I think there is some value in blogging because it helps you pull your thoughts together and process them. It can help you remember, understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate while you are writing which covers a lot of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. It could help you see how your thoughts have changed over time if you went back and read earlier entries (I didn’t). It could also hep you see how your ideas were similar to or different from others’ thoughts and expose you to new ideas if you read others’ blog posts (I did a little, but not that much near the end of the school year). I think the greatest value of blogging for me has been that it makes me think more deeply about something and makes me re-examine my ideas. For instance, when I read the prompt for this blog post, I thought I probably won’t continue blogging and I don’t think I will use it in my science classes. But as I write, I’m thinking, “Hmmm, if it would get my students to think more deeply and do more higher order thinking, why am I not using it with my students?” Now I’m wondering what would be good prompts to use in Biology class next semester. I guess I’ll add another “to do” to my list for this summer.

Okay I just talked with two other teachers who will be teaching the same grade level next year. They were talking about how do a better job of teaching freshmen and sophomores group work skills. We decided we will include blogging self-assessments with the other structures we are putting in place to help them grow their collaborative skills.

My Kenan Fellowship experience has helped me to grow as an educator. Looking back at my first blog post, I see that nearly all my expectations for growth and accomplishments have been met. I said I hoped that doing an externship at Vidant Duplin Hospital would help me to upgrade my Honors Biology course, and it certainly has. The whole semester was centered around an over-arching PBL that had meaningful community service projects. I said that I wanted to find ways to make more real-world connections to health and health care and ways to make class more engaging, and our PBL on diabetes linked to one of the biggest health problems in our county. I said that I planned to find ways my students can give back to the community through community service projects and my students taught 4th and 5th graders at a nearby elementary school about diabetes. They also made display boards that were used at a community health and fitness center, displayed in doctor’s offices and a pharmacy, and are now being used at Vidant Duplin Hospital for their diabetes education classes.I said that I hoped I would be able to successfully use some of the technology presented in the PD sessions, and I have incorporated some of it into my classes.  I also said I hoped the externship would enable me to link some of our students with internships, graduation projects, or volunteer opportunities and that is the part I still need to accomplish in days and years ahead.