and so begins another year

Life is good.
Teacher conferences were this week. The meetings were more productive than I expected, I got a fair bit of classroom organizing done today, I booked two field trips, confirmed another trip, and I only have academic advising, course outlines to write, text books and teaching supplies to inventory, my gradebook and daily planner to set up, and many more meetings to attend. Last year I would have been overwhelmed by this amount of work, but this year I know that everything will get done. If it doesn't get done, school will start anyway, and no one will be the wiser. I'm not eager for the summer to end, but I am getting excited about starting a fresh school year.
Life is good.

Mission accomplished- now on to new projects

I LOVE SUMMER!!
Now that I've finished my MSSE, I need to set my sights on other goals. Luckily, my family and friends are helping by giving me a few projects to work on while I choose the next big educational goal.
Danielle needs her wedding dress altered - I haven't done that kind of work since I altered her mother's dress. So far I have the fabric and supplies I need, but haven't started.
Caitlin needs a bridesmaid's dress made - fabric and supplies are purchased, but no progress has been made.
Shannon needed her apartment and her classroom playhouse painted. That has been done. While I worked on that I also listened to the eagles chatter outside. Who knew that eagles have melodious descending 5-note calls?
Randy and I need to repaint the rec room (more like wrecked room!). I haven't even purchased the supplies, but I'm determined to get that finished before school starts again.
Five students have messaged me with concerns about their next year's classes - so I'm going to spend part of this next week wearing my academic adviser hat. Lab supplies for next year must be ordered - so I'll wear a teacher hat next week also.
My little truck was damaged in a hailstorm in Bozeman two weeks ago, so I must get the windshield, a side-view mirror, and a taillight replaced. I'm not sure if the dents all over the truck body will be repaired or not.
I'm sure there are carpets to clean, basements to tidy, laundry to do, parties to plan, and course outlines to make. However, I bought 20 or so books while I was in Bozeman for capstone week - I guess I'll just have to make lemonade, take over the chaise lounge, and read good books.
I'll look for a doctoral program this Fall.

Succcessful end to the school year

Happy Changes

The data is analyzed, the paper is written, the readers have read, now the oral presentation and defense is left. By noon on June 28 that will be done also. I'm thrilled to be so near the end of this long road. . . but not as thrilled as I am by this news. . .
Shaun popped the question, and Sarah said yes! I will be starting a new role, mother-in-law, sometime this year. How wonderful is that?!

Data analysis woes

Well,I thought I was done, but alas, I am undone. I will collect more data next week. I will get the last three students to come in for interviews. I will ask a few more survey questions, because I can and I really do need to know. I will do a lab performance assessment; complete with scale drawings, accurate colors, and a journal component explaining what each student thinks they see and how big they think it is. (I love adding a little extra math!) I will ask a critical friend to evaluate this session for me, and i will hunt him down if he forgets (again!). I will nag Shannon to evaluate my attitude. And I will make a journal entry myself (I have a renewed strength of purpose, even if I don't see other changes in myself.)
I have discovered that students' attitudes towards class and journaling have not changed, and they do not like journaling. However, they do find the process useful, even if they don't like it. It seems to be like Buckley's "It tastes awful, but it works!".
It isn't over until the fat lady sings - and she is just starting to warm up!

Last week of data collection

I wasn't sure I would ever get to this point, but here I am, just needing to collect data for five more days: one journal activity, one think like a teacher activity, one concept map, one (or two) journal entry of my own, one peer observation, one critical friend feedback, and one set of surveys and interviews. I'll be busy this week, but I think this will really happen.

writing in biology class

We are nearing the second week of the new semester, and my students and I are beginning to get back into the routines we established first semester. This really means that there is a give and take, a sense of community, and that the volume in the classroom goes up as soon as there is desk work to do.
Today we did the first long journal activity as a quiz. It was not very successful. Open-ended questions are hard for students who prefer well defined tasks, preferably those which don't require them to do more than repeat activities they have already done. I found myself quite frustrated by their lack of understanding. I'm not very proud of that. I'm supposed to be trying to help them learn, and instead I want to say "Think!, haven't you learned yet that I want you to think?!"
Tomorrow will be a better day.