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Month: March 2018

What if…

What if…

We had a staff development day on Friday and I was lucky enough to be given 90 minutes to share ideas with my colleagues. For nearly a year now, we have had a focus on the 4 C’s of learning: Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Creativity. A variety of resources have been used throughout the year to lead us toward a greater understanding of how these skills might look in our school and classrooms, including: Design thinking, such as: The foil challenge from Stanford Design school, Science Formative Assessments by Page Keeley and most recently Intention the Book.

I’m always excited to have an opportunity to share ideas with colleagues, but I was exceptionally enthusiastic about the time I had planned on Friday. Sometimes the right resource hits you at the right time, and the ideas are also just what colleagues need to hear at that time. I feel like there should be a word for that, serendipity doesn’t quite fit, convergence… mind meld….. Dan and Amy, the authors of Intention the Book,  actually say it best: Serendipitous moments grant a pause and defy grammar.

For me and my colleagues, this book presented a perfect avenue to blend our themes of art and science. The activities in the book also gave us a good reminder that integrating arts in our curriculum doesn’t always have to mean stopping instruction and having everyone paint or learn about an artist. Likewise, integrating science doesn’t always have to mean leading a structured, data collection investigation. Art can be legos, oreos, and graphic design and when completed with a science concept or topic in mind can be a powerful way to show understanding.

  

As you can tell from my gushing, this book really spoke to me. The ideas conveyed in the book helped confirm that I might actually be moving in a good direction with recent changes I’ve been making in curriculum and projects. I also felt not so alone in the big wide world of teaching after reading this book. Finally, what I think I liked the most was that it helped me name or label the ‘thing’ I’ve been thinking about all year, which is What if…  What if we tried teaching science like we teach art? What if we try teaching art like we do science? What if we tried teaching a topic through our outdoor spaces? What if we had kids decide what to show that they learned? What if we tried this piece of technology with this lesson?

I realized as I was finalizing slides and supplies and ideas to share that it’s the What If in my world that makes me love not only my job, but my life. Being open to possibilities and new ideas is a joyful way to live, and I hope I share that with people around me.

Making Connections

Making Connections

Last week, I worked with a colleague to participate in #kindergartenbioblitz. This week long adventure to get kindergarten students outside paying attention to their world was started by Rob Ridley in Ontario, Canada. I came across it by chance on twitter and it seemed like a good chance to get kids outside and get connected to other classes.

We had a great week exploring different parts of our school yard. The focus theme each day inspired us to dig deeper into our surroundings and pay attention to what is surrounding us. The weather even cooperated, making our outside time that much more enjoyable. Happy birds were singing, the recent snow was melting like crazy and the sky was brilliant.

The learning that took place this week went beyond the daily lessons. We started each lesson by checking the hashtag on twitter to see what other kids had found and shared. These glimpses into other classrooms and other parts of the world was one way to have students experience the way our world is interconnected. Understanding that we are part of a bigger community of learners is a pretty big idea to grasp for a five or six year old.

I was excited to share this use of twitter with kids, to let them see the positive potential of this platform. I benefit from the global community on twitter daily. The educators, scientists, individuals and organizations I follow and interact with inspire me and educate me. I feel a little more connected, a little less alone, a part of something bigger when I see others experimenting with the same technology that I have or trying similar strategies. This, in turn inspires me to share and interact more. Maybe I can be the person that helps someone else feel connected and be inspired. And isn’t that what it’s all about, finding ways to feel like you helped make the world a better place.

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