A Reflection

It's the time of year when many of us do some reflecting of one sort or another. For many, the winter break allows us a time to catch our breath and think about the changes we would like to make for the second part of the school year. Although my job as a secondary math specialists does not provide an official break from the job, it is a bit of a chance to prepare for the training that will be upcoming and to plan for some improvements.

The information that is gathered from session evaluations is helpful for looking critically at what I do and how effective it is in the eye of the teachers. One area of concern for me recently has been my ability to convey the connection between the various workshops that I have led and the AZCCRS (that is Arizona College and Career Ready Standards for those outside of AZ). 

In short, this post is more for me than any audience but perhaps it will inspire at least a few people to set some goals based on data. 

The last two days have been spent preparing for an upcoming session focused on increasing student engagement at a higher cognitive demand with a colleague. At the beginning of the process we wrote the goals for the session and discussed the idea that we wanted to stress the connection between the strategies we will be modeling and the AZCCRS.

Having the data has been helpful in helping me set a personal goal. However, the most important factor in me taking the first step toward reaching this goal is the collaborative process that has occurred over the last two days. Having another person to reflect and brainstorm with has been invaluable. Soon enough I will be able to see if this first step has been successful.

Happy new year!