WELCOME and THANK YOU for reading! This newsletter covers what happened in March and will give you a heads up on what to look for in April and the months following.

We've added lots of cool new stuff in hopes of making these monthly emails more fun, interesting, and interactive!

In this issue (please note the links below will only work when viewing this newsletter in a browser):

We’re just a bit over two months away from the 2023 Academy Conference! It’s happening June 9 and 10, all online!

Register now to get the early bird rate (ends May 5). And invite your colleagues! When three registrations from the same institution are made simultaneously, there’s an even larger discount!

The Call for Proposals is also open...

I don’t think it will be a surprise when I confess that I’m a self-evaluator!

But the day that Dan Apple told me I had a choice about living this way and could choose self-assessment instead of self-judgment as a way of life – I was shocked that I could change this ingrained characteristic.

I’m not saying it’s easy – this has been a 6-year journey and I’m still on it. But I’m making progress! And lately, that progress is being advanced by practicing a daily wrap-up.

Off and on in my personal PE journey I’ve set aside time for daily assessment. I know I want to improve my performances and myself, and this is the PE practice for it.

But I’ve noticed that I only like to self-assess when things have gone well, when I’m happy, when I’m satisfied.

And that’s a sign of self-evaluation. Because when things haven’t gone well, the self-judger has too much power and is blocking my self-assessment mindset from having voice.

So what’s a Process Educator, a self-grower to do? Review the basics and transform strategies.

This is a NEW monthly feature taking YOUR questions about classroom or teaching/learning practices and crowdsourcing answers from Academy members. Each month will offer one or two selected questions, the opportunity to share your 2¢, and answers to previous questions.

This article will feature a different learning skill each month and instead of talking theory will ONLY give ideas for targeting/strengthening that learning skill for ages 2 to 102! Remember that you can find ALL the learning skills in a free interactive tool.

Observing: using the senses to pick up on details of an object, dynamic, or relationship

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn with and from your PE colleagues. Our professional developments produce many deep, meaningful insights for those who attend. Here are examples of insights from our last two workshops...

This is a new monthly column for the Academy Newsletter. The goal is to share a small idea or low-stakes practice that everyone can try out whether in a classroom setting or other learning context. Remember that all current Academy members have free access to the e-Faculty Guidebook through the Member’s site!

STRATEGY: Using Grade Estimation

FROM: 3.1.9 Creating Meaningful Assessment and Documentation Systems

“Grade Estimation—When students turn in an assignment or a test, ask them to estimate their grades and to provide a rationale for their estimates...

The Academy Self-Growth Community is meeting again via ZOOM on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays (one-hour sessions at 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm for your convenience). Archives from past sessions can be found HERE, along side the Academy Member’s site. Session materials are linked in forum that includes threads for posting thoughts about preparation and documentation of group activity during the session.

Our April 5th session is entitled Exploring the Role of Intervention Analyst. This comes out of recent work by Ingrid Ulbrich and Steve Beyerlein to facilitate a customized, online a faculty development workshop on Transforming Struggling Students into Stronger Learners....

This is a new standing column where we will feature two Academy members each month, until we run out of members. And then we'll just get more! The point is that we're curious about each other and few people enjoy reading professional bios. So, as Communication Director, Denna is reaching out to members and asking each the same set of questions:

• 3 books you love and why
• The best class you ever took and why
• The class you would most want to teach, if you could choose
• One piece of advice you'd give to a teacher about to begin a teaching career

3 books I love:  One of my joys in almost-retirement (will be fully in August) is reading. I am even part of a book club!  Here are three that come to mind: 

• Anything by Louise Penny https://www.louisepenny.com/
  
  
• The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngston (my current read) https://www.amazon.com/Narrowboat-Summer-Anne-Youngson/dp/1250764610
  
  
• The Five Invitations: Discovering what Death can Teach Us About Living Fully by Frank Ostaseski https://fiveinvitations.com/

The best class I ever took and why:  Well, I enjoyed a lot of classes. In math, I think my favorite was Modern Algebra. The professor, Sandy Shilepsky, was excellent. What makes it memorable was that, when he went on sabbatical at Wells College, I was his sabbatical replacement. I was still working on my doctorate at the time. And I taught Modern Algebra. I recently met some of the alums from 1982 who took that class.   

The class I’d most want to teach if I could choose: Well, it’s not really a class, but it is what I do now. I facilitate “Death Cafes.” These provide participants to share their thoughts on death. I’ve facilitated several of these and attended a few. Every one has been powerful.  

One piece of advice I’d give to a teacher about to begin teaching: Be authentic! Remember that you are not there to fix—your role as a teacher is to facilitate the realization in each learner the skills he/she/they already have. Also, use stories—they are so powerful.  

3 Books I Love:

• Visions of a Flying Machine by Peter Jakab
  https://www.amazon.com/Visions-Machine-Smithsonian-Aviation-Spaceflight/dp/1560987480
  This is a detailed account of the development projects that Orville and Wilbur navigated enroute to successful powered flight. This was a “lean” process where they identified problems, efficiently solved them with scientific methods, and then moved on without getting carried away with never-ending research.
  
  
• The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan
  https://www.timothyeganbooks.com/the-big-burn
  This is a combination of wilderness heroism, back-breaking work, and concern for stewardship of our natural resources against one of our largest natural disasters. I’ve walked the trail to Pulaski’s cave outside Wallace, Idaho many times and marvel at one of the steep canyon venues where this battle was bravely waged. Thoughts and emotions inspired by this book often emerge when I am swinging a Pulaski as part of a work team on a new Moscow Mountain Biking trail.
  
  
• My Life with the Saints by James Martin
  https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Saints-James-Martin/dp/0829426442
  James Martin reinforces his unfolding spirituality through exploration of the lives of numerous saints whose paths and devotions resonate with his own life experiences. The result is a humble and holy path that is widely accessible to others no matter where you might be on your faith journey.
  
  

THE BEST CLASS I EVER TOOK AND WHY:
In terms of content, this would be Engineering Thermodynamics. I loved how a simple framework of physical laws, diagramming, and mathematical relationships could be used to model performance of energy systems and devices, no matter what their complexity. An especially rewarding outcome was an ability to ‘see’ energy efficiency on temperature-entropy and press-volume diagrams.

THE CLASS I’D MOST WANT TO TEACH IF I COULD CHOOSE:
I would love to teach a course that examines the relationship between religion and science in the lives of famous engineers. The Word on Fire Institute has done some nice groundwork on this topic around the lives of famous mathematicians and scientists.

PIECE OF ADVICE I’D GIVE (if asked) TO A TEACHER ABOUT TO BEGIN TEACHING:
It is essential to be fully present in the moments where you directly interact with your students. Get to know them and their capabilities, believe in their potential for growth, and courageously make authentic interventions needed to unlock this potential. Teaching is social process. Above all, value and invest in your time together.

The next board meeting is scheduled for
April 25 @ 5:30pm EST.

The other Spring Board Meeting will occur on May 23rd at 5:30 PM; all board meetings are now 90 minutes in length. All are invited to attend! The Zoom information is available on the Member’s Site.

Including (BUT NOT LIMITED TO)
workshops you'd like to attend!