Summer Reflections

I’ve been told several times that your third year of teaching is when things “click” and I’m wondering if that will be true.

I know that there are several things that seem more achievable this coming year, like classroom management for example. I’ve now worked out how I want my room organised to suit my way of working and how I want the seats arranged to suit my pupils’ behaviour! I feel like my room will be my room this year.

Researching my new courses has been fun. Year 13 English Language is proving fascinating. The new GCSE spec seems interesting: next week I’m tackling the prep for the Shakespeare and linked poetry assignment.  And somehow, planning and prep seems to be getting easier… It’s a third year thing perhaps?

One thing that is definitely going to make a difference this year is my own proactivity in terms of my CPD. I’ve recently found Twitter and participate in the weekly educator’s discussion #ukedchat (Thursday 8-9pm)  I’ve attended my first TeachMeet and intend to attend more next year. The power of the PLN is huge… I am actively engaged in my own professional development and it has made me feel completely invigorated and positive. Now if I can only transfer this sense of possibility to the rest of the department then we might be getting somewhere!

My next project is Moodle… and that will need a whole new post!

TeachMeet Moodle – 3rd July 2010

So, I’m back home in Merseyside after my trip down to ‘that London’ for TeachMeet Moodle. What a great weekend!

I really loved the whole TeachMeet vibe: relaxed, informal yet completely relevant & productive. I met some great people who I know I am going to mither (as we Northerners say!) further in future. The good thing is, they all offered their support so I don’t think they’ll mind.

The presentations were fantastic & I have had my eyes completely opened to the potential of a VLE generally and Moodle in particular. It was inspiring to see real teachers (as opposed to imaginary ones?!) talking about what they do and how they make Moodle work for their pupils.

I will come back to this when I’ve tried out some of the ideas and plug-ins suggested, but in the meantime, cheers to everyone who was there & hope everyone has a great week!