Kathryn Laurentius

PLCs are essential for teachers to collaborate, grow and learn themselves which then in turn helps our students. 

Being aware of the privilege that you bring to the classroom can help you see your students as they are and learn from all the different backgrounds and cultures your students have. Cultural diversity should be celebrated and viewed as a huge strength/asset in every classroom. 

I see great value in the career interview for students (and adults) because it allows us to think outside of our current situation. If we want our students to be lifelong learners we have to be willing to accept that the transition is likely going to happen at some point in everyones career. 

I work hard in my classroom to share all kinds of professionalism lessons with my students. It is more than just professional dress and I enjoyed learning in this unit. 

I think the power of learning from failure is super important to emphasize. It is hard to feel failure, but the learning and growth from it can be so powerful for everyone. 

Technology can help increase interactive learning and communication more efficiently. 

Setting norms, each time a group is working together, is so important. And I think it can also be challenging because the norms then require group members to hold each other accountable. Even adults struggle with this part of team work. 

Critical thinking is an essential skill for all of our students. The more critical thinking I can incorporate on the daily the better my students will get at building that 'muscle' and be better prepared for the work force. 

The idea of building student agency is so important. Focus on the process, not the outcome is a key takeaway I have from this lesson. 

I liked the activity example where students were presented with the real world example and then had to defend their strategy. I think this is very applicable to many areas of CTE instruction. I also like the SWOT analysis, I use that often in my business classes.