| Chance brought us all together, the experience changed each of us, and choices will move me along in this journey. Chance has its fingers in everything we do. Each of us is surrounded by amazing teachers doing amazing things for our students every day. How we interact with our students, colleagues, and stakeholders is what made us State Teachers of the Year, but we also know that chance was there too! It was by chance that we were brought together this past week. It was not by chance though, that our class has built this team, built trusting relationships, and built a professional network that strengthens and celebrates our profession. We are deliberate in our pursuit to shape education in our classrooms, our districts, our communities and specifically for our future generations. Change is something I embrace. It isn’t always easy, but change keeps me thinking, reflecting and growing as a learner, as a teacher, and as a person. This past week changed me in new ways. I learned about struggles that teachers are experiencing across America and how they are advocating for change. I learned the positive impact social media can have in the classroom for students and for teachers. These amazing educators showed me that our profession is diverse with many challenges, and that there is still so much more to learn. It is a humbling experience to be surrounded by greatness and wonder if you are doing enough. Change has focused me to set new goals, to learn more, and to share freely. Choice comes with options, and it is not always clear what choice is right to make, especially at that moment. Right now, choice is mine as how to move forward. Choice is mine to decide the path that provides challenges, new learning experiences, and avenues to share that journey within my profession. Choice is mine to make connections, to reach out to other professionals, and to celebrate being a learner and a teacher. I choose to follow a path that embraces these choices. What I loved most about this experience were the friendships built and the family we became. Chance brought us all together, the experience changed each of us, and choices will move me along in this journey. | |
This past week I worked with Instructional Specialists from all areas in DoDEA as we planned for the PK-5 roll-out of College Career Readiness Standards of Mathematics (a.k.a CCRSM). It was a week of productive struggle, where my colleagues helped me to see and construct what I was not understanding. It was a week where "ah-ha" moments happened often as we started to examine the math standards and connect them to prior knowledge. It was a week where we grew as a united team with an united vision. At the end of the week, we all left feeling energized and excited to work with our PK-5 teachers as we roll out these new standards. We know that there will be moments of productive struggle, as we experienced that ourselves this past week. We also know that those productive struggles cemented our learning. This journey that we are embarking on will have its share of challenges and the route we take must be dynamic. With authentic support and a commitment to the plan, teachers will experience the joys of the ah-ha moments as well. Most importantly though, this journey will have a positive impact on our students and how they interact with math. I can't wait for our orientation day in May! This past week I worked with high school students who aspire to work in a career field connected with education. As the keynote speaker on the first night, my focus was to emphasize the importance of constructing one's own knowledge via a variety of entry points. Additionally, I wanted to build upon the importance of collaboration and team work. AND I really wanted to keep them actively engaged. I kept my keynote speech to 5 minutes and spent the rest of the time doing an activity that would focus on collaboration and sharing of one's knowledge, and I did this collaboratively with the Med District Teacher of the Year, Krsiting Munoz. Ever heard of the Marshmallow challenge? Well that is the activity we did on the first night of the conference. Students learned the importance of prototyping, which was then embedded throughout the week. Check out the Marshmallow challenge here: http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html Over the next couple of days I got to work with my future colleagues in small groups using an activity I found at www.code.org. It was an “unplugged” activity that had them creating lines of code and running their program using a deck of playing cards to test out their prototypes, which ended up being a game. At the beginning of each session the group created norms for our time together. One of those group norms was that I would be seeking critical feedback from them at the end of the sessions. Nervous at first to be critiquing a teacher, their feedback was invaluable to me as I was able to instantly apply it and share it with all the future groups.
You can check out the unplugged activity here: http://studio.code.org/s/course2/stage/12/puzzle/1 Whenever my husband and I go on an adventure I always keep a daily journal of trip notes. It has pictures, ticket stubs, funny stories, drawings, advice, and of course, those unexpected experiences. Now I am on a different type of journey. For the next year or so, I will be learning more than I can imagine. This blog will hopefully capture the my trek. I know the path will not be direct, and I will have to ask for directions along the way...but with each destination visited, new stories, new learning and new friends will emerge. Join me and join the adventure! |
AuthorSarah Loomis, 2015 DoDEA Teacher of the Year. Archives |