https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice Made with charm en-us 2020-08-04 03:15:17 UTC 2020-08-05 02:10:43 UTC hello@padlet.com drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668721725 2020-08-04 04:16:18 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668721725 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668723558 Relevancy/Applicability
Making lessons relevant and applicable to students' lives, future selves, and academic growth. What are they able to connect with, that can be useful for how they perceive themselves/others, see an issue, develop a skill, etc.? Why might they find the lesson challenging/stimulating, or not? Always making the abstract concrete and accessible, bringing ideas/history/values down from the clouds and into a palpable, practical form for their benefit]]> 2020-08-04 04:18:58 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668723558 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668724672 2020-08-04 04:20:38 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668724672 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668725205 Meta-emotion/SEL
What's the emotional atmosphere of the classroom during certain "heavy" lessons? How does this knowledge affect my students? What's their emotional impact, and can we make space to recognize these aspects of learning, so we don't leave them festering and unresolved? Being honest about the realness, struggle, and injustice of history, contemporarily, and in my students' personal lives. Modeling honesty and vulnerability so my students will know there's a space for emotional as well as intellectually learning in my classroom. We are not simply rationally automatons, and I certainly don't expect my students to be. Bringing in the historical emotions of a period/event/people would also be a part of this emotional learning--Humanizing the social sciences (where people are central).]]> 2020-08-04 04:21:28 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668725205 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668725754 2020-08-04 04:22:22 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668725754 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668725958 Norms/Expectations for Engaging Others
This is admittedly my most difficult task for promoting SJE and healthy civic engagement. I've been in too many classrooms of dominating personalities, a free-for-all "discussion," where little was first noted about the norms and behavioral expectations for respecting and engaging each other. I would like this to be a collective effort early on, where students participate in their creation so they have more ownership over the process itself. I will, of course, have suggestions ;) but the onus will be on students to consider what it is they need out of class norms for their meaningful participation. Restorative justice practices will pervade this process. I'd like to see some form of peace circle integrated into class procedures for dealing with tension/harm. Again, lofty, vague, and a bit idealistic but wholly necessary. Making circles an essential part of classroom engagement will be helpful in normalizing 'peace' circles when they are needed, and will make them feel less substantial and intimidating when they are utilized.]]> 2020-08-04 04:22:45 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/668725958 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669498687 Differentiation based on Multiple intelligences
Taking into account my students' interests; tailoring assessment/activities/materials to their prior cultural knowledge; giving them space to experiment with alternative ways of demonstrating competencies (visually, linguistically, etc.)

]]> 2020-08-04 21:20:19 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669498687 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669502198 Learning as Co-constructed
Think, Pair, Share, definitely; also, socratic seminars and other discussion forum styles to encourage and draw out students' thoughts and opinions in more systematic and thoughtful ways. Ensuring these remain productive and well-structured will be the biggest challenge, which is why various scaffolding to model effective dialogue and questioning early on can hopefully ease students into the kinds of habits of thinking and interacting with others in this setting. Less formal group discussion and group-project opportunities will be of necessity for meeting this learning goal as well. ]]> 2020-08-04 21:25:20 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669502198 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669507062 Feedback
Using constructive forms of feedback to cultivate a growth mindset in students; being entirely transparent about what I am/will be doing in this regard; recognizing how different feedback should be from assessment (evaluation) and the nature of intelligence and academic achievement. Ensuring feedback is tied to specific ideas for improvement and/or specific positive acts/comments for students. How will I work in/plan for feedback opportunities in each lesson? ]]> 2020-08-04 21:32:13 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669507062 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669529426 Context/Curriculum Flow
Ensuring each lesson connects to prior lessons in course sequence topically/skills-wise/in terms of the kind of knowledge being learned (not always chronologically) so they have opportunities to build on each lesson successively and logically/coherently. Students should be able to see the big picture coming into view, piece by piece, and be able to make connections, create new knowledge from what's come before. This also serves the co-construction aspect of learning.]]> 2020-08-04 22:06:36 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669529426 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669530060 Personal relationship/belonging
As the teacher, I'm not only an academic facilitator, I'm a facilitator of relations within the classroom. Focal point/nexus of relations goes through me essentially. I'd like to redistribute this influence/deference relationally, but there needs to be a real connection and trust established to enable future trust between students. Trust and belonging are two sides of the same coin. Getting to know my students one-on-one is a priority. Memorizing aspects of their lives, interests, and personalities will help me gain trust and further learning intimacy among students and myself]]> 2020-08-04 22:07:51 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669530060 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669530703 Self-awareness/Bias checking
Checking myself, my predispositions and tendencies towards certain students, ideas, cultural ties, etc. will be an important part of my teaching reflection. I want this to be a part of my students' learning as well. I don't mean to say we will be discussing white privilege/advantage exclusively, although it's something we will do; but my point is to have students reflect on their opportunities, their opinions, values and ask where these come from? Are they really your own? For our classroom to be truly inclusive, it takes recognizing and seeing others present, which means trying to understand another person's perspective, and thus, their background of advantage/opportunity.]]> 2020-08-04 22:09:02 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669530703 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669660930 Student Self-reflection
Related to the above, however, more action-oriented. We'd ask, upon several instances of interrogating the different personal influences, social forces, resources, etc. that have shaped our individual lives...what is to be done? How do we feel about and perceive advantage in the world and what can/should be done about it? What are our obligations to each other? To equality?]]> 2020-08-05 01:15:02 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669660930 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669661839 Pragmatic/Action/Solutions-oriented
Related to the self-reflection exercises, but reserved for broader topics about policy, institutions, community action. Units on slavery, systemic injustices, inequality or other topics won't always need a solution; however, there must be a path forward at minimum. What are the possibilities given what we've learned about the resiliency, stubbornness of social progress? What are glimmers of hope? What's our role? What can you imagine that's different and how would you strategize realizing it on your terms? We cannot despair, no matter how despairing things may be. I'd like to encourage my students to be, in effect, pessimists of the mind, yet optimists of the heart.]]> 2020-08-05 01:16:08 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669661839 drbishop https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669662788 Community- and Issue-based Projects
One of my goals (perhaps not in my first year or two), will be to find community groups working in local government, nonprofits, advocacy, etc. who are willing to share their work or provide interning/volunteer opportunities for students. This is tough, and usually a function of other parts of the school district. But giving students an outlet, a place to park and apply their knowledge that is useful to the kinds of activism we're learning about, makes it more probable this won't stay relegated to abstraction. They'll see real results and see how their academic life could translate into experiences beyond the classroom. Students can also opt for a more traditional issue-based project, but it should entail interviews at least of those working to bring about change or work towards social goals discussed in class.]]> 2020-08-05 01:17:22 UTC https://padlet.com/drbishop/theoryintopractice/wish/669662788