab reports. We might want to have a three-hole journal that goes along with this notebook too.
The practice goal I've chosen for a student learning goal is leading to greater scaffolding and personalization which has been positive. The practice goal is important, but not always easy. The time it takes to follow-up with children who don't do their practice takes a lot of time and is often beyond my ability since I don't go home with children. Providing lots of extra-help sessions before school has helped and zeroing in on specific students during RTI times and other times during the day has helped too. I am leading a discussion about apt practice with math teachers on April 11th at the ATMIM conference which will be helpful. I also redesigned the math learning tech menu to support this. I want to continue this focus next year by focusing on making home-study more engaging, continuing to make extra practice times before school, and keeping track of who is completing their practice and who is not in an easy to track and follow-upways.
Tying SEL into all learning is happening daily as I embed videos, stories, and other short lessons that focus in on social emotional skills. Soon students will zero in on that more as they ready their portfolios for student-teacher-parent conferences during the first week in November. We made extra time for portfolio work this year and have found that has built greater metacognitive awareness and learning ownership in students. This has been positive. I will be able to assess this more after our spring conference period is over--a period where students use their portfolios to lead a student/family/teacher conversation about the learning that's happened and the learning to come.
Our weekly PLCs and Student Service Meetings give me an opportunity to engage more effectively with the broader team to teach all students well. I want to employ my overall goal to listen more and better to these meetings as one way of growing my skill, collaboration, and effect. I believe that these meetings continue to be positive and helpful to meeting the goals to teach all children well.
Overall students need to take center stage in my teaching/learning work. I'd like to find more ways to give students independence, leadership, and responsibility over their own learning and the classroom events and experiences. I'll be thinking of this in the days ahead.
Specifically these goals and intentions will become apart of the weekly routine in the following ways:
- Good prep and planning
- Regular communication to the learning/teaching team
- Regular analysis of students' efforts and learning results to inform curriculum efforts
- Regular advocacy for what we need to be able to teach well
- Regular conversations with students about what they need to learn well and be happy at school
There are countless ways to teach and learn, and as the year moves along, I'll do what I can to continue to develop my repertoire to meet the goals outlined above as well as the environmental education learning goal. Onward.
As I consider the efforts to date, the one area where I would like to find new ways to succeed is the area of supporting students who do not have at-home academic support more. These are students who have loving families, but due to many factors they don't have people who can support their academic efforts in positive, growth producing ways. One way to do that is to provide a time in school most mornings when students attend an extra-help homeroom for about 45 minutes. During that homeroom time, these students have time to talk, time to read, time to catch-up on homework, and time to make sure they have the clothing, snacks, and other items that lead to success.
As I consider the efforts to date, the one area where I would like to find new ways to succeed is the area of supporting students who do not have at-home academic support more. These are students who have loving families, but due to many factors they don't have people who can support their academic efforts in positive, growth producing ways. One way to do that is to provide a time in school most mornings when students attend an extra-help homeroom for about 45 minutes. During that homeroom time, these students have time to talk, time to read, time to catch-up on homework, and time to make sure they have the clothing, snacks, and other items that lead to success.
