Learning Never Stops

Does learning ever stop? Should learning stop - ever? Each day I come to work and learn something. As a teacher I don't think I will ever have my practice "perfected", there will always be room to grow and improve. Students change and their needs change, research indicates better ways of doing things, and my reading and teaching experiences meld and create new learning which I transfer into classroom practice. The learning is sometimes difficult (and frustrating) but it keeps me motivated and excited to come to work. If there wasn't that challenge - that element of learning and discovery - teaching would be like working in a factory.

A friend who retired after 30 years in a high school English class told me that teachers have two options, they can teach 1 year thirty times or teach for 30 years. I'm choosing the second option. Learning means teaching is new, daily, monthly, unit by unit, year by year. Now that is exciting.

Lurking?

There are now many teachers who are members of this blog site, yet most are playing the Lurch role! You always have permission to lurk, but we need to interact too! So, I'm going to get things rolling with a question, and I hope you will decide to contribute a thought, idea or resource to keep the conversation going. All you have to do is click the "comment" link at the bottom-right area below this post. Here we go....

What would you identify as one of your strongest "professional learning moments"? This may have happened in-school, or out-of-school. Please take a moment and write a short comment to share your story.

One moment that comes to mind for me was reading the metaphor of the digital immigrant and digital native set forth by author Marc Prensky. It helped me realize how wide the gap between school and life has become for our students, and heightened my sense of urgency to bridge this gap.

EDM Games and Early Finishers

Hello! In reflecting on teaching math, I'm finding that my early finishers are somewhat unimpressed by the Everyday Math games and card deck. Being a new teacher and not feeling entirely familiar with the many games listed in the SRB, my question for an expert or amateur 3rd grade teacher is simply: Is there a particular game (Top-It, Less Than You, etc.) that you have had success with, and has worked to keep early finishers engaged while providing them with the extra differentiated instruction that they need? I'd appreciate any comments or advice. Thanks!

Inservice

Hi third grade! I will be meeting with you on November 6 for an integration session. I would love to hear your ideas regarding what I can do to help you both in the classroom and in tech class. Please share now and also bring ideas then! Thanks!
We do need to meet the needs of the 21st Century Student! (We are the digital immigrants and they are the digital natives!)
Ann

Welcome!

Welcome to sasd3.blogspot.com This is our first post and I look forward to working with your grade level to make this blog a valuable tool for your own professional learning.

New initiatives are best implemented when they result in more efficient work, and I’m convinced that you will find this “virtual learning community” can become a real time-saver as you collaborate with your grade-level partners.

Lots of conversation and support will be coming in the months ahead, but for now I just want to welcome you to the world of Web 2.0. One author calls this the, “read and write” internet. I look forward to reading and creating a wonderful space together….Dave