As a Connected Learner

It can never be said about me that I am complacent.  Being that I am in my 29th year in education and have served as a teacher, instructional coach, educational consultant and to back to teacher. I teach as often as I can just to keep my instructional skills sharp. I am the embodiment of a life-long learner.

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As far as having a "growth mindset", I can speak from experience in that I have dyscalculia which is a disability in learning mathematics, however, I have never let it keep me from taking on that challenge to the degree that I became a highly effective teacher of mathematics, have supported other teachers in teaching math and made it to the expert level of math consultant! I have never been afraid of math, but I haven't always understood it. I have had to work to achieve all that I have. This is one story that helps teachers and students understand that it is possible to learn, grow and excel even at the things that are hard at first.

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In my work as a teacher and consultant, I am constantly reading about effective practices, I attend conferences as a learner and many times I am attending conferences as a presenter of information on some of the newest, most innovative practices that are being employed today. 

The only way to connect with other educators is to connect with other educators.  When I am serving on a single site either as a teacher or instructional coach, I get into classrooms, sit with teachers at lunch, and I plan with my content partners.  When I am serving in other educational capacities, I stay connected by attending conferences and communicating with teachers that I have met along my journey. I talk education everywhere I go!

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The best way to understand the learning needs of staff and students is to be in classrooms, talking to teachers about their needs and observing in real time how teaches are using technology to enhance their instruction.  Then, I can add to the work in progress.

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