Looking Back On TeachShift.

Taking some time today to look back on the week that was in the TeachShift course as a part of the West Chester University PA Writing and Literature Project. This far this has been one of the more impactful graduate courses that I have taken for the mere fact that it has cultivated a sense of reflection and need to rework what I am doing. Most courses present more information, introduce you to new or other ideas, but this course dove into my teaching and made me explore what it is that I am doing and can do better.

Image: Creative Commons

Here are some of my take aways and observations from the week...

1. Social media does not have to be used only as a tool in the classroom. It can be used as a tool for my own professional development and collaboration. It may be used by students in the future, but for now it can be for me which will impact my students.

2. Reflection can be as simple as scribbling down a few ideas in a journal or log through out the day (i.e. frustrations, observations, successes, etc.) I can start small with this and build off of it as it becomes a normal part of my practice.

3. Writing can be used as a coping strategy based on my research. Now it is time to "see what happens" when I use it in my class.

4. Collaboration is imperative in teaching. This is one area where I knew collaboration was important as I am constantly working with other teachers in my building, but I could see the importance grow through my research and conversations throughout this week. This also goes to say that collaboration needs to also be with teachers not in my current context.

Of course, there are many more take aways, but these are the big ones that will certainly lead to change or "shifts" in my teaching this fall.