I have an incredible PLN that inspires and challenges me in so many ways. Tonight I thought we could try a different concept. We are not going to talk about school, or students, or teaching, but about ourselves.
I don't know how well this will work, but I thought it was worth a try. I saw a commercial about speed dating and thought what an interesting concept. So let's give this a whirl. Sorry no fancy picture questions tonight- I ran out of time- Q1 What is something that few people know about you that you think is unique or special? #sstlap Q2 What do you like to do in your free time? #sstlap Q3 Which is your favorite book/movie? #sstlap Q4 If you could travel back through time, what single mistake would you correct in life? #sstlap Q5 What makes you laugh/cry? #sstlap Q6 What are you listening to on your iPod, mp3 player? #sstlap Q7 What is your favorite sporting activity? #sstlap Q8 Which is your favorite genre of movies - comedy/thriller/action? #sstlap Q9 What gives you greatest joy in your life? #sstlap Q10 What is the most important relationship in your life? #sstlap Q11 What is one of your hidden talents? #sstlap Q12 Is there anything in particular you’re passionate about? #sstlap Q13 If you couldn't teach, what would be your dream occupation? #sstlap Q14 What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? #sstlap Q15 What would you do if you won the lottery? #sstlapQ16 If you were given three wishes, what would you wish for? #sstlap Q17 What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you? #sstlap Speed Dating Archives
1 Comment
I have been thinking about this topic for awhile, how do we live as a PIRATE in a standardized one size fits all test filled world? I have taught more subjects than I can count in my career, each time having to create curriculum anew. I witnessed many educational initiatives come and go, and yet the mainstay in education is there are always students who need to learn new ideas and information, and educators looking for the best means to do this. During my career, in creating lessons, long term plans, and assessments for so many courses, I realized I don't know much about anything I am teaching. I started out trying to be the expert, never having to say "I don't know," but now I am accepting that I will never know everything. I teach world history, 13 billion years of history, and I can't remember all of the events of my own life, so it is okay to not be the all knowing sage on the stage. This brought me to the revelation that if I can't remember everything about history, why should I expect my students to memorize all things. Tonight I want to look at course design- how do we create classes that help students learn, I mean truly learn our content while engaging them. How do you balance the testing against the experience? How can you justify doing a simulation when it isn't on the standardized test? How do you justify being a PIRATE in a test driven world? I hope the following questions make sense- I will try to put them into context as I go. Each student is an unique individual, yet we treat them the same through standardized tests. I think tests do have value, maybe not as they are currently being used for high stakes results, but it is our reality. So how do we maintain a quality classroom environment and obtain the positive test results we all desire? We have talked about passion before- that is the capital P in PIRATE- but this first question focuses on our Students. Q1- How do you enlist the passions of your students into your classroom? How do you know what they are, and how do you engage them? Examples please #sstlap Results are important, we are and students are evaluated based on their performance results. When creating your course, especially in the social studies area, how do you determine content? Q2- How do you decide what and how you will teach? #sstlap Q3 How do you test student knowledge? Is it objective, project based, authentic, - how do they show what they know? #sstlap Q4 What do you do with the results of those assessments? How do you use the results to shape your teaching? #sstlap Q5 In your content, what are the nice to knows and what are the need to knows? #sstlap Q6 How does Standardized testing impact how you teach? #sstlap Q7 How do you maintain your PIRATE PASSION in a test driven world? #sstlap Archives 7/24/14 REMINDERS! Going to try something new-- I saw this from a fellow Pirate- Paul Solarz who is using Remind- I started using celly in my class this year, so I will use Celly to send reminders to anyone who wants me to give them a heads up the day of the #sstlap chat. To sign up- create a celly account on your phone or computer- the app and site are free- then search for @sstlapreminder in the cells search. I haven't used celly very much, so there may be some trouble shooting we need to deal with. Let me know if there are any issues. Teach Like a Pirate is all about Student Engagement and modifying our own practices to create better classroom environments for students to learn. To be blunt, it is about making learning fun again! I have spent time this summer thinking about education, teaching, and learning and wondering why students loose that quest for knowledge and replace it with "will this be on the test." What has shifted in our educational structure to make tests more important than learning, showing growth, exploration and failure. I need to stop right there because I would have a few pages of thoughts about what is happening to education. Tonight's topic is about making change! You many not be able to change the entire system, but you can change where you are! You have the opportunity to make your classroom and your school a better place for students. Tonight we discuss how to create a better learning environment, especially in your own classroom! I took of how I am presenting the questions tonight from a friend Heidi Jones @MrsJones_Merton who hosted #tlap on Monday night. I included the pictures/questions in two formats because I wasn't sure which would work best via mobile devices. See you at 8 CST! All of the great ideas that have been shared tonight! Archieves Archives for all who missed
We decided to take our kids to their first real fireworks show for the 4th of July. Yes I know it is the 3rd and not the 4th tonight, but they do their big one here a day early. So I will be MIA as host but fortunately I was able to find a better replacement. Sandy Otto @sandyrotto will be rocking the ship. We could have done a thematic session tonight about what does independence mean to you? How do you instill this value in your students? What is the most important lesson students should know about the price of freedom? But I didn't think about that until after I had the questions below written. Feel free to explore topics of your choice- engage with each other, share your insights, follow new people, and build on this amazing PLN! Q1 Prime the Pump- how can you create anticipation for a lesson for next year? ID topic and idea #sstlap Q2 Your Admin is coming in to observe- what lesson would you like them to see and why? #sstlap Next Question scenario- You will be teaching a new class next year. How do you begin prepping for it? Do you focus on learning the content? Do you work on creating activities for your students? How do you deal with this challenge? What is your focus? Q3 You are assigned new class next year- how do you prepare for class? What is your focus- content or Ss exp? #sstlap Reference to introductory videos from Monday's #tlap - Question 3 Q4 How do/will you introduce yourself to your students next year? See examples from #tlap Question 3 #sstlap Q5 What are you passionate about and how to you use that to enhance Ss experience? #sstlap Q6 How do you spread the pirate message to new colleagues? Who would you introduce them to? #sstlap Q7 How do you develop rapport with your shy Ss so you can ignite their passion? #sstlap Q8 Do you vary the types of hooks depending on your Ss each year? Or do you choose hooks related to the lesson regardless of Ss? #sstlap |
Archives
September 2018
Categories |