@inspirelilminds // ashleybcongdon@gmail.com
Keeping the Fire Burning Bright
Do I continue to bring a passion for teaching and learning into my classroom? As long as I am able to give an honest and whole-hearted YES as my answer, I will remain teaching. My enthusiasm for teaching stays fresh because I see education as a profession that allows you to continue growing. The only way you plateau as a teacher is if you become too comfortable. Every year I have the opportunity to learn about my students, as they share their passions with me, and every year, I have a chance to pursue more of my own educational interests. My interests vary from year to year, season to season, as I experience new situations inside and outside of my classroom. My ultimate goal is to remain passionate about my practice, for my students and for myself, to keep the fire burning bright.
My Learning Reflection describes my future endeavors. Click here for a PDF version.
There are times when my interests are so numerous that it can seem overwhelming, so I look to The Danielson Group’s framework as a guide for my future learning, to create a bit of order for my numerous educational interests. The Danielson Group identifies four domains of teaching -- 1) planning and preparation, 2) classroom environment, 3) instruction, and 4) professional responsibilities. I began a Google Doc, “Teach With Passion,” to track each of my personal interests as they arise. I will place each goal within the domains and then, within the particular elements. I find greater direction for my current learning when I am able to categorize my intentions, as well as track the potential areas
of future learning. For this upcoming year, I have selected four goals, one within each domain -- 1) planning and preparation -- demonstrating knowledge of students -- a wider knowledge of children’s literature, 2) classroom environment -- establishing a culture for learning -- creativity in the classroom, 3) instruction -- engaging students in learning -- flipped math curriculum, 4) professional responsibilities -- participating in the professional community -- educational cause outside of my school.
In planning and preparing for my students’ literacy growth, I would like to expand my knowledge of my students’ reading choices. In order to track my progress of children’s literature reading, I will create a thinglink for each reading. My goal for each reading’s corresponding thinglink would be to include images, sound clips, and text about the author, genre, and content that would support students’ decision-making process in choosing a book. Overtime, this thinglink literacy library would support my students and my teaching practices in many ways. I envision students beginning to make their own thinglinks in order to highlight their favorite books, ultimately , sharing their love of reading with our class, the school, and potentially the world. Additionally, I would have a better understanding of the options for my students so that when they ask me for a book recommendation, I am able to speak from experience. I will take student recommendations, as well as the following sites to begin building my reading list.
Association for Library Service to Children -- 2015 Notable Children’s Books
Detroit Country Day Digital Library
International Literacy Association -- Book Lists
Association for Library Service to Children -- Newbery Medal and Honor Books
I long for creativity in each and every day with my students, and I as I continue to develop my definition of the learning culture within my homeroom, I want it to settle around creativity, problem solving, and students’ passions! I plan to take Michigan State’s lead in many areas of this domain as I enroll in CEP 818 “Creativity in Teaching and Learning” in the fall. However, I also have several professional readings on hand to support this learning which include:
Within the third domain -- instruction, my current goal is to engage my math students in learning by continuing to flip the curriculum. I began exploring this teaching format earlier this year and posted my videos to a Weebly site, “Room 109 Math.” My intentions are to develop this site in greater detail, to include a resource tab for additional explanation, connections, and practice. I also have a colleague who has completely flipped his math class. Together, we developed a two-day summer class for teachers interested in learning about the flipped classroom design, so I will definitely approach him with any questions as they arise. Lastly, in my search to support the success of this learning goal, I discovered a community of educators who have come together in support of the flipped classroom. I am confident that I have the necessary resources in place to reach my instruction goal.
Within my first several years of teaching, I dedicated most of my time to my classroom and my school community. While these are going to remain areas that I dedicate time and energy, I am now at a point in my career when I would like to participate in the greater educational community as part of my professional responsibilities. For example, GameDesk is a non-profit company dedicated to defining the future of education, and they are open to volunteers. Additionally, Volunteer Match is an organization connecting volunteers with local programs in need of support. I will look to these resources as opportunities to contribute to the larger body of education.
In years to come I will keep my teaching fire steadily burning by adding kindling to my “Teach With Passion” collection. Some goals may change from year to year while others may need a few years of tender loving care to bloom. As long as I expect myself to continue reaching, I will do just that.
