A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post at the start of the school year with several of the goals that I wanted to focus on during the upcoming year. I'm doing the same this year as we turn the calendar over to August and the first day of school is less than two weeks away. The first day for Liberty School District students is August 15th. I think it helps to write down your goals, it adds a dimension of responsibility. I could probably come up with a list of about 100 goals but these were the first six which came to mind as I sat down to write this post. This will be my 19th year in the classroom and I want it to be the best ever!
1) Learn names of students quickly
This is a huge one for me and those that teach with me and know me are aware that I struggle with names. I appreciate the power that occurs when you see a student in the hall and call out their name to tell them good morning. I struggle with this often and it is not just students, I also struggle with remembering the names of adults and coworkers. In the past I have taken pictures of students on the first day and made flashcards but it hasn't made a huge difference in my ability to remember names. Last year I had around 170 students and this year I will likely have about the same or more. I am open to any tips that other teachers have used in the past to help with similar problems.
2) Reduce the amount of paper used in my classroom
I don't think it is realistic for me to go 100% paperless since we are not a 1-1 school and I can't guarantee that my students will have online access at home. I do think that I can be a little smarter about making copies for my students and what is important enough to print a copy in the first place. I think I can identify times when I can print a class copy of 30 and reuse them throughout the day in each period instead of giving each student a copy. I have also played with the idea of asking students if they would rather not have me give them a printed copy and instead e-mail them a copy or just make sure there is a digital copy on our class website. I don't have data on the amount of paper I have used in the past but will try to keep track this year and see how much we use.
3) Connect my students with outside experts on regular basis
I am a big fan of using video chats in the classroom like Google Hangouts and Video Skype and over the past five years have used this resource in my classroom with authors, other classes and museums. I want to really step it up this year though and make it so that it is more of a common event in our classroom. I think the power to connect with outside experts for free is underutilized and is something I want to do more of this year.
4) Include contents of entire unit online
I try to post a copy of all our resources, assessments and links on our classroom webpage so that students can access it 24/7. This is also very helpful to the special education teachers and paras that I work with so they can access it. I also receive e-mails from teachers throughout the year asking for copies of notes, lessons and handouts via the webpage. I'm pretty good about getting all these things posted but there are times it doesn't happen 100% of the time. This year I want to try and get closer, if not reach, that 100% mark.
5) Transform my iPad into my take home computer
For the past several years when I pack up to leave school for home, I throw a way over filled backpack over my shoulder and then I pack up my full size laptop and carry that home as well. Many nights it is probably at least 30 pounds of stuff that I drag home. This is ridiculous and it needs to stop. This year I hope to leave my laptop at school unless there is a special project that uses a program I can only use on that device. I have had an iPad for about a year and half and I use it a lot at home but mostly as my "couch computer" - check a little e-mail, catch up on Twitter, read some news or watch a YouTube video. I have tried to really adapt to typing on the touch screen but I guess in that regard I am still a child of the 80's. I recently bought a wireless keyboard to make it easier for me to type more and so far I've been really happy with it. I'm using it right now in fact. So this year I hope to just bring home my iPad and a light backpack most nights.
6) Work more efficiently, work smarter
I tend to take on too much and try to do too many things. This year I will try to focus on doing the best I can in the classroom but being more efficient about it. One of the pitfalls of teaching is that there is always more to do and if you try to do everything you will go crazy. I want to find ways this year to be more efficient with my time. There are some things I can have my students do in class which will eliminate me from spending an hour or two doing the same thing. The important aspect of this is not doing less, but rather doing the same or more in less time by being smarter about how I use my time. I need to devote a little of my time in the afternoon to working out and taking care of myself physically.
These are my goals for the 2012/13 school year. Will I accomplish some of them or all of them? I don't know if I don't have a goal I'll never know. I will try to give myself a grade on each of these areas during the winter break.
Do you have a goal for the upcoming school year? If you do please share with a comment to this post. Thanks.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteYour first goal reminds me of the work of Donald Graves, author of A Sea of Faces and The Energy to Teach. You can read Ch. 1 of A Sea... online at http://tinyurl.com/bvrwjqv. He describes some exercises he performs to get to know his students - names and beyond.
Thanks! I just quickly checked out the Graves book online and it looks like a book I would like to buy and read this fall. I appreciate you sharing.
ReplyDeleteEric
Eric,
ReplyDeleteLove many of your ideas. I don't have 170 students so I can't begin to understand that problem. However what I do is follow a daily journal routine for 21 days where I write one thing about each student that I noticed that day. If I can't remember who the student is I make it a point to connect with that student the next day. This forces me to notice each of them and to really get to know them. I use 21 days because I read somewhere it takes 21 days to make anything a habit. The habit I want to form is truly seeing each student as individuals and not just the group they might read with.
