As you prepare for the 2012-2013 school year, describe how you envision your summer experience impacting your students.

I am actually finishing up the beginning year preparations (we just finished our work days this last week and I get kids on Monday), and I can already see my summer experience making a huge impact on my students!

Of course, there is my externship and everything I have learned about the engineering design process. This is going to have a major impact on the way I run my class, and on the way my students proceed with projects, papers, presentations, and really any large assignment. I am working hard this year to incorporate the design process in as many areas of my English curriculum as I can manage.

Not only will my students be impacted by my externship, though. I think the professional development we were able to be a part of will make a huge difference in my classroom! I am already making many changes based on things I learned from presenters! I am collecting more data on my students to better assist them in what their individual needs are, and to better understand where students are coming from. I am opening new avenues of communication (I never thought I would have a twitter!) with students and parents. I think I have taken away the value of open communication with everyone from the PD I participated in!

Not only will these things impact my students, they should impact all students at our school, because I am a huge proponent of sharing. I have shared so many things that I have learned with my colleagues, and in doing so I feel as though my summer experience will impact students even beyond my reach.

How exciting!