Having been in school only 5 days, it’s amazing how my summer experience with Kenan Fellows is already impacting my classroom culture and the activities that I’m doing with my students! In AP Biology, I have already used one of the activities in my KFP curriculum product, which required students to create an instructional foldable to teach younger biology students about epigenetics (the focus of my internship and their summer assignment). In biology, I have taken some of the ideas gathered from PD sessions and twitter chats this summer and am using them to build classroom community: Kudos & Critiques–(thanks Jordan Hohm!), Twitter chats (woot Allie Solender) for office hours with students, ditching notes for process-oriented learning (POGIL), and tracking student mastery using visible classroom data charts.
The best part?? My PLC and student teacher are on board with a lot of the new things that I want to try with my students. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think a lot of us went back to our schools this year and said, “I saw this awesome _________ at Kenan Fellows PD! Let me tell you about it.” My first PLC of the school year created a lot of great discussion about growth mindsets, student learning outcomes, and using technology to our advantage. I am extremely fortunate to be in a school that encourages me to expand my horizons and try new things. Shout-out to DSA Biology & #sauernette!
I began this school year feeling more prepared and inspired than ever! I’m finally at a point where I feel comfortable with my content, and now I’m willing to branch out from my “normal” first week of school activities to try some of the ideas that I developed as a result of my KFP experience. Though exhausting, this first week back at school was one of the best starts to a school year that I’ve ever had. Many thanks to the Kenan Fellows program for this invigorating start to the school year and to the 41 other amazing KFs who have inspired me in countless ways!