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Playing in the creek, looking for tadpoles

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I'm trying to understand the environmental impact of AI and how it is connected to the different digital tools I use.

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I prefer talking with friends and family but would rather write to those I know in more formal settings. It's good to practice all modes of communication!

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My wife and I completed the Tour du Mont Blanc in Europe this summer! We hiked 100 miles, ate lots of potatoes, and drank plenty of wine.

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I'm excited to learn more about research-based best practices for integrating literature into writing instruction.

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I'm not the most eloquent speaker—my writing is much more fluent than my mouth is —but for conversations I prefer face-to-face. Body language and feedback is so important for understanding! I'm also a notoriously bad texter. Did you know some people interpret a period at the end of a sentence as aggressive? Punctuation is powerful.

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Something I am trying to learn more about

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Something I am trying to learn more about

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As I'm beginning my grad school journey, I am very open to learning new strategies for teaching my students, as well as behind-the-scenes work like grading and lesson planning.

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Email communication is key for this setting

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Always aiming to be a better writer. Never was my strongest strength in academics

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My bestie and I hit the State Fair ALL DAY for some food and drinks. My favorite this year was the pizza cheese curd tacos. Yum!

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I'm hoping to learn more about enticing students to want to read what I have assigned and getting them to think critically about it.

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I prefer to talk! It is easiest to get to the heart of the matter this way.

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Family vacation to Maine. We hiked Acadia National Park. This is the Beehive Trail which included some steep cliffs and a bit of rock climbing.

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I would like to learn more about how to better assess and give feedback on student writing.

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Personally, I am a talk face-to-face or text. I feel like these modes of communication are easier to access in a timely manner, compared to email, which may take longer depending on what the other person is doing in that moment.

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I read 30 books this summer, which is a new summer record for me :)

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I am currently trying to learn that change is okay. I've always had a fear of starting new things, so grad school is very scary to me, but I know it will not only help me, but help my students.

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Something that brought me joy this summer

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Something that brought me joy this summer

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My family went on a trip to Disneyland in June!

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Watching the local goslings become geese :)

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Watching the local goslings become geese :)

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This summer I'd go on walks around the pond to watch the ducks, geese, cranes, bunnies, and squirrels! I also enjoyed watching the geese congregate outside my window.

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Dan Everett is a linguist who lived with the Piraha people in the Amazon for ~30 years, and I've been listening to his audiobook "Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes." Everett asserts that the Piraha language lacks recursion, which is a fundamental feature of Chomsky's theory of Universal Grammar. Naturally, Chomsky hates Everett. I've been diving a bit into their linguistic rivalry and brushing up on some of the theory. The documentary I linked is a pretty good summary...it's so fascinating!

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Inside the Pirahã World: Deciphering the Amazon’s Most Enigmatic Language | SLICE | FULL DOCUMENTARY

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I love face-to-face communication for many reasons. In this online setting, though, I prefer having physical messages/emails I can refer back to as needed. I have hearing accommodations (I have unilateral hearing loss) which can make phone or other audible conversation methods difficult for me sometimes.

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Myself and another teacher at my school chaperoned a trip to Scotland/Ireland. This picture captures some of the goofy fun we had (this is at the end of a ghost tour in Edinburgh). I'm the one in the tie-dye shirt with pink shoes. :)

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I am learning more about how Shakespeare's works can be a safe starting space for students to engage with modern issues in the classroom!

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I prefer speaking face to face whenever possible because I rely on nonverbal cues, including body language, to reduce my anxiety about how people are delivering certain messages because I can overthink written messages. However, I can organize my thoughts much more clearly in writing than I can while speaking. I wish I could say that I am more concise in one of those modes, but I tend to be wordy in both!!

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In June, my extended family got to go on a Caribbean cruise. This picture is from a waterfall cave tour we took on our first island stop. Pictured above is me with my parents and two brothers as we walked in the water between waterfall slides. We had so much fun!!

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Our English team at my school has been trying to learn and understand how best to not only prevent AI use within the classroom but determine if/how/when to teach kids to use it in a productive way. This especially is relevant when teaching writing because there can be many helpful ways to use it, but it is hard to get students to understand the line of where they can and cannot use it in their educational studies.

