This course has become a cornerstone of my professional, as well as personal development each year. My sense of belonging is strengthened through interaction with colleagues from other buildings and other levels. My knowledge and understanding of teaching strategies and perspectives are enhanced. While my problem of practice this year was not ideally aligned with the Pedagogy of Play focus, I was able to leverage the work we did together to enhance my teaching of the ELA curriculum in general. I very much appreciated working with Yvonne and feel so grateful to be able to learn with her. I hope we can continue next year. 

I always learn so much, but this year strengthened my skills and built a toolbox for making curriculum more engaging and meaningful for students. In particular, I realized that some of the things I have eliminated from my teaching need to be put back in! In the past I had done poetry regularly throughout the year, and I had done more improvisational activities as well. I plan to put those back in next year as part of my daily/weekly routine. 

 My inquiry into using the AI feedback platform was also productive. Using the feedback as a first-line feedback tool was very effective. The students knew it was AI, but they still responded to it positively. The AI starts with specific and meaningful praise, which I know is best practice, but sometimes I don't emphasize. I believe our 21st century students appreciate a robot noticing and praising something they have done similarly to the way they appreciate a human. Who knows, maybe even more...   

With 20+ students it's really important they get feedback that includes suggestions for next steps. I always reviewed those and in some cases I revised them, but the AI feedback enabled me to spend quality time conferencing with each student while others remain engaged in meaningful work while they wait for their conference. 

The AI generated analysis of their On Demand texts was particularly useful. Again, this is something I rarely have the time to focus on, but it's so useful for understanding where students are and what next steps could be. 

For next year, if our focus is again on play, I may try to use the alternate choices on the writing platform, at least for the initial steps. I was very reluctant to do that this year. The options include video and audio recordings, as well as images. I think this could be a way to incorporate more choice for students that need it, as well as a way to revise curriculum to make it more engaging.