I spent all Friday morning and afternoon learning about Common Core. It seems very interesting and it’s the best for the students. Interdisciplinary lessons, critical thinking, etc.
I need to start using the 4 Cs next semester:
-Communication
-Critical Thinking
-Collaboration
-CreativityI…
I can totally relate to your fears of trying to manage the collaborative efforts of 40 students in one class—been there! It’s no easy feat!
Your post made me think about how lucky I was as a teacher to have other teachers I could turn to for advice about managing group work and designing activities that make it so that my student groups worked more independently together and therefore gave me less to have to “manage.”
Have you checked out “New Teacher Chat” on Twitter? It’s a weekly Twitter chat with the hashtag #ntchat, and it’s held every Wednesday from 5 - 6 p.m. PST. The host is the wonderful Lisa Dabbs, a former principal who saw that at many schools, mentorship of new teachers is an extremely low priority—if it’s even a priority at all. So Lisa created #ntchat to be an online space where new teachers could get advice and ideas in real time as they navigate their new careers. The participants are a mix of new and experienced educators, all of whom give loads of good advice and share many wonderful teaching tips. If you are on Twitter, definitely check it out!
In the meantime, good luck with your courses and your preparations for embracing Common Core!
-SF
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