Planning Forward

I've read a few different reflections on 2020 that included setting goals and intentions for 2021, but the one that made me stop and think "I should do that!" was Ingrid's @ https://teachingandlearningnotebook.com/. Ingrid co-taught the Implementation and Evaluation of Curricular Change course during my Masters program, and I have been following her blog ever since. Here are the goals I have picked for 2021 - I'm really interested to look back at this post 12 months from now and see how I did. Did I stick with them, drop them or shift them?

Professional Development Goal: Finish the Modern Classrooms Project's course

I started the Modern Classrooms Project's free online course back in November. I heard about it while listening to the Cult of Pedagogy podast episode "How to Create Self-Paced Classrooms". I would like to finish the course and re-design my unit plans based on the Modern Classroom model. It reminds me of a more robust version of Dr. Kathie Nunley's Layered Curriculum approach which I had previously used as the foundation for my Gr. 6 Kitchen Safety and Sanitation unit in an attempt to test that model of curricular design out.

The module I was listening to yesterday was about Lesson Classification, which really sounded a lot like components of selecting enduring understandings in McTighe & Wiggins UbD approach, or the levels of task difficulty in a Layered Curriculum, however I loved the language the Modern Classrooms Project used to describe their classification system: Must Do, Should Do and Aspire To Do. Aspire To Do just has such a nice feeling to it, and it seems like a very approachable and inclusive way to describe more challenging tasks.

The one drawback to the Modern Classroom Project's approach that I am still trying to wrap my head around is the reliance on technology. I have no student technology in my classroom, so anytime we do use technology it is more of a whole-class approach than self-paced. I've also subscribed to the Modern Classroom Project's podcast, so maybe the answers that I'm looking for will come as I continue to dig deeper into their material.

Intentions: Vulnerability and Clarity

I want to continue to push myself to be open to new ideas and experiences, especially ones that scare me (in the right way). I prefer to always have the answers and know exactly what something will look like/feel like before diving in. However, reading Dare to Lead by Brene Brown last year encouraged me to get outside of my comfort zone, embrace new challenges, be willing to step outside of the box, or share my thinking even if I'm not sure how others on my team will react.

Clarity and communication was a goal of mine last year, but it is an area that I want to continue to focus on. I tend to like to try and make people happy, and often avoid the hard conversations because I am afraid of creating conflict. I believe that saying what I mean and meaning what I say, in a professional and respectful way, makes me more trustworthy. I want to be thought of as a person who is trustworthy. To increase communication I have implemented a few new practices this past year that I would like to continue with and build on.

• Sharing a Professional Development newsletter with the teachers in my division as the chair of our Professional Development Committee.

• Sending out a weekly Resource Team update to my school's staff so they know both what I am up to and what is coming up that they may need to be aware of (clinicians visiting, deadlines etc...)

• Sending out a summary of our Student Support Team meetings to school staff so that the work of our team is visible and not being done in isolation

Reading List

These are books that I have probably started, but put down before finishing, or have purchased and are sitting on the shelf waiting to be picked up. I would also like to spend the time working through the discussion questions that accompany many of them.

• Lead Like a Pirate - Shelley Burgess and Beth Houf

• The Innovator's Mindset - George Couros

• R.E.S.E.T. Your Mindset - Natalie Eckdahl

• Untamed - Glennon Doyle

There are probably other books to add to this list, however I think I am more likely to meet this goal if I make it manageable and not a chore.

Personal Goal

I started a running program at the beginning of December with the goal of running a 5K at the end of it. I have one week left before my final training session and 5K run. I've ran the 5K distance, but those runs included walking intervals. My goal for 2021 is to run the 5K without the walking intervals and then to continue to race against myself to improve my pace as the year goes.

Alright - time to get to work on these! Only 360 more days to go....