Month: June 2018

The highlight of my week may seem evident from my first two posts. What I have enjoyed most is coming together with like minded teachers. It was wonderful being able to form bonds with people with educators from across the state of North Carolina. These fellows will now become part of my long term professional learning community. That is a highlight first and foremost.

Beyond that there were several other highlights. I feel that the easiest way to discuss these highlights in through a list.. we will see how long this turns out to be. Sorry reader in advance…

1) Relationships

• Forming relationships with the 24 other 2018-2019 Fellows. I found my marigolds in the teaching profession.
• Forming relationships with our different Teams of people throughout the experience (Sphero groups, Scavenger Hunt, Feedback Team) I enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with these groups in Cullowhee and I am especially excited to be part of a group of 5 educators who will support one another through this process.
• Forming relationships with the Steering Committee. This was incredible because all members have also been Kenan Fellows so they can totally relate to our current experience. They are filled with advice and can articulate how this program has had a direct impact on their teachers and students.
• Getting to hear expertise from our guest presenters and ask them questions was also really great.

2) App Smackdown. The App Smackdown meant a lot to me because it was a cool way of sharing resources and ideas rapidly. We were all able to share out several ideas in a short period of time. It felt like small pitch presentations, which I very much enjoyed.

3) EdCamp Kenan was a highlight for me because it gave me a voice in this professional development. It also allowed me to learn from the other fellows. The strongest network that we will have this year is each other. It was nice to listen to others experience and to be reminded that I am NOT alone.

4) Myers Brigg Personality Tests. Getting to take the Myers Brigg test again helped me to see how I have changed as a person and teacher. I now better understand that we have natural dispositions but with practice I can improve in certain areas. This workshop was helpful because it reminded me that everyone as a different way of communicating and thinking about things. My students and co-workers alike have different needs and the more I understand about them the better I can serve them.

5) Literacy in STEM was a workshop lead by a former Kenan Fellow, Carson. I particularly appreciated this session because it is an area I am not fluent in. I try to activate learning in literacy for STEM but finding resources and generating ideas on how to go about that is not a strength. Carson offered a few ideas like SWRL and concept circles which I will implement this coming school year.

6) Lastly, Branding a workshop lead by a former Kenan Fellow, Mark Townley. I appreciated the way Mark communicated his ideas. He is calm, enthusiastic, clear, engaging. He represents his brand. He aims to engage his students by being compassionate, relevant, and provide experiential learning. Throughout the week he lived out this brand. While I am still thinking about my own and what I want it to be I was inspired by his message. To have a brand doesn’t mean to place restrictions or confine yourself to an unrealistic expectation. Instead your brand should motivate you to aspire to something everyday with your students and co-workers. That is why I’m not sure if I have found mine yet. I want to figure out a brand that really helps me stay motivated this year. I’ll keep working.

Additionally, I now feel more equipped with awesome ideas. I will surely be filtering through all of the notes, resources, presentations that I have now received for weeks to come. I cannot wait to get started on designing plans!

This PD was intensive, challenging, and enlightening. It does not compare to other professional developments that I have attended in this setting. The duration and the content were intentional and useful. This professional development will have a direct impact on what I do in the classroom and how I approach STEM. In that way it has been the best PD I have attended thus far.

However, I feel it is imperative that I also mention some previous PD experiences that lead me to Kenan Fellows. Last summer I had the opportunity to travel to Yellowstone for ten days with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. This PD addressed how to intentionally get kids out into nature and to design curriculum specifically engaging kids with the environment. In addition, I attended the international Be The Change conference in Beijing, China which helped me better understand how Design Thinking can help students make a difference in their communities. Both of these professional development experiences were incredible and pushed my career along in different ways than #18KFPD.

I know when this year is done, I will feel different. Having a year long experience and becoming part of an intentional community of educators will surely grow me in ways I cannot even begin to imagine.

As always I am excited for what’s in store.

Ms. A

So I think I’m going to like this blogging thing… I think I’m going to like it more than I should.

There is something about taking the time to reflect here at NCCAT that just feels right. Or in all honestly… critical. I would even venture to say that fully summarizing this experience would be impossible. But here I am trying anyway…

The first two days of this PD has felt like information overload in the best possible way. While It all seems attainable there have been several points where I have been way outside of the comfort zone I worked so hard to construct in my first four years of teaching… but as mentioned yesterday I think it’s time to let it redefine itself.

I also caught myself today in what I’ll call “pat on the back moments” because today I was sitting in a PD and thought to myself that idea is great… AND I’m already doing that in my classroom! When that happened today it felt a lot like receiving cool points (for the record… cool points don’t actually exist anywhere other than my mind). I created these cool points and liberally gave them to myself today when I realized I had a shared ideas with these amazing presenters called Kenan Fellows.

