Week at a Glance
October 12-16, 2015
What I am reading this week: Teachers are learning designers, Andrew Miller
Empower Yourself
For so long, teachers have been disempowered to design. With prescribed curriculum, overly strict pacing guides and the like, teachers have been given little to no opportunity to innovate and design for learning. Personally, this was and is my favorite part about teaching -- the opportunity to design and be creative, to design learning that meets the needs of my students, to try new things -- and perhaps the opportunity to fail. Great learning models and structures have the space for teachers to design for their students while still remaining within the framework. Whether it's a driving question for a PBL project, a mini-task in an LDC unit, an instructional scaffold for a UbD unit, or an assessment for a GBL unit, teachers still have -- and must have -- the space that empowers them to design. If we want our students to be empowered, then we must model this empowerment to be a learning designer. If you haven't designed or been given the space to, this will be difficult. Look for spaces that can challenge your design thinking about what a learning space can be.
What the Admin PLC is working on:
What are the systems of intervention when students fail? How are we monitoring? How are we communicating to our larger community of parents and guardians? Are we building a culture of innovation and risk-taking amongst our teachers? Are we building the same culture amongst our students?
Noelle Hall's Capstone Mural
New Strands Planned for GTA
We Made the Top Ten Greenest Schools list in the USA!
Ways to Show Your Cougar Pride This Week:
Support the Orchestra Fundraiser
-Debrief with students on the first Cougar Pride Day –what worked, what didn’t work. Submit your TRACK classes’ comments on the google form. Link sent in an email from Obersteller last week.
-Join the PTA for a mere $5.00 and get your name into the drawing for $25.00 gift certificates to be used in your classrooms.
Custodian Appreciation Week: An email from Linda Garcia was sent last week with directions and suggestions.
Cafeteria Appreciation Week: Eat lunch in the Cafeteria! See email from Linda Garcia.
Kids at Play is for ALL – the SLT asked me to remind us: The grade level Kids at Play day is for all students. We believe play is the primary form of learning for students and that time in nature is vital to health and well-being. All teachers and students should go outside on the grade level’s designated Kid’s at Play day. Watch for Monarchs!
From Andrew Miller’s blog:
From Andrew Miller’s blog:
If your students, like plants, are struggling to grow, perhaps it isn't them. Most likely it's the conditions that are being created for students. Now of course, there are many conditions creating opportunity for growth that may be beyond our control. In fact, you might conduct a Realms and Concern Influence protocol with other staff members to see what you can influence about a particular student. That being said, there is always something that teachers can do or design to create the seeds for growth. Look for opportunities to design rather than fearing roadblocks.