Professional Learning Communities
As a member of learning communities I have had the opportunity to gain new resources, share resources that have helped me in my classrooms, and create relationships that help foster my growth professionally. In my district, for the last four years I have attended monthly optional professional developments that better have helped me learn unit specific content. Through these opportunities, I have learned new methods, gained new materials and tested new strategies that were shared. I am fortunate enough to be on a team of five very diverse educators who all teach the same grade level and subject as me. When we discuss resources for creating lessons for our students we always take into consideration the populations of students we are teaching and their cultures, Although the content is the same the how is often tailed for the class or student. We do not teach our G/T students the same way we teach out Beginner EB students but we can still teach them the same state mandated skill. Being a part of learning communities has shown me that there are different ways and methods to achieving the same goal. As educators we do not always have to reinvent the wheel but maybe we can add sparkles to make it look more appealing to our students!
Because I like to stay active and “in the know”, I choose to work some sort of summer job dealing with youth. This summer I have the opportunity of being the Enrichment Specialist for the YMCA. In this role, I am responsible for creating engaging creative arts and STEM based activities for students to do all summer. In doing so, I have been able to pull ideas for my classroom for the upcoming school year. I have learned that presentation and enthusiasm is key! If you are excited about something, the students are more likely to be excited too! Modeling is essential and having a positive attitude is key! Through this summer job, I have met other educators from other districts, former educators from other states, and community center directors who work with children of all ages!
