Let's Talk About Everything That Is Awesome

I am excited this week to be co-authoring a post with my friend and partner in all things EdTech Melissa Wilson. Melissa is an English teacher and Instructional Technology Coordinator at Neuqua Valley High School. We will be cross-posting this story on her blog “#Whatsup Wildcats”. If you’ve never had a chance to explore Melissa’s blog, I highly recommend that you change that today. Melissa provides some incredible insights about teaching and learning that happens every day at Neuqua.

One of the perks of our profession is that we get to be lifelong learners and can use what we learn to enhance and transform instructional practices in our classroom. The best teachers are always looking for new ways to support all students. We believe that teachers need to find time to collaborate and share the awesome ways they are engaging students in the learning experience.

With our busy schedules, it can be difficult to find time to share what we are doing in our classrooms with other teachers in the building. With with this in mind, we decided to have our teachers take ownership of our Third CAFE Connect. The goal was to model a Professional Development experience centered on our belief that some of the best learning experiences are connected to Student Voice and Choice. We invited our staff to share something awesome connected to teaching and learning. So the question became...What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

We created 3 different experiences for our staff to share something awesome connected to teaching and learning:

• Melissa and I chilled (pun intended) in the Faculty Cafe and encouraged staff to visit and share something awesome face-to-face
• For staff who couldn’t make it to the Faculty Cafe, we created a Padlet where staff could share ideas and resources connected to being awesome. 
• We also created a Flipgrid where staff could quickly share a recording connected to being awesome. 

As Melissa and I reflected on what we learned from our staff, we were excited to conclude that the 5C’s were at the heart of these awesome experiences. Teachers shared stories of collaboration, creativity, communication, critical thinking, and curiosity. The stories from their classrooms did not just focus on technology; instead, they were rich in student-centered learning experiences, which provided engaging, thought-provoking lessons.

Our teachers’ stories validate how dedicated they are to providing authentic learning experiences. Together, we must continue to explore methods of engagement, student ownership, and assessments of learning to support all students.

Interested in exploring what our teachers shared? Click here to learn more about the awesome things happening in our classrooms.

Our staff is awesome! #whatsup #shareyourwhy

Curious about our first 2 CAFE Connects?

• Let's Talk About Engagement
• Let's Talk About Formative Assessment