Kentucky Connected Educator Day 10

 Ken Mattingly

 Rockcastle County Middle School
Rockcastle County Schools

In what way (s) are you a connected educator?

I have used internet resources for many years in my classroom.  Sometimes it may involve lessons I’ve found online, or learning simulations, or data I use with my students.  When I started teaching I had a room and a textbook, and I was pretty much constrained by that.  Now I have access to a wealth of information and am able to do a much better job engaging my students in the learning.

More recently, I’ve started to participate in chats on Twitter that focus on standards-based grading (which is something I’m very passionate about).  These chats, which involve following a Twitter conversation that includes a hashtag like #sbgchat, let me interact with people all over the country and the world.  I’m able to share my expertise and learn from others.  We share resources, blog posts, and methods for promoting standards-based grading.  There’s a Twitter chat for just about anything, and there are lots concerning education.  You can find a list of chats with times here.

Twitter chats and blogging allow me to expand my personal learning network or PLN.  There are lots of good ideas in my building, but if I can have access to people outside my building who are trying different things or have different experiences than I do, it can really leverage my practice.  

How does being connected impact your practice?  

Being connected gives me access to other experiences and ideas.  For example I’m currently working on using Edmodo with my classes.  There is always a learning curve with anything new, but instead of blindly trying Edmodo out I was able to get some guidance from my PLN.  People offered ideas on how they incorporated it into their classes, ways to use it for assessment, and others I wouldn’t have thought of, at least not initially.  This help puts me in a position to successfully use Edmodo, whereas otherwise I might find it so frustrating that I wouldn’t use it at all.

Now I also have an Edmodo group for my science department that we use for sharing information about and working on the NGSS standards.  This gets back at the heart of being a connected educator.  We don’t have to physically be present to have meaningful conversations and share our work.  This frees us up to communicate when and where it works best for us.

Likewise, sharing my work on standards-based grading on Twitter causes me to reflect on my practice.  Why do I do what I do?  How does it impact my students?  Is there a better way or room for improvement?  These questions cause me to be very intentional in my planning and evaluation.

How does being connected impact you as a professional?

Being a connected education helps me feel more like a professional.  Teachers are often called professionals, but are either not looked at as such or don’t think of themselves that way.  I view a true professional as someone who is serious and focused on their career.  A true professional strives to improve their practice and stay abreast of the current research.  A true professional knows that they can always get better at their career and that each day is another opportunity to do so.  Being connected helps me with all of these.  I’m able to keep my finger on the pulse of education through chats, blogs, and email updates.  It allows me to continually refine my craft and improve.

What advice or resources would you recommend to colleagues interested in becoming connected?

My first piece of advice would be to find one aspect of teaching that you are passionate about and search for a couple of good blogs on that subject.  There are many great teachers out there who blog about their experiences, and reading their blogs can really push your own thinking.  Secondly I’d recommend joining a Twitter chat.  They are very fast paced and can be overwhelming at first, but they are a wealth of information.  You may want to begin by just lurking and following the conversation.  After you feel more comfortable begin to offer your own thoughts on the questions being asked, and respond to others posts.  It’s a great way to find people to follow on Twitter and grow your PLN.  These two things will help you get your feet wet, and will in turn expose you to other resources and ways to be connected.

Ken Mattingly has 19 years of experience in sixth and seventh grades and holds National Board Certification in early adolescent science. He has worked on implementing classroom assessment for student learning practices in his classroom for the past eight years and helped with the implementation of standards-based grading in his school. During the past four years he has worked with multiple school districts across Kentucky to help develop a vision of balanced assessment, promote transparency in grading practices, and shift the teacher and student focus to the learning instead of the grade. 

Twitter:  @kenmattingly
Website:  kenmattingly.weebly.com
Blog:  kenmattingly.weebly.com/kens-blog.html