I hope to become more comfortable with all this technology so I can service my students more effeciently and effectively in the future. The trick with students is to help them learn appropriate uses of technology…they already feel comfortable with the tool, but rarely do they use these tools in a responsible way.
The same thing is true with tech I believe. This is all unchartered territory for me, however the insight provided by the five reasons to blog has me thinking on how I should best use blogging as a tool. I agree with the opportunity to work collaboratively with sharing thoughts and ideas and also how to model appropriate social interaction for our students.
Thank you for sharing your 5 thoughts on blogging! Thank you Brian! When you start a blog, let me know. Frankly, it was a piece that took less than an hour to […]. Reflection each day continues to be my greatest challenge although it is probably one of the most effective strategies for improving effectiveness in leadership.
Will no doubt be beneficial for mental health also. Thanks for the challenge, Mark. Another great reason to blog: mental health. Thanks Mark for sharing that…I know in the world of a school leader we are so busy just keeping trains running on time that reflection.
Most of the time I admire the lin… […]. Hey, educators have a great opportunity to collaborate, learn, and condense a great amount of knowledge and experience by logging. Thanks Steve-URL got funky. Hi Bill! I have resisted technology for as long as possible—but the reality is that this is the way business is done in the 21st century.
I have just started blogging recently as a way to promote my book, share information, and also as a way to help parents and educators find me so they can help their struggling students become successful. For someone who has not used the social media, there is a steep learning curve here. I have committed to one blog a week, but my method of writing is to write everything for an entire month in one day. Then I just post and tweet and I am done in a few minutes.
I have read other blogs via EdWeek online for years, but not commented, so that is another goal—to begin participating in the conversation. Hi Kathy. Thanks so much for the helpful words! Here are a few reasons why educators should blog… […]. OK, so we know that not every […]. The focus on developing understanding, collaboration, digital footprint, and modelling stick out in this post. Most of the time I admire the line and proceed to complete a dozen other tasks … […].
This blog called Connected Principles is written by many contributors, the one that wrote this […]. Still not convinced? Ready to get started? By Bill Carozza. Here are a few reasons why educators should blog: 1. Writing requires reflection and greater understanding. Blogging begins the cycle of collaboration.
Blogging allows the writer a chance to have a digital home. If you point everyone to your blog, they can find you on Twitter, Facebook, other blogs, Diigo, Tumblr, Podcasts… 4. A blog can help to brand the writer and build your platform. Blogging encourages students to do the same. Share this: Twitter Facebook Email. Connie DeMillo said:. Bill Carozza said:. Blogging as a CPD tool said:.
Bill Ferriter said:. Great bit, Bill. I think my goal for next year might be to give my kids more opportunity to blog regularly. Thanks for this, Bill.
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These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. They spent Period 5 on Monday to Thursday this week…. We welcomed over of our new Year 7s during the last week of the holiday. We had a great week getting to know each other, showing the new students around the school….
We were determined to hold our Year 11 Prom to celebrate the incredible efforts of our students. We are so proud of our incredible students who have worked so hard during their GCSE years. I am exceptionally proud of all of our students who have had the strangest of Sixth Form experiences. Today they picked up their results which reflect the incredible efforts…. In a normal year, we would have held our Celebration Evenings over the past couple of weeks. This year we have had to hold it during the school day.
The awards are a great testament…. This week should have been the performances of our Year 7 production, Annie. I was so disappointed for the students who have worked so hard this year and having to have the two…. Every week our brilliant CCF undertake all manner of activities. This week they were up on our climbing wall. Last weekend twenty Year 9 students undertook their navigation and camp craft training when they attended their D of E Practice Expedition.
Ably assisted and trained by…. Our very own in-house motorsport took to the road bright and early on Wednesday morning to arrive at Preddanack, Cornwall, for a start to compete in the latest Greenpower….
