Day 3: Improving My Evaluation

Today's question asks me to reflect on and discuss one observation of a teacher evaluation that I would like to improve on this year. Truthfully, I havent' had a formal teacher evaluation in 5 years and the informal observations that I have had since haven't really produced a lot of areas of growth. This is, however, more of a reflection of the culture than it is my practice. The truth is that is hard to feel judged and I think many teacher-leaders  are just now learning some effective ways of providing feedback to their peers without unjustly praising or discouraging a teacher's efforts. As I attempt to keep myself in the growth mindset this year, I look forward to having administrators and colleagues provide constructive feedback that I can use to make my practice more effective.

After unwinding with my Grade 7 team last night, I am feeling confident that we will develop the type of relationship with each other that allows for this type of feedback to occur honestly and without the fear of making each other feel judged and defensive.

As I stated in an earlier post the one that I am trying most to improve this year is my organization. This has been an area that needs addressing for some time now. I have recently read that promises and solemn vows rarely work when made to one's self. A plan with specific details is far more effective. Here are a few of the specifics that I'm planning on to improve on this area:




1. Limit my space within the classroom - I am a spreader by nature. My lack of organziation leads to piles of papers that inevidably require more and more space to maintain a small semblance of order. By limiting the amount of space I am making available to myself, I am hoping to encourage myself to deal with clutter sooner.

2. Buy, setup and establish a use for the organizational tools that are avaiable - The most imporant area in this step is making sure to establish a use for these tools. Too often in the past I have said, "I'll figure it out as the needs arise." When I am honest with myself, I realize this just isn't really possible. I don't have yet have to skill set to develop organziation on the fly. A plan most definitely needs to be in place before the full chaos of the school year arrives.

3. Small steps everyday - I get only a small joy or sense of satisfaction from the look of the picture above. As I reflect on this, I think that a fixed mindset has played a role in this area of my life. The picture above seems so impossible to me that I don't want to work on it. Instead, I work on something else that comforts my ego. This year, I plan to organze my desk/room a little bit every day. Even if I don't achieve the level in the picture above, I want organization to be one of the last things that I do every day at the school.

Day 2: Technology to use this year?

This year I have several pieces of technology that I am hoping to employ in the classroom this year. The one I've spent the most time prepping is the iPad that I bought with my PD money last year. I have plans to use this as a camera throughout the year (to document learning and provide feedback), to interact with students through their personal devices with Apps such as Socrative and Educreations and as a management tool (playing music and Kagan Apps). All of this is pretty exciting but a lot of it is on me alone as there is only 1 or 2 iPads in a classroom.

I am, however, in the fortunate position to be able to employ Chromebooks this year with every one of my students in Grade 7. I have never used a Chromebook before but have had a lot of practice with  Google programs (Last year I went from having 2-3 Google Docs shared with me last to a Google Drive that was overflowing with my own creations and those shared with me by colleagues and students by December). I look forward to the challenge of incorporating these devices into my students' learning on a regular basis and making use of the many possibilities that are opened up by this opportunity.

Why use these technologies in the classroom? Why work with my grade 7 colleagues on the beginnings of a plan to encourage digital citizenship instead of simply banning them outright? I think the answers to all of these questions are fundamental to my philosophy on learning and my sense of responsibility as an educator. We can not simply ban students from technology because it complicates our classrooms. The technology is out their already and is complicating (while simplifying) our world. I believe that students must learn how to use these devices responsibly and it is my duty to provide an environment were students can experiment and learn about the etiquette, the dangers, the possibilities and the power of these tools.

Day 1 - Goals for the Year

I want to be the best teacher that I can. I want my classes to be fun, safe, engaging and meaningful. I want my students to ask questions, to find answers, to read voraciously, to write creatively, to care about each other and their community and to lead the school towards postive change.

Before I overwhelm myself, I need to make sure to focus on how I plan to do this. This year I want to focus in three areas of my practice:

1. Stay in the Growth Mind Set:

I need to remember that my struggles and the struggles of my students are opportunities

2. I must become better organized:

To often have I been guilty of this...

3. I need to work on putting the same effort into the end of my lessons/planning/assessment that I do at the beginning:

Staying focused on the finishing details relates back to #2.

On a personal level, I also plan to keep pursuing the healthy lifestyle goals that I began last year. I'm hoping to see continued improvements in this area by eating healthy (I've joined WW online for the next 3 months) and by working out regulaly.