Take 5 - 9/17/2006

I experimented with asking students different questions at the beginning of class. Warm-up activities that were reflections of statements I had put on a PowerPoint. In Personal Survival, I had some statements about physical fitness and health and in Sports Medicine I had a couple case studies. I was trying different methods of asking relevant and meaningful questions figuring out what would work in a class blog. The students were very receptive to the ideas. The reflections my PS class had were GREAT! They really put some effort into the activity. I know many of you do this in class already but I usually do quick quizzes, games, etc. This was something new. I also tried something new in Sports Medicine in learning ligaments and tendons of the lower leg. I gave the students an outline of the anatomy I wanted them to find. We used the computer lab and some anatomy and sports medicine websites to find everything. I am thinking about expanding on this with a scavenger hunt when we get to the anatomy of the knee. I'll let you know how it goes.

Take 5 - 9/8/06

This week was a bit crazy. A new teacher made a comment to me about Arapahoe having much more paperwork and computer responsibilities than his old school. I asked how that made him feel and he replied by saying it took more time but he didn't mind because it was for the benefit of the students. So TRUE!
I witnessed some amazing one on one teaching today during hall duty. A math teacher was individually bringing his students into the hall to discuss grades and issues in class. The Study Center was brought up many times but the thing that struck me the most was his sincere concern for the students and their understanding of the concepts. Isn't that what we are here for? How can we make a difference in the lives of our students? How do we show we care? Every teacher is different and we can't reach every student but the ones we do - how much does that mean to them?
I think we get so tied up with paperwork, IC, and meetings we forget why we are really here. It doesn't matter if all of our lesson plans look perfect or if our grades are 100% up to date everyday. What matters is how we affect our student's lives everyday. How little comments we make can change their day or their attitude about learning certain subjects. How can we speak their language and still push them to the limits of our goals for them? We may be the only positive influence they have. Think about that for a while. (This coming from a situation I had in class on Tuesday.) Interesting thought to ponder....

Take 5 - 9/1/06

After Tuesday's class I am feeling better with what is going on. It is amazing to see so many of us interested in changing some of our concepts of teaching. I have been challenging myself to ask better questions in class and I've been working on creative warm-up activities for my Personal Survival and Sports Medicine classes. The students are engaged immediately and they know if they are late they will miss out on the activity and important discussions.
Jesse C. set up a great class blog for his medicine class that gave me some good ideas for Personal Survival and Sports Medicine. Like we talked about in class, I want my class blogs to be meaningful and NOT busy work. Coming up with ideas and questions for postings is what I am working on right now. I have talked to my classes and for the most part the students seem interested in participating. I think it will be a great way to say in touch with my classes while I am on maternity leave.
It is so nice to meet with other teachers to share ideas and learn how to implement those ideas into lessons. I am very excited about 21C Learners and Constructivist Teaching. I really look forward to our classes and reading others blogs.