Explode the Small Moment!

Blog Challenge Week 5

The challenge this week is about explaining a moment in the week where an unexpected event gives us pause, causes us to reflect, think and savor what we are doing. I had such a moment.

I started a new job this year in a Resource Room at our high school.  In the two weeks I had to plan with another teacher we decided to use the toolbelt theory with our students while giving them support to pass their high school classes,  we also wanted to teach them to find, collect and maintain a digital toolkit.

It has been a challenge. Most of the students wanted their support to be what they were used to. However, we kept true to our goal of providing one or two skills a week, skills which could be used during their school assignments, projects and in the future. Finally, this week, week 10, we began to see the payoff.

The small, seemingly insignificant moments included:

a student requesting to use "a graphic organizer thingy"

a student using Readability before printing some work from the Internet

students using sciencewriter.cast.org to write up their science lab

the boys choosing to solve the 'games' in design squad at PBS instead of a dirtbike race

students staying afterschool to continue working on projects that just take more time 

I could continue, but you get the idea.  Yes, it is November 1, 2010. We have had a few weeks of school, we have taught new skills and now we are seeing the payoff. Students are beginning to choose to use the new tools over the 'old ways'. A small moment that caught me smiling. It has been a challenge, it has been worth it.