I could not sleep last night. My mind was racing with ideas on topics about which I'd like to blog, answering my own recently asked question as to whether or not I should begin this process. As I poured over the ideas in my head the theme of "Best Practices" kept coming up. Best practices are those which we know work to produce the desired outcome in a given situation the majority of the time. We can learn about best practices from 1) experts in the field in which we are inquiring, 2) trusted individuals within our community knowledgeable in the area, and 3) honest self-reflection.
As an educator we are inundated with strategies that are considered best practices or high yield strategies. For example, Marzano is famous in the education world for his work in this area. There are also those we trust within our own learning community (PLC/PLN) for solid ideas and strategies. However, as educators, we all know that you must look at this list of best practices and other strategies and find what works for you in your classroom to allow your students to reach their full potential while in your care. There are certain practices that are going to produce good results for many, some that should be discarded, and some that only produce good results for a few. It is our job to know ourselves and our students and to select those that will work for our situation. We must not be afraid to take risks in search of new practices that will work in our classroom, and we shouldn't be afraid to utilize the proven practices just because they aren't the latest/greatest idea. The idea is to find the strategies that work for you as you are fulfilling your task of guiding students in learning.
Could I apply this education idea to other areas of life? Absolutely!
We can apply this idea to any area in life - marriage, finances, raising children, health, spiritual growth, etc. There are experts in every area of life and we should look to those individuals for guidance. We should also look to those we trust within our community for advice. After we have looked at the strategies and advice in a given area we must decide what will work for us and apply it. It does us no good to simply fill our mind with knowledge and strategies but never put any ideas into practice. Likewise, it does us no good if we try every piece of advice without first analyzing its validity in our situation. We would do well to make informed decisions and then put them into practice in our life with determination and perseverance.
Here are some keys to identifying successful strategies in any area needing improvement:
1) identify experts in the area and do some research
2) identify trusted individuals within your community and ask questions
3) reflect honestly upon your own practices and be ready share with others your successes and to make adjustments in weaker areas
As I come across topics of interest I'll be blogging about them. Some will be proven "best practices" and others will be new ideas. Some will be successful and some will be total flops. I'm no expert, but I love learning and sharing ideas from experts and those I trust in my community/network. Take what you want from it and share your successes/failures with me too. We'll grow together as we seek to be the best we can be.
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