Welcome

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about who you are, where you are from, what you teach and anything else you want to include! 

Blog Post #1

How often do you get your students up and moving physically? In what ways? [Or why not?]
Does this make a difference in their academic performance? Explain your reasoning. 

Blog Post #2

Pasi Sahlberg, in his TED talk, “What If Finland’s Great Teachers Taught In Your Schools?”, compares teachers in a school to players on a football team. Do you currently feel like you’re a part of a team? In what ways? [Or why not?]
Does this make a difference in student performance? Explain your reasoning. 

Blog Post #3

How well do you know your students academically? How well do you know your students personally? In what ways? Are these equally important? Explain your reasoning. 

Blog Post #4

Adam Saenz, in his TED talk, “The Power of a Teacher”, discusses how substitute teaching piqued his interest in education. How do you feel after watching this video? What has it inspired you to become or to do? 

Blog Post #5

Are routines important? What degree of freedom are you comfortable giving your students? What does [or could] this look like in your classroom? 

Blog Post #6

Peter Hutton, in his TED talk, “What If Students Controlled Their Own Learning?”, describes his school in which there is no school bell, no school levels, and staff selection and curriculum are decided upon by students.
Would you like to be a teacher in his school? Why or why not? What aspects of his school would you like to see incorporated into your own system? How could you make this happen?

 

Blog Post #7

How do you ensure you are teaching the essentials? What role does the textbook play in your teaching? What role does technology play in student learning? Do you ever “bring in the music”? If so, how? If not, why not? Do you see yourself as a coach rather than a teacher? If so, how? If not, why not? How do you [or could you] have your students “prove the learning”? How do you [or could you] “discuss the grades” with your students? 

Blog Post #8

Eva Ren, in her TED talk, “What Your Grades Really Mean”, discusses the value of grades and the message they send.
Quote 3 statements from the video that you agree with. Quote 2 statements from the video that you disagree with. Why do you disagree? Describe 1 idea you had while watching the video. 

Blog Post #9

Do you actually vacate on vacation?  Why or why not? How often do you actually take a break from teaching and everything that goes along with being a teacher? Do you want to change this? Why or why not? 

Blog Post #10

Please post your thoughts about this course below.  What did you like about it?  What didn’t you like about it?  Would you recommend this book study to a colleague?