Where to begin?!?!??! This was one of the most amazing and inspiring experiences I have ever had as an educator!  If we could surround ourselves with motivating and encouraging people like this all the time, I truly believe that we could do ANYTHING!   As a way to continue that feeling of support and positive thinking, I now officially have a twitter account.  I am a fan of social media, but I have never used it as a platform- and I am hoping to evolve into a new type social butterfly with my twitter account.

I don’t believe it is possible for me to to select only one moment or one instructional tool to define as the highlight of my week at NCCAT.  I believe that my overall feeling- a culmination of excitement, renewed vigor, and feeling that anything is possible is my “highlight” and a light that I hope continues to shine throughout this fellowship and the years to come.  If were were to begin getting technical with this question, I believe that the highlight of my week physically would be when I jumped into the Nantahala River off of the raft bridge…..the technological tool highlight of my week would have to be Kahoot and the other tools that allow for immediate feed back from students using computers, tablet, and phones….the educational practice highlight of my week would be learning about Flipping the Classroom and how I can make this possible even with limited technology and internet access in my students’ homes.

I am very grateful for the NCCAT experience and I look forward to the next step in my Kenan Journey!

What do I hope to gain from the Kenan Fellowship program experience?  Good question.  I want to go ahead and document my thoughts tonight because I am pretty sure that my expectations will evolve with every day beginning with tomorrow’s events.  I use to be someone that could quickly verbalize what I expected out of any situation…what I wanted, how I wanted to do it, and when it was going to happen.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to learn that I don’t always know what I want, and I’m definitely not always sure of how to get there….where ever “there” is!  As I learn more, my thoughts shift, my ideas transform, and my mold become complete reformed if not thrown away completely.  So when I am asked what I expect to gain form this experience I answer with extreme reservation.  I think I know what I hope to gain, but I also anticipate the evolution of those hopes and I look forward to seeing where this unforeseen path will in fact take me!

For now, a brief outline of some hopes and expectations:

1. I will gain a heightened level  of professional development that I will be able to directly apply to my personal teaching style and to my classroom.
2. I will get to experience an amazing externship that truly bridges a gap between my own theoretical knowledge of science and the applicable settings that are all around me!–In this case, all of the science and technology that is incorporated into Wright Foods, a food sterilization and packaging plant.
3. I will be able to take what I have seen, engaged with, and learned about in the externship and incorporate it into my day-to-day discussion with my students.
4. I will be able to write an effective curriculum that will promote student engagement and excitement, and that this will potentially encourage them to pursue jobs in science/manufacturing.
5. I will be provided with support and encouragement from multiple people and programs that I need to complete this program effectively and beyond.  Support from: Kenan Faculty/Staff, Kenan Peers, School and District Administration, etc.
6. Something small, ok not small but a bonus maybe: I expect this program to help me learn to not necessarily reflect (I feel that I do that) but to better express my reflection….I have never been a person to journal or blog… I think that this blog experience alone will be a way for me to see a side of myself in a new light. It will be a time for me to really see what I find to be very important…to potentially pull out things about myself and my ideas of teaching that are on a more subconscious level.

I look forward to seeing what happens…what expectations and hopes are met and what occurs that I haven’t even thought of yet, even though it may end up being a very large part of my Kenan experience. Here’s to the future!

This is my last week of school with students!  We have been busy testing for the last five school days and it will continue through Thursday.  I am very excited to begin my internship next week at Wright Foods!  My mentor has been very supportive- and I am encouraged about what this summer will bring.  Our first meeting got the logistics nailed down and we were able to move beyond that and discuss what I expected to gain from the experience, what Wright Foods could provide for me, and how I was going to see all the avenues and careers paths that are available in a factory setting.  I am looking forward to beginning my first week in the “field” and figure out how best to utilize the tablet in documenting the days, events, and activities.