Last year we ran this same series with 31 connected educators. Since the connectedness has continued, we decided to ask a handful of last year's participants to go into more depth about their experiences being a connected educator in the past year. You can read what Patrick had to say last year by visiting this link, and we hope you enjoy his enhanced responses to new questions below.
Patrick Goff MS Science Fayette County
Since October 2013 when you were featured as one of Kentucky’s Connected Educators, in what way has your connectedness continued to grow?
To be honest, I’m not sure how I could not be a connected educator anymore. There is just so much going on that I need to be connected to stay abreast of what is happening. I have continued to grow my PLC on twitter by adding educators from across the country in science and other disciplines. I also continue to find and follow scientists who help me keep up to date on the current science. Science is changing so fast that being on twitter, connected with active scientists helps my professional content knowledge.
Being connected, I feel has made me a better educator, forcing me to think beyond just my school. It helps me out on a bad day and let’s me share successes I have in my classroom. I enjoy being able to ask questions, put my two cents out there and engage in those healthy difficult professional conversations.
How is your practice enhanced by being connected?
The main way my practice is enhanced is primarily two fold. One would be the professional conversations about my practice. Putting myself out there and asking for advice is critical to my growth. I decided to take a risk, to start writing a blog and having it published for others to read and comment on. Through this blog, I have received constructive criticism and praise. I listen to both, trying to absorb and integrate the advice into my practice. The second, is being connected to active science practitioners. This connection lets me share up-to-date information with my students, maybe even before it hits the media or science journals. It allows me to connect my students with experts in the field in which we are studying or learning about in real time. Being able to speak with or ask questions of the experts is exciting for my students.
In what ways are you connected beyond Kentucky?
Currently, I participate in the #ngsschat and am trying to grow the @ngssblogs site. This handle is where various science educators who are implementing NGSS are publishing blogs about their journey. It has allowed for science educators across the country to join together and learn from each other. I am really enjoying watching the number of science teachers grow who are willing to publish their blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment