I have  attended a lot of conferences,  through fabulous PLN teachers who are generous in tweeting information (and comments) as they participate. From #flipcon to #iste and #pbl the array of opportunities out there for me to enhance my teaching is huge.

So why lately have I been filled with feelings of inadequacy about my teaching and classroom practices?  How can I ever put this all into action. The answer is, of course, that I can’t…but I can begin to transform how I do things – which is what I tried to do this year:

Transform a Class  -  I am intrigued by flipped learning however am still wrapping my head around how it would work in my foreign language classroom. I committed to try a ‘flipped’ class for each course that I teach and next semester will do it for all my classes.  My students used video/worksheet at home and came ready to participate in the learning activity – it worked! I have the basic tools and the small step of trying a class can give me the confidence to do more and eventually take the ‘full course’ step

Transform a Project  - They can get so routine. Once we find a good ‘project’ do we ever change it? This year I really looked at my Grade 11 course and the final task focus/effectiveness. Is it doing what I want in pushing my students to communicate, to be engaged? Is it ‘real?’. I vowed to banish the poster so this year a project went from presentational to inter-personal.  Students required to get information that would help them on the unit test by talking  – not reading silently. They loved it.

Having transformed a class and a project this year – I can see where I am headed. Next semester I will transform a unit in each of the three grades I teach. For me slowly tweaking what I do is a manageable way to fundamentally alter how I teach. And as is often said..”Slow and steady wins the race!”