Another thing I am doing this year to reduce paper is flipping my class. I intend to assign homework as reading and responding to a blog and complete the independent practice in school that way I am there to help. If some don't have access I will provide hard copies or allow for early morning or after school access to the computers. As for number 6... I am hoping you are successful...then please share with me how!
Becky
Becky - Thanks for your ideas. I really like the journal aspect. I typically have my students fill out a form where they can share their favorite hobbies, music, movies, etc. (my favorite question is asking them which three people they would invite to dinner). I could add the journal aspect with these sheets and then start more discussions from the information on the sheet. The journal aspect would also help me ensure that I am learning a little about everyone.
DeleteI hope you share your progress as well on the paperless aspect of your classrom. I am curious to ask my students who would rather not have me give them a paper copy if they have access to an online copy.
Thanks. Good luck on the start of your new school year.
Eric
Wow, to be so ready...I am at UM in Ann Arbor working through the MAC program and well, I am really wondering what it will be like to eventually have so many students. I have done some long term subbing, less of a class load, and the names well let's just say I fudged my way through them as well...I know there is a big emphasis on us being paperless in my program, but see that as a problem going forward. Depending on where you teach, the papers you give out could be all the students really have to work from and with. While I was subbing I used the same idea, sharing copies throughout the day and that seemed to work pretty well, but I always seemed to lose at least one per class. I liked the idea that Eric had about going on-line, but see a pretty big issue, what if you can only get the computer(s) every once in a while, or worse yet, the school does not have a computer cart to use in the rooms. Would you retreat back to the overhead and have the students copy down the salient ideas while you make your way through the reading? I love the idea about Skype!!! I just did a presentation in class discussing the many opportunities for learning using Skype and I am sold! I had never used it before but it was liberating to see what it out there...we live in a huge, big and bold world...We are also utilizing the blog world as well and I am interested to see where that can go...however, doesn't the same issue of access still remain? I struggle with the computer aspects, learning, my kids are way ahead of me, but I realize how important it is to be working with their medium of choice...I have dedicated myself to learning as much as I can so I am actually ready once I make the move from student to teacher! Good luck in your new school year!
ReplyDeleteJohn - Thanks for the comment and good luck with your program at Michigan.
DeleteFor me the paperless issue breaks down into two categories - 1) the content and information that I provide to my students, and 2) the assessments I give my students.
I don't use a textbook. I provide content to my students through readings in class, activities and notes. My students keep a notebook in the classroom with their notes that they can take home at any time. My focus this year will be on doing this with a little less paper used.
In terms of assessment, we currently do standards based grading and I have 12 assessments each semester that I provide to my students. Typically these are one page in length. I have used an online assessment tool named Quia in the past and will try to use online assessments a little more this year. It is possible to grade the assessments online and then send them back to the students via e-mail.
Thanks.
Eric
I am behind you 100% on goal number 6 become more efficient is always something I am working on.
ReplyDeleteGoal number 2 very much intrigues me in part because I think more and more teachers are trying minimize paper usage (at least that has been my experience in college these last four years) and with 170 students it is understandable why you might want to go this route. I don't know much about the Liberty School District but is access to the technology need to produce an effective paperless classroom something we can expect from students? Perhaps we have indeed reached a point we're it is perfectly reasonable to expect such capabilities or at least in certain districts around the US it might be.
What intrigues me most about goal #2 thous is how you would go about implementing this. Perhaps your technology skills are far superior to what I am capable of but it seems like it might make certain types of assignments more difficult to grade. Also how would testing take place in this environment? Would you have to go to a computer lab every time? Is that possible?
M - Thanks for your comments. I answered part of your question in my response above to John in terms of assessments. It would be easier to accomplish this if we were one to one but there are some things I can do to at least reduce my paper use this year.
DeleteThanks.
Eric
I enjoyed reading this article, as I have several of the same goals for myself. I am glad to know that I am not the only one who struggles to remember names! This year, I will be teaching an additional 250 students that I have never met before, so it will be even more of a challenge. I have also tried to reduce the amount of paper I use: I make class sets of 30 to be used by all classes at that grade level (I teach K-6), and I try to do as many things digitally as possible, including some assessments, using online tools. I, too, have an iPad, and I would love to find a way to use it for assessing students "on the fly." Finally, every year I vow to work smarter, not harder, but I never seem to fully achieve that goal, even when I feel I have found some "shortcuts"...maybe that is because there is always a smarter way to do anything. Thanks again for a great post!
ReplyDeleteCordis - Thanks for your comments. It sounds like we share a lot of the same goals this year. I have always thought it would be harder for a K-6 teacher to reduce paper use than a secondary teacher - do you agree? I say this thinking about all the worksheets and paperwork my 3rd grade daughter brings home each week.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your school year and when I post my progress over the winter break please let me know how your year is going and any progress you have on your goals.
Thanks.
Eric