Learning and Laptops

Skype Session with Cory Doctorow

2012-01-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today, we had another intellectual learning adventure. Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, talked one on one with our 9th grade Honors students about issues ranging from Homeland Security, the English government, inspiration for the book, teenagers, connections to 1984, technology and his personal definition of trust. Our kids never fail to impress.

In the one hour session, they asked dynamic and thought provoking questions. Cory fielded each question with such intellectual purpose and directness, the kids were in awe of his intelligence. He truly lives up to his words he left our kids with, "Be intellectually curious!" He proved his point well by being himself.

Thanks to Cory for making this possible and for Karl Fisch for supporting Maura and my efforts to connect the kids with real life examples of intellectual giants. I am so impressed by authors being their own person, by being upfront and at the same time charismatic with the kids, and by giving kids insight into what it means to live a life filled with challenging curiosity and passion.

Ustream of conversation

Cover it Live to conduct live blogging conversation

Tweets of Doctorow's comments and kids' questions

Serendipity

2011-12-02T11:41:00.001-07:00

Serendipity:

ser·en·dip·i·ty/ˌserənˈdipitē/

Noun:

The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

A couple of months ago, I sent out a blog post looking for classrooms that wanted to participate in our This I Believe Goes Global project. We had more responses this year than any other matching up classes from Poland, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea and all over the United States.

As Karl and I were sorting through the responses. We notice one response from a teacher named Jeff Boyce. About three years ago, we had a teacher named Jeff Boyce here at AHS. Karl and I wondered if this was the same Jeff Boyce. So, after an email exchange, we discovered it was a former colleague now teaching in South Korea. Serendipity #1

My all boys' class was matched up with Jeff's class in South Korea at the Korea International School. I knew that my all boys' class was going to be writing their "This I Believe" essays on something important to them, something they strongly valued. Jeff let me know early on that his class was going to be writing their essays with a slight twist to the assignment: "I Believe in Evolution...". To help you understand his requirements for their essays, Jeff is a science teacher, thus they were going to be writing about evolution. Serendipity #2

Now, to make this collaboration even more interesting, my all boys' class is currently reading Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Lee's Inherit the Wind, a play based upon the Scopes Monkey trial of 1925 and the teaching of the theory of evolution in a fundamentalist Christian town. Serendipity #3

To prepare for our reading of Inherit the Wind, and help my all boys' class understand what John Scopes and Bertram Cates were facing with teaching the theory of evolution, I brought in one of our own biology teachers, Adam Wallace, to talk to the gentlemen about what it is like to be a modern day biology teacher and the theory of evolution. Serendipity #4

A few weeks ago, after Jeff and I figured out the logistics of our timelines, I asked Jeff if it was possible for him and his class to Skype into our class here at AHS. I didn't know upon asking him what the time difference was between Seoul and Littleton, CO. Jeff talked to his kids. They were all willing to stay up till 1 am their time in order to Skype into our class. We planned 1-1 connections with a kid from Seoul to a kid in my class. Serendipity #5 (more forced Serendipity, but it goes with the theme of this post)

I talked with Karl about whether this would be possible with our EEE's and their built in web-cam. He assured me we could do it, we just needed to test out the Skype feature since Skype and the built in webcams hadn't been used before. We practiced in class with one another everything seemingly looking splendid. Then came the test call...

Jeff and I decided we should do a practice call before the big day. Wednesday he had a group of kids call into my class first to me on the teacher computer and then to each of the kids they were assigned to. The calls to me were flawless with our wireless system. However, problems arose with the calls to the individual students in class. We could hear and see the kids in South Korea perfectly, but they could only see us, there was no sound! Oh no...

So, I asked some of my kids to go and get Karl to assist with our technical difficulties. Some of my boys have Karl as their math teacher and relayed to me that he had a family emergency and would be gone the rest of the week. OH NO....

I sent off a couple of emails to our district personnel to seek out some help. Later that day, after I had chewed my fingernails down to the nubbins and aged myself another 10 years, I got an email back from Rody Smith. Rody brought over two other district tech folks to help me solve my problem with the sound.

At 7:30 am Thursday morning, after being told what I wanted to do wasn't possible, somehow the thoughts shifted to make the impossible possible. Mark Lindstone, Randy Stall, and my favorite Rody Smith figured out a solution to the problem. Rody imaged a brand new set of EEE's for my gentlemen. Our library lent us enough USB headsets for each kid to have their own. Additionally, Rody delivered the brand new EEEs to AHS, helped me set up the classroom with a wired switch for all 24 netbooks (we decided to move from wireless one to one connections to wired connections), and managed to help me facilitate the day today. Serendipity #6

I relayed all the events of Thursday morning to my all boys' class during our class time on Thursday managing to break into tears in front of them. I stressed to them the importance of what we were about to do on Friday, the opportunity that this presented to them as men, as learners and as agents of change. The pressure was on! Since it is an all boys' class, I reminded them that this was like preparing for game day. We needed to prepare ourselves for the challenges but then also embrace the opportunities as well.

And how did it go? It was awesome- we even had cookies and juice thanks to one of our moms. The kids connected both technologically and literally. They didn't stop talking until I told them that we needed to start wrapping up things. The discussed their essays, their lives, their schools, their interests, and their beliefs. They changed the world by getting to know one another, by shaping one another's understandings and learnings. I couldn't stop smiling and neither could the kids. The kids started talking one to one, and before I knew it, they were moving around the room talking to all the other South Korean students. What a fantastic day. What a fantastic learning opportunity. We couldn't have done this without the help of Jeff Boyce, the students in South Korea, Rody Smith ( my all boys class voted him as President for all his hard work), