Reflections and insights on Professional Development at Githens Middle School
Thursday, September 24, 2009
What Matters Most
September 23, 2009
2 comments:
harlyn
said...
Good morning - just checking in to see if anyone is truly blogging, technology is a wonderful but not many jump in and start using it. Oh well - maybe next time. Students seem to be enjoying the lessons - I know I am!
I am trying to post this comment for the 10/28 Wednesday Wiki about motivation. I was particularly intrigued with the "Too Cool for School" article in the Scholastic Instructor march/April 2009 issue. I think we can identify students who fit this pattern, who feel that reading, or math, or school in general just sucks. Motivating these students is possible, and the article suggests building on the competencies of these students as one key to motivating even the most reluctant learner. I have seen this strategy work firsthand in my classroom, as I've begun to incorporate opportunities for students to illustrate plot or characters from out text. This really appeals to the talents of students who may otherwise not be interested in reading the book, but because they can illustrate a passage, will pay attention to the reading so that they are able to depict it through art.
Our goal for professional development this year is to meet the specific needs of members of our Professional Learning Community. After each professional development opportunity, participants are asked to reflect and then comment on the presentation and on the implementation of the strategies in your classroom.
We believe we can build a core of professional knowledge that will benefit each of us.
Additionally, independent professional development will be offered online. Staff members who participate in online p.d. should write a reflection of their work on the blog.
2 comments:
Good morning - just checking in to see if anyone is truly blogging, technology is a wonderful but not many jump in and start using it. Oh well - maybe next time. Students seem to be enjoying the lessons - I know I am!
I am trying to post this comment for the 10/28 Wednesday Wiki about motivation. I was particularly intrigued with the "Too Cool for School" article in the Scholastic Instructor march/April 2009 issue. I think we can identify students who fit this pattern, who feel that reading, or math, or school in general just sucks. Motivating these students is possible, and the article suggests building on the competencies of these students as one key to motivating even the most reluctant learner. I have seen this strategy work firsthand in my classroom, as I've begun to incorporate opportunities for students to illustrate plot or characters from out text. This really appeals to the talents of students who may otherwise not be interested in reading the book, but because they can illustrate a passage, will pay attention to the reading so that they are able to depict it through art.
L. Mausi, 8th Grade LA
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