Then it struck me… I am in the same class as they are. Duh… I am a Kenan Fellow now too. I have joined this great network of teachers set apart with a purpose to make a difference for students and for teachers. Today I realized while giving myself my 14th cool point that maybe I will truly become a leader of teachers, or maybe I already am… That feels cool. I didn’t know I had so much cool potential.

All jokes and in my case “cool points” aside today was a reminder to me that I am not alone in this profession. For every cool point there was a connection built to another educator. A bridge if you will be built between one or more of us every time we said, “I like that idea too.” Or “I’m doing that in my classroom too.” It felt good, really good to hear that other educators share these same philosophies.

So if I had to summarize today’s learning outcome I would have to say the greatest thing I learned today wasn’t the content specifically. Rather, it was remembering that I am not alone.

Here are just some few ways I was reminded that I am not alone today:

• There are other teachers who value Project Based Learning.
• There are other teachers who want to make learning relevant and meaningful.
• There are other teachers who want to learn effective communication to relate to their co-workers, students, and parents better.
• There are other teachers who are implementing Design Thinking in their classroom.
• There are other teachers who care about integrated curriculum.
• There are other teachers with challenges in their classroom who are completing unique from my own.
• There are other teachers who feel burnt out and deflated at times from this profession.
• There are the same number of teachers who have recommitted themselves to the profession and continuing to grow.
• There are other teachers who look to assess children on more than just test scores.
• There are other teachers who care about living out their brand and being authentic people to their students.
• There are other teachers who care about Digital Literacy and the role social media plays on our students and classrooms.
• There are other teachers who care about thoughtful feedback being student oriented.

All of these reminders were outcomes of today’s PD. Whether intended or not, today I felt less alone.

It feels great to connect with a community of teachers who share this passion for learning. Who truly believe these things listed above. We talk so much about kids needing a strong network or support group around them.

Newsflash Teachers! We need the same! We can serve our students best when we have these life-giving experiences. When we have a network of people around us inspiring us to be better, we are better. 

If you are not part of a Professional Learning Network (#PLN.. as I learned today in the Digital Literacy session) seek one out! Find other educators who care about the same things you do! It is out there. You are not alone.

 

My name is Annah Riedel. I teach 4th grade at The Exploris School in Raleigh, NC. In this blog I will describe my experiences as a Kenan Fellow, reflect on practices, and share resources.

But where should I start on this blog? …Why not from the beginning?

I was born in Cary, NC to the best parents… While that is true, I’m only kidding. Let’s start with the first day of professional development as a Kenan Fellow.

Day 1:

Today I arrived at the beautiful NCCAT facility in Cullowhee, NC after a long drive. I walked into the main lobby and was greeted with a warm welcome, name tag, folder, and key to my OWN room (…already being treated like a queen). Shortly after I found my room, and to my surprise on each door there were posted words of wisdom.

Here’s what mine said:

“Accept challenge with open arms. This experience will be more different than anything else you have done so far…. And the most satisfying.”

I read it and quickly ran off to our opening sessions where we were greeted by our director and put faces to many names of voices we had come to know via email quite well. We were also greeted by some incredible former Kenan Fellows.

The day continued with LOTS of presentations, collaborative activities with spheros and an introduction to an app called codesnaps. Followed by conversations about best practice for lessons; where everyone had input in what makes a quality lesson.

As the day progressed I realized the advice I received was extremely fitting. In just 6 hours today I could feel my mind exploding with information and inputs. Remember all those presentations I was just talking about? They introduced us to all the work we would have to do on things like… Blogs?! Calendars?! Professional Development Plans?!

I had willingly signed on to do what exactly again…?

Today in my state of overwhelmed-ness I had to remind myself of one thing. When you feel a little scared, overwhelmed, and out of place, YOU ARE GROWING.

Right now I am at the beginning of a beautiful exponential curve. The journey of growing might not be pretty, but it will be exciting.

So yes, former Kenan Fellow you are correct. And it was no mistake your words were on my door. It set the tone for how I embraced today. I open my arms to this growth and to this experience. I know if I can embrace it fully it will have a major impact on my career and even more than that… my life.

So that leads me to my first blog post what do I want to gain from this experience? I want to be transformed, empowered, and to GET OUT of my comfort zone. It feels good to be a little scared and to not know how it’s all going to work out. This is a feeling I want to live a little longer because I know a year from now I will be a different teacher.

This year I want to feel transformed from a beginning teacher to a teacher leader. I want to feel empowered to take risks in my classroom knowing I have a network standing behind and beside me taking similar risks. Finally, I want to feel like I am out of my comfort zone. Growth happens as you continue to take small steps outside of your zone of comfort. As you take these steps that zone steadily expands and your comfort zone redefines itself. 

So let’s make that comfort zone a little larger, my capacity to lead a little stronger, and my voice a little more directed.

I am thankful and I am ready to do this. I cannot wait to see where this Fellowship will take me this year.

Ms. A

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