Much like the chicken and the egg question, and continuing with a poultry theme, I got to wondering today: If birds of a feather flock together, which of those birds looked around and made the decision they were "of a feather"? I mean, one of 'em had to take stock of surroundings and say something, right?
Well, that question got me thinking about how leadership can show up in just looking around and speaking up about an observation.
I'm at this conference which is all about identifying the strengths in every learner, be it academic or otherwise. If we start doing this for our students, why aren't we doing with our staff? Should we focus less on targeting the weaknesses and instead use strengths and interests to build confidence and skill in areas of weakness (aka: technology)?
Would a teacher who is not very tech savvy be more inclined to use and practice using Glogster, for example, if in a training session, they were allowed to create something on their recent trip to Greece, rather than creating something on Earth Science? Would the teacher who isn't sure how to create a lesson in SMART Notebook be more inclined to practice with the software if I encouraged them to make an "All About Me" activity, rather than a math lesson?
In sitting in some technology sessions at this conference, I've been truly surprised at how many have access to at least 1 computer in their classroom, but never put it in the hands of students. At a conference hosted by "Gifted and Talented Gurus" there is defintely a need for a technology strand alongside all the other invaluable information being absorbed this week.
I'm no GT expert. I'm not an expert in much of anything, actually. I'm just a bird, looking around, making an observation.
No comments:
Post a Comment