Are You a Master Teacher?

In his blog post, "What Makes a Master Teacher?" George Couros lists what makes a master teacher. Are there any qualities you would add? Or remove? Which one resonates the most with you?

For me, I tried to ensure I got to know students on a personal level. Having taught middle school English Language Arts, it wasn't uncommon to have 150-175 students walk through my door every day. It was critical that they not see themselves as just another warm body in a seat, but rather as an important contributing member to the class.
I'll admit that I did better with some students than others. But I think that, overall, the effort paid off. By knowing my students, I was able to tailor curriculum to meet both their needs and their interests. For example, one year I had a student who had a poor assignment completion rate. He hated essay writing (and really, who doesn't?). But when I learned he wanted to be a rap artist, I let him write some of his literary responses as a rap instead of an essay. Lo and behold, he had a lot to say, and it was good, too! One year we studied the Zoot Suit Riots because the large percentage of African- American students in my class expressed an interest in it after hearing the song on the radio.
I by no means would consider myself a "Master Teacher" and wonder if any teacher ever feels they have truly reached master status. I look back now, after having been out of the classroom for a few years, and see so many missed opportunities to do even more, but I'm proud of the work I did to connect with students.

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Creating Wonderspaces

Jordan inside the "Daydream v2" exhibit. On Sunday, my daughter and I attended the Wonderspaces exhibit in San Diego. It is described on their website as " a pop-up museum of extraordinary experiences." Each of these experiences was given their own space in which to reside so that each piece could speak its own voice, without the presence of the others. "The Last Word" exhibit As we explored the 16 unique experiences, Jordan and I experienced a range of emotional reactions to the art. In some, we were completely awestruck. In others, we were perplexed. At others, raw with emotions. And in some, we felt playful. "The Last Word," consisting of hundreds of pieces of rolled up paper, allowed participants to leave their "last word" to someone... a way to "recapture what was never uttered" ( website ). This opportunity to peer into the soul of others silenced my mind, and opened my heart to the emotional plight of oth

SAMR Sort: Getting Teachers To See the Bigger Picture

A couple months back I attended an executive briefing about digital learning and our 1:1 initiative. During the briefing, we were led through a SAMR sorting activity. Eight different classroom projects were shared with us. We had to sort the projects in to the SAMR level we thought it best fit. We then had to defend our decisions. It was an enlightening experience. Back at the district, my ed tech team decided to recreate that opportunity for our students. Using ISTEs Student Profiles for learning as a guide, eight K-8 grade scenarios were created. On Tuesday, teachers attending the "New to Classroom iPads" professional development completed the sorting activity. It led to fabulous discussions about looking at learning from different perspectives. Teachers commented that most of the lower level activities could have easily been modified to advance in SAMR level. With so much focus on using technology meaningfully in the classroom, activities like this one

100 Starts with 1

A while back, I read an article in Good , "A magazine for the global citizen" about a #100StartsWith1 project. The idea is to promote positive change that betters society. It's an idea I circle back to today because I just spent three days at CUE Rock Star Admin being inspired by the passion, innovation, and creativity of school and district leaders in attendance. Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that make the biggest impact. For example, dancing and singing during morning drop off, as this vice principal in Arkansas does every day. Maybe my #100Startswith1 project will be a return to blogging. Don't get me wrong... I don't believe my blogging will better society. But perhaps the time for me to reflect, and the ability to hold conversations with others about the current state of education, will spark a change that will lead to a better society. It's worth a shot.

Igniting Awe in Learning

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