Reflect+on+Practice+and+Collaborate+With+Peers



|| || I have created ways to engage in peer observations beyond my school, initiating contact with the other two FLES (foreign language to elementary students) Spanish teachers in BPS, inviting them to my classroom to share ideas and practices, and then following-up with a visit to two classes in which they teach. I have furthered that relationship outside of BPS, continuing contact with the Brookline Public Schools FLES program as well as using online FLES and Spanish-teacher networking sites. I regularly analyze and reflect on learning based on current data, my own observations, and those of others – I am already thinking about some ideas that arose when peer-observing with the music teacher at school. A benefit of being a new teacher is that the learning curve is relatively sharp, and I am actively seeking feedback and ideas to improve instruction. Working at the teacher-run Boston Teachers Union School, we engage in collaborative problem solving and decision-making at our weekly faculty meetings, via email, and in-person. I have been working with classroom students regarding individual students as well as aligning the curricula so that their mainstream and Spanish classes connect and build off of each other whenever possible. |||| **Challenges:** Since the FLES/Spanish world is small, and there are only two other such teachers in BPS, feedback on FLES-specific instruction is hard to come by. || **Area for Growth:** I would like to help the BTU School establish the practice of developing a yearly school goal, supported by individual teachers’ goals. I would also like to seek our professional development for Open Circle, Responsive Classroom, or another social/emotional-based curriculum. || Because this was an online mentoring course in which we provided and received feedback, any number of exchanges could be used as an example. Here is one that demonstrates how we supported and challenged each other:
 * **Dimension of Effective Teaching:** Reflect on Practice and Collaborate With Peers
 * **Description:** Reflect on practice with peers and administrators, set goals for growth, and engage in appropriate professional development.
 * **Successes:**
 * **Artifacts:**

rianagood Mar 9, 2010 6:40 pm Two of the most compelling ways to successfully get reluctant learners to be motivated by learning are by offering choices and by providing open-ended activities to develop creativity, as suggested in the article “Intrinsic Motivation”. The podcast aptly points out that students’ beliefs about their competence in their education-related outcomes also play a significant role, though they use a lot of buzz words without a lot of practical suggestions. In a classroom setting, conveying high expectations can be related to both teachers’ feedback and the assignments that they give. By maintaining demanding learning goals and giving students the tools to attain them - such as modeling, scaffolding and rubrics to check their work against, etc. - these goals can be met. Offering choices and providing open-ended activities are sometimes considered unrealistic, but it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy if boring assignments lead to unengaged students, which lead to teachers’ beliefs that students can’t handle more.

womenleaders re: Strategies for motivating students womenleaders Mar 10, 2010 10:01 pm Why do you think student choice is unrealistic? I think at the elementary level offering choices and open-ended activities is easier.

rianagood re: Strategies for motivating students rianagood Mar 12, 2010 3:35 pm Yes, I should have clarified more. When I said that they are "sometimes considered unrealistic", I was referring to the self-fulfilling prophecy of expectations that can become a vicious cycle. If a teacher finds that students act out in "chalk and talk" settings, they might be led to believe that they "can't handle the freedom", when in fact it is the very nature of the pedagogy that is leading to the acting out, not the students' inherent way of being. Patrick Finn's Literacy with an Attitude is an excellent read on this subject.

womenleaders re: Strategies for motivating students womenleaders Mar 24, 2010 4:20 pm Literacy with an Attitude...I love that title, I'll have to look for a copy, thanks for the recommendation. I understand now what you mean by "unrealistic". You are right it is a vicious cycle. So, how do you avoid being trapped in the cycle?

rianagood re: Strategies for motivating students rianagood Mar 28, 2010 8:09 pm Create ground rules as a class regarding how different classroom activities look/sound/feel. Post visual reminders and go over them before engaging in an activity, as needed. A mini-lesson would look/sound/feel different from individual work would be different from group work would be different from a presentation... Talking about what is appropriate for different settings and practicing can make different classroom formations and practices more viable.

jacquiross re: Strategies for motivating students jacquiross Mar 30, 2010 10:37 am I like the idea of students being able to work on something that they're interested in because it gives them buy in. This is something I see with Science fair. My question is how do you hold them accountable for something that's open-ended? What kind of rubric do you use? Also, how does this work in a middle school setting? |||| **Resources:** Wiggio, Ning sites, and our Wiki-based conversations all served as models for web-based reflection and collaboration with peers.

Also useful: Giving and Receiving Feedback ||
 * **Reflection:** I chose this exchange as an example because what had originally been a post about strategies for motivating students became a conversation about recommended reading, setting expectations for different kinds of activities, and creating rubrics. By opening up to reflection in one dimension, we engaged in a conversation about many elements of teaching practice. This demonstrates that not only being oriented towards reflection, but also putting oneself in settings that encourage reflection and feedback are important to reflective practice. ||
 * **Future Learning Goals:** I would like to help the BTU School establish the practice of developing a yearly school goal, supported by individual teachers’ goals. I would also like to seek our professional development for Open Circle, Responsive Classroom, or another social/emotional-based curriculum. ||