Qualities and Characteristics of a Reflective Practitioner

• we teach to change the world
• we need to have full awareness of our motives and intentions
• things you assume to be true are not always
• engage critically with ideas and actions
• talk and listen respectfully to those who hold views different from your own
• model respectful disagreement and constructive criticism
• think about what we do: how do you know when you are teaching well? how do you know your students are learning? how could your practice be made more responsive?
• learn more from your students
• use your power with the learners rather than over the learners
• Ask myself: Why do I do what I do and how do I do it?
• work within and outside of preferred learning styles
• can stand outside their practice and see what they do in a wider perspective
• well-grounded rationale for practice
• help solve problems by looking for a manual, workshop, or person
• explain and justify ourselves to others
• we see our practice through other’s eyes
• we know why we believe and what we believe
• model critical inquiry
• the assumption that all teachers meet all students needs all the time lead to us feeling incompetent and demoralized
• see our practice from the other side of the mirror
• inviting colleagues to watch what we do
• engage in critical conversations with colleagues
• seeing ourselves as students makes us aware of actions and assumptions we have
• the learners help us gravitate towards certain ways of doing things and why we avoid others
• we know that students watch us closely and they are quick to notice and condemn any inconsistencies between what we say, we believe and what we actually do
• curricula do not just happen
• models critical inquiry in the practice
• we question institutional definitions of appropriate teacher and student roles
• alert to the presence of power in the classroom
• listen seriously and attentively
• classroom is always needing further investigation
• emphasizes peer learning to show trust
• justice, fairness and compassion - democratic process
• we discover our voice - speak about our practice is consistent
• lifetime voice

~Group Work with Sarah, Don and Connie
This is the wordle of our words:

This is the wordle of the class's thoughts:

A Vision of Students Today

This video is what I think of when I think of 21st Century learners. We are teaching students the skills and technology that will be obsolete when they actually need to use it. I mean think about it, I used an apple II when I was in elementary school. We told the turtle commands to make it draw different shapes. In high school we learned word perfect with out a tool bar and had to remember the short cuts. What of these technological skills are useful to me today? None really except the best thing that I learned was typing. Students today need to learn skills that will help them to use the technology! ( What company doesn't train its employees on their specific software when they are hired?) "People skills" such as cooperation, collaboration, listening, speaking, using manners/ being respectful are all important for the students to survive any type of workforce.



This is what I wrote about on September 28, 2010: Myths About 21st Century Learning
Myth: 21st Century Literacy is about technology only.
I think that the skills needed for the workforce need to be some of that of technology; however, the technology we teach them today, may be obsolete when they start their careers. I think that skills such as leadership, organization, common sense, judgement, problem solving, creativity, and reflection are important to the 21st century learner. Other things like social interaction ability, collaboration and communication (even if it is online should have proper grammar and comprehension!) are also important.

Myth: The digital divide is closed because schools provide computer and Internet access.
"The digital divide-the gap in access to and quality of technology-still exists". I see this in my colleagues schools! Some teachers don't even have a working lab--it is all what the principal finds important.

Myth: Teachers who use technology in their personal lives will use it in their classes.
If you are not pushed in the direction of technology and how to use it in your classroom, you probably won't use it. I used technology in my personal life--photography and blogs and facebook--did I use it in the classroom? No! In the computer lab I used to put the students on successmaker. Now, the time is more useful--wikis, blogs, movies...you name it --I will try it!

Myth: Teachers need to be experts in technology in order to use it effectively in instruction.
Let the expert show how to use it! This could be your students. Sometimes you won't be comfortable ---why not take the plunge and try it!

Myth: Automatic Essay Scoring systems will soon replace human readers of student writing.

This doesn't replace human interaction...even if it is online! 50% of our students loved how they could revise their work online immediately!

This is what I wrote on September 28, 2010: New Literacies and My Fall 2010 Field Study
Students will be able to see how cyberspace has expanded their view of the world. How they can interact with other people in another country at the drop of a hat. Students will use a variety of activities such as you tube videos, interactive games, partner sharing and critical thinking to figure out how to be responsible citizens on the web. They will also learn how to find appropriate websites and find information for research without copying from the web. Students will create a digital storyboard on what they have learned in this unit. In the end, we will use a wiki to see how well they learned the lessons on digital citizenship.