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"These questions are more about the student than you, your classroom, or education. What every student should know starts with themselves and moves outwards to your content area: self knowledge-> content knowledge. As an educator, your job is lead students to understanding, but student self-awareness and self-knowledge should precede that. These questions hit at a range of topics, but all revolve around that idea of a learner's identity. If it hasn't already come, the first day of school is probably imminent for you, and these kinds of questions could come in handy there as well. Get to know you type stuff. But they can also help set the tone in your classroom that introspection is a must, awareness and thinking are always-on, and self-knowledge is the ultimate goal of any system of learning."

"Please, No More Professional Development! By Peter DeWitt on April 17, 2015 8:10 AM Today's guest blog is written by Kristine Fox (Ed.D), Senior Field Specialist/Research Associate at Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations (QISA). She is a former teacher and administrator who has passion for teacher learning and student voice. Kris works directly with teachers and leaders across the country to help all learners reach their fullest potential. Peter DeWitt recently outlined why "faculty meetings are a waste of time." Furthering on his idea, most professional development opportunities don't offer optimal learning experiences and the rare teacher is sitting in her classroom thinking "I can't wait until my district's next PD day." When I inform a fellow educator that I am a PD provider, I can read her thoughts - boring, painful, waste of time, useless, irrelevant - one would think my job is equal to going to the dentist (sorry to my dentist friends). According to the Quaglia Institute and Teacher Voice and Aspirations International Center's National Teacher Voice Report only 54% percent of teachers agree "Meaningful staff development exists in my school." I can't imagine any other profession being satisfied with that number when it comes to employee learning and growth. What sense does it make for the science teacher to spend a day learning about upcoming English assessments? Or, for the veteran teacher to learn for the hundredth time how to use conceptual conflict as a hook. Why does education insist everyone attend the same type of training regardless of specialization, experience, or need? As a nod to the upcoming political campaigns and the inevitable introduction of plans with lots of points, here is my 5 Point Plan for revamping professional development. 5 Point Plan Point I - Change the Term: Semantics Matter We cannot reclaim the term Professional Development for teachers. It has a long, baggage-laden history of conformity that does not

"Professional Learning Board just released a Self-study iPads in the Classroom course I wrote. It is a self-directed course to take in your own time and at your own speed."

"Brian South is an English teacher in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb 30 miles west of Chicago. He is also the faculty advisor of the literary magazine at Naperville North. When Brian began taking steps to self-publish his own novel, he did something few teachers feel totally comfortable doing-he invited his students to be part of the process. Bringing your outside interests into the classroom is tough for many teachers because they feel like they have to compartmentalize themselves. Others feel so pressed for time that sharing personal interested and hobbies seems like a burden. However, after he read a part of his novel at his school's open mic night, students in the creative writing club had a lot of feedback for Brian, who not only listened, but also soon realized that sharing his journey through self-publishing a novel could be an important way to empower students and potentially transform their lives."

"There was a time when I would work myself to death. All day, every day. There was a time when I would come to school sick beyond belief because I did not want to disappoint anyone, and let's face it, because the hassle of leaving lesson plans for subs who never completed them drove me absolutely crazy. Late nights in the building, extra hours at home planning and grading, and various extracurricular activities required all of my attention and energy. I preached self-care to other people, but I did not practice self-care myself. There was a time when I put my job before my family, before my health, and before my sanity. That time ended just as the pandemic began."

Digital Literacy Self-Assessment This Self-Assessment is designed to help you determine if you will need additional training or practice to meet the computer-related requirements of your degree program. It is divided into 9 parts:

"Carol Dweck studies human motivation. She spends her days diving into why people succeed (or don't) and what's within our control to foster success. As she describes it: "My work bridges developmental psychology, social psychology, and personality psychology, and examines the self-conceptions (or mindsets) people use to structure the self and guide their behavior. My research looks at the origins of these mindsets, their role in motivation and self-regulation, and their impact on achievement and interpersonal processes.""

