The Back of the Puzzle Box - Big Picture
When I do jigsaw puzzles, I tend to go for panoramic photos or nature scenes because it allows me to connect with the big picture and the world around me. Considering my why in education, the same analogy applies. I strive to support students with the big picture of life through the lens of mathematics and 21st century skills. So why not now? Tomorrow may be too late and yesterday did not have this opportunity. Today is it. How can I show students the back of the puzzle box so they too can see the big picture?
Influencing meaningful growth in students requires a clearly established goal, followed by identifying the vital behaviors that can be observed in others as they reach the goal. Finding ways to measure these behaviors and utilizing influencers strengthens the likelihood of success. For the largest impact of change, focusing on six sources of influence, motivation and ability in the personal, social, and structural categories, is key.
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My Why is that everyone deserves access to opportunities that nurture the deeply intrinsic human desire to make the most out of life by learning and growing daily through experiences as individuals in a global community. The Big Picture Growth will lead to Big Picture Goals because students will be engaged in actions that lead to acquiring 21st century skills, skills that will be valuable for them regardless of their future, openings doors to opportunities in college, career, and/or military.
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As I consider the growth and goals of students, there are also alignments necessary with the other elements of being an educator. They include aspects such as building professional learning - blended learning environments, addressing standardized testing, fostering community involvement, and incorporating social-emotional learning.
In order to see if my practices are producing desired results, action research is necessary. By developing an outline, revisiting the literature, by collecting and analyzing data, I will be able to refine these structures or redefine them to fit within the big picture. |
Connecting the pieces together requires action, and in order to move to action, I need to start moving to action. My personality in life and teaching does not have me shy away from being direct in the moment, removing emotions when discussing facts, and not letting my emotions cloud the situation, but there needs to be intentional action on my part as a self-differentiated leader to conclude the conversations with actionable items.
References
Left alignment free icons designed by Elias Bikbulatov. (n.d.). Flaticon. https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/left-alignment_157237
pngtree. (n.d.). Goal line icon vector. In https://pngtree.com/so/goal-line-vector. https://png.pngtree.com/png-vector/20230228/ourmid/pngtree-goal-line-icon-vector-png-image_6623910.png
Vecteezy. (n.d.). Statistics graph moving up growth. In static.vecteezy.com. https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/previews/024/700/403/original/statistics-graph-moving-up-growth-monochrome-flat-element-bar-chart-increase-profit-success-editable-clip-art-black-white-icon-simple-thin-line-spot-illustration-for-web-graphic-design-vector.jpg
pngtree. (n.d.). Goal line icon vector. In https://pngtree.com/so/goal-line-vector. https://png.pngtree.com/png-vector/20230228/ourmid/pngtree-goal-line-icon-vector-png-image_6623910.png
Vecteezy. (n.d.). Statistics graph moving up growth. In static.vecteezy.com. https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/previews/024/700/403/original/statistics-graph-moving-up-growth-monochrome-flat-element-bar-chart-increase-profit-success-editable-clip-art-black-white-icon-simple-thin-line-spot-illustration-for-web-graphic-design-vector.jpg