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Coming UP!!!
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For the next two weeks we'll be highlighting the "best of" Inspired Teacher newsletters from 2008. Tune in for tons of Inspired Teaching Activities and fresh ways to think about your practice.
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Inspired Teacher Blog
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Walking in an Inspired School Wonderland
What might school look like if walking down the halls were more like "Walking in a Winter Wonderland?"
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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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How can winter break change the school year?
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The long winter break bears the promise of rest, relaxation, and a welcome departure from the pressures of school. But the combination of winter break's respite, and the New Year's beckoning potential make for a very powerful opportunity in the weeks that lie ahead. While you're sipping egg nog and warming your toes by the fire, you could also be letting your imagination shape a fresh start to school in 2009.
If there are things you want to change about your instruction, your room set-up, or your classroom culture, you can make all that happen starting January 5. And if you want your holidays to be spent school-thought-free, you can cram in the planning right now.
Here's how:
- Reflect. Divide a sheet of paper in half and write down what's gone well on one side and what you'd like to change on the other.
- Solicit Feedback. Ask your students to complete a survey reviewing the year so far. What do they think is going well? What do they want to see change? If you have very young students you might consider sending a survey home for their families to complete.
- Choose Your Battles. When you look at your reflection on the year and that of your students, notice the areas of overlap. What singular changes could address multiple concerns? For instance, if students are getting distracted in class, grades are suffering, and behavior is an issue - might a simple rearrangement of the physical space stop the domino effect? To make the most of your New Year's transformation, choose just a few specific and targeted changes that have broader ramifications for the class.
- Involve Your Students. When you come back in the New Year, share your reflection and change process with your students. Show them how their feedback influenced your decision-making. This will boost their buy-in along with modeling a healthy approach to reflection and revision.
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Inspired Teacher Homework
How have you used winter break to change your school year? Please send Jenna a short description of your strategies. If your idea is selected for inclusion in the next newsletter, we'll send you a thank-you gift! Last week we asked: How have you used food in the classroom?"Things always get a little squirmy right before winter break so I try to make my lessons during this last week even more engaging than usual. This month my seventh graders have been studying cellular reproduction so we're going to make DNA strands out of licorice and decorate cookies with icing to show the 5 phases of mitosis."
~ Bart Renner
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Reflection Questions for Students and Teachers
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This is a good starter list of questions, but you're likely
to come up with more! If you are asking your students to do this reflection,
consider keeping the responses anonymous to ensure more genuine feedback.
Click here for the list.
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Teacher Resources
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Teacher Self-Reflection Checklist
These three lists, differentiated by subject area, provide
more reflection questions for teachers.
Self Reflection for Teachers
While this site was designed for beginning special education
teachers, it offers some useful
information about the benefits of teacher reflection for teachers of any subject, grade, or experience level.
National Board of Professional Teaching Standards
If being a reflective practitioner comes naturally for you,
or if it's something you'd like to explore
further, consider getting your National Board certification.The process is intense, but teachers say it really helps
them to take a critical look at their
instruction and develop effective strategies for improvement.
ExploraVision
Now in its 17th year, ExploraVision encourages K-12 students of all interest, skill and ability levels to create and explore a vision of future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. Attend a free web seminar on how to avoid disqualification in ExploraVision. This seminar will occur on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 6:30pm Eastern time.
Expanding Informal Science Education For Latinos Conference 03/26/09
The Expanding Informal Science Education for Latinos Conference will be a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas, collaborate, and plan projects with your ISE colleagues around the country. Contact (202) 496-6044 with any questions.
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