Even while some of you like to tell me how poor of a teacher you are, everyone in this room has strengths. To help us all know where our expertise lies and where we can go for help, please tell us what your strength is. It could be a learner-profile characteristic or a specific aspect of the program that you feel strong about in terms of your understanding and implementation. What do you want to show off at during the evaluation visit?
I think one of my strengths is helping kids connect their learning to our larger UQs or unit questions. (I really wish we could still call them Essential Qs, but, oh well.) The Humanities teachers try really hard to make their unit assessments relate closely to the UQs - often, the assessment is an essay or project that the kids write or create to express their learning around the UQ. So, I use all kinds of tricks to get kids relating to and thinking about that UQ during class. I try to do it on at least a weekly, if not a twice-weekly, basis.
ReplyDeleteI'm also pretty good at getting kids to write in order to clarify their thinking. There's a lot of reflective writing in my class, and a lot of T/P/S or small group or large group discussion that follows the writing. It's a way to get more voices in the room, and to give all students an opportunity to think big thoughts!
:) I'm new to MYP and I'm excited to learn about it, especially with the experience I've had these first few weeks. What is a strength of mine related to MYP? I believe that my philosophy of education and teaching fits well within my limited understanding of MYP.
ReplyDeleteOne of my strengths in the MYP classroom is organization. I feel that I do a good job at creating the course outline and communicating that with parents/students at the beginning of the class.
ReplyDeleteGive kids hands-on opportunities to learn the problem solving process.
ReplyDeleteI think that I am pretty good at the assessment piece in the MYP program. I have a good understanding of what is wanted and how it is supposed to be assessed.
ReplyDeleteI am good at explaining techniques and "link think"- making connections to other areas of life and study.
ReplyDeleteApproaches to learning - I emphasize transferable skills a lot, both critical thinking and research/writing skills. At the end of each unit, students record on a simple chart which skills were introduced that they can use in other classes and in the future.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy thinking about unit questions and how they relate to our end assessments. I know that we will be working on this in our collaboration meeting, but I like to see how all of the puzzle pieces work together. I think that this is an IB strength, which we need to share with the rest of the Poudre community.
ReplyDeleteI have our unit essential question posted each day and refer to it often throughout lessons. I always try to get kids to answer in the target language even though it is higher-level thinking.
ReplyDeleteMy strengths would be allowing students to think creatively and the freedom to pursue aspects of thier passions in a science setting.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to echo what Kathie said since she's my mentor. I'm more focused on Approaches to Learning than the others and we're especially locked into critical thinking and research and writing skills right now.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy paring MYP criteria with creativity and authentic student opportunities. My team does a fantastic job implementing and reflecting on the MYP Language A criteria. I think we are also mindful at balancing priorities and student-appropriate activities: caring, yet principled.
ReplyDeleteMy strengths lie in the areas of compassion and service (both LP traits). I work hard on meaningful relationships with kids so that there's an emotional/social link to their learning. I also have a passion for incorporating service learning into the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI think one of my strengths would be communication! I have established a very positive level of communication between my students and myself, as well as the students with each other! I think this openness and freedom of expression really creates a strong foundation for thinking on a higher level and relating to bigger ideas!
ReplyDeleteI like Brian's approach. Hard to do, tho. How does one deliver basic skills, and yet allow freedom?
ReplyDeleteOne strength of the Tech Ed department is how we offer students the opportunity to manipulate tools & materials in the "real world". The benefits of seeing one's ideas made manifest in concrete reality can be profound. Boasting is what a child does - who has no real impact on the world - yet, the successful Tech Ed student can point to their work: the lights come on, the structure stands square, the robot now functions. Assessment is done via the hard facts of objective reality. Students build and create - examples of the formalized Design Cycle in action.
ReplyDeleteI think I emphasize communication and collaboration in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteKayla, Scott K - I would LOVE it if you could help us (in PE) do a better job of not just creating the unit questions, but really tying them to our units and our curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI think my strength in the MYP program is working with the kids and their personal projects. I think that I have finally figured out how to be a good mentor. I also think that I am understanding the areas of interaction and feel like I can relate those to the units and goals.
ReplyDeleteColleen described something I would like to return to...it's easy to become too cerebral in IB and lose compassion as content....it needs to be taught in context.
ReplyDeleteHumanities has worked hard on our unit questions and connecting those to the assessments.
ReplyDeleteI do believe in the MYP philosophy. How well I incorporate it is a different issue entirely!
ReplyDeleteColleen I would totally agree that you are extremely strong in caring and compassion. YOu are a wonderful addition to this school.
ReplyDeleteI'm using authentic environmental data and having students use it to build mathematical models.
ReplyDeleteI think one of Marcy's strengths is typing things more than once. Really...she has been really good about being the go to person in the math department to keep us on track.
ReplyDeleteCarrie C- I think that you are great working with their personal projects.
ReplyDeleteI am new to MYP, but I feel that I naturally find it important to bring in relevance to the Chemistry content I teach. I want my students to develop their concept of us all being part of one world and their knowledge or lack there of in the sciences effect the decisions they (and everyone else makes) and determine the community and world we all get to live in. So I feel that a strength of mine is connecting content to relevant situations around us.
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you Gordon on the hands-on problem solving process. I think it's important to let kids struggle with a problem/ solution scenario without bailing them out.
ReplyDeleteWe are such a strong staff! I think it would help, Jason, for you to create a spreadsheet showing the "go-to" folks in these various areas of strength.
ReplyDeleteOpen-mindedness. I want and have to be to teach music, and the students must want and have to be in order to learn.
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