INNOVATIVE PRACTITIONER
"Effective urban educators are Innovative Practitioners who are able to demonstrate the ability to problem-solve, develop ideas, and use creative methods."
While growing up, we encounter individuals from all walks of life; yet, it isn't until we are older that we are able to fully recognize the struggles that they confronted.
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Reflecting on my own experiences, I now realize that the classmate that arrived late in the morning only did so because of her recently divorced parents who hadn't figured out a schedule yet. Then, there is the boy who was gone for months in the middle of the year that never seemed to catch up. It turned out he was in remission from a brain tumor. There was the Indian girl who was proud and excited about her culture only for her to have to repeat a grade because of the language barrier. Looking back there is plenty of other instances that I can identify as underrepresented students struggling with low-socioeconomic statuses, single-parent households, clashing ethnicities/races, personal identities, disabilities, etc. I didn't fully understand these differences when I myself was a student, but I was able to notice them every time I sat down next to those students who separated themselves from others.
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Advocating for these groups is unbelievably important and my outlook on that stance has only strengthened with time. I made a point throughout my college career to immerse myself in as many educational experiences as possible. Part of that included working with English Language Learners, special education students, and those with low-socioeconomic status. In each instance, it became clear that being an innovative practitioner would not only be helpful but that it was needed.
Picture of newspaper photo taken from my own elementary days.​
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Innovative Example #1
Screenshot of students doing science comic strip about the four Earth spheres.
Screenshot of 'Class Council' interactive google slide. Each students' name is put above one of the people on the first slide.
Being able to problem solve, develop ideas, and be creative in the classroom has never been more important than in the world we currently live in. Innovative practitioners have never been needed more!
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In this new age of virtual learning, every lesson plan must be revised and reworked to work in the online setting. Part of that is creating google docs, google slides, and google forms which students can fill out and turn in. As reviews, sites such as Kahoot and Blooket are fantastic to engage and prepare students for future lessons. There have been many times that I have searched for Blookets regarding social studies, English, or math lessons.
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On other occasions, more creativity is required. For example, there are science experiments to consider which are typically hands-on. Students get so excited when they see a list of items they need to collect for the next day for science. As I would demonstrate on my camera I can see each of them also following along. Those that do not have the items have nothing to worry about since they are seeing several models being created right in front of them by me and their classmates.
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Some amazing things have come out of this new reality and part of that is the way in which students and teachers alike have grown leaps and bounds when it comes to technology. For instance, the fifth-grade classroom I am currently with has students in a normal setting work with each other to create a class goal and assign awards and consequences for not meeting that goal. In a virtual setting, those goals can be as simple as having to have ten hands raised each day or not unmuting more than three times in a day. In-person, this would be entirely student-run which gives them autonomy and responsibility. While this a great way to build a classroom community it is difficult for students to conduct their 'Class Council' meeting at the end of the week virtually without heavy assistance from the teacher. To make the activities transition easier I created a google slide that the student heads of the 'council' have access to and are able to use to conduct the meeting with the rest of the class. This way it is completely run by the students, for the students.
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Being an innovative practitioner means that thinking outside the box is a common occurrence. Part of that comes from interactions with other teachers and paying attention to teaching ideas on various sites. We are not alone in our desire to come up with the best teaching practice and should take advantage of all opportunities.
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