Why Personal Learning Networks are important

 I love being part of groups that can help me grow in my field. As an AVID teacher, I belong to the official AVID website, which provides me with lessons and the curriculum I am to follow.  Being part of a learning community also helps me with networking and, quite often, leads me to others who can help with specific problems.  It also gives me confidence in helping others with similar issues, and I am able to pass on helpful hints and shortcuts to my colleagues, as they need help. As AVID Coordinator, one of my responsibilities is to provide teachers with AVID resources, and I have been sharing these resources  so they can be used digitally. 

TCEA has been a great resource as well, especially now that I am having to  teach virtually and face to face at the same time. They have also been sharing resources that address social emotional learning, which has been very important, given the current pandemic and the amount of students who are learning virtually. Additionally, John Sowash and Matt Miller have been invaluable resources for me, as I continue to stay committed to teaching 100% digitally this year. 

To further my personal interests, I watch bella coco to learn new crochet patterns and digital drummer because drumming is a passion of mine. I have  found that having hobbies is just as important as perusing professional forums. This keeps my brain fresh and helps me relax.

 

my.avid.org

https://tcea.org/

AVID Educators group https://www.facebook.com/groups/136575486926149

https://ditchthattextbook.com/

I also follow John Sowash on twitter  and youtube. He is a great resource for Google tutorials

https://bellacococrochet.com/ 

http://www.digitaldrummermag.com/

Got any interests or people you follow? Leave them in the comments below. I would love to check them out! 

The COVA Approach

COVA — is a learner centered active learning approach that gives the learner choice (C), ownership (O), and voice (V) through authentic (A) learning opportunitiesMy growth mindset voice LOVES the COVA model. (Harapnuik, 2018)

 I love to create new projects for my students to try. and I love the idea of being able to create projects that  are relevant to my own teaching. I am very right brained, so this idea of being given the creative license to complete projects with limited specifications makes my growth mindset voice very happy. However, the fixed mindset voice that has been trained to follow the guidelines to the letter so I can get an A in my class, really derail my productivity. It is this voice that makes me want to doubt myself and the validity and quality of my finished product. IT is this voice that longs for the proverbial checklist that I can check off to make sure I have followed the specifications of a particular assignment, so I can get the A. I have to tell myself that there are very few ways I could get it wrong, because the COVA approach to learning allows for creativity, ownership, my own authentic voice.

Because I have this conflict that swirls within my brain at times, I feel it is vitally important that I start using this COVA approach with my students now, so that they can avoid these kinds of fixed vs. growth mindset arguments that take place in my head on a regular basis.  I can become overwhelmed by having so much freedom to choose how I want to complete a project, that I sometime have a hard time getting started--that fear of making a mistake that will cost me the A. Once I wrap my head around, I am usually good to finish. I want to help my students AVOID this kind of anxiety by exposing them to the COVA model, starting with smaller projects and working up to the bigger ones. My goal is to help my students gain confidence in their own agency by giving them credit for the process, even if their final product is not exactly what they intended it to be. By sharing my own experiences with trial and error, and showing them that I make mistakes just like they do, I feel like it gives them permission to do the same.  I used to be afraid to make mistakes in front of my students. Now, I see that there is tremendous value in owing my mistakes and allowing the students to help me correct them. 

Source:  http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991

Growth Mindset Plan

Growth Mindset and Universal Design Learning

 Because I am teaching in the cafeteria this year (fondly referred to as the classeteria), I found it wildly important to go 100% digital. So far, it has worked well, with lots of grace and patience extended to both students AND The teacher. I do my best to maintain a growth mindset, especially with how we have had to start the year; however, I have noticed that there are some things that make my tiny "fixed mindset" voice rise up and scream in protest--like grading procedures and the idea that I don't have to grade EVERYTHING my students do. Fortunately, my growth mindset  voice wins in the end, and keeps me on the right track. 

    I love the idea of Universal Design Learning, because it helps students to understand the "why" behind the lessons. So often, teachers focus so much on content that they forget to stop and explain the reasoning behind what they are learning. Over the last several years , I have done my best to explain to my students WHY we do some of the more complex things we do, the way we do them. I have found that when I do this, my students are able to focus better on competing their work. Conversely, when I tell them they have to do it a certain way "because I said so," fewer of my students will engage with the lesson or the work. Like most people, they just want to know that they are not just wasting their time by doing busy work.  

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

 For more years than I can remember, I have lived by the motto, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome."  This school year, more so than the last 20 years, this motto has served me well.  As a coach and a teacher, I have tried to teach my students that "I can't "  should not be part of their vocabulary; but over the years, I have learned that simply adding the word "yet" to the end of that sentence has made all the difference in their motivation for improvement. Over the years, I have seen those students who really grab hold of the "yet" work their way from lower level middle school sports teams to varsity level high school teams--a few even to college teams. This growth mindset is what I try to instill in every one of my students. 

     As I have gotten older, I have discovered the NECESSITY of maintaining a growth mindset. Without it, I just don't think I would have survived this long as an educator. This pandemic  has changed the face of education, and I have watched teachers with a fixed mindset panic, cry, and even quit. Those who continue to improvise, adapt and overcome, still get frustrated ( and maybe cry a little), but they keep pushing through, finding solutions to the problems they run into, and working collaboratively with others to help them along the way as well.