What Do I Teach?, Part III

It's three weeks before school starts, and we are still working out the teaching schedule! I left a meeting at school on Thursday of last week having learned about the third proposal. It was ambitious, and it seems now that we will probably revert to the second plan. Ah, the second plan, I had actually begun some thinking about that one!

The reality of teaching at a small start-up school is that few people must wear many hats. This year our enrollment is such that we have three grades and only two teachers per discipline. We will each work with an enviable number of students, but, with electives, some teachers will have a different prep every period. That isn't ideal.

I feel confident about the content part of what I teach. I have a good understanding of my discipline, and I hope and expect to learn new things along with my students. I don't seem so bothered about these changes in the schedule, and that's because my summer efforts have focused on the "how" of teaching, not the "what."

After eight and a half years at home, though, it was the "how" that seemed different last year. I didn't know about tri-fold vocabulary and Cornell notes. Even though I feel behind, I am so pleased to work with colleagues who know current educational research and whose teaching is driven by the best practices this current research highlights. As summer began, I read or re-read books by Marzano, Wiggins, McTighe, Tomlinson and books about project-based learning. I wanted to be more confident with the "how" of my teaching.

So, I am very happy that I spent the remainder of my summer learning more about Web 2.0. What I have learned will map to whatever I am teaching this year.

There are lots of uncertainties. I don't know if our network's SharePoint will easily allow us to create wikis. I would like students to start the year with their own blogs, but I haven't heard that this is possible. I wonder how long it will take to make these technolgies a reality for my students? I have wonderful support from my technology facilitator and my principal, but it seems like I might be the first at my school to use Web 2.0, and it may take a while.

In the meantime, I am a Web 2.0 learner which is a great thing to be.