Back at work - back at promoting TROPIC to Teachers both new and veteran. I offered TROPIC to people in our Faculty meeting today - over 60 people present. One thing that was said bothered me - it was said that TROPIC would tell Teachers only what they were doing RIGHT. They may need 'a peer' to tell them the 'hard' stuff about what they were doing WRONG. My immediate response was to say I hoped all Teachers saw TROPIC observers as their peers who were not coming in to tell them what they were doing wrong, but to have a professional conversation between 'equals'. I don't see TROPIC as a way for an 'expert' to tell an experienced or even beginning Teacher what they are doing 'wrong'. It is not a mentoring system. It is a system of peer observation and reporting on what is seen in a classroom. It's a tool Teachers can use for self-reflection. It's also a way to access ideas on different ways of achieving behavioural results in classrooms.
Maybe this 'telling people what they are doing wrong'idea explains why not many Teachers access TROPIC?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Holidays
It is so pleasant to be home for awhile, not going to work every morning, and yet....I find myself thinking about how I am going to do things at work this year and planning things out in my head.
We acquired a second hand laptop this summer and I am imagining all sorts of work uses for it. It is a bit hit and miss at work about who can have laptops when - there are not ever enough of them to 'go around' so the ones we do have are under-utilised in the name of having to be certain of resources being available when planning lessons - so now I will have sure-fire access to one. This is great news for me with all the Power Points I use in video conferencing, and for helping students understand how to access and use Janison's. I'll be able to download stuff on my 'stick' to be worked on at any location, can take business stuff with me everywhere, can be mixing my personal and work life even more - something I seem to want to do. When I want a complete break, I just leave all technology behind and go off bushwalking somewhere.
Can't think of any other uses except to annoy hubby in bed by continuing to work there after a certain hour... any ideas for other WORK uses would be much appreciated :-)
Haven't been thinking too much about TROPIC and how it can be furthered - will have to direct my daydreaming that way for awhile and see what comes up.
We acquired a second hand laptop this summer and I am imagining all sorts of work uses for it. It is a bit hit and miss at work about who can have laptops when - there are not ever enough of them to 'go around' so the ones we do have are under-utilised in the name of having to be certain of resources being available when planning lessons - so now I will have sure-fire access to one. This is great news for me with all the Power Points I use in video conferencing, and for helping students understand how to access and use Janison's. I'll be able to download stuff on my 'stick' to be worked on at any location, can take business stuff with me everywhere, can be mixing my personal and work life even more - something I seem to want to do. When I want a complete break, I just leave all technology behind and go off bushwalking somewhere.
Can't think of any other uses except to annoy hubby in bed by continuing to work there after a certain hour... any ideas for other WORK uses would be much appreciated :-)
Haven't been thinking too much about TROPIC and how it can be furthered - will have to direct my daydreaming that way for awhile and see what comes up.
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