Thought of the Day: Monday, Dec. 30th, 2013

Let's always remeber to focus on the very basics of teaching

I have learned so much from Twitter over the last couple of years. There is a massive amount of content out there to improve our practice that is readily available at our fingertips if we choose to dig and look for it. We can spend an entire day, week, or even month, for that matter, reading all the resources and links that support good teaching practice in our subject area(s). 

Technology is changing at a blinding pace creating further pressure to know as much as we can about this change in order to integrate technology on a deeper level in our instructional practice. Over the next year, our access to information and resources on Twitter and the internet in general will likely double or triple. All of this is great for our teaching practice. 

We all want to be better educators and to know we are making a difference to our students and their learning and for this reason we connect and share. However, as we move into 2014, I think it is imperative to always remember the importance of the basics of good teaching which deal with learning environment, student-teacher relationships, and providing effective feedback. Of course knowledge of our subject area is critical, but building a solid foundation of success depends directly upon the very basics of good teaching which should never be ignored. May 2014 be your very best year of teaching yet.