Ms. M's Tales of a Teacher: My Personal Teacher Blog

Observations and feedback... enough said right? I'm sure as a fellow educator you're half tempted to scroll by this post, cringing at the mere mentioning of it. Today I want us to reframe our thinking of observations and feedback based on what I learned from a recent webinar.  We know as educators that providing our students with feedback on an essay will help them to see where they made an error, and more importantly,  grow as learners. One of the sentences that stood to me in this recent webinar was "the same goes for adults!" Sure we are given feedback on our observation forms. We are used to this for sure, however, when is the last time you received feedback from a peer who is on your grade-level team. Or the the fourth grade teacher who provides feedback to a teacher on the first grade team. There are many possibilities when it comes to peer observations and feedback.  The point is to not make teachers feel nervous that yet another person has come in to observe, ...

 I am thrilled to be back to posting blogs this week. I know there has been some stagnant time since the start of the month and this post, however, I decided to take the advice of putting myself first and taking time over Spring Break for self-care. Although I do admit, I missed writing, I think taking time to read, exercise, and re-energize was just the key to powering up for the final blog in this min-series.  Recently I've met with my co-op to talk about a few different tech. tools she has been learning about, and I've been infusing into classroom learning. Shout out to my students for trying Blooket for the first time! It really is the updated version of Kahoot ! Based on a recent poll, my students enjoy both, but Blooket was the fan favorite due to its accessibility and it shows the answers in the blocks (traditional view.)  What I appreciated most about my co-op's work was that the game directly reflected the concepts in one of our math lessons we recently complete...

 We are now into our third full week of co-op teaching! Although I mentioned this in my last blog, I knew I wanted to start this blog with my repeated thought; veteran teachers can learn so much from their cooperating teachers! I've learned about different platforms that I am excited to integrate into my class from my co-op. As much as I am supporting her along her teaching journey, she has by far added to my path as well.  What I would like to focus on today is the importance of a mentor-mentee relationship, and the role that veteran teachers play in developing that. Yes, we can learn from our co-ops, however, they are there to receive our guidance; it's just a wonderful bonus when we realize what's reciprocated. Whether it is a co-op experience or a first year teacher with mentor, having a strong support system is one of the most vital parts of teaching to an early educator. I personally believe that all teachers are capable of being great mentors, however they have to de...

 Now that our co-op has officially begun, (and admittedly I did not get a chance to write last week,) I am excited to share with you updates! My new co-op and I have been hard at work with our discussions, plans, and learning new technology to implement in the classroom. I also admit that I too am learning about new interactive tools that can help my students successfully learn the material we cover in class! It just goes to show that being a cooperating teacher does not mean you know more than your student teacher or know everything, but rather you are a guide who has the experience with different teaching elements that he/she may not have had yet. It's the storytelling and genuine connection you make with each other that makes it a great learning experience for all.  My co-op and I have been speaking once or twice a week since we started two weeks ago. I get to hear about the different assignments she has to complete, and I've been sharing updates with what my students have ...

 I am truly excited to start this blog today! (Not that I am not excited to write my others mind you!) My goal in writing my blogs is to share out resources, ideas, and guide other educators along their journey as a teacher, but yet as Tom Murray says keep it "personal and authentic" at the same time. I try to share with my readers relevant topics that I think about as they happen or occur to me as a teacher. That is why I am excited I have this topic as my next "mini-series" for my blog... I am happy to announce that I was recently asked to serve as a cooperating teacher for a student in an Ed. Tech class, and I'm thrilled to participate! Recently Dr. Sam Fecich, the EduMagic genius, professor, presenter and author asked me to work with a student in her class that is learning about different technologies in the classroom. I will "meet" with this student once at least once a week and discuss what ed. tech she is learning in her class and we will collab...