Now on to Clark, I loved chapter 7. Far-transfer, principle based, involving document search and analysis of expert interviews combined with analysis of Best Practices is starting to make connections in my brain. There was a quote that jumped out at me "In environments in which work assignments are vague (lack of clarity) or undemanding, where the results of work activities are never known (PD follow-up), or where consequences or incentives are unrelated to activities or results, productivity will decline." I see this in some of my more seasoned colleagues. I get involved in tech training because it does three things for me. 1. It refuels my teacher tank. 2. It connects me with a community of life-long learners. 3. It gives me tools that I can share with my students. That is a big reason why I joined this program. It is the reason I want to develop a PLC model that identifies Best practices and connects us to share strategies, and resources that will benefit us and our students. I don't want to send out a spoiler, but I just finished the George Couros book and let me just say he wants us all to take care of ourselves, find that work-life balance and guard against burn-out.
Reading S.I.T.E. and Dervyn make me remember why I changed a psychology major to a minor. It is important to understand the steps involved in designing an effective instructional model. I liked our "4 Pillars" read because the connection to the aesthetic resonated with me. I relish the experience. I am inspired by personal stories. While I am a teacher, my absolute favorite job was being a mother. One of my students noticed that I was mothering them and said "How does it feel to have 32 children?" I could not be happier (most of the time). My adult children tell me stories (now) about the best teachers and some challenging ones. I feel very fortunate to learn from them.
Reading about UDL by Katie Novak, impressed me as our son (an IEP kid) had always said that he was not learning impaired, that the teachers were teaching impaired. Or as Katie has said "the curriculum" is disabled. His relationship with school only improved with the more choice and agency he was given. He managed to graduate college summa cum laude. I keep this in mind as I look for ways to include our students that learn in a different way.