In addition to taking courses, I will continue to evaluate the lessons and units that I teach. I ask students to keep an electronic journal of their growing knowledge and of their reactions to the topics we study. These journals are a source of information for me to use to determine what techniques are working and what activities students find really engaging. (Click here to see sample entries.)
I keep my lesson plans on disk. I print them out to use in my classroom and to serve as a record of what I have covered. On these plans I make notes so that when I teach that topic again I can adjust the lesson plans on disk (before I print them to use again) to reflect my previous experience.
Finally, external evaluators will continue to observe me, as per required
by school rules. I will continue to read these evaluations and make use
of the comments to improve my teaching.