I've been very proud of myself for blogging once a week.
Every day for a month? Well, that WILL be a challenge. But I'm going to try my best.
Day 1's prompt is to write my goals for the school year.
I've already been in school four weeks (!) and my students have completed three. My goals began to come into focus as last school year came to an end and through the summer as I read blogs and books and Twitter feeds. The gears began turning and I knew what I wanted to accomplish this year.
The BIG goal - and the purpose for this blog - is the flipping of my Algebra 1 classes. I knew by the middle of June I wanted to flip, and I have been working since then to make that happen. You can read some of the process here, here, and here. The beginning weeks of the flipped classroom have been successful.
Reflecting on my flipped classroom journey through this blog is another goal.
At the very beginning of the summer, before I made the decision to flip, I had found videos and writings by Rick Wormeli. I set out to create a retake/redo policy in my classroom, allowing students the time and opportunity to truly understand and master material. As I hoped, students are taking advantage of the new policy. I am figuring out how to manage the extra paper flow.
Related to the retake/redo policy, I am taking steps to ensure the grades student have are accurate measures of what they know, not how compliant they are or how much work they have done. My classroom is not a standards-based grading classroom, but I can see that becoming a reality at some point in the future.
After being introduced to and reading Carol Dweck's Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, I am seeking to move my students from any fixed mindset habits they display to a growth mindset.
I have a goal to perform frequent formative assessments and give timely feedback.
As a result of feedback I received from last year's students after they took the Algebra 1 End of Course Test, I have a goal to dedicate more time to problem-solving.
The school year is young, but these goals are already being attained. They become fine-tuned with each passing week, and I can't wait to see what they look like by the end of May.
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