One of our school goals this year is to purposefully implement the Universal Design for Learning approach to our formal planning. Sometimes referred to as “Backwards by Design”, “Understanding by Design”, or “Planning With The End in Mind”, the Universal Design for Learning is a three-block model designed by Dr. Jennifer Katz at the University of Manitoba. Design. (2011). Uploaded to Tach @ Riverdale by Meg Krause. Available online at: http://blogs.riverdale.edu/techintegration/2011/11/26/understanding-by-design-the-backward-design-model/ Being fresh out of my B.Ed, the Backwards-by-Design method is what we were exclusively taught in our Assessment & Evaluation classes and is something that… Read More
Teaching Interviews 1 Year Later… Interview Prep
It has officially been one year since I went through the interview process and was offered a position at my dream school only a 10 minute drive from our farm! This was also the same school where I completed two of my hour student teaching placements so I felt very comfortable with both the students and staff. My husband was offered a job in the same division (15 mins down the road from my school) two weeks later and our grad, wedding, and 8 months of teaching later we are in May again…. can someone say busy year!? With… Read More
Blogging 101 – My Session at MTS Awakening Possiblities
If you missed my reflection on the MTS Awakening Possiblities Conference, check it out here! Always wanted to blog with your students but were unsure about how to get started? Did you get started by could not determine how to maintain the blog throughout the year? This session shares an educator’s experiences as she introduces blogging to her students for the first time. Topics such as project implementation, purposeful use, and assessment integration will be discussed. Challenges and successes of the project will also be shared. I am very excited I had a “speaker” name tag! All excited,… Read More
MTS Awakening Possibilities Conference
This week was the MTS Awakening Possibilities Tech Conference and my head is still spinning over how amazing it was! Starting on Wednesday the 16th, approximately 600 educators got together to discuss educational technology in regards to:– implementation– policy– potential tools– project options– and much more!Here’s an excerpt from the official MTS Awakening Possibilities website: This conference was exciting for me for a lot of reasons. I remember attending the MTS Fab 5 Conference in Brandon in the fall of 2012 and seeing a banner advertising for an upcoming technology conference. At this time there wasn’t… Read More
Fanning The Flame of Curiosity
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”[1]Can an individual’s pursuit of knowledge ever truly cease? Educators the world over are diligently attempting to arm their students with the skills and values so that they can become life-long learners; learners who recognize not only that education is not limited to the confines of a classroom, but also that self-guided learning often times provides the most rewarding and valuable experiences of all. In a profession that is built upon the ignition of students’ curiosity, there are many teachers who not only end their formal education with… Read More
mRLC Backwards by Design PD
Today was a division-wide PD day for TRSD and each school was responsible for holding their own unique PD opportunity for their staff based on their school goals. At “S-School” we attended a session on Understanding by Design, sometimes referred to as “backwards planning”, “Universal Design for Learning” or “Planning with the end in mind”. Design. (2011). Uploaded to Tach @ Riverdale by Meg Krause. Available online at:http://blogs.riverdale.edu/techintegration/2011/11/26/understanding-by-design-the-backward-design-model/ The session was divided into two half-day sessions, with the morning organized in a lecture-style format regarding the ins and outs of the planning strategy, while the afternoon allowed… Read More
What Makes A Great Teacher? Part Two
Last week I shared Keith Hughes video, “The Recipe for Great Teacher” and shared my comments on the first two “ingredients”. (If you missed that post, you can check it out here.) One week later, I’m back and read to explore this further! Like Keith says, the final two ingredients are those “warm fuzzies”; that’s right, we’re going emotional on you. Before you read on, however, if you need a reminder, I’ve embedded Keith’s video again: Here are my thoughts: 3 ) 25% Authenticity– This one may seem pretty obvious but our students want us to be real. They… Read More
What Makes A Great Teacher? Part One
Have you seen Keith Hughes’ video, “The Recipe for Great Teacher“? I came across this video the other day through one of the blogs I follow (unfortunately I can’t remember which one, if it was you let me know so I can give credit!) and wanted to tune in right away! As a first-year teacher I am always asking myself, “Am I doing this right?”, “Is there another way that I can do this?”, “What should I change for next time?”, etc. I’ve followed Keith through his various social media platforms for quite some time now.… Read More
David McKillop: Mental Math Strategies in Middle Years
Today was day one of a two-day professional development session I’m attending as part of my Professional Growth Plan for the 2013-2014 school year. The sessions, presented by David McKillop, focus on mental math strategies (today) and assessment practices (tomorrow). David has over 30 years experience in the education field and is currently involved with Pearson’s “First Steps” and “Numeracy Nets” programs. I haven’t developed a passion for math the same way I have for social studies and earth sciences but I felt that David’s presentation was very engaging (there was even singing!?) and I’m walking away with several strategies… Read More
#MTBoS Mission 7 – A Day In A Life
At the start of October I signed up to participate in #MTBoS as a way to connect with more math educators and learn about different strategies/activities that could help me as a first year math teacher. I’m not exactly sure what I did wrong, but I signed up to get the weekly challenges emailed to me and added their wordpress blog to my Feedly account and for some reason I never got any updates! 8 weeks later… I noticed that a few of the bloggers that I follow have jumped on the #MTBoS wagon and are blogging about week… Read More