Tweeting Classroom News

Hello Everyone,

 

Welcome to a new year! We are ramping up with new and returning faculty back on campus.  It’s always exciting after the slower pace of the summer to get back into the swing of things and to jump in to plans for the new year.

 

I always try to use the summer to do some reading and thinking about Dawson. At the start of the summer, I shared some information about a book called How to Raise an Adult that I planned on reading over the summer. I’m not quite finished, but I must say that I highly recommend it. Once I have finished it, I’m hoping to get a book club together to discuss some of the main takeaway points.

 

I also read a book called Hacking Leadership that talks about some common issues that arise when leading educational institutions and how best to address them. One thing the authors recommended was to get into classrooms as frequently as possible and to use social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, and others) to broadcast what is happening in classes. In the past, I have visited classes frequently – it’s probably my favorite part of the day. It allows me to get to know students well and to see what they are doing.  I’m fortunate to make connections across different classes. For instance, I once visited a seventh grade science class when they were beginning to talk about exponential growth. The teacher did a lot of work with graphs, helping students understand the difference between linear growth and exponential growth. That same day, I was teaching my own algebra class, and we were focusing on linear equations and graphs. I was able to say, “In your science class, you were talking about…” I am absolutely convinced that the more our students have the opportunity to make these connections across disciplines, the more neurons are firing off in their brain, leading to deeper learning that stays with them.

 

I (and my students) benefitted from having a clearer idea of what was happening in other classes, and so I’m hoping to provide this for other teachers and for families through the use of social media.  When I visit classes, I’ll try to take some pictures, and I’ll post some thoughts and photos on Twitter. This way, teachers can more readily understand what their colleagues are up to and can find common areas on which to collaborate. And families will have a better idea of what their children are doing each day. I don’t know about you, but I often find it difficult to get more than a few syllables out of my kids about their day!

 

As you know if you follow @Dawson_School on Twitter, or Dawson School on Facebook and Instagram, it’s a great way to learn what is happening moment to moment throughout the year. Dawson has a lot of exciting new initiatives in place for the 2016-2017 year, including a new schedule that will allow for deeper learning and more collaboration across disciplines and divisions. I know there will be many great classroom moments over the course of this year, and I look forward to sharing them with all of you: You can find my personal feed @HeatherMock70.

 

I am really looking forward to seeing all of you soon as we begin the year.  Enjoy the last few days of summer!

Take care,

Heather