Amidst the beginning of a hectic school year, I learned a lot from this course, 21st Century Educational Leadership. I learned what traits are necessary to be a leader in the world of education, I gained insight and empathy for my own leaders in my building--my principal, assistant principal, district coaches, etc. The different activities throughout the course were extremely beneficial because they all allowed me to put myself in an administrator's shoes for a brief moment. I experienced what it would be like to plan a staff meeting, how to increase social media presence, what makes a good Walk-Through, how to develop interview questions, and how to plan for spacial redesign of a classroom (among other things). This course put into perspective what it is like to be a leader in the building and all the work behind the scenes admin must be a part of.
In a way, this course actually taught me how grateful I am to be a classroom teacher. I am not sure if administration is necessarily in my future, but being leader in my building is. This course taught me how to step up for my colleagues and how to effectively share information. I think that is the biggest take away for me. It is about supporting everyone in the building while doing what it takes to meet the needs of the students. I think that is what being a true educational leader is all about.
I worked really hard on this particular project for the 21st Century Educational Leadership class this semester. This project gave me the opportunity to plan, design, organize, and envision an entire staff development about topic that is important to me--annotating over a virtual platform. With the current status of education and almost everyone working remotely with our students, this was a problem my team and I ran into at the beginning of the year and then found several solutions for. If I am ever given the opportunity at my school to educate others of these awesome websites and programs for annotating, this project provided a wonderful foundation to share the information. This project also gave me insight as far as how complex it can be to plan a full staff development. In order to keep 50+ teachers engaged after a long school day and present information effectively, you really have to think through every aspect of those 60 minutes. It was a great experience to put this professional development plan together.
The second artifact I chose was the Redesign Learning Space assignment because it put into perspective how much it would cost to truly revamp a classroom. I used knowledge I had of my district using some different types of furniture in other buildings and I based my itemized list off of that. If I could use $10,000 to revamp my room, I would focus on two areas: student seating /desks and technology. This assignment allowed me to research how much it would cost to purchase 30 mobile desks, a Chromebook charging station, flexible seating, and a new classroom monitor for my front board. In a way, I was happy to see I could fit all these changes in a $10,000 budget. But on the other hand, this was just itemizing for ONE classroom--can you imagine for an entire school? It costs so much money to try to keep up with the current education climate and a digital world, which is what I took away from this assignment.
For this assignment, I created a Google Slide that depicts the expectations I have for my students with regards to their Chromebooks. This particular slide focuses on the expectations of appropriate use of Youtube, as this is a site that teachers commonly use in their classes, but also a site that students often trail from academic purposes. The expectations are as follows:
1. Earbuds In while watching videos so other students do not hear your device
2. View the Assigned Video: It is not appropriate to browse or watch other content
3. Review if Necessary: Remember Youtube is a tool and if you need to rewatch the assigned video to be successful, do what it takes and review.
The main reason I enjoyed this assignment is because it forced me to think outside of the device expectations I already have set forth for my students. I plan to use this slide and print it as a poster for next school year, as a constant reminder to my students how to properly navigate and use Youtube.
In this PBL Outline, I had the opportunity to brainstorm ways to plan 3 different PBL units. For my 7t h grade language arts class, I thought about our curriculum, units, and standards that we assess throughout the year to come up with three PBL topics that would align well with what I already teach. The three topics were as follows: 1. Shark Tank Presentation 2. Environmental Awareness PSA 3. To Fund or Not - Space Campaign What I liked most about this assignment was it forced me to thoroughly think about how each of these PBL units would pan out and if they were even workable. I came up with a list of technology tools, programs, apps, and resources that I felt would work well with each unit and meet the needs of my students. With the use of those tech tools, I also thought about possible products and final outcomes would come from these PBL ideas. This was the first time I actually got excited about the idea of planning a PBL unit because it was the first time I understood how PBL could possibly work in my classroom. Now, in the future if I ever have the opportunity to dive into PBL at my school, I have a solid foundation to work from.
