Hi everyone, this #IMMOOC is so amazing and powerful. Anyway, here is a blog post i shared back in may. For all of you just starting to blog, this is my journey as a blogger. Hope it helps!

 How my PLN got me started

As we strive to improve our teaching strategies, one thing I have learned over the past 5 years is the importance of self-reflection.  I have been inspired by other educators to engage in Twitter chats and build my PLN.  My PLN is ‘responsible’ for about 80% of what i have learned in the past 5 years. A colleague of mine asked me how could that be. I had never really thought of it in that way. Then i realized that my PLN got me thinking, self-reflecting. When we read and share ideas, our brain seems to never stop. When i engage in Twitter chats or with colleagues of my PLN, i’m not thinking about covering or delivering content. I’m only thinking. Exploring new possibilities, new ways of being an effective educator. It’s amazing!

« My PLN is ‘responsible’ for about 80% of what i have learned in the past 5 years. » @bourmu

Blogging is taking me to the next level

I also have a blog since 2012 but i can honestly say that i have only recently embraced blogging as a powerful self-reflection tool. Not because i didn’t believe in blogging, but because i somehow could not write posts on a regular basis. I now realize it wasn’t a time management issue or that i wasn’t fully committed. I am very committed to my own professional development and learning. @gcouros (his blog here) is one of the many educators that have really influenced my thinking. I guess i just needed multiple opportunities to openly reflect, mostly on Twitter (micro-blogging), before i could start sharing my thoughts thru blog posts on a regular basis. My communication and writing skills (i usually write in french) are getting better as well. When i have new ideas, i now can develop or express them in a much more comprehensive way. I guess we could call this growth! Anyways, i feel as though blogging is taking me to the next level as a self-reflective educator. And that’s a good thing, right?

« When i have new ideas, i now can develop or express them in a much more comprehensive way. » @bourmu

 10 + 1 timeless questions to get educators on the self-reflective path

Today, i would like to share the 10 questions i had in mind when i started blogging back in 2012. I think they are timeless. They still are very useful to me. Perhaps they can be useful to other educators as well.

1. What do we want our kids to learn? (Think of the Prensky verb categories, the curriculum, the 3Rs, the 4 or 6Cs, the digital skills, the life and career skills…)

2. What tools might we (teachers and students) use to reach our goals?

3. How will we know the kids are learning? How will the kids know they’re learning? (Where will proof of learning come from? What is sufficient proof of learning?)

4. What feedback will we give? When? How? Why? (Think of John Hattie’s work. Feedback given does not equal feedback received)

5. Are the kids engaged? Intellectually.

6. What is my classroom structure or my pedagogical approach? A Tour de France (a few winners and mostly losers) or a Guided Bike Tour (same destination for all but different paths + everybody gets there) ?

7. Would i attend my own classes?

8. Am i a talent refinery or a talent factory? (Do i only manage the talented kids or can i develop the talents of all my students?)

9. What will i do when the kids don’t learn?

10. What will i do when they already know?

+1. How am i implementing the 8 characteristics  of the Innovator’s Mindset?

What questions would you add to this list?

Please share your thoughts!