Visit the Inspired Teaching Institute
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The
Inspired Teaching Institute is our flagship teacher-training program,
now celebrating its 13th year in Washington, DC. Join us for a few
hours and meet a group of teachers who are starting a yearlong journey
to improve their practice.
Visitor dates are: June 18-26 and
July 9-17. Visiting hours are 10-2.
The Institute is located at
Georgetown Day School Upper School campus, 4200 Davenport St., NW
Washington, DC.
RSVP to Kristen Boswell. |
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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Becoming Inspired: Step 1
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This week teachers from throughout the greater Washington DC metro area will gather to begin a yearlong process of transforming their practice. They are participants in our 13th annual Inspired Teaching Institute - a course designed to help teachers achieve their full potential.
While we can't bring the entire course to you via the web, we can spend the next several weeks exploring the 5-step process this year's corps of Inspired educators will experience. By reflecting on the guiding questions provided each week - you too can take some time to analyze your practice and perhaps you will discover new ways of teaching come fall.
Step 1: Analyze and deepen my understanding of the ways I learn.
What I hear, I forget.
What I see, I remember.
What I do, I understand.
- Confucius
We believe every teacher has the potential to become an Inspired Teacher. If you're not one already, you too can become one. The secret to your success lies in how honest and introspective you are willing to be with yourself. Most of you do not know exactly who you will be teaching next year, so your preparations for the new class are largely theoretical this summer. But what you DO know is who you are, and by examining yourself you can come closer to understanding what your students need from you.
Forget all the tools your school has given you for teaching. Forget all the training you've received on "how to teach so kids will learn." Think about yourself for a moment. Think about what YOU need to learn. Let these prompts guide your reflection:
- Remember the last time you had to learn how to do something. It could be anything: fixing a sink, using a computer program, filing your taxes, filling out a new report card form, etc. How did you figure out what to do? Did you read directions? Did you ask someone for advice? Did you need someone by your side to guide you? Did you talk yourself through the steps?
- What do you remember learning when you were in school? How were these things taught to you? Why do you think they're more memorable than other things you were taught to do?
- Who was your favorite teacher in school? How did this teacher teach? Do you teach the same way? Why or why not?
Now try this exercise:
Are you a conceptualizer or a visualizer?
- Think about your refrigerator and describe what is in it out loud. As you describe the contents, are you visually picturing where they are on the shelves? Or, are you listing them in categories?
- A visualizer is someone who generally paints a picture with words. A visualizer generally uses hands to aid in a verbal explanation. A conceptualizer generally places things in lists and very seldom uses hands to accompany a verbal explanation. Which are you?
- Now think about your bedroom and try to describe what is in it using the opposite strategy to your default. If you're a visualizer, try making a list like a conceptualizer. If you're a conceptualizer, try painting a picture with words like a visualizer.
- What was hard about this activity? What might it teach you about how you learn?
After thinking
through the above questions and activity - how would you describe your ideal learning
environment? What do you need from yourself / others to learn best?
How do your own learning needs relate to those of the students you had this year? How does the way you learn relate to the way you teach?
This week as you begin to enjoy the summer, take some time to observe those around you. Try to catch learning moments in action and see if you can identify how the people you observe are figuring things out.
There are many ways to think more deeply about your learning style. In the resources section this week we're sharing a variety of online tools that enable you to do just that.
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Learning Style Resources
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Various theories of learning influence the categories that make up these learning style resources. Because people are multi-dimensional, it makes sense to explore a variety of approaches when determining how we learn best.
Learning Styles Self Assessment
Are you a visual, kinesthetic, or auditory learner? Take an online test to get feedback on your learning style. This site also contains information about how understanding learning styles can help teachers reach students with learning disabilities.
Index of Learning Styles
Are you active or reflective, sensing or intuitive, visual or verbal, sequential or global? This site includes an online survey as well as several links to articles that explore the validity of this tool. There is also a full description of these learning style categories and what students who identify with each can do to support their learning.
Multiple Intelligences: A Theory for Everyone
Learn about the multiple intelligences identified by Howard Gardner. This article describes the seven original intelligences (linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and musical) and the recently added eighth (naturalist). It also talks about how knowledge of the intelligences can be applied in the classroom.
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