Wk4 Publishing/Leadership project part 2 of 2: Where Will I Go??

From AlexanderDrachmann w/ Creative Commons

Now that I've presented my Publishing Leadership Project this week I can concentrate on answering the question as to where best my presentation would fit. Unfortunately the list that is on the class assignment page does not fit with what my Action Research Project is about. This led me to seek out other conferences that are out there for teachers. Although I'm still searching for other conferences, the following three I feel would be acceptable venues to present my Publishing Leadership Project.

1. I Teach K! National Conference
2. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) National Conference 2012
3. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

I look forward to next month in putting together proposals to submit.

Wk 4 Reading Activities Post 3 - Response to Janene Neal

Here is my response to Janene Neal:

Janene.

What can I say really other than the fact that since EDE you have provided me with a spark to push forward and do my best in our EMDT courses. Your endless words of encouragement and your not so subtle ways of saying to stop slacking have made learning with you since December's class something that I will cherish.

I remember one of our first assignments when we began on our EMDT journey was about did we want to gain colleagues or friends during our time here at Full Sail. I remember saying that through our shared learning friendships will be created that transcend the normal interactions between classmates. I look forward to our friendship remaining strong after we're done here at Full Sail and thank you for helping me find that divine spark within to be the best that I can.

Wk 4 Reading Activities Post 2 - Response to Hunter Looney

My response to Hunter Looney's week 4 reaction to this week's reading:

Hunter.

The word that comes to my mind when reading this portion of the book was 'immersion'. I know that when I'm being active in something I immerse myself totally in what it is. By being immersive, I am giving all of my being to the task at hand. This allows me to, as what is described in step 2, to become wholly participating.

Wk 4 Reading Activities Post 1

The one thing that stood out to me in this week's reading has to come from Chapter 11 "Creating Frameworks for Possibility." The reading revealed three main areas for a person to create the frameworks needed to make change happen.

1. Making a new distinction to help reframe the current one.
2. Become a part of the framework around you.
3. Distinguish what is part of being off-track, while remaining on-track.

This chapter describes the very reason I became an educator. I usually get laughed at when I refer to teaching as being an art form. It truly takes a special being to become one. It's become open season lately on teachers. Yet despite all the pounding we take, we trudge on because we know what is at stake.

Each day we walk on campus we MUST check our egos at the door because something more important is at stake. I strive everyday to instill the desire in my students to look introspectively and make decisions that will positively impact their lives. Unfortunately, success is not 100% and I'm not naive to think that I will ever be 100%. It's like I hear football coaches being interviewed on television saying that they put their players in the best possible position to win. Very few football coaches are successful at accomplishing this, as history has shown, this has only happened once. This fact does not stop me from trying my hardest every day though.

This endeavor goes hand in hand with the third area. Part of making or reframing the current possibilities of life involves distinguishing between right and wrong. I, like the example given in the text about the orchestra in Sao Paolo, Brazil, was faced with something similar when I was playing high school baseball. We took a trip to New Orleans for a tournament. Our last instructions were to NOT go down to the quarter. When 16 to 18 year old young men are faced with being told not to do something, we chose to do the exact opposite. Our coach took a similar tact as the orchestra leader. We did not get the beat down reaming that we all probably deserved. Although we did not win the tournament, we went on to play some of the best baseball we had played up to that part of the season. Rather than playing for someone who we resented, we were playing someone who we felt we understood.


Images:
Downloaded from Flickr with Creative Commons Attribution Licensing
Schools Out - From Loozrboy
Football - From ElvertBarnes

Wk4 Publishing Leadership Project

Journey by Katielips - Creative Commons Licensing

Month 11 draws slowly to a close. Meaning I am one step closer to my EMDT journey being over. It is hard to believe that it is almost done. I can remember this time last year as I was getting my paperwork together to begin the program and coming home one day to find a shiny new MacBook Pro waiting for me. This journey has been a fun and fulfilling one.

My action research (AR) project focused on what effects utilizing concept maps in a first grade science classroom would have upon learning vocabulary. The data collected revealed that the use of concept maps had a positive effect upon the learning for the targeted students. I was genuinely pleased with the outcomes produced from this AR. Especially the positive influence on the use of concept maps that transcended across the curriculum.

For the week 4 publishing leadership project I presented during the Thursday night session with assistant course director Emily Wray. I was quite happy that all of my classmates chose to stay connected during the session and gave all participants great feedback. As previously stated in another blog post, the three conferences that I've chosen to submit a conference proposal are:

• I Teach K! National Conference
• National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) National Conference 2012
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

The link to my presentation can be found Here
Think Out Loud 1
Think Out Loud 2