This week I have experienced NCCAT for the very first time. I met the other fellows and participated in tons of professional development. We even went rafting on the Nantahala River! When asked what the highlight of my week has been, I find it difficult to choose just one. Some key memories that I will be taking with me are jumping into the ice cold river, falling from my raft and being rescued, experiencing Ed Camp, reevaluating what parents need from me, learning to use technology to better connect with students, making it up the steep mountain trail next to our rooms, and learning that other people exist that are just as passionate and excited about education as I am!
During the week I attended many different sessions covering a variety of topics, some more inspirational than others. One of my favorites was our abbreviated Ed Camp on Tuesday night. We submitted ideas of what we wanted to learn about, the facilitators created a schedule of discussions based on our ideas, and people went to the discussions that they felt they needed. Once in a room the facilitators started the discussion and kept it going by asking questions to the group. Everyone was able to share their thoughts on the topic at hand and we were able to build on each other’s ideas. It was so refreshing to 1) hear from other teachers who get where I am coming from and 2) to be TREATED LIKE A PROFESSIONAL WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING! But that is another rant for another a day.
Also on Tuesday, I looked at several different online tools and apps that I could use with my students. This part was really overwhelming for me. I am only 26 years old and I thought (up until this week) that I was good at technology. It turns out, I have a lot to learn! In one of my sessions I started a Weebly website, which is not as easy as everyone said it would be. In another session I learned about making infographics and using them to assess student knowledge. I am certain that my students will appreciate both of these new tools, assuming I figure out how to use them! In addition to the formal sessions I attended, I also learned a lot about technology for teaching from other fellows! Next year I am definitely going to use Twitter to communicate with students and to connect with other teachers. Another must for next year is my Remind account. Remind is an app that allows teachers to send texts to parents without having to give out their actual phone number. I am excited about being able to communicate with more parents than I am able to by email alone. Parent communication is a big weakness of mine so I hope to use this new tool to help me grow in this area next year.
Other sessions that I greatly appreciate from the week are the Maslow was a Working Parent presentation and a concurrent session on Socratic seminar. These two sessions were cool because they refreshed or changed my perspective. I have tried seminar in the past, but have struggled with them in my classroom. This session renewed my excitement and willingness to give it another go by letting me talk to a teacher who does them really well. Last but far from least, the Maslow presenters asked us to recreate Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to outline the Hierarchy of what parents need from teachers. I am not a parent myself and have never stopped to really truly think about what parents expect from me as their student’s teacher. This exercise helped me see parents differently and made me feel more driven to work on my communication with parents this year. I am going to print what I came up with and hang it in my room so that I can always be reminded to keep parents in mind and know that we are on the same team.
This week has been filled with great memories, even greater bonds being formed, and a ton of new ideas and information. The people have been great and I know that I now have a whole Kenan Fellows family that will help and support me in implementing my new ideas. I am more excited than ever before to get started on my project on Monday (Go Team Dirt!). I am also tired and happy to be home on my couch for the moment. Off to rest and recharge!
Courtney, I really like your parent’s hierarchy of needs. We, as educators, are only part of the team that nurtures and supports the growth of a child; your hierarchy well reflects that understanding.
I also really liked your comment about being treated like a professional WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING. I capitalized the last part of your statement because I think it is central to the issue of professionalism in education. If we want to attract and retain intelligent individuals in education, then we have to give them the autonomy to act as thinking, decision making professionals.
Thank you, the hierarchy of needs activity was a real eye-opener for me. Logically I have always known what parents need from me but thinking about it in comparison to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs helped me connect with the needs of parents on an emotional level, which is likely to stick with me for a long time.