Start off the Year Right-Shine!

My new theme this year is “Shine.” I want to make the biggest impact I possibly can at my district. I don’t know if this is true for you, but I know that sometimes I can get into a rut. If I put some goals into place at the beginning of the year, I’m less likely to fall into that rut or stay there very long.

Here are my goals for the 2014-2015 school year:

1. Increase collaboration with teachers and parents.

This is my # 1 challenge this year but I think it will be well worth the time invested in it. I see students for about 30-60 minutes per week. How much more of an impact could I make if teachers and parents were doing some of the strategies I taught during the rest of their week?

Did you know that this speechie was featured on ASHAsphere on this very topic?! Make sure you check out 3 easy ways to collaborate with teachers (with minimal to no planning) and set a new goal for yourself this year!

 

 

2. Take good data. 

This seems to be a reoccurring goal for me but I feel more prepared this year than ever before. I worked hard creating 2 specific products that make it easier than ever to stay on top of this sometimes daunting task.

• Curriculum-Based Language Measures

 

Simply administering these to each of my students gives me tons of data on how they are progressing with the expected standards. It typically takes 5-7 minutes to administer each one so I can usually get them all done the first week of therapy and then reap the benefits for weeks after!

 

• Ultimate Data Collection Binder

 

I really needed some way to keep track of progress over multiple sessions. I created this binder to do just that. Now, I have a way to keep up on a student’s progress without having tons of disorganized papers thrown everywhere. And…I can easily show this progress to parents in meetings.

 

 

3. Record my therapy sessions every few weeks (just for my own personal use).

Have you ever done this? I tried it last year during a few sessions and was shocked by what I saw. I thought I was doing a great job of giving praise and feedback but my face said something different and students can definitely pick up on it! I know they could see disappointment etched in my facial expression as they continued to get the answer wrong. Ouch. It is so good to periodically check up on how you look to your students. What you see in the video might surprise you.

 

4. Speak up more in meetings and let school personnel know my role as a SLP.

I am very adamant about students knowing why they come to speech. I want them to know exactly what they are working on. When I hear someone ask one of my students what we do in speech and he replies “I don’t know” or “play games,” my heart literally breaks. I also never want my administrators or school personnel to be in the least bit confused on my position. I truly want to shine and make a difference at my district. I created this product to make it easy to do that:

• {Editable} Speech Language Pathologist Administrative Packet

If you want, you can see my video on how I use it.

5. Encourage more critical thinking skills

I know that I can get into a “knowledge only” rut in Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning. Instead of merely scratching the surface, I want to go deeper this year, especially in the area of “application.” I want to be asking questions like “What does that mean to you?” “How could you apply this to your life?” “Why is this important” “Could you use this word in a real-life situation?” Students will keep this type of information with them much longer!

 

 

These are my personal goals this year. My hope for you is that you also will “shine” this year!