Year 13 came back into school this afternoon for a farewell assembly. We had lunch together followed by the assembly. In the assembly, we were treated to three amazing performances…. Table Tennis England invited 14 best players…. The new effort boards were put up this week. As always, I am so impressed with how hard our girls and boys are working.
The effort grades they receive are all thoroughly deserved…. This is just a selection of the amazing work our students have produced…. Congratulations to Olivia Foster in Year 11 who won both of her events last weekend in Cornwall. As well as working hard on her GCSEs she is still managing to compete at the highest level….
This week staff and students have been writing appreciation cards to each other. We are all very thankful for what others within our community do to support and help us…. Every now and then I get to witness something quite brilliant. I had already caught up with Bradlee…. It has been great to be able to welcome all of our students back into school this week.
It has been so lovely to have everyone back in school — there is such an energy to the place again…. On Thursday and Friday this week we have tested 1, students in readiness to welcome them back to school for lessons on Monday. I am so grateful to all of our staff who undertook training…. I was very jealous of some of the pancakes you have made — they have made me feel very hungry this morning!!
The Fun Friday Team wanted to say a massive well done to all students…. I am delighted to be able to tell you that Jack has…. We would have loved to have handed out these awards at our celebration evenings, but our students…. It is incredible to see how our PAA team are able to rehearse so effectively with our Year 7 students both in school and at home.
You can watch them in action. Again it is wonderful…. It is so lovely to see so many students sharing some of the activities they are getting up to at home. Our wonderful performing arts Academy has been able to continue with some students in school and others joining in virtually via Google Hangouts. The year sevens are continuing….
You have to watch this! Our Performing Arts Academy has been operating in year group bubbles this year. The cadets stepped up this week showing just how far they have come since they started about a year ago. They have spent the last couple of weeks working hard to improve…. On Thursday the Year 13s performed their assessed live music performances. It was wonderful to see these gifted students performing in The Platform again. I will share videos of them…. Year 7 students looked at some ways to keep healthy, including what makes a balanced diet to how to deal with change and setbacks.
Students also looked at ways that the media…. At TA our music students are…. There was a good turn out from the cadets who were proudly wearing their Blue…. Many started away and…. It is quite remarkable to be on the bench…. We talk a great deal about climbing the mountain to university. Oxford and Cambridge are the hardest universities in the country to get into and I could not be more proud of the 11…. Our students have been wowed by the new creative arts corridor this year.
Miss Pappin and her team designed how they wish their new inspiring space to look. It is brilliant and…. Research has shown the exceptionally strong link….
Eyes down in Year 9! It was hot chocolates all round for our hard-working Year 10s…. Our Year 7s have had an amazing first full week with us. They have been earning many House points and impressing all of our staff. This gives you a little glimpse into one of their days…. I have been so impressed with our Year 7s over the past couple of days. They have shown such maturity in their approach to their first couple of days with us, especially given…. Whilst they were not given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge….
I am so proud of all of our students who have had to contend with the strangest of times during the examination period of their Year 13 exams. Today was the day to come together….
In addition to our final few keeping touching base mornings, I have also been having assemblies with all of the students attending the variety of provisions that we…. As part of our touching base program, Year 12 students studying BTEC courses have been coming back into school to spend the morning with their teachers. One of these sessions…. Students have been coming into The Platform in small groups where I have met with….
Students continue to get a wide variety of lessons in our All Day School. This week we introduced lessons in our study centre to enable the Year 9 students to continue with their GCSE subjects…. So much has been written in the press about the reopening of schools from Monday of this week. Of course, we have never closed! We did, however, open our doors to many more….
Mr Chadwick Has been holding end of week assemblies with each of the year groups in the All Day School. We are having a really successful first week back in the Year 10 Full Time School for children whose parents are critical workers and vulnerable children. They are in focusing on their…. This week I had a few wonderful hours as I visited a number of our students to deliver certificates and chocolate bars to our students who have really gone above and beyond….
