Extending My Professional Development

Moving from Oral to Written Skills Flipgrid is a useful inclusive application that can be used with students in personal, positive, and profound way. Users may narrow down their topic search by selecting the subject and community as well as key words. Using Language Arts, High School and expository I selected, 'Danger of a Single Story' . The activity offers students a TedTalk with transcript to view and then uses Flipgrid for students to record responses to two questions. It offers viewing tips for instructors as well. I could use this Flipgrid activity in my 10th grade English class as an engaging warm-up activity before beginning a dystopian novel.   To view the video . To view the Padlet for this and other great resources and/or activities shared by others.

An introductory activity that I really enjoy is a two-part activity. The first part is that using Flipgrid I ask students to introduce themselves. The directions are that they share their name and if they have a nickname that they would like me or their classmates to use (keeping it respectful). Then, I ask them to share what their name means. The students seem to really enjoy sharing and/or finding out what their name means. Many students expand and share if they feel that their name fits them or if they are still trying to grow into it.  The second step of the activity is a writing activity. Students are to compose two letters over the course of a week. The first letter is to their 13 year old self. What do they want the 13 year old version of them to know? What does the 13 year old inside of them need to hear? The second letter is a letter to their future selves. It depends on the grade level I am working with, but typically it is five years in the future. What did they do this aca

  The concept in my discipline that is most like driving a car would be writing an essay/paper. There are several components that students should master in order to convey their thoughts in a coherent and cohesive manner. For example, capitals (an issue with Arabic writers), spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, linking words/phrases, verb tenses as well as quotations and citations for higher-level courses. Having a solid foundation of these components allow students to focus on the creative element of the writing process and avoid cognitive overload trying to simultaneously focus on conveying their thoughts in a coherent and cohesive manner. Strong grammar, punctuation, spelling (albeit to a lesser extent thanks to tech) and vocabulary are the tires of the vehicle. While driving they are often not thought about-until you hit a pothole-but they are key to the vehicle moving. Coherence and cohesion are the frame of the vehicle. Without them everything falls out and no one knows what the wr

  Okay, shoot me. I couldn't resist an opportunity for a little NKOTB. And now that you have your ear worm for the day, let's talk about student mastery.  Step-by Step! 🎶🎵 I recently had a great conversation with a respected colleague and unofficial mentor on how mandated learning objectives should be replaced with performance objectives. He asserted that the key concepts are supported by the performance outcomes which encompasses learning, resources, and guidelines. He is on a Nick Shackleton-Jones kick. But shouldn't our mandated learning objectives reflect the very same? After some reflection on our conversations, it dawned on me that this is where curriculum mapping and lesson plans come into play. That the performance objectives are the highways that lead to the learning objectives.  Consider the learning objectives a destination. Humor me. The highways the performance objectives the highways and the vehicle itself is formed by the very components of learning. Allow

"Why do we have to do this?" "When am I ever going to use this?"  "What's in it for me?" You know that your students' are thinking it. As part of Ontario Extend-Teacher for Learning, we are asked to look those questions and more in the eye and give our students practical responses and not relay on the parental "because I said so". Interestingly enough I have begun to address this WIIFM with two of my learners that sadly hate school. Their reasons are extensive and valid. All year, I have strived to show them value in learning and asked them not to let school get in their way of getting their education. But all the pep talks, positive energy, modeling have barely scratched the surface. I began to post 3-big questions with just the topic before revealing any tasks or work.  Why must I learn X? How can I use X?  When can I use X?  They are allowed to respond with "because it's required", because it is true. We fall under state

Created using MindMister. Click HERE for a closer look at my example of PBL approach.   Syllabus Concept Map. Click HERE for a closer look at my example.  I have always been a fan of Understanding By Design by Wiggins and McTighe. I found it to be a useful framework that I could easily apply to lesson planning that would improve my students learning. I found that it allowed me to navigate within the systems standardization framework, but allows me to tie in the big 3-questions, "How can I use this?", "Why must I use this?" and "When will I use this?" UbD allowed me to be creative as well as a level of autonomy for myself and my students. As I became more comfortable and confident with UbD, Universal Design for Learning seemed a natural progress.  As a student, I struggled with remembering or activating prior knowledge. However, I seemed to always remember the projects. Why? Because the projects allowed for my strengths as a learner. Projects all

  What makes a great pasta dish? The sauce! Every individual (family) has their own way (process) of making their famous sauce. Wether it's canned and doctored sauce or all fresh ingredients, everyone agrees- it's in the sauce! A good sauce fills gaps, blends ingredients, and binds. Like The Sauce, much of our Prior Knowledge and cultural nuances are nothing more than ingredients that come together to create learning experiences. Ingredients that are dictated by the language used to retrieve them, cultural and sub-cultural norms and personal experiences as well as high-context and low-context and trauma.  Prior Knowledge is not strictly canned or homemade sauce (an either/or) in on student's learning journey. I see the misconception of Prior Knowledge's 'either/or' application in education as well as culture misconceptions as opportunities to upgrade our thinking as educators. Asking key questions during the lesson planning process, like,"How can my student

  If we continue on the line of thought that PK is not an 'either/or' task, but a process we should also consider Prior Knowledge as it relates to culture. Meaning the process that the educator brings into a classroom to engage and connect with students require sensitivity as well as an understanding and appreciation of the student's culture and subculture to provide PK activities that personal, profound and positive. For example, in my English class writing themes around death, religion and dystopian society may allow students to think critically, engage in the process of learning, and demonstrate understanding within their world. If I ask my students to answer, "How they can use?", "Why they must use this?" and "When will they use this?" 

The misconception is on the focus of Prior Knowledge as an event rather than a process. Educators like myself often focus on the what a student should already know and how to present the new information. And PK activities are used as straight pathway between the two endpoints; often an after thought.  But by shifting our understanding that PK may not have a starting point on the pathway due to trauma gaps or cultural miscommunications we can avoid negatively effect students' acquiring new information.  If PK is seen as an 'either/or' situation, both teacher(s) and student(s) may intentionally or unintentionally assume that the student lacks an ability, or skill-set for a particular subject area. When the educator actual missed an opportunity to present questions that not only triggering students' PK, but spark the students on a personal level. The result can be that students do not immediately recognize how that new information can be applied to: the present task and fa