Pokemon Evolve, so can Teachers

Change processes are well researched and documented but I wanted to explore my own experience with significant change in the context of my teaching practice. I started my career five years before the start of the Pokemon craze, but the idea of evolutions (though far less dramatic) seem suitable for describing professional growth. I began […]

Posted by milesmac on May 14th, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Do you believe everything you tweet?

"Do you believe everything you tweet?" I was asked in the hallway one day. I was taken aback. Mentally searching the latest batch of tweets I scanned for something that may have precipitated such a question. We talked briefly about the purpose of my tweets and engagement with the professional learning community. I had retweeted […]

Posted by milesmac on May 11th, 2012 | 2 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Monarchs of all we survey

In 1990 my octogenarian philosophy of education professor, Sister M. with great grandiosity and a dramatic flourish informed the class that we will eventually "get our own classrooms, shut the door, and be Monarchs of all we survey, for that is the nature of Teaching." To us, at the time, it sounded great - I'm […]

Posted by milesmac on April 26th, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

International Professional Development in your Basement: #teachmeet

Back in 1994, as a student in the Education Technology Leadership program at the George Washington University, I tried a video conference with a fellow student in Virginia. After 7 minutes we had accumulated enough pixels to see each other, but between my 14.4kbps modem and his ISDN line, there just wasn't enough bandwidth to […]

Posted by milesmac on March 3rd, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Getting Started with a Twitter PLN

Here is a simple poster I made to help educators get started with Twitter and putting together a Professional Learning Network.build_a_pln_with_twitter

Posted by milesmac on February 6th, 2012 | 8 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Professional Learning Reflections

In my district Annual Reflections of Professional Learning are, for many, a chore and can at times feel artificial. Of course the act of engaging in professional learning is not just legislated by our provincial government, but, more importantly, is professionally satisfying, keeps our practice fresh and students engaged. Because so much of our professional learning occurs […]

Posted by milesmac on December 21st, 2011 | 2 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Professional Learning Networks (PLNs)

I love this idea. Love love love it. First, I really love what I do for a living; I love watching students making sense of the world, I love working with colleagues on  projects, and I love professional dialogue. That's a whole lotta love! For the uninitiated, a Professional Learning Network, or PLN, is your […]

Posted by milesmac on December 16th, 2011 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

How Grades Change Conversations About Assessment & Achievement

I began teaching in 1991 believing myself to be a very progressive grades-based teacher with exquisitely designed marking keys designed to quantitatively assess realms such as punctuation, spelling, organization, use of voice, and (drum roll, please) creativity. It was rather easy to bestow, scientifically, precise to tenths of a percent (any more, though feasible, would […]

Posted by milesmac on December 14th, 2011 | 2 Comments Posted in Pedagogy
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