The work never stops!
Teachers tips to decision making for resources
Teachers don’t stop working when the school day ends.
“We do not leave at 3 o’clock every day and on the days that we might, it’s because we have something personal to attend to.” “Even though we get the summers off, most of us spend it planning lessons for the next year. We’re also thinking about how we’re going to decorate our classrooms and are excited and worried about the new students we’re going to meet when the new school year starts. We never stop planning.” Teachers have a lot of anxiety because they care for their students.
“I’m just about to finish my first year of teaching, and honestly, I worry 24/7 that the students are not getting the support they need from me. I worry about if they have food when they get home and that they may not be focused on their education. And parents can cause them even more anxiety than the students. “They are the hardest part of the job. Instead, the teacher and parent should be a team. Parents’ behavior can border on harassment, but as professionals, there is nothing we can do other than be positive”.
“We really can end up going the whole day without visiting the bathroom. Recess is not always an option. We’re often making copies, prepping for the next lesson, cleaning up from the previous lesson, talking to a parent, answering emails, meeting with a student, meeting with another teacher, or even an administrator.”
Also, taking a day off is actually an inconvenience for them. “It takes more work to plan for a day off than it does for a regular school day.” Teachers actually like it when students open up to them. “As a high school teacher, students open up to me about some heavy stuff. It’s a really cool feeling to know that they feel safe and that they trust me so much.” Teachers are affected by their students’ pain and struggles too. “Our hearts hurt so much for our kids when they go through terrible situations like a death of a sibling, deportation of a parent, or being homeless. You can’t do this job without learning something new every day that makes you have more compassion for your students.”
The writer of the above article Ajani Bazile really highlights the care and attention being delivered to students, but there is just not enough time. Continue reading the article here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ajanibazile/teacher-secrets
Digital technologies could be the answer. There is a tide of digital educational resources, most schools, have the tablets, youtube, gmails, online resources, gamified learning, etc, but has this enabled teachers to redesign lesson plans and facilitate deeper learning?
Not all Edtech or educational technology achieves that goal of deeper learning pedagogy within its digital modules and learning areas. In order to use these, teachers still need to know how to assess and qualify the digital platform they allow into their classroom.
Many of the digital resources are just as effective as previous analog learning resources, and maybe that’s ok, but wouldn’t a well thought out, well planned and truly deeper learning digital resource be better to take its place? (digital resources like www.afedsquad.co.nz are a good example of lesson planning with deeper learning in mind).
Scott MCleod and Julie Graber, authors of the book Harnessing Technology for Deeper Learning, take a deep dive into comparing models and protocols that help teachers blend technology into learning environments and lessons.
Scott and Julie also introduce a new model into the mix, they call “The 4 Shifts Protocol”. This protocol is starting to be used by teachers, principals, instructional coaches, and technology integrationists all over the world to make lessons, units, and instructional activities richer, more robust, and more relevant for the global innovation society in which we now live.
In their book they provide eight concrete examples and secrets of lesson and unit (re)design so that you can see the protocol in practice across various grade levels and subject areas.
The book is aimed squarely at practitioners and their day-to-day instructional (re)design needs. They also explain in the book why they think the protocol is a great complement to SAMR, TPACK, RAT, PIC-RAT, and the Arizona and Florida Technology Integration Matrices. And they include numerous tips and suggestions for using the protocol in school(s)!
For the full article about Harnessing Technology for Deeper Learning click the link: https://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2018/09/our-new-book-harnessing-technology-for-deeper-learning-was-released-today.html
