Reflecting on my own progress at the end of the first grading period

I love looking back and reflecting on what works and what doesn’t.  Like giant shoulder pads didn’t work. Flannel shirts and Doc Martens absolutely did.

Today I had my students blog about their grades for this first grading period.  I’m trying to encourage them to be more metacognitive and reflective, and this time was no different. For the sake of variety I also gave them the option to read two articles on cheating and blog about those, as well as the reality of cheating around them.  However, most chose to really examine their grades and how their actions these past six weeks have affected them.

Soo…I decided to do this exercise as well. Here I go.

 What I’m proud of

So far this year I’m particularly proud of how much I’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time.

• I’ve fully embraced standards-based grading and have given better feedback than ever before
• I gave everyone an A after reading Phil Hanney’s article
• I’ve been fairly consistent with this blog (except when I’m falling asleep typing, then I know it’s time to hit the sack)
• I’ve had my students blog consistently
• I send out weekly Tech Tuesday posts (mainly to help my staff) as well as offering one-on-one assistance
• I’m grading assignments faster than I have in the past

Not too shabby!  Considering that earlier I’d set my goals for the year as using standards-based grading, having my students blog regularly and improve their digital footprint, and helping any willing staff members with their technology journey, I think I’m on the right track!

What I need to work on

That being said, there’s still room for improvement.

• I still don’t have a year-long vision of where I’m going with the curriculum. I’ve been wanting to do a unit involving dystopian literature, however I haven’t really organized it
• I want to make my curriculum more meaningful and real-life
• I still havent’ had a chance to get everyone on board with technology.  There’s a few key teachers who I REALLY want to help, but they don’t want it right now
• I need to figure out how to do everything I want and still make time for my family and friends
• I want to do more flipping of my class

I think I have a good list to work with for this next grading period. Overall I feel that this has been a stressful yet FABULOUS start to my school year!