Rules For Posting To This Blog and Weekly Blog Question

1. Only use your first name (no last names, addresses, IM screen names, etc.)
2. Show respect and consideration of others when posting and commenting. This includes individuals, students, organizations, political parties, colleagues, etc.
3. Check all posts for spelling and grammar errors before posting.
4. Protect the privacy of others. Gain permission from other people before you write about them. Avoid sharing someone else's last name. Use job titles or pseudonyms when writing about experiences with your co-workers or students.
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6. Make sure you write about things that are factual.
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FINAL BLOG POST - OUR "DAILY TRIPLE" (DUE 12/1).
This week I would like you to use your imagination. You have just won the lottery and will leave your teaching post immediately to travel around the world. As you leave your keys you meet your replacement. You are asked to give this new teacher just ONE piece of advice. What would that be, and why? Enjoy your world expedition!

Blog Post - Week 7
This past week in my own teaching I felt a little disconnected which prompts my question to you, "What was the moment (or moments) when I felt most disconnected or disengaged as a teacher - the moment(s) I said to myself, I'm just going through the motions here?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 6
For the past couple of weeks you have experienced asynchronous online learning (doing modules by yourself). Previously this semester you have experienced synchronous online learning (all together in the Collaborate room). Which do you think is more effective and why do you think that? Which do you like better, and why?

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 5
This week we have what we call "open mic." You can write a post about anything related to your teaching that you would like responses from your classmates.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 4
Here is this week's question: "What was the event that most took me surprise this week - and event that shook me up, caught me off guard, gave me a jolt, or made me unexpectedly happy?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 3
Please write a post about the following question, "In thinking about my past week teaching what is one thing I would do differently, and why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2
Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1
Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

Saturday, February 13, 2010

I Value my Evaluations

Everyday I enter the classroom I bring along with me something from my childhood, from my school days and professional affiliations. It is hard to create an evaluation without incorporating my beliefs into it. Sometimes it works for the good of the class and other times it causes me to re-evaluate my personal belief system. One of the biggest challenges I face daily is getting the majority of my class to believe in the "system". A system they have been taught to distrust and dislike because of what they have experienced or what they have "heard". No matter if it is a formative or a summative assessment, I am constantly met with resistance. During those times I am compelled to lay down my teacher hat and put on the "mama bonnet" or the "auntie's tam". I have to remind myself to not put on the "judge's robe" because I am dealing with children who must at times be redirected, re-programmed and re-evaluated. Once I have incorporated my values into the assessment component, some students begin to look at the assessment for what it is worth- a test of their knowledge. My students are then able to look at each situation individually opposed to a blanketed one. So the long and the short of it is.....I BELIEVE MY PERSONAL VALUES HAVE AN OVERWHELMING AFFECT ON THE EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS USED AND FOR THIS I AM GRATEFUL AND PROUD ALL AT THE SAME TIME. After all, a great part of who I am is in part due to the teachings I received in pre-school, elementary, middle, and high school, college, graduate school, and other professional affiliates.

2 comments:

Wyndell said...

I appreciate your post. I think that you will agree, we as teachers can make or break a student by the words we chose, the encouragement we give and the example we exhibit. I chose to teach students in the manor that I enjoy being taught and to respect every student the way I wish to be respected and to inspire them to set their goals as high as they dare to dream.

Dr. M said...

Hi, AJ - you hit in on the head when you said your students are starting to look at your assessments as simply a test of their knowleged, which is as it should be. Great insight!

Dr. M