"It's an age-old saying, "Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime." What separates good teachers from the excellent ones? The excellent ones are handing out fishing poles; creating a culture in the classroom of independence and self-reliance. These students don't just recite facts or regurgitate information- they have learned how to learn. They know that if the answer isn't in front of them, they have the tools to do the investigation and research. So how do you cultivate a culture of "I can…" in your classroom?"

"At Cindrich elementary school in Surrey, B.C., 10-year-old boys are putting themselves to bed earlier, an enthusiastic girl in Grade 6 takes herself for a run when she's feeling hyper, and a diminutive boy who is still learning English tells his teacher he will do better work if he sits on a special cushion. It is all part of self-regulation, a philosophy of education that is moving into public schools in British Columbia."

"Historically, student engagement has been thought of in terms of students "paying attention": raising hands, asking questions, and making eye contact. Of course, we know now that learning can benefit from learner self-direction and self-initiated transfer of thinking as much as it does simple "engagement" and participation. That being said, increasing engagement and sheer participation is not a wrong-headed pursuit in and of itself, and in pursuit of that is the following infographic from Mia MacMeekin: 27 ways to increase student engagement. 27 Ways To Increase Student Engagement In Learning"

"Self-regard can never be achieved without self-sacrifice. This is something all the world's greatest egos have known and have insisted on telling all who will listen. It's poetic, then, that selfie-obsession has brought with it grief. It seems that frequent selfie takers are complaining of selfie elbow."

"Maker education, when planned around skills acquisition, can enhance social-emotional development. Self-Awareness: Making in all its forms requires a full range of skills including cognitive, physical, and affective skills. Given this need for multiple and diverse skill set, effective and successful making comes from an accurate assessment of one's strengths and limitations as well as having optimism and confidence that challenges can be overcome within the making process. Example questions related to self-awareness and making include: What strategies am I using to increase my awareness of my emotions and how they influence my performance during the making-related tasks? What are my strengths given this particular making task? What are my limitations and how can I use my strengths to overcome them?"

"A few days ago, we shared with you this handy infographic featuring 12 important tips to help you refine your Google searches and get precise search results. Today, we are introducing you to these equally important resources shared by Google Inside Search. These are free self-paced courses to help you develop and improve your Google search skills. You will get to learn 'tips and tricks to become a fast and effective fact-finder with Power Searching with Google, deepen your understanding of solving complex research problems using advanced Google search techniques with Advanced Power Searching with Google, and join  a growing global community of Power Searchers.'"

"Part of learning in 2014 is NOT to just CONSUME information, but to also contribute and create information. If you enjoy reading the information and resources shared here on the Langwitches blog or via my Twitter feed, consider taking the time to contribute. There is no grade assigned to your contribution, there is no certificate attached and there is no one waving their finger at you, if you don't turn your homework in. This is about self-motivation and self-directed learning in professional development. This is about being part of learning through the power of the crowd versus alone. This is your chance to collaborate , contribute and pushing forward in education (and LEARN along the way)! Read on…"

"Below we've gathered a diverse list of learning apps across iOS and Android from giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft, as well as upstarts like Brainfeed, The Sandbox, and Knowji. None of the apps are perfect, but each app does something special, and in that talent represents what's possible as we careen towards 2020 and beyond. Learning through play. Self-directed learning. Flipped learning. Mobile learning. Collaborative learning. Social learning. It's all here. Alone, none offer the turn-key approach to education that textbooks have traditionally turned to. But this is a strength. As education technology grows, we can adapt to new learning models that take advantage of the fragmented but enormous potential of self-directed, creative, collaborative, and almost entirely mobile learning."

