Sharyn Kish, Kindergarten teacher, recently shared these thoughts about her most recent shifts, and the shifts she's going to begin...
This book validates so much for me as I started my "shifting" last year with flexible seating in my classroom. I also tried many new things with technology, which was a big deal for me because it's something I wasn't totally comfortable with... and yet because I went out of my comfort zone (and modeled a growth mindset) and as I struggled and persevered, I saw amazing things happen with my students! They learned right along with me and quickly began teaching ME how use additional Google apps! This year was my favorite by far out of 17 years of teaching! Can't wait to finish the rest of your book tonight. I'm already sketching out what my class website will be like... I didn't know Gen Reinheimer before Shift This came out. She was one of my earliest readers and she is suddenly my biggest cheerleader! She'll be moving from elementary to middle school soon (the students are just bigger, right?!), so wish her well by reading her blog post and keeping the conversation going about creating a mission statement, using edcafes, and changing grading habits. Her post is here:
Lisa Eisele shared in an online chat about Shift This, that she is "one of those teachers who has to have the room decorated and ready prior to day one. This year, I'm going to begin with blank walls and boards... this is WAY out of my comfort zone!" Lisa went on to talk about what her homeroom did last year - THIS is something that builds such community within the classroom! "My homeroom (9th grade) came up with a poster to represent us last year. They looked at several 'family' poster images to determine what to include. Another individual worked on the layout using Photoshop. They were quite pleased with the results!" Cathy Cassaro took the unused TV carts apart (many were sitting in library storage rooms) and used the TVs to create Collaboration Stations. Chromebooks have such small screens that gathering around them proved to be frustrating when working on group projects. Adding a HDMI Hub allowed multiple students to hook up to the TV and switch between the users with the click of the button. Students utilize these new work spaces for collaboration purposes, and because the set-up is so easy the teacher does not need to be involved. Teachers have taken note and now utilize them for their team/staff meetings. Cathy shared this during a Google forum book study put on by ICE (Illinois Computing Educators).
"We need some criticism to keep us grounded..." As stated in chapter 10, feedback may be tough to take, but it helps us grow.
Dianne Csoto took feedback from her students this year - check out what she learned, and surprises she came across! It's time for me to celebrate! Reading Shift This! has inspired an educator to blog!
Check out this post, titled "I Thought I Knew It All" by Ariel Jankord, and encourage her to share more of her reflections. In this post, she reflects on a part of her last school year. If you already blog, you know how motivating comments can be - to keep the much-needed conversations going. Let's give her blog some love and let her know she's part of our tribe of lifelong learners! Melissa Pilakowski just wrote about something she does each day in the classroom - and it's inspiring! You'll want to try it as soon as you get back to your room! What a great way to connect to students and build relationships full of positivity. Check out how she celebrates life with her students here:
Chris Heffernan just wrote about his last completed school year. In his June 7th post, he focuses on what reflection means, problems he had this year, and then plans for improving. Read to find out how he's looking ahead after reflecting!
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AuthorSThis blog is for OTHER authors to share their shifts with the world! Follow their stories by following the links to their blogs! Archives
January 2019
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