TAC Meeting Update
The Teacher Advisory Council met at the MRVED on Thursday of this week. The day consisted of multiple opportunities to network as well as a great activity on peer review and teacher evaluation. The group enjoyed lunch at Pizza Ranch and more networking over the lunch hour. The afternoon was spent looking at MELT evaluations and providing feedback on future professional development opportunities through the MRVED. Lots of great ideas were generated in the afternoon. The TAC does an excellent job of providing direction for the MRVED. Thanks for a great day!
Upcoming Meetings
February 26, 2014 Superintendents' Council
March 4, 2014 Agriculture
March 6, 2014 Industrial Technology
March 11, 2014 FACS
March 14, 2014 Title III Paraprofessionals
March 18, 2014 Guidance Counselors
March 20, 2014 Social Workers
March 21, 2014 Business (NEW DATE)
Friday, February 21, 2014
Brandon's Brainwork- Lifelong Learning
Lifelong Learning
I heard this quote recently, "Human beings are not static people, we are constantly moving. Either you are moving forward or you are moving backward". I'm not sure where this quote came from, but it really made me think and eventually put something into writing! Teaching is a craft. Like any craft, there is always something more to be learned. Even the best teacher can learn something new and/or get better at their job.
Sometimes this learning is self-directed, driven by choice. Whereas, other times learning is forced upon us, either by state mandates, school administration, or a number of outside forces. Either way, with the right mindset (see Brandon's Brainwork - Mindset) something new will be learned. Even going into a training on something you already know, with the right mindset, will lead to learning something new, even one thing.
We want our students to become life-long learners, and we should do our best to model what it is we expect of our students. Continue to get better. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are a part of the learning process. You don't expect your students to be perfect 100% of the time when learning new things, why should you expect any more/less from yourself.
A quick search on Google for "Becoming a lifelong learner" yields 217,000 results. I know it's not fully researched based, but WikiHow has a great quick read on becoming a lifelong learner and offers some very good advice. Becoming a Lifelong Learner from WikiHow.
You can always start your new lifelong learning journey by attending one of your teachers associations conferences. A list can be found in the update this week.
Questions to Consider1. Have you embraced the role of lifelong learner in your craft?
2. Do you reinforce lifelong learning in your classroom?
3. Do you go into all new learning experiences with the right mindset?
Upcoming Spring Conferences
Spring Conferences
Here is a list of upcoming spring professional development conferences from the different teachers associations. If you have never been to one, make this the year!
Minnesota Science Teachers Association - February 21-22, 2014
Minnesota Council for the Social Studies - March 2-3, 2014
Minnesota Council of Teachers of English - April 3-4, 2014
Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics - May 2-3, 2014
If you know of any other Spring conferences, please add it in the comments below.
Here is a list of upcoming spring professional development conferences from the different teachers associations. If you have never been to one, make this the year!
Minnesota Science Teachers Association - February 21-22, 2014
Minnesota Council for the Social Studies - March 2-3, 2014
Minnesota Council of Teachers of English - April 3-4, 2014
Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics - May 2-3, 2014
If you know of any other Spring conferences, please add it in the comments below.
Tech Tip
Online Field Trips, Virtual Field Trips, Skype an Author
Check out this great list of websites you or your students can use to have a virtual field trip. Having your students navigate some of the field trips on the interactive whiteboard is a great way to get kids involved in the learning process. Another idea would be to create a webquest and have the students explore the resources on their own.
Another option for a virtual field trip is to get in contact with Pete Royer at LCTN. They offer a wide variety of online field trips including, knee surgery, autopsies, MN Wolf Center, MN Historical Society, etc... If you are interested in taking advantage of this great service, contact Pete Royer (pete@lctn.k12.mn.us) and he will send you all the information you will need.
Your class could also utilize the Skype an Author Network to bring real writers into your classroom. Many of the authors in this network offer this service free of charge or are free to chat for up to 15 minutes with your classroom. Students would love to be able to meet the person who wrote the story they just read. Give it a try today!
Check out this great list of websites you or your students can use to have a virtual field trip. Having your students navigate some of the field trips on the interactive whiteboard is a great way to get kids involved in the learning process. Another idea would be to create a webquest and have the students explore the resources on their own.
Another option for a virtual field trip is to get in contact with Pete Royer at LCTN. They offer a wide variety of online field trips including, knee surgery, autopsies, MN Wolf Center, MN Historical Society, etc... If you are interested in taking advantage of this great service, contact Pete Royer (pete@lctn.k12.mn.us) and he will send you all the information you will need.
Your class could also utilize the Skype an Author Network to bring real writers into your classroom. Many of the authors in this network offer this service free of charge or are free to chat for up to 15 minutes with your classroom. Students would love to be able to meet the person who wrote the story they just read. Give it a try today!
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