"A number of insightful writers have suggested the skills that people need in order to cope with the 21st century. One of my favourites that appears to summarise all of them is from Jackie Gerstein who has put together a neat pictorial of these skills. See also Tony Wanger's work, which Jackie acknowledges. The skills she has identified are: effective oral and written communication; collaboration across networks; agility and adaptability; grit; resilience; empathy and global stewardship; vision; self-regulation; hope and optimism; curiosity and imagination; initiative and entrepreneurialism; and critical thinking and problem solving. Some of the implications of self-determined learning are:"

"We all want our students to be critical thinkers but when it comes to defining what it is that critical thinking is all about and what strategies to use to cultivate it in classroom things get a little bit muddier.Scholars across various disciplines define it differently. For Daniel Willingham critical thinking is "seeing both sides of an issue", Robert Wessberg views it as " an ability to use reason to move beyond the acquisition of facts to uncover deep meaning" and linda Elder sees it as a "self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way". At its essence, critical thinking does require an elevated form of reasoning that is not usually found in other forms of thinking and for teachers to raise critical thinkers  they definitely need to be well versed with the inner workings of this type of thinking. To this end, Edtech and Mlearning has this resourceful section full of materials and resources to help teachers integrate the ethos of critical thinking in their instructional pedagogy. "

"Research by the Penn Graduate School of Education (from the University of Pennsylvania), looking at 1 million students on 16 courses run through Coursera, showed that only half of those enrolled look at a single lecture and an average of 4% completed the course. Let's assume that there's nothing wrong with the product, and nothing wrong with the theory that easier access to education is No Bad Thing. It's something else. It's a commitment thing. It's too much to ask, too big a shift in 'consumer' behaviour, from directed learning to self-directed. So perhaps we should get used to this new style of learning in easier ways. Self-direction without the pressures. Accessing some of the finest academic minds, but because you want to, not because it's a compulsory step in your education paperchase. And if its education for its own sake, then look at these as a starting point. Six of the best/most intriguing free online courses focusing on science, from some of the best boffins around. Dip in, get used to the idea, and follow the video trails they offer til you find what you're intrigued and interested in. So dive in, make yourself clever…"

"Light is a fascinating and familiar topic for children and adults. It's also rich and complex, which is great if you are teaching a graduate level course in Quantum Mechanics. But how do you lay the foundation for this exciting topic? What do you teach to the youngest would-be scientists? This self-paced, 5 week course is designed for both formal and informal educators who want to teach children ages 6-14 about the science of light and optics. Starting with a simple kit and some basic activities, we'll work through understanding the basics of light, color, shadows, reflection and refraction. Each module offers easy to digest science content, application of science process skills, connections to real world technologies and engaging activities designed to build your comfort and confidence with light and optics. Throughout each module, guidance (suggestions) on how to use and create learning experiences for children will be provided through online discussions and other opportunities for self-reflection and sharing. This process will support the completion of a final project."

"School and district leaders that are thinking about personalizing education tell us one of their top concerns is how to train, support, and develop teachers effectively to teach in ways that may feel new and unfamiliar.  As former educators we agree that this is crucial, and are happy that they recognize the challenge and are ready to take it on. First and foremost, in order to support the teachers we are asking to teach in blended learning environments we have to understand the implications on teaching practice.  Over the past three years, we've worked with thousands of teachers tackling the question of how to personalize learning in their classrooms and we've gathered a set skills into 5 domains of blended learning teaching that we believe are new skills to master for veteran and novice teachers alike. This five-domain rubric was created, not for evaluation purposes (there are enough evaluation rubrics out there!), but for teachers to be able to self-assess, set goals and progress.  In the same way, we want blended learning to allow for students to have a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses, we want teachers to be able to identify blended specific skills and better understand their own strengths and areas for growth.  We wanted to give teachers, their coaches, and their leaders, a sense of what to strive for, and help them plot a path to get there through aligned professional development.  We also found that the teachers we work with cherish the opportunity to self-reflect, identify the skills they have and the skills they need, and take the time to set goals around where they want to shift their practice.  Many of our schools infuse these concepts into community of practices discussions for continuous learning."