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My preference is an in-person conversation for a couple of different reasons. One of the main reasons is to understand and observe non-verbal communication, which can so just as much (even more!) with relaying information. Also, as a busy high school teacher, face to face conversations help make decisions quickly and efficiently, which is helpful for student learning (rather than waiting a couple of days over email).

Although, when it comes to graduate studies, I find email and written word to be the best form of communication. It can be challenging to find common time throughout the week to talk in-person with everyone's busy schedules. Also, I live in Iowa, so I can only meet via Zoom, which sometimes add an extra layer to communicating.

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In June, my husband and I hiked around Olympic National Park. We had so much fun hiking trails and mountains, seeing waterfalls, and enjoying the cool temperatures. It was an average of 60 degrees while at Olympic while the average in Iowa was 95 degrees with 80% humidity! (If you're curious, Iowa summer humidity is usually from corn sweat - check it out!)

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As a high school teacher, I'm always seeking new strategies and techniques of how to best engage my students, especially in a content they may not love. How can I best engage them in the content and skill work? What assessments will keep students engaged in authentic and genuine ways? How can I help create connections to their world and beyond?

P.S. I realize student engagement is not a proposal, but I couldn't help myself with this timely pun! :)

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I appreciate face-to-face communication the most, but I am probably most available through email.

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My favorite way to communicate is talking, although I am a stronger writer than I am a speaker!

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My sister is getting married in October, and I had a surprising amount of fun planning her bachelorette party and bridal shower! My Canva educator account came in handy!

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I'm trying to learn how to more effectively motivate students to learn beyond grades. I'm looking into some no-grades based strategies for future years, but for this year focusing on changing my assessment methods to being more participation, discussion, and process-based.

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I strongly prefer written communication, whether through email or text. I like being able to return back to a conversation to reread in case I missed or forgot something. I also like the ability to edit/rewrite my responses to people a few times to make sure I am saying what I meant to say. In a professional setting, I always prefer written communication so I can have written proof of what was said/done instead of ending up in a he-said/she-said situation.

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Baby Rowan was born in May, and he's been the light of my summer! His new skill this week has been laughing and giggling all through the day (and night).

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I told my students that the most common use of writing in our classroom this year will be to make their thinking visible. Therefore, even though they will have access to AI in the workforce post-graduation, we won't use it in class for any writing assignments because the topic they are writing about isn't as important as their ability to express their thinking effectively. I'm also trying to find ways other than writing to encourage (or force, in some cases) them to think in a way I can assess. Writing takes sooo long to grade and is so easy to cheat on nowadays. So, I'm interested in learning more about practical ways to assess thinking that include writing assignments as well as speaking, art, video, etc.

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Although I spent most of my summer at the library working on my master's courses, I was able to bike more than 100 miles (which was my goal) and play sand volleyball with friends every week.

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I am interested in learning more about ways to provide authentic writing experiences for my students. I'd like to build on the traditional genres of writing. I'd like to teach my 9th grade students how to be empowered with their writing and how applicable these fundamental skills are for real life situations.

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If discussing a big topic, then face-to-face is my preferred method! I'm always open to Zoom. But otherwise, texting is a great way to immediately get in touch with someone.

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Watching my little one grow in her interests and her hobbies was the highlight of my summer.

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I'm interested in sustaining the balance between literature and other work that challenges the way students think and affirms their interests.

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I prefer talking face to face. It's easier to make a lasting impression when you can put a face to a name. Body language and tone say a lot too.

I am certainly not a fan of texting. A phone call or FaceTime is much more meaningful and a faster way of communicating.

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I moved into a new apartment this summer ! I live closer to work, there are plenty of dogs around, and there's a pool here! Life is good!

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I am very interested in learning how to use AI in a creative and ethical manner. For our Professional Development day this year, our district hired someone to come in and teach us how to use AI as a tool to make us better educators. He gave so many tips and tricks that were beneficial to me, and I feel like I am already pretty tech savvy.

While one part of me fears we will someday end up in a "Brave New World" simulation, I think teaching out students how to appropriately navigate this tool can lead to a more innovative and empowering future.