cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Per Ola Wiberg ~ Powi
To me, September has always felt like the start of the year. It seems to be the point where I look at the whole year ahead and think about the changes I want to make. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I do make September resolutions. Here are two that I have made this year.
First resolution: get my students connected to the world. One thing that I find motivates students to learn is when they are able to see how concepts we are learning about apply outside of school. I am going to work hard to get my students to see and experience the concepts I teach outside of school. So far, I have made contact with a Sports Editor to Skype with my students about writing. Others ideas are still coming.
Second resolution: To remove barriers on how students demonstrate their learning. There was a time when I was quite particular about the activities that students could do to show me they had met the outcomes of a course. When it comes down to it, I needed to ask myself if the format was important or if student understanding was important. I chose understanding. I am hoping that flexibility in format will allow students to focus on the outcomes we are targeting.
I read an article saying that if you share your resolutions with others they are more likely to stick as people keep you accountable. I guess this would qualify. I’ll try to give an update later in the year to tell you how my September resolutions are going.
This blog post also appeared in PSD 184 days of learning blog which can be found at http://www.psdblogs.ca/184/
Corey Haley 