As you may well know, the best laid plans of mice and morons … I fully intended to sit down and write this post this morning after I completed checking my kids papers. I started at 8 am, broke at noon for lunch, walked the dog, and then saw that I had thirty more papers in my inbox. Then I lost track of time and before I knew it … well, here I am.
I read my peers posts and I am most impressed. You all seem so much more together and in control of this. I am having issue with separating design and planning. I have ideas for class that will work fabulously--I think--but how I got there, and what the real purpose of having the students do their work somehow escapes me. It's like driving your car a long distance, and suddenly realizing you are somewhere but you don't remember getting there. Not that that happens to me all that often.
I am waiting for my "aha" moment I suppose. I see the light, it just keeps dimming on occasion. What a lousy post. Sorry.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
How Vygotsky Saved My Day
Teachers in DCPS are evaluated by both Administration and "Master Educators." For the most part, neither have a clue. However, one of my two M.E.'s is a former History Teacher who actually will take the time to listen and discuss the grades he has assigned.
FYI, an observation is an unannounced 30 minute slice of time that has a specific checklist that is supposed to be looked at, and in many ways it is a "gotcha tool" used by DCPS to keep teachers inline and keep costs down. If you don't achieve a score of 300 (out of 400) you can be dismissed. I truly hate the system. It is arbitrary and punitive, and if you are not on your the good side of your Administrator it can be used to get your fired. It can also be used to impact your pay.
In any event, I scored fairly well (a 3.44 out of 4), but I pointed out some of the issues I felt that my M.E. missed. For example, one of the line items reads: The instructor has "presented the opportunity for students to develop higher order thinking and understanding." My M.E. gave me a 3, and in his comments said that some of the students had not demonstrated higher order thinking or understanding. He agreed that I had presented them that opportunity, so I then asked if I was also responsible for getting them "through the zone." After all, I had presented them the opportunity, and to believe that students of any age or strip could immediately understand a concept was rather silly. He immediately said, "Vygotsky?" Score! We spent ten minutes discussing this point and he told me that he would consider changing that particular score (and two others) because I had pointed out that what I was doing was directly related to moving students through the Zone! Thanks Doc, your choice of material has already paid off for me!
FYI, an observation is an unannounced 30 minute slice of time that has a specific checklist that is supposed to be looked at, and in many ways it is a "gotcha tool" used by DCPS to keep teachers inline and keep costs down. If you don't achieve a score of 300 (out of 400) you can be dismissed. I truly hate the system. It is arbitrary and punitive, and if you are not on your the good side of your Administrator it can be used to get your fired. It can also be used to impact your pay.
In any event, I scored fairly well (a 3.44 out of 4), but I pointed out some of the issues I felt that my M.E. missed. For example, one of the line items reads: The instructor has "presented the opportunity for students to develop higher order thinking and understanding." My M.E. gave me a 3, and in his comments said that some of the students had not demonstrated higher order thinking or understanding. He agreed that I had presented them that opportunity, so I then asked if I was also responsible for getting them "through the zone." After all, I had presented them the opportunity, and to believe that students of any age or strip could immediately understand a concept was rather silly. He immediately said, "Vygotsky?" Score! We spent ten minutes discussing this point and he told me that he would consider changing that particular score (and two others) because I had pointed out that what I was doing was directly related to moving students through the Zone! Thanks Doc, your choice of material has already paid off for me!
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