This artifact was a great take-away from the course and a resource I can realistically imagine using in my class. I like the format of this type of feedback because it provides clear spaces for specific type of feedback. Many of the assignments and projects in our 7th grade language arts curriculum involve groups or partners working together to create a final product, so naturally peer feedback is something we highly value. This graphic organizer type of feedback is more engaging and clear than some others I have tried in the past.
What I love most about the feedback quadrant is that it serves a constructive purpose, but each quadrant is worded in a positive way. Instead of students coming off as critical, the feedback would be received as helpful and concise.
The artifact I have linked below is an extensive 2-week unit plan I created for this course in which I had to think about how to incorporate elements of e-learning. While I worked on this unit plan, I learned a few things along the way. First, there is an abundance of educational websites and programs that lend themselves to every type of content area. Second, by simply spending time to plan where e-learning can work within a unit, student engagement and interest is guaranteed to increase. Third, e-learning also works extremely well when it comes to formative assessments and tracking student progress.
There were elements of e-learning in the unit plan I already use regularly in my classroom, such as Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Classroom, etc. However, this course helped me discover other options for e-learning I now plan to bring into this unit, such as Edpuzzle or using Google Slides for student how-to's, as a means to get students to work more independently on this unit. Overall, it seems like exploring more options for e-learning will pay off, especially for this type of unit.
The process of this Genius Hour project was both strenuous and rewarding. I was able to take something I am truly passionate about and educate myself more about it, as well as share my findings with my students, family, and friends. The last few weeks have opened my eyes to not only the grave truths of the hunger crisis in Cook County, but also all the efforts being made to alleviate the problem. Perhaps my biggest celebration with this Genius Hour is what is to come--on December 7, a group of friends and I are going to volunteer at the Chicago Food Depository. I’ve thought about inviting people to volunteer with me in the past, but if it wasn’t for this project, I’m not sure I would have ever truly taken the steps necessary to rally a group like this. To make it even better, they seem to be more excited than me--which is so awesome to see!
I feel so fortunate that I’ve already begun to take bits and pieces of my passion back to my classroom. I’ve been able to help my students learn about what food insecurity is, and how to help support the cause--whether it be through volunteering at our school’s food pantry or at various charity events, like Hoops for Hope, which our school hosted on November 14. I’m proud of myself that I committed time each week to researching and bringing awareness of this issue, and I’m so grateful this course gave me the opportunity to participate in my first Genius Hour project!
Over the past few weeks, I spent time researching and spreading awareness for the fight against hunger across Cook County. Although my “final product” will not technically happen until December 7, I still feel a sense of accomplishment through this Genius Hour Project. (I rallied a group of friends to join me in volunteering at the Greater Chicago Food Depository on this date.)
Aside from the volunteer event in December, another product that came out of this Genius Hour was the opportunity to share information with my students at the junior high I teach at. It worked out that throughout the month of October and November, we had a school-wide initiative to educate our students on being charitable, and we focused on collecting donated items for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, as well as items for our own food pantry within our school.
Our school hosted Hoops for Hope, an event that took place on Nov. 14 where our students, staff, and their families participated in a series of basketball games and all the money raised that evening went towards the Greater Chicago Food Depository. While I helped work the event, I was able to have conversations with my students and their families about the cause and about the hunger problem in Cook County. They were not only shocked to know how many of our district’s students are food insecure, but also to learn that it is a significant problem across the entire county. These conversations then allowed me to let families know about our school’s food pantry and how to get connected should they ever need it as a resource.
Finally, about a week after the Hoops for Hope event, a smaller group of choir students (different from Club Unify) participated in a service opportunity in which they helped organize and stock our food pantry. I’ve included a photo of our food pantry below. This Genius Project couldn’t have happened at a better time. It allowed me to invest time and energy into something I am truly passionate about, AND share my findings and passion with the students and staff at my school.
