So close I can almost taste it!

The pace is getting into a frenzy this week. The break is coming! 

Podcasts:
Truth for Teachers will not cast again until the new year, and I didn't get to Day 4 and 5 of the challenge, yet. Maybe next week!

Narwals, jellyfish, and microbes, Oh My! Science Friday was full of exciting bio-related stories this week. They also had a segment on The Best Science Books of 2017. The segment about Holiday light Safety and California's wildfires were both very timely, and I was sad to hear about the destruction of the Ventura Botanical Gardens. Voyager 1's thrusters and coastal restoration in Louisiana rounded out the program this week. 

Again, I ran out of podcasts to listen to before the week was over. Does anyone know any good podcasts that are not on break right now? I like Revisionist History, Truth for Teachers, and Mindshift, but they are all on breaks right now! Suggestions?

Twitter - I discovered AJ Juliani last week, and I read another one of his posts this week. It was called Project Based Activity That can work in any Classroom. http://ajjuliani.com/project-based-learning-activity-can-work-classroom/ I also signed up for his notifications and I am curious to know how this works if students or their parents do not want them to be broadcasting online. 

I read three George Couros posts this week and they were very timely for the chaos of life! They were 4 ways to not let others dim your light, 3 Ideas for taking care of yourself before the break, and 4 hints on being that "jolt" you need for yourself. As always George has a way of making me think about things differently or reminds me of truths that I easily forget. Thanks for keeping me focused George!

#inquirybasedlearning had a list of 6 strategies for creating an inquiry-driven classroom and the one that I think is hardest for many people (Myself included.) is STOP being the expert.

#mashupmath seems like a good source for some fun problem ideas.

Reading - I finally got to read some of NSTA's Science Scope and I found an interesting resource for my archaeology unit. It is askananthropologist.asu.edu. I also read about some ideas for better using formative assessments and a 5E model for teaching about fire safety and wildfires. I would love to add that to my energy unit in the spring.

Keeping track

This week I was really motivated to get lots of Twitter time, and I decided to keep better track of the interesting things I was learning by writing it down in a notebook rather than on random notes that I left everywhere. It has made this reflection much easier! 

Podcasts:
Truth for Teachers was not cast this week, but I listened to the 3rd challenge of the 5 day challenge. I have been able to to do pretty well with the first three days, but I haven't listened to the last two challenges, yet. It is hard to try new things this close to winter break. I feel like I am just in survival mode. Looking forward to listening to these challenge days this week. I missed your podcast this week, Angela!
Here is the link to her podcast if anyone is interested: https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/goodbye-teacher-tired/

Here are the titles of the first three days of the challenge:

1) Get real about how much you can accomplish each day, and eliminate the unnecessary.

2) Schedule your day to get the most important things done, instead of doing as much as possible.

3) Minimize decision-making by automating tasks and creating routines that simplify your life.

Science Friday covered the Net Neutrality issue and the house plan for taxing Grad students. A story that surprised me was about the HIV/AIDS eidpemic that is happening in the southern USA. All of which worry me for the future of our country. I also heard stories about Proton trapping, Muscle speed, Switching attention in Macacs, and research on Yeti DNA that turned out to really be bear DNA. The two stories I talked most about was the strength of neolithic women (During my archaeology unit) and robots modeled after oragami. (During a STEAM class.) I ran out of podcasts to listen to beofre the week was over. Does anyone know any good podcasts that are not on break right now? I like Revisionist History, Truth for Teachers, and Mindshift, but they are all on breaks right now! Suggestions?

Twitter - I followed a new math teacher and through her tweets I got linked to a way to use Desmos and One Note together. http://continuousformation.blogspot.com/2017/11/desmos-onenote-replay.html

George Corous lead me to an article by Katie Martin that was inspiring, and old quote of his from 2011 that talked about the difference between classroom management vs. classroom leadership. He also tweeted about an article by Marcel Schwantes that gave the 6 steps to get what you want from your manager.
I also really enjoyed AJ Juliani's post about getting students to do the talking. I plan to try some of his strategies in my science classes. https://medium.com/@ajjuliani/the-three-step-system-for-getting-students-to-do-the-talking-f1802cac8648 @ajjuliani

Tara Martin shared about students in her district who were sharing their learning portfolios.

Then I clicked on a link that took me to three articles about how CRISPR/CaS 9 works. They were fascinating, and I can't wait to hear more research about these gene editing tools. That ended up being my reading for the week. 

Learning Never Ends even if I don't blog about it

It has been awhile since my last post because I took time off from blogging for Thanksgiving, and then my son was home sick on Friday and the laundry took over. I was great about my podcasts for the last two weeks, my twitter activity was pretty low and I don't do as much reading as I would have liked, but I got to connect with a former colleague and talk about mindfulness in math. She also shared some exciting new resources that I can't wait to look over and connected me with a new resource for science in Boulder. All great stuff. Read on for details . . .

Podcasts:
Truth for Teachers was cast the Monday before Thanksgiving and I learned that it was the last episode of the season. However, in the episode, she started a 5-day Challenge to saying goodbye to teacher tired. I signed up for the challenge, and I am still working on it, but I liked lots of her ideas. Some of them I have kind of discovered on my own, but anything I can do to be more efficient, even in little ways is great. I have been working on these things on my own for awhile, but I appreciate the challenge and materials that go along with it because then I don't have to re-invent the wheel. Thanks, Angela!
Here is the link to her podcast: https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/goodbye-teacher-tired/

Here are the titles of her 5 days of the challenge:

1) Get real about how much you can accomplish each day, and eliminate the unnecessary.

2) Schedule your day to get the most important things done, instead of doing as much as possible.

3) Minimize decision-making by automating tasks and creating routines that simplify your life.

4) Maximize your energy and focus by batching tasks and building in buffer time.

5) Prioritize rest as the catalyst for productivity, and schedule time for things you love.

Science Friday had a special airing of the Ig Nobel awards ceremonies as a Thanksgiving treat. It was pretty entertaining to hear about the research that is going on out there. There were also segments on bat studies, some caves in Kentucky, potential ideas for mission to Uranus and Neptune to study the diamond rain, and mining coal for clues to ancient environments. I love listening to all these stories because I can then share with colleagues and students! 

Twitter

I didn't do much on Twitter for the last two weeks, but I am already working on it for this week, and I missed so much. Looking forward to spending the next few days catching up and getting ideas. So exciting and invigorating!
Reading
I didn't get to read because I had extra meetings scheduled during my normal reading times. I did get the chance to talk to someone on the Scheduling Committee about the new schedule we will be adopting in the 2019-2020 school year. 
This reflecting is a great reminder of what I have learned and it motivates me to keep going on this journey. Since I am approaching the mid-year mark it will also be a good chance to reflect on my goals and how I am doing with them.