Good Gets Great with Free Feedback from Friends

I share.

It's what I do.

I share what's going on at school, even when it's not going well.

I share ideas and book recommendations and appreciations for wonderful people.

Today I'll share five people (or technically four people and an app) that provided some tips that really improved some projects of mine.

1) Rhonda Jenkins and Peggy Ashbrook - STEAM Project on Book Stands

The book display is done! I like the redesign. I'll post it on @thingiverse and share the link soon! I have four printers! I can print two at a time on each...eight a day! I'm workin' my printers! That's what they're made for! Fun x 3D = Wow, I did that! 😁 #FutureReady204 pic.twitter.com/ohK6Q2Xgxa

— Rhonda Jenkins (@luv2teachtech) October 17, 2019

Rhonda posted this great video and series of images sharing her 3D printed book stands. I said I'd share the tweet with the Grade 2s that I see for STEAM class, because they are designing book stands and could use more inspiration.

Peggy Ashbrook, a wonderful early childhood scientist education expert I met while at NAMLE in June, continued to interact with me as I contemplated my next steps with my students. She gave advice about how to allow students to work with metal ...

Perhaps multiple strands of wire could work? Coat hangers can be formed by bending them around an object, then cut with wire cutters. Wearing goggles of course! Or, maybe some interesting pieces of plumbing pipe could work.

— Peggy Ashbrook (@PeggyAshbrook) October 19, 2019

... and she diplomatically steered me back on the student inquiry track when I was tempted to give them a "here's how to do it" lesson.

Perhaps asking them to design different ways to fasten things together before showing them all the ways you know of?

— Peggy Ashbrook (@PeggyAshbrook) October 20, 2019

Thank you Peggy and Rhonda for helping me create opportunities for the students to discover for themselves how to design and develop their prototypes.

2) Molly Dettmann - Authority Unit for Library and Media

Those who know me realize that I was probably already drawn to this tweet because it included references to costumes.

Can we share notes? I’m exploring a unit on authority with my primary and junior media & library lessons - inventing it as we go (plus, I have a judge costume too and would love to use it more!)

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) October 19, 2019

The wonderful thing is that Molly agreed to dialogue, even though she's teaching high school English in Oklahoma. I'm designing this unit from scratch and it will be helpful to have fresh pairs of eyes on the plan as it is evolving. I sent an overview to Molly (and to Neil Andersen, president of AML who expressed interest in the topic, and Matthew Webbe, my principal) via email. Neil has already replied with a few good question prompts. I look forward to hearing how Molly and her students will explore the concept of authority - they are doing a trial for a historical figure, for example. I hope her ideas and any suggestions she has will improve my own unit.

3) Richard Reid - Education Institute on Advocacy and the School Library Learning Commons

Last Thursday, Richard and I led a webinar for the Ontario Library Association's Education Institute on the Advocacy Toolkit.

I don't know how Richard does it. He had a hectic time at school, was in Thunder Bay for another OLA event the day before the webinar, and still organized the slide deck so it made it sound like he and I had practiced for ages before presenting. Richard, thanks for the self-esteem boost and believing that I would be capable despite being not as well-versed on the source material as I would have liked.

4) Vote Compass - Upcoming Federal Election

Today, the day this blog post goes live, Monday October 21, 2019, is election day in Canada. I take voting seriously and I was really torn about how I should vote. Vote Compass is a website managed by CBC that asks the user questions about issues, parties, and leaders, and then places you on a grid in comparison to the parties represented in your riding.

I won't share the results of my Vote Compass poll, but it did help me inform my decision. Thanks for the overview of the issues relevant to the federal government and the clear, non-partisan way of presenting the data. The website is https://votecompass.cbc.ca/canada/

5) An Old Friend - A Big Project

Sorry for being so vague, but I didn't get permission from this person to post. I emailed him out of the blue because he had the experience and knowledge to answer a question I had about a project I was undertaking. He's busy but he answered right away, gave TONS of useful feedback (which means more work for me but it'll make the project 100% better) and has committed to Skyping with me to give verbal feedback. The best part is that we get to reconnect. (I think the last time we saw each other face to face was in 2011?) Thanks for giving so much of yourself so freely.

Yes, part of the wonders of feedback is that you need to be open to what you are told and interested in making improvements, but without people willing and honest enough to give you feedback that helps, I'd be talking to the void. Thank you to everyone (and I should have included my principal, who gave me useful feedback on my ALP and potential next steps) for helping me continue to grow professionally.