This morning students were asked to try and identify which members of staff were in photographs from their early years.
You can see the answers in the video above…….. Thank you for continuing to share all of the enrichment activities our students are doing at home. Students have been continuing their home learning in school when their parents have been at work….
I am so pleased to see so many students sharing their enrichment activities with us. This video is a selection of what has been happening this week. Please continue to share…. Three of our Year 12 students have been selected for the very competitive and prestigious Sutton Trust Summer Schools at Bristol University. This is an incredible achievement….
We have spent a lot of time over the Easter break ensuring that our students have access to the highest quality resources to support them at home. They have been receiving…. The headlines in the media have been that schools are closed.
The reality is very different here at TA and other schools. We are still open and teachers are still in work to teach…. Today has been a very strange and quite emotional day. It marks but will probably be the final day for our year 11s and 13s before they come back in the summer to collect their results…. I am delighted to be able to share our latest report with the school community today. The full report that shows Torquay Academy continues to be a good school….
Our student-athletes will be looking amazing whilst competing in all sports. We are excited by this collaboration…. This means that they qualify for the National Championships for the third year….
The dictionary contains over keywords from across the curriculum…. Josh Parry who has been selected to play for the England Colleges under 19 team made his debut this week against a strong Australia team in Barnet. The final score was 1 — 1 but it served great…. Last Wednesday the Year 8s were taken to Haldon forest for our annual cycling house competition.
It is inconceivable to assess students in this manner after not being in school for months on end. This break in testing should lead to an examination of if we still need this type of assessment. While on-going, formative assessments help teachers tailor instruction to meet the needs of students as well as to identify struggling students, high stakes testing results come out too late for teachers to use the data in a meaningful way.
Furthermore, state testing only shows what a student produces at one moment in time. Having them judged for that moment for an entire year until they are assessed again is both unfair and flawed.
The pandemic saw a cancellation of sporting events and arts activities across the country and the world. Many children spent months stuck inside their home with none of their normal outlets to participate in. As children head back to school, much of the focus from educators has been to address the perceived learning loss that students have suffered over the past year.
However, educators must also focus on the emotional needs of our students by ensuring that students have access to clubs, sports, and the arts. There are already plans being created that take students out of elective class and place them in support classes for the next year to help catch them up to grade level standards. This is a mistake. We must provide students with creative and physical outlets by encouraging them to participate in different activities that challenge them creatively and physically.
Many schools lack the ability for counselors to provide support to students due to staff restrictions and time constraints. As students return to school after months and months of isolation and having their world turned upside down, they will need to be supported as many students are struggling with mental health issues. NBC News reports that from March to October, , the proportion of emergency department visits related to mental health increased 24 percent for children aged and spiked 31 percent among adolescents aged , compared to the same period the previous year.
Losing milestones and rites of passage like graduations, birthday parties, athletic seasons are felt deeply. As students come back to in-person learning educators must be there to support them academically as well as emotionally. David Franklin is District Strategy Consultant for Nearpod, an experienced school administrator, education professor, curriculum designer, and presenter and has presented at national and international education conferences.
Are you someone who tackles difficult conversations like a band-aid just want to rip it off and be done with it or like a pothole try to avoid at all costs? Or do you consider these types of interactions as a work hazard just part of the job?
Possibly it is a combination of all three. These types of conversations may not be pleasant, and they can be downright awful, but there are some things you can do to help prepare when those situations pop up. In this scenario you have just planned a conversation with a parent who does not share your perspective regarding the behavior of their child. After many emails back and forth, you are at an impasse and need to meet to resolve this issue.
As you start planning for this difficult conversation, always keep in mind the overall goal is to participate in a conversation that preserves the relationship. This goal will guide every decision you make as you plan and engage in the conversation. Planning the Conversation: Plan for a difficult conversation by checking in with yourself first. Make sure you are in a good space not emotionally charged or defensive before having the meeting.
