Monday Musings from The Kravis Center Monday Musings October 19, 2020 Focus: Scaffolding
NEW: Teaching Hybrid: Kravis Center Zoom room: If you are teaching hybrid, please join Matt and Sara in the Kravis Center Zoom room on Wednesday, October 21 from 2:00-3:00. Click here to sign up. See resource section below for more information about hybrid classes.
Dear Colleagues,
In my first year out of college I would take the N train an hour and fifteen minutes each morning to PS 171, where I worked as an assistant teacher. I was very green, and not very good. That train ride was my respite, a barrier between the day and me. I'd read with the idle time, mostly, but also people watch or critique the copy for by-mail mattress companies. On lucky days I'd be parked across from a Poetry in Motion poster, the MTA's back-of-the-cereal box campaign to get people to read poetry. Heany's "Scaffolding" found me during a particularly rough patch, and has stuck to my ribs ever since.
Are careful to test out the scaffolding;
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.
Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.
Old bridges breaking between you and me
Confident that we have built our wall.
Heany addresses his metaphor towards some "dear" 'other' -- a lover? A friend? -- during a period of upheaval and "bridges breaking". I can empathize.
Of course, putting those questions into practice is harder in a world where our classrooms look unfamiliar -- distanced and masked or pixelated -- and it's a feat just to make it through some weeks. But I'm comforted to think that these measures, too, are scaffolding. Someday, hopefully sooner rather than later, we may let them fall.
Matt, on behalf of the Kravis Center
NEW: Teaching Hybrid: Kravis Center Zoom room: Wednesday, October 21 from 2:00-3:00 ________________________________________________________________ Time to share and collaborate! One of the advantages of being more aligned with our colleagues is the increase in collaboration and development of materials. For us to grow as educators, it is essential that we take the time to share what we have learned and designed over the course of the past few months. One of the key tenets to professional growth is creating a sense of collaboration, both within and outside of our disciplines. In the spirit of collaboration therefore, the Kravis Center is putting out a call for examples of well-designed, creative, and effective asynchronous lesson plans & authentic assessments. You may share your own material, that of a colleague, or the result of collaboration on teaching teams. Click here if you would like to submit a description of what you, your team, or a colleague has done OR if you want to simply include your name and someone from the Kravis Center will contact you. You all have done outstanding work. We would appreciate any and all opportunities to learn from your efforts. ___________________________________________________________ Hybrid Teaching and Learning: Resources and articles
As our ratio of online to in-person learners has changed, we've had a big increase in the number of teachers teaching hybrid classes this term. Hybrid, at Loomis, simply means having an online learner in an in-person class section. There are two guides (which are updating and changing frequently) about how this might function for those classrooms. The first outlines the technological options we have (the "hardware"), the second contains more best practices and FAQs.
Here is a Padlet for those who are teaching hybrid to post thoughts, ideas, etc and for those who are not, to see what it's all about! ________________________________________________________________ Relevant Articles on teaching, learning, and DEI
We Need to Start Talking about the Emotional Impact of the Election by Ricshawn Adkins Roane (Thank you for sharing, Freddie!)
An interesting article from Education Week about academic honesty and authentic assessments.
During an Instructional coaching workshop last week, one of the speakers, Christian Van cited an article he wrote for TheConversatiom.com. Hope isn't mere wishful thinking: it's a valuable tool we can put to work in a crisis.
Difficult Dialogues comes from the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching website - very helpful, especially for navigating our TAG discussions.
"White Supremacy" Once Meant David Duke and The Klan. Now it Refers to Much More. It's always important to hear both sides of a debate. ____________________________________________________________________ Professional Development Opportunities
Learning and the Brain is offering numerous PD options for teaching during COVID. Click here to learn more.
SEL in the classroom: Here is the link to the numerous PD opportunities through One Schoolhouse, one of which is Protecting Student Mental Health in Hybrid Learning Environments with Lisa Damour
Harvard GSE programs for educators - so any worthwhile workshops for teachers. Follow us on Twitter! |