As I worked through this project, although at times it honestly felt a bit like a chore to devote 30-40 minutes each evening on it, I never felt “frustrated” by the process. Something I noticed about my learning while I researched facts and statistics on hunger, I realized my stamina is not very strong. Some evenings after getting home from a long day of teaching (and usually a meeting or two after school), I felt my learning was not always as valuable as it could have been. It felt like I had hit a wall and was no longer processing new information as I browsed websites.
Something that I started doing was listening to soft music as I spent time researching and learning. When I was in college, I always listened to music while studying, so I had a feeling this addition to my routine would be beneficial. I also had to situate myself somewhere with limited distractions. I mentioned in an earlier post that my phone is an easy distraction, so I make sure to put it away (on silent and out of sight). Beyond that though, I also had to change up the location of where I worked on my project. I used to work in the living room--the common area my boyfriend would also use when he got home. He used to sit on the couch next to me and I’d update him on where I was at with my project. However, this week I realized this type of interaction actually slowed my productivity, so I decided on days when we were both home and I had to work on my project, I moved myself to the spare bedroom, shut the door, and truly devoted some quiet, isolated time to get some work done. Between the music and new location, these two adjustments to my routine has helped focus my learning overall.
Something that I learned this week was actually part of an experience I was fortunate to have with some of my students. My school has an after-school club called Club Unify. The club consists of students with special needs, as well as “mainstream” student mentors. The purpose of the club is for these students to build friendships and support for one another while fostering acceptance of students with special needs. This past Thursday, the group spent an hour after school organizing the food pantry that is located in our school. This food pantry serves many families within our entire district, and it was so inspiring to see these 7th and 8th grade students work together to organize the pantry. I think it was a great chance for them to partake in something truly hands on and fulfilling.
This week, I took time to reflect on what is keeping me motivated with this genius hour project. Besides having a passion to help with hunger in Cook County--why else keeps me going? I kept coming back to this reason: my drive to educate. Being a teacher and educating people about what is going on in the world/in our community/in our school is something I do every single day, and raising awareness is doing just that--educating.
The sentence stem of “Why do you want to…” also kept me pushing forward with this project this week. “Why do I want to spread awareness of the fight for hunger?” “Why do I want other people to care?” “Why do I want to learn more about it myself?” These types of questions kept me focused this week and confident that by sticking to this genius hour project, I can make a difference.
Something I achieved this week that I couldn’t or didn’t last week was rallying together people for this cause--and in my case, these people were my students. This genius hour could come at a better time because right now our 7th and 8th graders at my school are collecting items to donate to our district’s food pantry and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. This past Tuesday, I gave a 30 minute lesson to my students about the hunger crisis in Cook County, I showed them an informational video produced by the Chicago Food Depository, and I hyped up our school’s charity event, Hoops for Hope, which is being held Thursday, Nov. 14. The event will be in our school’s gym and involves a series of basketball games where all our students, staff and their families are invited to play. We will be selling game cards, concessions, t-shirts, bracelets, and raffle prizes--and all proceeds go toward the fight for hunger. The students are getting more excited for the event as we get closer, and I had the opportunity to teach them about why the topic of hunger is so important.
Something I could do now that I couldn’t last week ties in with what I know now. I spent some time researching statistics about hunger and I expressed what I learned through an infographic that I designed and created. I tried to focus my research on the food insecurity data specific to Cook County, and I took a look at multiple website / sources. What I learned was quite eye-opening and honestly the information only heightened my passion to help in the fight for hunger. One statistic that I found especially concerning was that 65% of children in public schools in Cook County are eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch, and in Illinois, 1.4 million people are food insecure and one third of them are children. (http://www.advocatedocs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Health-Hunger-Food-Insecurity-in-Cook-County-Across-Illinois.pdf)
I also learned about some of the physical and mental impairments that are caused by hunger, which just made me think about the students who sit in my class every day, and that some of them might be experiencing this struggle. Not only does hunger negatively impact students’ ability to concentrate and process information, but it is also linked to cases of depression and anxiety. Knowing that there is research to support the implications of hunger on children makes me feel more sympathetic and understanding of some of my students who may have behavior or academic challenges. There is always a reason behind our most challenging students, and it is possible hunger is one of those reasons--Just something to think about.
