Weekly Reflection Points

In preparation for the upcoming instructional week, I send a "Weekly Agenda" to all faculty and staff.  Included in each Agenda is a "Reflection" point to generate personal and professional reflection in regards to a wide-range of components.  I believe these reflection points are crucial for school administrators to reflect upon when completing Walk-Through's, engaging in meaningful dialogue with colleagues, and gauging the overall climate of the school.

This list will be updated weekly, with the most recent reflection point at the top:

One of the most effective student interventions can simply be to reach out to other teachers and ask, "How is 'student' doing in your class?"

How often do we integrate our instruction with other content areas?

End of the semester provides an opportunity to reflect systematically and critically about the learning in our classrooms.

Real-world application of our content makes our instruction relevant.  You should only fear "When am I going to use this?" if you don't have a valid response.

Are we making adjustments based on the needs of our students?

"Data" is simply information about our student's learning, and can occur both formally and informally...daily.

We model lifelong learning for students through a willingness to not be afraid of failing.

A classroom culture of learning occurs when both teacher and students seamlessly take ownership of the learning.

Not sure if you have a 'Digital Footprint'?  Google yourself.

Do we incorporate student feedback to enhance the classroom environment?

If attendance was not required, would students still want to attend your class? Would they simply "get the info" from someone else?


The "Four C's" are communication, collaboration, critical-thinking, and creativity.  How frequent are all four opportunities provided in our classrooms?  

Can we expect students to take risks if we aren't willing to take risks as educators?

Do we MAXIMIZE instructional time or simply FILL instruction time?

The strongest lesson plan is to be a good example and role model for our students.  Are we?


Imagine if we handled every day of school like the expectations, focus, and attention to detail as during the First Day of School.



Last Update: January 18, 2016


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CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.