Back to Angela

It has been amazing nailing some things down for the school year. For some reason it takes me all the way back to Angela’s insightful introduction the first day of PBL boot camp. She talked about how the leadership team has been putting their heart and soul into creating this school, and how soon we would take the reins. Angela’s speech was powerful that day, but it all seemed like a dream, something to look forward to. Well…we have arrived. It’s time to start making decisions and being trusted to do so. There are a few words to articulate how I feel now…humbled, valued, and respected.

Moved…

Wow. What was wrong with me yesterday? As Betsy illustrated, I was in a drooling stupor. I felt frustrated, and I couldn’t stay focused. After therapy (blogging) last night, I realized that I had hit a wall of fear and anxiety. I must have hit a brick building face first because it knocked me smooth out! Instead of panicking and running around like a crazy person screaming that I broke my nose, being unconscious was my way of coping.

I woke up this morning refreshed, had a fantastic day, and WORKED through the problems at hand (with a great attitude).

Going through the T-STEM blueprint this morning, again, reminded me of the incredible opportunity we have.  I have hungered to teach for a long time! When I finally get to eat, my meal is an education system in which I whole-heartedly believe.  I am determined to be worthy and worthwhile…

Boo Woo…

Not too many times during IA’s teacher training have I really felt like I wanted one of our leaders sitting directly next to me telling me if we’re “right” or “wrong.”  Mostly, I have snagged a PBL ninja or curriculum connoisseur to ask if my fellow PBL authors and me are on a healthy track.  Their questions and facial expressions, or lack there of, have been enough for me.  However, today was another story.  Isn’t it ironic?  The day we are taught how to write rubrics and checklists I crave so much feedback. Maybe my need for affirmation derives from the red overload light flashing in my head, or vise versa. Also, I feel this dire want to “get something done.”  I’m trying to be flexible in my personality type; be a “P” when my team needs to process or “hash it out,” or an “I” when I notice that I am having projectile thoughts onto my group.  Although, I have noticed that I inadvertently flip back and forth between details and big picture.  My greatest internal brawl this afternoon was feeling versus judgment.  I wanted to get something done that, innately, made me want to cry.  In other words, I didn’t do a good job at being a chameleon today, and I want to apologize to my crew. I will be back tomorrow with my boxing gloves on!

Rynn’s 40th Birthday…

It was pure torture knowing that I was missing the wave today.  Unfortunately, I had to attend a workshop under the PBL of “How do I maintain the health and well-being of my child?” My application? Give her an antibiotic twice a day for 10 days.  My deliverable? Celebrating her first birthday Saturday fever-free.  My enduring understanding? Getting her to her 40^th birthday?  Okay, okay, it was a shot at using our new terminology.

 

Luckily, I have amazing colleagues that were determined for me to ride the wave.  Betsy and my team kept me updated through text messages and phone calls. Chesley came all the way to my house (4 miles) to hash out the day and transfer videos of our instruction to my computer! Love it! Talk about a team. I feel so at peace knowing that I, and several others, have accepted PBL as our personal method of teaching. Ready to see your faces again.

Thinking…

“Metacognition is one of the latest buzz words in educational psychology, but what exactly is metacognition? Metacognition enables us to be successful learners, and has been associated with intelligence.” –Jennifer Livingston

 

Metacognition has often been simply defined by Brian as “thinking about thinking.”

 

But…I’m kind of exhausted from thinking about my thinking, even while I am thinking about my thinking, in order to make my thinking better. I think my thinking is getting better when I think about it, but it’s hard to come home after all day of thinking and then have to think about what I thought all day then write a blog. See, aren’t you tired now too? It’s a lot of thinking! What if I switched gears for a little bit and think about what I’m feeling? Is there a super fancy word for thinking about what you are feeling? Ding, ding, ding, what do we have for ‘em Johnny? Yes there is a word for that as well.

Why waste it?

Highlights of my day:

Brian breaking it down

Brian shutting it down

Brian helps me make connections through this process by expressing his “rationale” in such a vivid way. Most of the time it is through his unique analogies. Today it was within his visual of “the wave.”

Brian broke it down!

I started describing our “project” to the group today and missed a very important step.

Brian shut it down.

In his rationale, I realized I had a made a common mistake of PBL. When he explained that we would be responsible for how everyone on the outside of IA, parents and community, perceives project based learning, I had a “real” moment. Why is anyone going to think we are the outliers of education if we are not doing anything different? I could just hear it in my head: Ok cool, so you do projects? I did projects in school too. It’s not the projects that make it exceptional; it is the alignment with the state standards! Later Brian went even further by clarifying how the standards evolved. Professionals spent an incredible amount of time and resources determining what our little learners need to know by the time they graduate. Why waste it?

We’re on top of that…

Today we reflected on the first two weeks of our summer training. Every teacher pulled a different feeling or revelation from his or her experience, and with every one I could relate. The exercise brought great closure to our lesson, yet opened up many more avenues for learning. I want to use Ten Takeaway Tips for Replicating Project-Based Learning http://www.edutopia.org/stw-replicating-pbl-tips-get-started

as a guide to monitor our progress this far. Since I am a “J” it feels good to check it off the list.

We have begun building trust in one another by understanding personality types, group dynamics, and permissions. Check.

Many of us talked about it being okay to “miss the mark” today. That’s a relief! Check.

Our leaders have designed our school day to allow for a substantial amount of time to come together and collaborate EVERYDAY. Also, we have discussed several options to fluctuate if needed for the part of the day that we will be instructing. I love the choices. Check and check.

By no means will we be forgetting the standards! Check.

My group has familiarity with trying to force a “project.” This one is going to be a struggle as I expressed today, however we are aware. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Check.

With respect to personality types, we have the opportunity to choose our way to contribute as an evangelist. For example, Eli has mentioned several times to run with our strengths and alluded to publications. Check.

Innovation Academy IS the community’s small group of enthusiasts. Check.

Becoming intimate with PBLs requires us to live them out and design our own, but utilizing free resources in the future…I’m on it!

Because we are investing time into parent and community involvement, they will gain a understanding for PBL and IA goals and values. After all, we are great teachers. Check.

We are off to fabulous start. Look at all that progress.