2011 Highlights

December 2011
I hope this letter finds you warm and in good health.
January sent Greg back to UW LaCrosse for a second semester and Sammi finishing her junior year at Spooner High School. It’s usually a pretty quiet month around our house, except that this year there was a little hubbub about the Superbowl.

We finished out the rest of the winter with a regular routine, then March Madness sets in and things start to get crazy. Sammi was in the spring play, Becoming Juliet.

 In track, she almost qualified for regionals in the high jump and their relay team took second at the conference meet.

She did well at the solo ensemble competition, was on prom court,

was inducted into the National Honor Society and elected Secretary,

was elected Student Council President for their senior year, and Senior Class Vice President.

The high school baseball team that Dan helps coach made it all the way to the Championship game at the state tournament, so we all made the trip to Appleton to cheer them on.

Spring was polished off with Sammi’s dance recital.

Summer was pretty low key this year. Greg came home and worked full time at the grocery store and part time at Pair ‘O Lakes restaurant and played on a couple of baseball teams. He and a buddy had coached a 7th grade team in LaCrosse, so he had been playing a little,

 but took one between the eyes at one of the first practices and ended up with two black eyes.

Sammi worked part time at both Pair ‘O Lakes and Victory Fireworks and drove down to Rice Lake two mornings a week to take a college algebra course at UW Barron County. Dan painted a few houses and took a couple of motorcycle trips with friends. Dan and I took a ride up in the UP of Michigan for a few days. It was hot – until you got near Lake Superior.

There were some pretty big changes in the fall. The biggest was the arrival of our foreign exchange student from Belgium, Malvine. It’s been interesting learning about the similarities and differences between our cultures.

Greg transferred to the University of Minnesota – Duluth. He is still majoring in computer science, but now has season tickets to the Bulldog hockey games, a season pass at Spirit Mountain, a Frisbee golf course out his back door, and has been active in Campus Crusade for Christ.

Sammi’s senior year is in full swing. She was on the volleyball team,

the student director for the senior class play, The Teahouse of the August Moon,

was the Master of Ceremonies at the annual Veteran's Day ceremony

and is applying to colleges and trying to figure out what she wants to do next year.

During Thanksgiving break, Sammi, Malvine and I took a trip to Orlando. We walked in the waves of the Atlantic,

spent a day hitting the highlights of Disney

and another day at Sea World.

I continue to work at the technical college and am plugging away one online course a semester toward my Ed.S. in Career and Technical Education from UW Stout. Hopefully, next year's Christmas message will include a picture of me in a cap and gown!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy 2012.

Assessment of or for Learning

I've been looking for online resources on the topic of using assessment to improve student learning. So far, I've found two that I really like.

The first one is a Pearson Issue Paper titled Using Assessments to Improve Learning and Student Progress. This paper makes the distinction between assessment for learning (formative) and assessment of learning (summative) and the reasons both are needed to improve student learning and the organizations that support them.

The second is titled Using Assessment to Improve Instruction from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and outlines an eight-step process for data analysis and action. They promote their book outlining the steps, which I might just have to get a copy of.

Any other sites you know about on this topic?

The Whirlwind Has Quieted

The last several weeks have been exciting and full. My mantra, "Who wants a boring life, anyway?!" was put to the test.

Besides my regular job and facilitating two online courses and taking another, we had many extra social events: the end of my son's hockey season for which I volunteered to put together the team yearbook, and his Eagle Scout ceremony and reception. Then to round out the month, both kids were in the musical Oklahoma with seven performances in two weekends (I attended five - it was sooo good!).

Now the online courses are finished and the track and baseball seasons are just beginning. And graduation will be here before you know it!

Making Connections

Though it might drive me to my grave early, there have been some advantages to teaching two different certification courses and completing the practicum of my eLearning for Educators Certificate simultaneously. The biggest advantage is seeing the connections. Like most professions, I suppose, teaching is a science as well as an art. There are some strategies that have substantial research to back them up, but when it comes to the moment, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What works for one teacher, one learner, and one piece of content has so many variables to consider. As educators, it's our job to know about as many of the variables as possible, know ourselves, know our learners, know our content, and then use our expertise in these things we know to create the most beneficial learning experience for the moment.

Good Stories

What was your best learning experience? What was your worst? What learning theories are reflected in your classroom?

These questions were the prompts for some good story telling this week. We realized that one of the best factors for best learning experiences is teachers who are passionate about their topics and the success of their students. We also realized that how we teach is dependent on who and what we teach. Or maybe we're drawn to who and what we teach because of how we like to teach and feel most effective?

The Love of Chaos

The first week of certification courses I am facilitating is now complete. I'm facilitating #50 Curriculum and Course Construction and #53 Educational Psychology. The first week is always a little hectic getting the technology and expectations figured out. Both courses have the benefit of being filled with learners with a wide variety of educational and experiential backgrounds. Sometimes people who might be seen as having the least amount of experience in a given topic are the ones who have the ability to see things the oldtimers overlook - similar to not being the best person to proofread your own paper. On the other hand, those who have been around teaching and learning for awhile have great stories to illustrate points. The mix creates a rich learning environment.

I'm also using the Curriculum and Course Construction course as my practicum for the E-Learning for Educators graduate certificate from UW-Stout. It's interesting being a facilitator and learner at the same time. Though I do just as much learning as a facilitator and facilitating as a learner - there's something in that thought...

These facilitating and learning experiences are enjoyable and enlightening. But note to self for next year - running the courses sequentially rather than concurrently might be better for everyone involved. I love chaos. I must; whenever I put one thing to rest I seem to replace it with at least one new thing. (My husband is a bit apprehensive about what will replace our children leaving the nest.) From Margaret J. Wheatley's book Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (1999), "But the greatest challenge for me lies not in adopting any one new method, but in learning generally to live in a process world. It's a completely new way to be. Life demands that I participate with things as they unfold, to honor the mystery of it, and to see what emerges...It's not easy to give up the role of master creator and move into the dance of life" (153-154). My goal: Let go, embrace the chaos, dance.

Branching Out

I've just expanded the purpose of my blog to reflect on the teaching and learning going on in the two courses I'm facilitating over the next two months. The courses are Curriculum and Course Construction and Educational Psychology; both are certification courses for technical college instructors. It looks like there are some dynamic individuals with diverse backgrounds that will lead to some interesting discussions. I'm looking forward to it!