I enjoyed talking with Christina Jackson and Lauren McMinn to talk about our partnership with CCA to provide content that students might otherwise not get to take.
Christina has been at CCA for 12 years - as a math teacher, instructional coach, course designer, and now as the Manager of Special and Elective Programs. She understands the student perspective as she is a student, too, pursuing her Educational Specialist Degree at the America College of Education. Lauren has had the opportunity to work with students at CCA as a French instructor. It was great to talk to Lauren and Christina about our mutual roots in delivering virtual instruction.
It was just Robert’s birthday!! Happy 8th Birthday to you Robert!!
Here a few if the key takeaways from our conversation:
Providing connections to people who could be employers, mentors and host internships in careers helps bring academics to life. (CCA has three programs that help students experience jobs in the field of agriculture, technology and STEM, and medicine.) And work with a variety of people, like WOL, to offer courses that students need.
Connecting languages to career’s is really important. We all have the dream of providing language experiences that help people communicate more effectively. Many careers, like the medical profession and construction management are already infusing languages for their students.
Flexibility when students are struggling is so important. That’s all (listen in at @ 11:00)!
We have been thinking about how to be flexible in the ways we understand competency, grades and success of the learners.
Building trust in the online community takes some extra effort. There is a human behind the name on the screen. Having your virtual door open is so important. And hosting space before and after class is important for building community with the students. We also love the chat where we see students cheering each other on and supporting each other! (@14:30)
Build trust before you dig into content. Kids need to know you to care about them more than the grade you will give them.
If we share our own vulnerability kids are more likely to connect with the teacher and content (@ 21:00). When teachers let kids lead, build class norms and host some social space before and after class we see more participation.
Instead of worrying about what can go wrong, think about what can go right, what can be amazing!!
Lots of the learners (and adults) we are teaching today have faced trauma. How can we help the students and the teachers understand that the content may not have to be the focus. The human connection is way more important.
The Pandemic widened the net of traumas people have experienced. It is important to focus on the assets rather than the deficits if we want to see our teachers and learners succeed in the ‘real world’.
What we are reading this week:
What Christina is reading/listening to!
Engagement is not a unicorn (it’s a Narwhal) – by Heather Lyon: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
I’ll Be Gone In the Dark, by Michelle McNamarra, is not directly education related – but reminds me not to give up on something you’re passionate about (from the writer’s perspective, not crime for me!).
What Lauren is reading/listening to! -
“Why You’re Smarter Than You Think” on the Hidden Brain Podcast
What Pat is reading/listening to!
How to Engage Families and Guardians in your LMS - it is so important to keep the communication going. We love our tools in our Canvas LMS.
The White Room by Zoran Zivkovic is an interesting read. The Washington Post highlights this book as one that may be worthy of a Nobel Prize in Literature. I will keep you posted on my thoughts!!
Birch Trees on the trail in Tatamagouch, NS
And, I am off on vacation in Canada beginning Wednesday. I am looking forward to hiking and eating lots of seafood on Cape Bretton in Nova Scotia. See you all soon, hope you are resting and rejuvenating, too.
We Do This Everyday #17