Regardless of heinous, smelly budget cuts, I still have to figure out how to keep my professional development fresh so I can keep your professional development fresh. So, I carved out a little time yesterday evening to watch a webinar from Alan November, produced by Its Learning. He is brilliant at drilling right down to the crux of the matter. (I wanted to say “crux of the biscuit” and my husband would have been so proud!)
For me, good professional development makes me think about what I do and how I can do it better. In the interest of time, I am going to bullet point this webinar for you. I am curious if anything stands out for you? Anything angers you? Anything motivates you? Me, I get excited and inspired by these ideas. Not true for everyone.
- Teach students to assess their own work (grades?)
- The barrier to using technology is learning to shift control from the teacher to the student
- Purpose is the best motivator
- Assess/measure work based on the value of the work – what difference does this work make?
- Choose one thing to do well this year
- Better to have several students around one computer than to have a 1:1 situation. Learning is social
- Use technology to SAVE instructor time
- Student should be creating and giving instruction/tutorials
- Writing is more important than ever – but it’s not the same kind of writing we currently think is important
- Connect globally - the four walled classroom is dead
- Classmates can have more impact/influence on each other’s learning than one really great teacher
- Before the early 20th Century there were not really grades in school. Everyone learned together and from each other.
- Big Shift! – Stop spoon-feeding teachers and stop spoon-feeding students. It kills awe and wonder and a sense of purpose.
- Teachers are working much harder in the classroom than the students are. And, who is supposed to be learning here?
- Teachers need to talk less and listen more – listen more to individual students - how else can you personalize learning?
- Professional development needs to be about helping teachers learn how to shift control and responsibility to the students
- A learning management system or any such technology should work as a hub of activity and interaction
- Help students learn to give peer-feedback and self-assess
- Involve students in instructor professional development – there is always a role for students
- Teach students to scan for problems in the world and come up with solutions
- When students self-assess, they tend to push themselves further, beyond their perceived limits or expectations
- Gamification – there is no failure, only success, because you do it until you get it right
Don't let budget cuts change your mind about why you do what you do. You ARE making a difference.
Just sharin’
Lee Anne
Lee Anne
