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The Reflective Principal: A Taxonomy of Reflection (Part IV) Reflection can be a challenging endeavor. It's not something that's fostered in school - typically someone else tells you how you're doing! Principals (and instructional leaders) are often so caught up in the meeting the demands of the day, that they rarely have the luxury to muse on how things went. Self-assessment is clouded by the need to meet competing demands from multiple stakeholders. In an effort to help schools become more reflective learning environments, I've developed this "Taxonomy of Reflection" - modeled on Bloom's approach. It's posted in four installments: 1. A Taxonomy of Reflection 2. The Reflective Student 3. The Reflective Teacher 4. The Reflective Principal It's very much a work in progress, and I invite your comments and suggestions. I'm especially interested in whether you think the parallel construction to Bloom holds up through each of the three examples - student, teacher, and principal. I think we have something to learn from each perspective. 4. The Reflective Principal Each level of reflection is structured to parallel Bloom's taxonomy. (See installment 1 for more on the model) Assume that a principal (or instructional leader) looked back on an initiative (or program, decision, project, etc) they have just implemented. What sample questions might they ask themselves as they move from lower to higher order reflection? (Note: I'm not suggesting that all questions are asked after every initiative - feel free to pick a few that work for you.) Bloom's Remembering : What did I do? Principal Reflection: What role did I play in implementing this program? What role did others play? What steps did I take? Is the program now operational and being implemented? Was it completed on time? Are assessment measures in place? Bloom's Understanding: What was

These aren't really about creative engagement of parents in your school, but rather parenting suggestions to help maintain consistency of expectations both at home and at school. -My first post on 'Connected Principals'

Laura Fleming is using Makerspace in her classroom. She's at New Milford HIgh School -- a place led by one of the best principals in the business, Eric Sheninger (his new book is awesome - out in January). Laura is using Mozilla's Web Literacy Standard and her Makerspace which includes robotics, stop motion animation and "Molecular gastronomy" and more. Wow. I'm fascinated. Take a look. "Setting up a Makerspace has been a priority of mine from the moment I started here at New Milford High School, and it's already well on its way to being achieved. Having a school principal who provides the perfect mix of encouragement and autonomy has, of course, been a great help, but it has also been very much a team effort: the school's tech team and custodians have been very supportive and cooperative, along with a diverse variety of students interested in 'making' experiences. At the heart of the vision for my Makerspace is to develop the space and to provide resources and opportunities that will aid in promoting web literacy.  These components encompass Mozilla's Web Literacy Standard.  The standard is make up of three key elements:  exploring, building and connecting and focuses on reading, writing and participating on the web.   "

Must read letter over at Edweek from a mom of one child who died at Sandy Hook and one who survived... if you want to be affirmed and remember why you teach, this is the post you should share with everyone. "Your courage will support students who are left out and overlooked, like the isolated young man who killed my daughter. At some point he was a young, impressionable student, often sitting all alone at school. You will have kids facing long odds for whom your smile, your encouraging word, and your willingness to go the extra mile will provide the comfort and security they need to try again tomorrow. When you Google "hero," there should be a picture of a principal, a school lunch worker, a custodian, a reading specialist, a teacher, or a bus monitor. Real heroes don't wear capes. They work in America's schools. "When I asked my son's teacher why she returned, she responded, 'Because they are my kids.' " Being courageous requires faith. It took faith to go back to work at Sandy Hook after the shooting. Nobody had the answers or knew what would come tomorrow, but they just kept going. Every opportunity you have to create welcoming environments in our schools where parents and students feel connected counts."

I would like to provide good classroom examples to school principals in our District such as the two I mentioned earlier that are considering a 1:1 "project" with ipod touches. In particular, I'm interested in classroom activities, assessments, methods, etc. that use ipod touches to support student learning connected to curriculum (embedded). I am also interested in things teachers have tried that didn't work.

As more people connect via Skype, the demand for live streaming is there. I think conferences can either acknowledge this and make it possible or they will continue to see us do it ourselves, taking bandwidth. The tough thing is that sometimes licenses are tricky and presenters may not want it recorded - this information is not usually shared publicly as it should be. Great read for administrators

1. Connects with kids first 2. Teaches kids first and curriculum second 3. Ensures that they draw relevance to curriculum 4. Works with students to develop a love of learning 5. Embodies lifelong learning 6. Focuses on learning goals as opposed to perfomance goals 7. Ensures that "character education" is an essential part of learning 8. Passionate about the content they teach 9. A master teacher is a "school teacher" 10. Strong communication skills

Dear Educators, With this webcasting tool, you can connect live face to face with anyone, anywhere, anytime.....family, friends, students, teachers, colleagues, administrative groups, principals meetings, etc. without having to travel. You can even promote world peace by connecting with teachers and students in their classrooms worldwide and learning more about each other's country and culture The tools for your use include the ability to have live video chat, make PowerPoint presentations, stream video, share your desktop, record and share your presentation, and much more. Guests do not have to download any software. They simply click on the link to your conference that you send them, no cost, no travel and better yet, no wasted time. This tool is affordable and easily fits into a classroom, school or administartive office budget. As a former superintendent in the education system with more than 50 schools spread out 400 miles along a major highway, the ability to communicate with everyone in an efficient, effective and economical manner was essential. Hope you find this helpful. Best wishes, Barry

# I will provide you with an extra prep per week ("A Fed Ex Prep") for 6 straight weeks. This would be prep-free for you as I would prep whichever subject the you would like. The time is also negotiable (ie. if you would rather have 2 periods a week for 3 weeks). # This time will be self-directed to ANYTHING you want with the only goal that you must DELIVER your ideas.

Although Ashley loved basketball, this was his first year playing on an organized team (grade 11). It was not that Ashley did not have a desire to play earlier, but because of his low grades and poor attendance, school rules prohibited him from doing so.

Douglas Reeves's consulting website (The Leadership and Learning Center), where he keeps full PDF text for many of his articles, past and present. SCORE! Check out this treasure trove of reading "when students improve the quaintly and quality of their writing, they improve in reading comprehension, math, science, and social studies."

"It was hard! As a teacher, I think sometimes we say that technology is going to make teaching easier. It's not. It's going to make it different."

Through listening deeply to students' voices on the topic of homework as deliberate practice, Cushman proposes the following "four R's of deliberate homework": Readying themselves for new learning Repetition and application of knowledge and skills Reviewing material learned earlier, and Revising their work.

3 key items to keep in mind when considering a "Flipped" classroom method of instruction.

Learning goes deep. Evidence of higher order thinking.  Real and substantive conversations.  Personal learning.  Autonomy, mastery, purpose, choice, self-direction. 21st century skills integration. Reflecting