Teacher Trails

These days, when globalization reigns and boundaries between countries are dissipating, a virus is calling us to do our best and share what we can. In our case, we feel that going back to social networks is fundamental to be with others and add our little grain of sand. In these circumstances, we are encouraged to contribute our experience and share what it was like to move into the virtual world on a previous opportunity ( influenza A (H1N1) in a K-12 school in Buenos Aires (June 2009). Once again this has become a necessity in order to shorten distances and continue with our work. With this in mind, we want to share what we learned and "harvested" from the mistakes and successes during that time. It is not our intention to "determine" how or what to do but, to open an invitation to think together what it means to teach in times of physical isolation.  We will try to present some ideas, even the most obvious ones; sharing our doubts, mistakes, concern...

"If you don't know where you're going, then sure as anything you won't get there." by  Vadim Kotelnikov , Founder, 1000ventures.com Setting Goals The major outcome of  strategic road-mapping  and  strategic planning , after gathering all necessary information, is the setting of goals for the organization based on its vision and mission statement. A goal is a long-range aim for a specific period. It must be specific and realistic. Long-range goals set through strategic planning are translated into activities that will ensure reaching the goal through operational  planning . Setting Objectives  Setting objectives involves a continuous process of research and decision-making. Knowledge of yourself and your unit is a vital starting point in setting objectives. Strategic planning  takes place at the highest levels. The first step in operational planning is defining objectives - the result expected by the end of the cycle. The objective...

What is Positive Psychology? Positive Psychology is one of the newest  branches of psychology  to emerge. This particular area of psychology focuses on how to help human beings prosper and lead healthy, happy lives. While many other branches of psychology tend to focus on dysfunction and abnormal behavior, positive psychology is centered on helping people become happier. Martin Seligman  and  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi  describe positive psychology in the following way: "We believe that a psychology of positive human functioning will arise that achieves a scientific understanding and effective interventions to build thriving in individuals, families, and communities." Source  http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsycholog1/a/positive-psychology.htm In this excellent presentation, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that happiness can inspire us to be more productive.  Watch the video below to learn about what you can do to become a happie...

What´s the topic today? Can you guess? If you could give a name to this image what would it be? Do you know who this person is ? Do you know what EI is? What is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. Source: http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/a/emotionalintell.htm Let´s read an  analyze  the following article: 12 Elements of Emotional Intelligence   By Marcia Sirota MD Would you like to read some more? Here´s an article written in 1998 regarding Leaders and Emotional Intelligence What Makes a Leader?    by Daniel Goleman http://www.undp.org/content/dam/samoa/docs/UNDP_WS_TLDP2_Whatmakesaleader.pdf Sources:  OM Times:  http://omtimes.com/2010/08/12-elements-of-emoti...

Have you read any stories by Robert Fulghum? Just by chance, many years ago, I came across a really nice story to use with students and teachers. It´s one of those stories you never tire of.  I´ve used it extensively both in class and in seminars. It takes you back to the really important aspects in your life.  All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten  by Robert Fulghum - an excerpt from the book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten. ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your h...

One of the most dreaded and disliked aspects of our profession could be lesson planning.  I think I have never come across a teacher who expressed her / his love for it.  This acknowledged, we also need to agree on its importance, how it shapes our time inside the class, defines whether we´ll achieve our goals and objectives; it can even explain how tired we feel at the end of the day!    Lesson planning is not just choosing activities and giving them an order. It has to do with making wise decisions about strategies we will employ to help students learn. The more we have this clear before we go into our class, the more effective the teaching and most important: the learning will be. 

We´ll read the following article and the video and take down notes.    33 Digital Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Should Have A Vision of 21st Century Teachers Activity:  Have a look at the list of web tools included in the article. Choose one and prepare a presentation to share with your peers next class. 

Fill in the questionnaire and discover what type of teacher you are. What kind of teacher are you? So, how did it go? Do you think your results describe your teaching style?  This may prompt some further thoughts on how you might improve some things in the classroom and in your teaching.  Be ready to share your results with your peers. What about teaching today? Has your teaching changed in the last years? Read the article and prepare a word cloud with the main concepts.  33 Digital Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Should Have I made mine with  Tagxedo

Everybody likes listening to a good story.  Have you ever wondered why?  What do you think about this statement? Do you agree?  A story can put your whole brain to work.   This article may give you a few ideas on the power of storytelling.    The Science of Storytelling .   Which are, in your opinion, the main concepts? What do you think about the suggestions for telling stories? Do you have any of your own? There are a million ways in which we can tell a story. An interesting game to develop a number of skills is the following: "This quasi-experimental web site is designed to foster visual thinking and build stories. It  draws upon collections of photos specified by a tag in  Flickr . You are dealt five random photos for each draw, and your task is to select one each time to add to a selection of images, that taken together as a final set of 5 images- tell a story in pictures." F ive Card Stor...

Building Excellence in Student Work Through Critique and Revision What do you know about peer feedback? Have you ever tried it in any of your classes? Now let´s watch the following video. "This six-minute video gives a clear picture of how student work can improve through focused critique. It shows the evolution of a scientific illustration of a butterfly through multiple drafts toward a high-quality final product." Austin's Butterfly: Building Excellence in Student Work from EL Education on Vimeo . So far so good, but....  is  there anything we (teachers) can learn in relation to our own learning? State 3 ideas you can pick from the video which  describe  the aspects  you´d  highlight.  The following article provides some ideas particularly suitable for young learners. Have a look at the four ideas described and share your ideas with the group.  Strategies to enhance peer feedback Two stars and a wish Plus, minus and what...

A new year is starting.  It is a time when energy is at the top, we are full of expectations, projects, and ideas.  It is also a good time to reflect, consider and share views.  I´ve chosen 2 different inspirational videos from this site:  Best Kickoff Videos Choose one and generate your own video as a response. You can include your views on the topic, what you think, how it relates to your teaching situation. You can use your own photographs, images you get online, music... you can even record yourself!   Making your own video is very simple, probably one of the easiest ways is using   Windows movie maker   (you can download it from this site if you don´t have it in your computer already)  once you have it ready you can upload it to youtube and share it.