It wasn't until after I began writing this post that I came accros the above exchange, and when I did I was immediately drawn to Tony's remarks about my readiness to make connections, as well as the comments I made about the depth of my wondering. Both of these areas have existed in some form in my thinking about teaching and learning this past year, and I am also seeing these pieces as being important to the work we are doing in SI this year.Wow Steve...thank you for such a deeply thought out reflection on the past 12 days. I must say that you are one of the reasons that I feel my thinking has moved forward during this time. You came to SI...each day...ready to make connections...not in a forceful sort of, "If they're not there...I'm going to make them" kinda way but in a "If they are there...I'll accept them...if they are not...who cares...just enjoy the ride" sort of way. To someone that can be very close minded at times (that would be me) your openness contributed to the things I will take away from this experience...a broadened definition of the ways ideas and knowledge can circulate within and around the classroom. Thank you Steve!ReplyDelete
During orientation, making connections seemed like a theme that threaded into each of the demos. Either making these connections physically, like with string ( in the photo below) in Lacy's demo, or representing them spatially on a map, as it worked in both my and Lil's demos.
In documenting, like we will be doing over the course of SI on our blogs and other spaces, it seems like the value of the process comes from the connections we make through it. How when we go back into the pieces we've collected and make sense of them, meaning and learning grows out of the connections the process requires us to make. I have been (and still am) thinking about the value of documenting and reflecting in the inquiry process, and I think that it's this area that I am most excited for this year's Summer Institute.
I am excited to wonder about just which pieces I will hang on to each day and will drive my posts. I am excited to think about the collective story that these short pieces will tell of my learning over the course of the next three weeks. I am excited to think about the points in which my path will intersect with those of others.
And I am excited to, in a year from now, read what I am writing in this space now and realize the significance of what happened in SI in affecting who I am as a thinker, writer, and teacher.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you mention that it is not only what we do at SI but the connections we make from it! I can already see myself making connections about ways to incorporate activities into my classroom. I think the point of SI is to not only increase my own writing, but to encourage this enthusiasm in my students for their writing, and even in their future writing. I hope that in my talking and blogging throughout this experience, possibly in their future, my students will explore the SI opportunity!