Educators across Alaska are just starting to get their first look at the Three Commitments, and they like the opportunity to be part of creating better schools. #akedchat
Vision for AK youth? Become "reflective learners." Know what you want to learn, why it's important to you, how you will know that you have reached your goal. #akedchat
A1: I envision a future where every student in #Alaska has access to quality content, excellent teachers, rigor, creativity, and enrichment...regardless of where they are on the map. #akedchat#akedchallenge
A1 All I want is for the current generation of students to graduate a little bit better off than the previous one did. More mature emotionally, intellectually, and socially. #akedchat
Vision for AK youth? Become "reflective learners." Know what you want to learn, why it's important to you, how you will know that you have reached your goal. #akedchat
Q2: Fragmentation and overload are the first two words that I often hear. I also know that there is an extreme lack of time for teachers to do their jobs well. And then there is an overreliance on standardized testing... #akedchat
A2: Alaska's Ss deserve the best education available -- in every school in our state. Together we can make this happen. #akedchallenge presents opportunity for us to unite and work toward excellence everywhere -- not just in pockets. #akedchat#bettertogether
A1: A place where all students have the opportunity to learn what they need to be successful citizens of our global world. And have people who believe that they can do it!
A2 I'm a little concerned about the idea of "...the need to focus on fiscal challenges...." To me, that sounds like a bureaucrat's way of saying "the need to cut funding." If that is true, I don't want to rethink Alaska's education system. #akedchat
A2: Alaska's Ss deserve the best education available -- in every school in our state. Together we can make this happen. #akedchallenge presents opportunity for us to unite and work toward excellence everywhere -- not just in pockets. #akedchat#bettertogether
A3 I'm a performing arts teacher, so I get the privileged of seeing students get chances for small, obvious successes everyday. The kids know when it sounds right. #akedchat
Q3: This includes a discussion of "multiple measures" and a "rich and varied curriculum" "Multiple measures” means discussing how classroom, district, and state testing can lead to increased student learning. Educators see a lot of potential in assessment literacy. #akedchat
#akedchat A3: increasing Stdt success comes with recognizing that success has many varied measures. It also begins w supporting quality early programs that fit local needs.
A3: Being part of a push of creating the belief that ALL students can learn (my push is math) to high levels & should be expected to do so. It is an equity issue when some leave the K-12 system without that knowledge, or even the opportunity to gain that knowledge.. #akedchat
A3: Quality curriculum in the hands of excellent teachers results in meaningful learning for Ss. Sharing "what works" across #Alaska will be important for all of us. #akedchat
What I meant was just opposite - we should spend more money on education instead of cutting all the time. If something is not important we have a tendency to ignore it or do a minimum for it. Education should not fall in that category. #akedchat
A3: In order to increase student success, it is imperative that as the teacher I know, and have a relationship with Ss to effectively assess learning strengths and needs. Informed well-planned intentional instruction with clear standards in mind #akedchat
A3: I feel like my biggest job is giving kids a safe space to fail, regroup, learn, & fail again to learn again. Failure in ed is SO punitive, but it is essential for real learning. #akedchat
Sharing takes work, but I think we can get there. ASDN and @TeachingChannel are working on a partnership with @NEAAlaska to feature the work of real Alaska educators. #akedchat
In reply to
@Tch2LrnAK, @TeachingChannel, @NEAAlaska
I could not agree more on the importance of failure - modeling your own failure for students is a great way to teach them how to develop resiliency for it. #akedchat
Q4: Students learn best when they are in a healthy place. Alaska educators know that trauma is an everyday reality for many of Alaska’s students. I am SO EXCITED that our state is recognizing how important this is to education. #akedchat
Sam Jordan from @AlaskaDEED, down here in Juneau. Running quadruple duty tonight, but appreciate reading such thoughtful comments! You all are awesome. #akedchat
#akedchat A4: Classroom culture needs to support intellectual & emotional risk-taking. We need to know our kids as people so we can help them stretch for the next challenge (or kick them in the pants a bit!)
