The MSTA Blog

Share your secrets at the 2nd annual Teachers as Change Agents Conference

Are you ready to share your classroom ideas and strategies to improve your colleagues’ teaching, classroom management and techniques? The Missouri State Teachers Association is looking for change agents to share the secrets of your success with other educators at the 2nd annual Teachers as Change Agents conference June 14 and 15, at Tan Tar A in the Lake of the Ozarks.

This unique professional development conference is led by you, the actual practitioners. We already know you’re an expert, why not share your knowledge? Your fellow educators can learn from your experiences and walk away with practical applications. MSTA believes there are amazing teachers teaching great lessons in Missouri classrooms and we want to showcase those at the 2012 TACA event, but we need your help. Submit your proposal today! Presenters will receive meals, mileage and lodging when applicable. The deadline to submit a proposal is Friday, Jan. 20.

Teachers as Change Agents is a time to discuss education reform, offer suggestions and glean new ideas from fellow educators. The learning strand is: promoting student learning through effective assessments and instructional practices. Specific breakout topics are listed on the proposal form. The agenda will include a pre-conference on Thursday morning, four breakout sessions and a closing time to compose your action plan. In response to your requests from last year, we will be increasing the length of the breakout sessions to enable you to delve deeper into the topic.

If you have questions, please contact Cindy Whitaker at cwhitaker@msta.org.

Pinterest

You might have been hearing a lot about Pinterest lately (it’s designated to be THE social network of 2012, accoring to this CNET article), so we thought we should tell you more about it and how you can use it in your profession.

MSTA vice president at Fox C-6 and fifth grade teacher, Sarah Smith, uses pinterest to find fresh ideas for her classroom. She often looks at Pinterest before Google.

“I have been in awe the amount of teaching resources that are on pinterest: ideas to organize your classroom, creative and fun bulletin boards, lesson plans, gift ideas, and great activities to incorporate into your classroom,” she said.

 Smith is already putting many of those ideas to use, such as desk organizers, a moon phase activity with Oreo cookies, “Shoot for the Moon” bulletin board, Methods of Scientific Process Rap, “Thank you for popping in” gift to my students’ parents for helping in the classroom, and writing prompts for the holidays. (You can find these pins on her boards here.

“Pinterest is a great way to gather new resources for your classroom. I love Pinterest,” she said.

MSTA is also on Pinterest. You can check out our boards here.