So I was at a staff meeting and was called out as someone that trains for marathons (which isn't quite true, but come March 2 that box will be checked and I will have run one finally). Anyway the point was we looked at the training schedule for someone preparing for a marathon and the analogy was we don't cram all of our miles into the last weeks or two, and similarly we shouldn't be cramming in all of our content in at the last minute either when preparing for our exams.
I get and understand the premise of this but I'm not sure it's entirely true. Most teachers (I'm assuming here I know) don't try to cram all their material in at the end of their respective courses but they do want to use those last few days to review. Now, should those last few days just be doing practice exams, no of course not. And with the analogy, it's correct, those are things that should be done earlier on and not done all at the end of the year/semester.
But proper training requires those last few days before the race to be your tune-up. You still strength train and run a few miles during that last week to prepare. Just as you still work on and refine the skills and content you've taught all year. Should it be more than just practice exams and kahoot games, sure. But the point of this wasn't about refining how we review, it was avoid cramming and basically lighten up during that last week. I'm not I agree with that mindset, especially when many teachers unfortunately go from day 1 until exams teaching content. In history it is especially difficult because we're always left having to cut content and hoping that what we neglect or only brush upon isn't a main point of emphasis on the test.
I don't know if I had a point to all this, but it bugged me enough to write about it. Certainly what we do as teachers should constantly be interwoven as best we can throughout our year, but a balance should exist at the end, review and "strength training" until the end is necessary. Even if it kind of kills this cool analogy
Any ideas or thoughts about this concept, I'd love to hear them in comments to discuss or you can find me on twitter
Monday, December 31, 2018
Dusting this off
So I remembered that I had a blog, who knew right.
It was funny looking at some of my old posts, sad that I haven't written since January of last year. I feel like every year recently I say I want/need to write/blog more that lasts maybe a week or so. I'm hopeful that I can be better but it is tough, life gets in the way and this always gets pushed back. But I do have a couple thoughts things to write about for now, so I'll get those down to remember.
It is interesting to see my teaching journey through these blogs. Last time I wrote, I was in the midst of switching around my pacing guide for world history and teaching thematically. Now I no longer even teach world history, as I am fully immersed in the IB program at my school. I only technically teach one social studies class anymore, with History of the Americas. I have also taken over Theory of Knowledge, which is a really cool class but challenging because there isn't really any guide or proper way to teach it. It offers great flexibility but there is always that fear of teaching through your own lens of what matters and is important rather than what IB decides is important. Some things have been good with the new classes so far, some not so much. With it being a two year course, it's a bit easier for my seniors because they have their assessments to prepare for and write so I have some structure for them.
That'll be it for now, off to grade some work over break, my students had to live blog from the constitutional convention which was a fun activity and there will be some good ones coming up for History in the Americas. I feel like I have a decent balance between teaching the content and finding different ways to have them show their creativity and analytical skills. Plus now they begin their historical investigation process so that will help any excess time we may have from time to time. The writing will be a challenge with this crew but that's what I've signed up for, so the fun begins. Lots to review for it and TOK II, lots of reading and grading for the next couple of months. Perhaps being in this mindset will push me to write on here more often or join back up with the conversations on twitter. Working to find some better balance with this where I can do more with this but not at the expense of time away from my family. I have figured out how to do this with incorporating running into my daily routines, so this can be the next piece for me.
We'll see, I'll either write again shortly or in a few months, who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It was funny looking at some of my old posts, sad that I haven't written since January of last year. I feel like every year recently I say I want/need to write/blog more that lasts maybe a week or so. I'm hopeful that I can be better but it is tough, life gets in the way and this always gets pushed back. But I do have a couple thoughts things to write about for now, so I'll get those down to remember.
It is interesting to see my teaching journey through these blogs. Last time I wrote, I was in the midst of switching around my pacing guide for world history and teaching thematically. Now I no longer even teach world history, as I am fully immersed in the IB program at my school. I only technically teach one social studies class anymore, with History of the Americas. I have also taken over Theory of Knowledge, which is a really cool class but challenging because there isn't really any guide or proper way to teach it. It offers great flexibility but there is always that fear of teaching through your own lens of what matters and is important rather than what IB decides is important. Some things have been good with the new classes so far, some not so much. With it being a two year course, it's a bit easier for my seniors because they have their assessments to prepare for and write so I have some structure for them.
That'll be it for now, off to grade some work over break, my students had to live blog from the constitutional convention which was a fun activity and there will be some good ones coming up for History in the Americas. I feel like I have a decent balance between teaching the content and finding different ways to have them show their creativity and analytical skills. Plus now they begin their historical investigation process so that will help any excess time we may have from time to time. The writing will be a challenge with this crew but that's what I've signed up for, so the fun begins. Lots to review for it and TOK II, lots of reading and grading for the next couple of months. Perhaps being in this mindset will push me to write on here more often or join back up with the conversations on twitter. Working to find some better balance with this where I can do more with this but not at the expense of time away from my family. I have figured out how to do this with incorporating running into my daily routines, so this can be the next piece for me.
We'll see, I'll either write again shortly or in a few months, who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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