11/30/06 Session Blog

It was nice to get out of the house and be with friends for a few hours. I have been a bit behind on my blogging and 21C information but I watched the 2020 presentation that Karl put together Wednesday night and it got me thinking again about teaching and our students. Every session I have been to has motivated me to help our students become producers. I think with communication and clear goals we can encourage students to be curious, to ask questions and to become thinkers.

I would really like to state that I have enjoyed our sessions and I feel I take knowledge from each class. But more than anything the 21C sessions make me want to be a better teacher - they make me strive for excellence and helping my students become better learners. It motivates me when I see other teachers trying new things for our students because it is about them and their future.

1. The Text-Based Seminar method, in theory, was well thought out but it did not work very well with our group. I think if we had gotten the handout before we started our discussions it would have helped guide our discussion. We had a integrated group of different disciplines and it was difficult to really discuss what "our" department would do or what standards we could focus on.

For me, having group discussions like this are a bit frustrating. It makes sense to me how certain things work in the classroom but in my area that's not always attainable. I enjoy hearing other's ideas and think about how I can incorporate that into my classes but in reality it doesn't go over so well. I have to have a different approach in physical activities classes.

The information about the laptops was useful. Anne's passion about her laptop classrooms is amazing. Anne, Brian, and Brad are not changing their expectations of the student or the curriculum but they are incorporating the technology aspect and using the information from the web to enhance student learning. They are teaching the students to be self-reliant instead of always depending on others to tell them the answers. I really need to watch one of their classes to see the laptops in use - it intrigues me.

I would really like to talk to Physical Educators who are using technology and constructivist teaching in class. I need ideas from outside of the traditional classroom. I have a few myself but I am cautious to use them because I want to see what others have used. I don't know if I am going down the right path. I want to be successful and have the students really buy into what we are doing with physical fitness and health. I know there are PE teachers out there doing this and I would like to find them.

2. The activities today were well-planned but I am curious about what plan Melissa and Ray had first. I did feel lost during the text-based seminar - I did not read chapter 4 because I had missed the previous session - no excuses - but I felt because of the cross curricular group and my not being prepared that we really didn't do what we were supposed to. Though we had some nice conversation and sharing on the topic.

I know we didn't get to everything that was on the learning goals but I feel quality is better than quantity. I really enjoy the reflection and sharing time with other teachers. I like getting ideas from others.

3. The potential I see in the information presented today is something I can share with my department. I know they would be interested in what is happening the laptop classrooms and what ideas we have shared on teaching students to become producers of their learning.

4. Planning team, I have been thinking about the grading issues we discussed a couple months ago. Joan H. had some great ideas about grading as far as skills go. Where do I find the balance between skills based testing, responsibility, following directions, etc.? What is important? This is a question for the PE department. I feel good about my health class and sports medicine and the constructivist teaching and technology but I am having a difficult time with incorporating this into my activities classes. How do I make this relevant for a basketball class, yoga class or swimming class? Do you have any tips?