Wow!  I had an amazing week in Cullowhee, NC at the Kenan Fellows Professional Advancement Institute.  In my 25 years of teaching, I have not experienced such top quality professional development as I did this past week.

Arriving back home exhausted from the week’s activities, I began reflecting on my week and the many new tools, strategies, and ideas that were presented at the institute.  I attended so many excellent sessions on technology that will engage my students and improve my instructional practices. However,  the session that most inspired me as a middle school science teacher was Justin Osterstrom’s presentation on Engineering in the Middle School Classroom.  His hands-on, minds-on approach was right on.  I cannot wait to implement some of the practical activities he shared in my own classroom.  I could have spent two hours in a session with him learning more strategies for creating lessons that will improve  my students’ inquiry skills.   I plan to post the following quote from Justin in my classroom as a constant reminder to my students :  “I expect you to fail, I don’t expect you to quit.”  THIS is the point where those AHA moments occur and real learning begins.  The type of activities that Justin presented are the ones that create excitement in the classroom and leave the students begging for more.  I left that session inspired and eager to create more opportunities for inquiry learning in my classroom.

I was surrounded by amazing educators from across the state this week.   The conversations and team building experiences I had walking around the track, sharing a meal, or rafting down the Nantahala were just as important and meaningful to me as the professional development sessions I attended.

I am honored to be a part of this group of exceptional educators and energized by the creativity, skills, and passion that was shared throughout the week.  I  also really enjoyed learning from my fellow educators during the Kenan Talks. I look forward to meeting together  with this group again in July and continuing my journey as a Kenan Fellow.