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Positivity

Independent Thinking!

By October 25, 20144 Comments

I’ve been an Independent Thinking Associate for quite a while now. It’s a lovely community of some of the most respected and brilliant educators you could ever wish to meet. We get together a few times a year and if you imagine what the inspiration is like at a Teachmeet, imagine what a weekend with the likes of Dave Keeling, Jim Smith, Debra Kidd, Nina Jackson, Ian Gilbert, Dave Harris, Jackie Beere, Neil Hawkes, Hywel Roberts, Andrew Curran, Jane Hewitt and all of the other associates is like! Talk about buzzing with ideas!!

Recently, Ian Gilbert contacted me about taking over the Independent Thinking Twitter account for the week with the idea that different associates would take over the mantle for a week, starting with me. Scary!

Like many teaching professionals I sometimes have feelings of self doubt – particularly when sharing on my blog or at events; am I good enough, do I know what I’m talking about, is what I’m saying of any use to anyone? I’m always buoyed by the fact that despite these concerns, my feedback from others is always stellar. I know I’m not alone too. Even with the heady brew of brilliant colleagues I get to spend time with at hundreds of events across the world, it’s a common theme amongst those teachers who are always striving to improve their practice. I think it’s an important feature of what makes a true reflective professional.

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During the course of my week on Twitter as Independent Thinking I focussed on sharing thoughts and ideas across different key themes. I focussed on DIRT, numeracy, literacy amongst others and I really enjoyed the engagement across the days on the different topics.

One thing that came from the week was the #teachinghighlight posts. In conversation with @cazzypot and @cherrylkd we got talking about positivity and sharing some of our bright spots in our career. I blogged about it here. So far there have been a number of different posts on the theme and hashtag. Some people have emailed them to me which I have hosted, others have posted them on their blogs themselves. Overall, the people who have been involved have enjoyed the process and have inspired others with their stories of the highlights of their careers.

Cazzypot’s ‘Trip too far’ post

My post

Stuck in the Mud by @nancygedge

Taking calculated risks by @pipkinzoo

Teaching highlights by @jillberry102

Teaching highlight by @imsporticus

My mangled forearm by @jonnywalker_edu

My teaching highlight by @cherrylkd

If you’d like to post, please feel free to do so if you have your own blog. If you haven’t got a blog and would like to write a post, I am very happy to do so or you may like to sign up to the @Pedagoo community and put a post on there. That is after all, what it is there for.

Thanks to Ian for the opportunity to represent Independent Thinking. Overall it was a really positive experience; one that I would be keen to do again!

If you’re looking for even more inspiration then not only follow Lisa Jane Ashes but also check out the hashtag for her takeover this week – #proudofmyclassroom. It has been inspiring. Thank you Lisa!

Thanks for reading!

Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson, @ICTEvangelist. Click here to learn more.

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