Then, determine your specific goals. Use this conversation template to help plan your meeting and summarize the events after the conversation has taken place. Starting the Conversation: Share the purpose of the meeting with the parent.
Without judgement, acknowledge your difference in perspectives and how you genuinely want to understand their view and would like to share your own.
Also acknowledge that you both share the same goal—to do whatever it takes to support and care for their child to ensure their success. Then, propose that you resolve the issue together. Ending the Conversation: Determine your next steps and how to put this plan into action. What does success look like? What will you do if this happens again? Thank them for their time and continuing this partnership.
Continuing the Conversation: Send a summary of your conversation as well as the action plan and next steps. Consider having another meeting with the student and parent to discuss the action plan and demonstrate how you and the parent are a united front in the support and care for the child. This process works for any difficult conversation you may have with an individual, whether it be with parent, student, colleague, or employee.
Having a difficult conversation with an individual can be daunting and unpleasant, but with an intentional plan and process, you can more confidently and comfortably answer the question: What do I say?
Dawn McCotter is the Teacher Programs Manager at Van Andel Institute for Education, an education nonprofit which strives to empower teachers and build classrooms where curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking thrive. For more information on Van Andel Institute for Education, visit us at vaei.
Everyone agrees that social and emotional learning is critical for our students. But who is looking out for the well-being of school staff? Schools have worked tirelessly this school year identifying and supporting the physical, social, and emotional needs of their students. But what about the needs of our teachers?
What about your needs? How are your teachers? It is no secret that this past year was extremely difficult for teachers. According to the Feb RAND Report , stress was the top reason why teachers leave the profession, even before the pandemic. And yet teachers are perhaps the most critical component to student success.
Bottom line: we need to take care of our teachers! It is in all of our best interests to help teachers find ways to maintain a healthy work-life balance and invest in themselves. How are you? Check in with yourself. How are you doing? Most likely it is in Quadrant 1, handling important and urgent matters—misbehavior, parent calls, sub coverage, meetings, budgets, those daily fires that you need to put out. Ideally, you want to lessen your time in Quadrant 1 and focus your time in Quadrant 2 where you are strategizing, building school climate, developing your staff, and planning for the future.
Prioritizing the social and emotional well-being of your staff is crucial to ensuring a safe and supportive school climate. Your teachers put the needs of their students first on a daily basis. And those needs grew exponentially this past year. The same is true for you. You care deeply about your school and the needs of your students and your teachers. Taking the time to invest in yourself and your teachers will make all the difference in helping you achieve your goals for your school.
For a deeper dive into this topic and ideas on how to combat learning loss this fall, check out the Administrator Summit: 5 Ways Schools can Overcome Learning Loss. This post was researched and developed by the Van Andel Institute. Dawn McCotter is the Teacher Programs Manager for Van Andel Institute for Education, an education nonprofit which strives to empower teachers and build classrooms where curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking thrive.
Learning Loss, Instructional Loss, Unfinished Learning…whatever you call it, the school year has left its mark on the learning process. Rather than focus on the negative, use this as an opportunity for schools to reimagine their instructional practices by leveraging the lessons learned from pandemic teaching and embracing authentic learning experiences as a way to accelerate learning and close the gaps.
Here are four key ideas to help you rethink, refocus, and reimagine teaching and learning this fall. Remediation is not the complete answer to learning loss. When students are pulled out of their regular grade-level instruction for the skill and drill practices often associated with remediation, they can get further and further behind their grade level peers.
Rather, focus on grade-level curriculum with supports built in to bring students to where they need to be. Provide engaging, high-quality instruction that is rigorous yet attainable. To avoid the learn it, test it, forget it cycle, content must be continually revisited throughout the year.
It needs to be connected and not siloed. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through authentic or project-based learning , where students participate in work that matters. They find meaning and relevance in everything they do. They see how the content and skills they learn connect to a broader world.
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