Month: June 2015

This past week in Cullowhee has proved to me that my first two incredible experiences with NCCAT were far from flukes. All three visits (one at Ocracoke and two at Cullowhee) provided me with incredible opportunities to grow as a teacher and meet others who, like me, believe in the positive potential of our students.

There are so many things that I learned over the past 5 days that I plan to use in my classroom this year – I’m hopeful that Trello will provide me with a visual representation of my students’ proficiency by domain and standards to help with differentiation; I’m confident that Classroom Messenger will improve my communication with families because of its flexible accessibility via phones, e-mail accounts, and directly on the website; and I’m positive that the incredibly talented group of teachers with whom I shared this experience will provide a wonderful network for creative ideas, entertaining anecdotes and a substantial source of support.

I truly enjoyed my first EdCamp experience on motivation where the contributions were all organically generated by teachers passionate about the topic. Unfortunately, the second EdCamp session on innovation was facilitated by “experts” and did not produce the same positive results. I neglected to use the “Law of Two Feet” and was disappointed by the experience. For those who are unfamiliar with the edict:

I will try to remember this precept in the future and learn to exercise my right/obligation to learn/contribute in meaningful ways always.

The difference between my NCCAT experience(s) and other professional development is the overwhelming sense of respect that I felt while I was there. We were always treated as professionals and were given numerous opportunities to share our ideas and reflect on what we learned. It is a wonderful place to get revived and rejuvenated and ready for the many adventures and challenges my future in education will undoubtedly hold!

I am excited about my Kenan fellowship because it is an excellent opportunity for me to expand my education with the help of experts in a STEM field. This fellowship will enable me to share my first-hand experiences with colleagues and students for years to come. I am particularly interested in the eMammal Camera Trap Stakeout because I know there is an abundance of wildlife around our school (we had a perimeter lockdown for a bear a few years ago). I think it will be amazing to have a close up view of the hidden world around us!

During our week at NCCAT, many of us discussed how effective teachers build relationships with their students. This can be done, in part, by sharing personal learning experiences and stories about the trials and tribulations we all go through when we learn new things. I imagine that this opportunity will help me become a more effective teacher by broadening my bank of knowledge from which I can draw to make connections with a wider spectrum of my students.

The biggest challenge in 7th Grade, as a teacher, is to find ways to hook my students and keep them motivated to learn. The most significant way that students will benefit from my participation in the eMammal Camera Trap Stakeout is by having access to high interest, authentic data that can be intermingled throughout the 7th Grade Math Curriculum. Students can use the data to write their own word problems through which they can develop their higher order thinking skills AND practice working with rational numbers. Also, comparative, statistical analyses will be much more interesting and engaging when they can use information gathered in their own neighborhood to compare with students throughout North Carolina and other parts of the world. Finally, my students will benefit from knowing their teacher was inspired to spend her summer learning new things from experts in their field. My mission is to help my students Learn to Love to Learn – what better way than to show them that I love to learn myself!

Other teachers will benefit from my Kenan fellowship experience, not only through my sharing of ideas, but also through my sharing of enthusiasm and positivity toward our profession as educators and learners. This is a difficult time for teachers in North Carolina to stay the course and not abandon this beautiful state to seek greener pastures (and paychecks) in other locales. Pessimism and cynicism abound in most systems across the state. As a teacher leader, I see my role as a cheerleader, motivator and facilitator of an optimistic outlook. I hope to show others that by building our own sense of wonder and curiosity, we can instill those qualities in our students, and help ourselves, and each other, to love our profession again!