As June gets closer and closer, I start to think about what I've done this year (and the previous four) and what I want to do next year. Every year I know there are lessons and topics that I've covered that have gone well and others I'd just as soon pretend never even happened. In five years of teaching, I know that I've definitely improved on some of my practices but I feel that parts of what I do are stuck in a rut. We live in an age where the power of technology is everywhere yet I still have not completely harnessed that power for good.
In five years, I've given lectures on topics and asked students to take notes and complete classwork and homework. I've followed the curriculum that my district has set and used that as my gauge of student progress. There have also been times where I've created projects that require the students to do some research or figure main points out on their own. At times, I've turned some classes loose with a basic concept and watched them take it to places that they didn't think they could. I've had boring classes and exciting classes, great ideas and cover-your-eyes-awful ideas. On my own time, I've spent hours reading and thinking about what I want to try in my classroom (20% time, flipped classroom, social media, project based learning, and more) and never completely convincing myself that I can do it. In short, I have been conducting my classes in a 20th Century Classroom and not the 21st Century Classroom I believe I should have. As I look through the list of qualities of 20th and 21st Century Classrooms that Dr. Z has posted, I realize that there are so many opportunities that my students and I are missing out on experiencing.
Five years as a teacher is a big deal to me. I've had multiple careers (not just jobs) and the longest amount of time I have spent in any one of them is about four years. Teaching is what I plan to do for the rest of my working life. I know that I want to be in this field for the next 30 years, but I also know that I need to make it more enjoyable and effective for me and my students.
So, in no particular order, I give you my list of Things to Do Next Year...
20% Time: I've read about this before but a simple list of 10 Reasons to Try 20% Time in the Classroom convinced me to give it a shot. Teaching out of textbooks and in anticipation of a standardized test each year does not exactly excite anyone. This is one way for me to try and bring wonder and creativity back to some of my students.
Flipped Classroom: This is another one of those I-want-to-do-it-but-I-just-don't-know-if-it-will-work concepts. I'm fairly confident that if I get it set up and going in the right direction flipping my classroom will be great. Basically, I'm just afraid that it will be an epic failure. Over next few months, I need to refresh my brain about the concept look at some ways to get it done.
Project Based Learning: I've developed a few projects for my Algebra 2 classes and overall they were successful. Most of these projects were generic in nature and I led the process for the students. The school I teach at is a Career and Technical Education High School and my students are all here to develop skills for college and the real world. Independent projects would appear to be one of the best ways to explain the topics at hand and relate them to what the students are learning about in the programs. Unfortunately, I've let the excuse of test prep and lack of collaboration with the CTE teachers prevent this from happening on a regular basis. Combining this with 20-time is a no-brainer to me, I just have to make it happen.
Technology Integration: I'm a geek, plain and simple. The fact that my level of technology integration in my classroom consists of a Promethean Board and occasional use of ActivExpressions or MacBooks is sad. Right now, technology use is a treat and novelty in my class (and school for the most part). We need to prepare our students for life after high school. Recently, I read about teaching students that computers are part of everyday life and work and not just for a project here and there. The use of technology should not be special, it should be understood and ingrained in everything that we do.
Web 2.0, Social Media and Parent Engagement: This one speaks for itself. I know that I am under-utilizing blogging, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and more. My students are online constantly and I need to make it a part of the learning process. I try to make as much contact with parents as I can but sometimes making connections with the phone doesn't always happen. Joe Mazza has developed a program and community at his school that shows what can be done.
Professional Development: We all have our school-mandated PD days and just like most teachers, I am not particularly fond of them. This is not an excuse for me to not do it on my own. I've spent the last few months getting back to Twitter after a self-imposed, year-long break. It is a never-ending treasure chest of ideas and plans and people just like me trying to get better at this teaching thing. It's time for me to use #hashtags, blogs, wikis and whatever PLN I can build as a tool for self-improvement.
Activism: This is a tough one for me. I have strong feelings and opinions about standardized testing, the Common Core, charter schools, unions, teacher professionalism, student justice and anything else related to what I do. The problem is that I keep these opinions to myself and expect others to make change happen. Maybe it's because I think my thoughts are underdeveloped or inaccurate. Maybe I'm just afraid to put myself out there. What I should do is follow the lead of people like Diane Ravitch, Steph Rivera, and countless others and become an active participant in these discussions, otherwise my thoughts on these important topics are irrelevant.
Lists tend to get the better of me and at first glance, this seems like a lot to take on. I have no way of knowing at this moment if I'll be able to accomplish everything, but I have to be able to say that I made an effort. During the last few years I have been able to achieve successes that I never thought possible. I became a Dad, celebrated 16 years together and 8 years of marriage to my wife, lost 25 pounds (and kept it off), ran the Philadelphia Marathon, started doing CrossFit, adopted Paleo changes to my diet and much more. All of these accomplishments required me to change my way of thinking and work hard at what I felt was important. It's taken a while, but I'm finally starting to realize that if I can do all of that, making some changes to my classroom and teaching style should be easy.
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