Thing+21

= Welcome to Thing 21! =

You will be learning
 * about the power of reflection
 * how to set goals for lifelong learning

Overview
Time is something we don't have to spare, and reflecting on what we teach and setting goals for the future often go undone because we do not see it as critical. If we take the time to reflect on the lessons that we teach or the projects that we have students complete, we can make our lives much easier in the future. We can fix the problems that we encountered and make our lessons much more efficient and beneficial for our students. We can also implement new and exciting ideas for our classrooms by setting goals to learn new things on a regular basis. As a teacher, we have agreed to continue a lifelong cycle of learning in order to teach our students in the most effective ways.

Read this article about reflective teaching on the British Council of Teaching English website. It gives some wonderful ideas on how to reflect on your classroom teaching practices in order to create the best possible lessons.

Use the 43 Things Goal-Setting Community to list your goals and update your progress. You can see the goals other people have set, and they will be there to cheer you on when it is tough to continue. Sometimes all you need to keep you going is accountability, and this websites gives you accountability in a positive environment.

Many educators using blogging as a way to reflect on their teaching experiences. This is a great way to look back at what you have done throughout a school year, and it is also a wonderful way to share your teaching experiences with other educators. Not only will you benefit from the reflections that you post, but other other educators will be able to gain ideas and tips as well. It can also be encouraging to see what others are trying in their classrooms. If you would like to start a blog for reflection, check out Blogger and EduBlogs. I use my blog, The Librarian in the Middle, to reflect on the books that I have been reading and to create presentations for the books with web 2.0 tools. Tamara Cox uses her blog, Eliterate Librarian, to reflect on the day-to-day happenings in her media center.

Ideas for the Classroom

 * Reflect with members of your PLC to support each other.
 * Set goals in order to implement the newest technologies and teaching strategies into your classrooms.

Your Task
For this thing you will post one goal that you would like to set for this school year to Edmodo. Your goal could be affiliated with one of the tasks that you completed for 21 Things. You will also reflect on one lesson that you taught in your classroom. Post this reflection to Edmodo.

Extra Credit
Create a blog to reflect on your experiences in your classroom. Make sure to post a link in Edmodo so that we can all follow you!

-Kristen Hearne