Author: Dawn Mitchell
Hello everyone!
At SCASCD we are very excited to welcome Cult of Pedagogy’s Jennifer Gonzalez to South Carolina to serve as our keynote for our 2020 Spring Conference on March 5, 2020. Leading up to her conference, we want to share with you our top blog posts we have loved and learned from Jennifer and how they have impacted our work with students and teachers.
I would like to start by sharing a resource by Cult of Pedagogy’s Jennifer Gonzalez called “A Four Part System For Getting to Know Your Students”. In this blog post Gonzalez outlines a system for using formative assessments to really get to know who are students are so that we can reach and teach them better. I have used her “Deep Data At A Glance” chart each semester to see what I know about each of the students and teachers I work with and to challenge me to find out what I don’t know and to intentionally use the information I am learning about each student to build connections and a relationship that allows me to help them learn and grow to their fullest potential.
This tool has been a practical tool I have continually used myself and shared with my colleagues that have helped us keep the unique interests, needs, abilities, passions, and strengths at the forefront of our instruction. This four part system serves each semester as a powerful reminder that “who” we teach is just, if not more important than “what” we teach. I want to encourage you to check out this system and see what you can learn about your students this semester.
Please consider joining us for our Spring Conference to hear Gonzalez in person and to join our network of educators who learn, teach, lead together in supporting the whole child. Visit this link for our conference registration.
Sincerely,
Dawn
Dawn Mitchell
South Carolina ASCD President