The Big Goal

This week I had the opportunity to finally sit down with the PTP committee. It was great to get in a room full of people who want to enhance how we use technology here at MHS. As excited as I was to dive in, I also have some reservations. My biggest reservation comes with goals--which seems intuitive with what I do for a living. I understand that goals are important. Goals enable us to take meaningful action that will get us where we want to be. Without goals we would go into the classroom daily without a big picture in mind. We would aimlessly teach ideas and concepts that students may or may not need to know. We would also push for progress without actually knowing if we're on the right track.

When I was a first year teaching, I had to make "Big Goals" for my classroom. This was a big part of Teach For America (the program I was hired with). There were required components for a Big Goal. It had to be ambitious, but achievable. The goal was also something that would make a meaningful difference in the lives of students. After my two year commitment with Teach For America, Big Goals became less prominent for my classroom. I could talk about our goals and what we wanted to achieve, but it wasn't always highlighted. I found that I was invested in this magic number or idea, but students weren't. Here at Mooresville, I think I've continued that slip. Sure, my AP students all know that they want a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam, but I haven't engrained that as a class mantra that will dictated all of our behavior. I also haven't established how a 4 or 5 can really impact a student. They know about college credit, but I don't know if they truly appreciate how the understanding the concepts of Language and Composition can really enable them to be critical thinkers.

I'm thinking that I could really establish a goal in the second semester for my AP students and my 9th graders. But before I can do that, I have to reinvest myself in the concept of a goal. This PTP process gives me that opportunity. I need to claim my goals for my own and not lose sight of them over the course of the next two months. While I know these are year-long goals, I want to push myself to achieve some of the goals asap. This is achievable with assistance from my cohort (and my lovely husband who can always help with my technology needs). I also know that my goals are meaningful. If I can include technology that allows students to access meaningful activities that are differentiated, they can continue their instruction while I am away on maternity leave. This has to push me to try as hard as I can to achieve my goals asap.

Beginning the PTP Process

I'm really excited about this initiative and the opportunity to be a member of this group. When I first decided to leave my old school and come to Mooresville, I had a lot of apprehension--not because of the school itself--but, rather, because of the technology. Students have such a great opportunity here with the personal laptops, but that opportunity can be easily squandered. That's currently been all over the news; districts buy technology, but it is never put to good use. I didn't want to come to Mooresville and be that teacher who uses technology is a way that does nothing to promote student learning.

To be honest, my students use their laptops everyday but there isn't always that wow factor. Often times they are reading a text via Angel. While there is merit in this (students have access to a dictionary and online resources to look up references), it isn't the really enhancing their learning experience in a way that only technology could allow. Students could easily look up references elsewhere. This is why I'm so excited to embark on this pilot program. I want my students to really embrace the technology and learn things in a new way that will help them engage in critical thinking skills. I want to pull in meaningful projects so that students can reflect on their own reading and writing.

After completing the self-assessment, I recognize that I have some strengths but I also need to improve on a lot of things. I want to focus on differentiation to promote student learning. This is a weakness that I have had before, but now with technology I think I can greatly improve what individualized learning looks like in my classroom. I know about sources and platforms like Blendspace, but I do need to work on recognizing resources that are aligned and rigorous for students. I think this is a great opportunity to collaborate with peers who probably already have the resources!