Big Reflection

At the end of the school year, teachers often pause to think back, reflecting on the year just past. To provide context, it can also be helpful to zoom out – to consider how this year fits with previous ones. Seeing the bigger picture offers perspective. How does this year track with others?
 
Looking at the long run bridges the past and the future, helping us to see patterns of change that might offer hope to help us weather the next storm. Understanding how this year fits within our career trajectory might help us stay the course.
 
I recently read about a career reflection process that could prompt useful discussions at an end-of-year or beginning-of-year faculty meeting.* Here’s how it goes: Each teacher will need their own piece of chart paper or a similarly-sized piece of bulletin board paper (turning it sideways works well). Draw a vertical line near the left edge for your y axis. Draw a horizontal line near the bottom edge for your x axis. Label the x axis with tick marks representing each year of teaching/education experience (novice teachers might look more closely, labeling semesters, quarters, or months). Label the y axis with tick marks for rating how well you think you did as a teacher/educator. Now, take some time to plot a point for each year. Next, annotate the graph with brief explanations (teachers with a long teaching history may choose to mark and annotate just those years that stand out). Annotations might include circumstances, mentors, new curricula, students, etc. (Creating your own graph in advance so that you can show it as a model might be helpful.)
 
Next it’s time for a gallery walk. The group walks the walls, visiting the charts and offering questions and noticings on added sticky notes. After the walk, give teachers some time to ponder their own poster again, with the ideas of others added. Then ask what they noticed about teaching’s low points. Were there commonalities? End by thinking together about patterns noted in the peaks. What made the high points high? How could we recreate those highs as we move forward?
 
This timeline is like an EKG that shows the heartbeat of your teaching life. The peaks and valleys tell a story with a plotline that will continue as the new year gets underway. Whether you are ending the year or thinking about how to start the next one, this look in the rearview mirror offers opportunities for big-picture reflection and panoramic insight.  
 
* https://triciaebarvia.org/2017/07/11/slice-of-life-embarrassment/

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A word cloud generator to summarize teachers’ reflective responses:
 
https://www.freewordcloudgenerator.com/
 
 
Transitioning from teacher to coach:
 
https://blog.teachboost.com/establishing-trust-transitioning-from-teacher-to-coach
 
 
This video about high-quality discussions:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/free-videos/
 
 
Sidewalk Chalk math arouses curiosity:
 
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/55961/how-sidewalk-math-cultivates-a-playful-curious-attitude-towards-math
 
 
A 10-minute podcast on engaging teenage learners:
 
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/beat-boredom-engaging-tired-teenagers-critical-thinking/
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! TODAY you can still use the code: JUN2024 for 20% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!
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