You would think after 18 years of this it would be old hat. Nope. The night before I see my new students is full of excitement, nerves and a little dose of fear. Did I get everything prepped? Did I forget to copy something? Do I have enough desks (important when I have 43 students on my class list today and more *could* be added)? What will the students be like? Will they get my humour? It's like New Year's Eve. So much anticipation for the fresh new start. Everything that I felt I could do better last year is now ready for me to work on again this year and make it better.
So, here is my (short) list of things I want to work on in this new year...
1. Formative assessment. I do a fair amount of this but would like to incorporate more. Having more assignments doesn't impact the grade, but having more activities where the students can take risks in their writing and thinking can impact their overall understanding.
2. Utilize the power of video. I have been watching some of the terrific videos teachers have created for their classes. Jenn Williams for example has some terrific ones that my students have used and I want to work on creating my own, or have my students create some to showcase their own understanding. An example of her videos is here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWckfC3j94I&list=PLB9563045E5490CDA&feature=plcp
3. Expand my professional reading. I've had a pretty narrow focus, I'm ashamed to admit and now it's time to broaden my horizons. If you have some great books/blogs/websites to share, please let me know! I try to spend a great deal of my summer reading, but this year I did far less than normal. Must get back into that groove!
4. Continue to refine the writing process for my students, especially my weak writers. 50% of the final exam for my grade 12s is based on their writing. For so many of them this is the hard part. They have the content but struggle with articulating it. I'm going to try and incorporate more peer writing/editing/sharing to see what that does for these students.
Not an exhaustive list, but as we teachers know, we work on everything all the time. I'm looking forward to an exciting school year with different challenges and anticipating the opportunities that await. Happy New Year!
So, here is my (short) list of things I want to work on in this new year...
1. Formative assessment. I do a fair amount of this but would like to incorporate more. Having more assignments doesn't impact the grade, but having more activities where the students can take risks in their writing and thinking can impact their overall understanding.
2. Utilize the power of video. I have been watching some of the terrific videos teachers have created for their classes. Jenn Williams for example has some terrific ones that my students have used and I want to work on creating my own, or have my students create some to showcase their own understanding. An example of her videos is here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWckfC3j94I&list=PLB9563045E5490CDA&feature=plcp
3. Expand my professional reading. I've had a pretty narrow focus, I'm ashamed to admit and now it's time to broaden my horizons. If you have some great books/blogs/websites to share, please let me know! I try to spend a great deal of my summer reading, but this year I did far less than normal. Must get back into that groove!
4. Continue to refine the writing process for my students, especially my weak writers. 50% of the final exam for my grade 12s is based on their writing. For so many of them this is the hard part. They have the content but struggle with articulating it. I'm going to try and incorporate more peer writing/editing/sharing to see what that does for these students.
Not an exhaustive list, but as we teachers know, we work on everything all the time. I'm looking forward to an exciting school year with different challenges and anticipating the opportunities that await. Happy New Year!