For professional Learning my school started individualizing our learning by having us complete a personal project during the year. I’m all for this! I love having choice about what I study/spend time working on! Last year I focused on service learning and I enjoyed my research etc. This year I have decided to go back to my passion from the start...and the inspiration for this blog title. I will be exploring reading and writing across curriculum!
Sure I’ve down work with this before...but the biggest motivation for me is to get me back to the basics and to go back a little to what I know really well! I think it’s easy to get caught up in change and “new shiny” ideas. Of course those can be great and inspiring. But what I need this year is a year of some good solid teaching and learning in my classroom! I have a great group of students and only two preps! It’s going to be a good year!
My first strategy has been incorporating what is called CER (claim, evidence, and reasoning) into my lessons. I’ve had students read articles and fill out the CER and then we applied this concept when we did a stream study looking at the impact of environmental structures put into the stream. (Daylighting streams, bioswales, etc). Instead of formal lab reports the students filled out a claim, evidence reasoning sheet. I don’t think they realized they were doing the same thing! But I didn’t get the angst and struggle that I would have assigning a lab report right off the bat.
For my climate unit 2nd semester I think I will make them do more of a research paper but will use the CER structure that they now already know.
My focus this year is getting students to be scientifically literate. To know and understand how to evaluate credibility of what they read. Hopefully help them as they go on in life to make informed decisions. A lofty but not unreasonable goal! And one I truly believe is important!
Until next time! Back to the daily grind of teaching! Never boring, sometimes overwhelming, but always rewarding!