While I was researching about hunger and as my drive to do something about it grew, I decided to create the infographic below as means to help synthesize my learning and spread awareness.
The routine aspect of the genius hour project is definitely one of my biggest challenges--but to be honest I feel like I have no excuse. Without any children to take care of, or a coaching position that requires me to stay after school constantly, or even a pet to come home to...15-20 minutes a day is SO doable. That being said, adding something new to my daily routine is a true struggle and adjustment. However, I am trying my best to stick with a daily 20-minute period where I can work at this passion project.
Eliminating distractions has been the most beneficial way to truly focus and commit to the 20 minutes a day I am spending researching and learning about the issue of hunger in the Chicagoland area. When I sit down and take out my laptop, I put my phone on airplane mode, and I do not allow myself to get tab-happy--only tabs relevant to my research are open. No Facebook, Youtube, email--nothing else is open. I do not have the TV on in the background and I don’t even play music, for fear of getting sucked into the world of Spotify playlists.
The time of day that has been working best for me to devote to this project is when I get home from work (typically around 4pm). I make it a priority before I start grading papers, lesson planning, or napping. This is the time of day I still have a slight bit of motivation left. When I have commitments after school (like tutoring or chaperoning a basketball game), this can throw off my routine. By the time I get home around 5-6pm, I am exhausted, and the true intrinsic motivation has to kick in. The good news is I love this project! Yes, some evenings I would rather lay in bed and binge Netflix, but since the foundation of this experience is something I am genuinely passionate about, it makes the 20 minutes a day seem less of a “to do” and more of a “may do” and making the conscious choice each day to learn more about the fight against hunger.
Also, I rallied 4 friends to volunteer with me at the Chicago Food Depository in December, so recruitment has been a success!
After reading the quote by Mark Twain, I sat down and began to reflect on what are my true passions in life (aside from teaching), and within minutes, it became quite clear. My first passion lies in creativity. I like repurposing objects--turning “old things” into aesthetically pleasing, purposeful transformations. I love to draw, paint, and build things and devote my weekends to projects.
Another passion I have revolves around ways to build up my community. I volunteer at the Chicago Food Depository a couple times a year, and the mission to end hunger in the Chicago region is something that has become of high interest to me. The junior high that I teach at hosts a food drive every year in the fall, and we have a food bank within out building that serves families within our district in Schaumburg, Elk Grove, and Hoffman Estates. I think when I started teaching, I learned just how serious and unfortunate the problem is with families struggling to put food on the table. It affects not only the family’s health, but the children’s ability to focus in school, as well as an emotional impact when a child feels food insecure.
For my genius hour, I want to explore and learn more about the fight against hunger, specifically in the Chicago area. I want to educate myself and groups I am connected to (family, friends, coworkers) about the seriousness of hunger and why it is a cause worth fighting for. Additionally, by the end of my genius hour, I’d like to rally a group of friends and family members who will commit to volunteering a Saturday of their time to volunteer at the Chicago Food Depository with me. I think once they have this experience, it will not only make a positive impact for our community, but for them as individuals as well.
This week, I began researching statistics and information about the types of groups who suffer from hunger and food insecurity. The Greater Chicago Food Depository’s website contains lots of useful information on the topic, and I learned that 1 in 7 people in Cook County currently experience food insecurity. The Food Depository serves more than 213,100 households each year, and many households who are food insecure do not qualify for federal nutrition assistance programs. Furthermore, although we know poverty and food insecurity are often linked, many people living above the poverty level remain food insecure--this may be due to factors such as “unemployment, lack of access to transportation and health problems.”
Learning these statistics was quite alarming to me, and although I knew hunger was a huge problem Cook County faces, I now feel more knowledgeable about the situation--and more eager to keep learning and to do something about it. Moving into the next couple weeks, I plan to pick a date to plan a group outing to the Food Depository, make a list of people to invite, and with my interest in creativity, design posters centered around the statistics of hunger in order to spread awareness (and hopefully convince people to join my volunteer group).