A4: Enrichment will deserve new emphasis. What used to be seen as "extra" must now be essential -- critical for the well-being of every student! Arts, co-curriculars, the "stuff" beyond academics matters a lot. #akedchat
A4: Agreed - safety, well being is promoted by tolerance and acceptance, and rethinking how we discuss and model "labels" Too many Ss are in situations where they do not feel safe, significant impact on learning and maximizing their potential #akedchat
Sharing takes work, but I think we can get there. ASDN and @TeachingChannel are working on a partnership with @NEAAlaska to feature the work of real Alaska educators. #akedchat
In reply to
@Tch2LrnAK, @TeachingChannel, @NEAAlaska
A5: Teaching Ss how to be responsible for themselves. We often assume they will know how to be responsible, but it's something we need to explicitly teach them. #akedchat
Q5: There is nothing better than when students become reflective learners. At that point, they know why they want to learn something, what they will produce to demonstrate it, and they know when they are successful. #akedchat
A5: We are all learners, so I apply the "responsible & reflective" piece to all Ss, Ts, Ls. Goal setting, meaningful feedback, reflection must be essential to teaching & learning for all, at every level. #akedchat#akedchallenge
Sharing takes work, but I think we can get there. ASDN and @TeachingChannel are working on a partnership with @NEAAlaska to feature the work of real Alaska educators. #akedchat
In reply to
@Tch2LrnAK, @TeachingChannel, @NEAAlaska
#akedchat A5: I appreciate how this commitment to support responsible & reflective learners includes families, tribes, educators, and entire communities. It will take ALL of us working together to improve education.
A5 I'm not sure how to answer specifically. I feel like that's a pretty summed up idea of what teaching is. If someone isn't doing that already, I can't imagine that they have much success teaching. #akedchat
Responsible learners is a term that I am growing to like a lot. All of us in education share this responsibility: Educators, students, parents, school board members, community members, and even legislators. #akedchat
#akedchat A5: Modeling reflective learning & following with practice helps (kids plan a lab, do it, bomb, reflect, revise, retest). Responsibility for self & learning is harder, esp. when system is pushing all responsibility for success to teachers.
#akedchat I support teachers working on National Board Certification, use reflections on questions as important grades for all learners, and model reflective practices
Q6: These commitment outline a shared moral purpose. But in order to realize the potential, we need FULL buy-in from everyone in the education world. For educators, this means having rich, honest conversations about what these Three Commitments mean in our classrooms. #akedchat
#akedchat I am in a position to lead professional learning - I’ll use this as a framework in courses for teachers and make my own commitment transparent and public.
A6: Make conversations about transformation a priority. Place on agendas; intentionally create opportunities to dream and plan; make space and time for the hard work involved in bringing commitments to life. #akedchat#akedchallenge
#akedchat Larissa in Anchorage - My head says I’m the language arts curriculum coordinator for the district but my heart is a high school English teacher
A6: this one will take creative conversations throughout communities. Change in ed is like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Where’s the next fix-it program that Ts must do next? This challenge instead promotes a broader conversation driven by the 3 commitments as a compass.
#akedchat I would love to see more opportunities and experiential learning for students. How can what they learn in a classroom be immediately and directly applied to real life?
A big part of the AK Ed Challenge is that we need to LISTEN. There is no prescribed method to great education. The AEC doesn't come with a "to do" list. But we can find clarity in our work and build an optimal environment for learning through trust, collaboration. #akedchat
A7 Trying to find ways for parents to engage with the school. Showing up for concerts, PTCs, PTSA meetings, and other school sponsored events. But especially concerts! #akedchat
#akedchat Larissa in Anchorage - My head says I’m the language arts curriculum coordinator for the district but my heart is a high school English teacher
A7: Not sure about the best way, but I think that school boards should play an important role as they can spread the message as part of their connection with communities. #akedchat
A7: Get the word out at every turn! Social media, newspaper columns & editorials, newsletters, videos... What about student projects focusing on the Challenge? How would they define/promote each of the commitments? #akedchat#akedchallenge
A7: I think you have to keep talking about it. Without any dialogue, there are assumptions made - often incorrect. So finding ways to engage in conversations about finding ways to reach ALL students, since they are our future. #akedchat
A7: Get outs of comfort zone and make it a priority to go where community members are. Talk to neighbors, at churches, bingo halls -- Every AK citizen is a stakeholder, we all need to be invested in our youth. Invite community members to visit classrooms, welcome them #akedchat
#akedchat Involve all the stakeholders, but especially give greater voice to students - those like @dani11c in AASG are smart and can see the big picture
Q8: Educators need time and space to get this right. We need staff meetings where teachers lead a discussion on the Three Commitments. We must build the capacity of teachers and principals to do this work together. #akedchat
A8: We can't lose momentum. Change takes time, but it will happen more quickly if we are working together, sharing successes, thinking differently, daring to try new things, supporting innovation, setting aside differences. #akedchat
A8: ideally education would have a known, stable forward-funding source so communities could plan effective, efficient implementation guided by the 3 commitments. #akedchat
We need to shift to collaborative cultures that honor and align individual responsibility with collective expectations and action. Visible expectations, like common assessments, must be the norm. #akedchat
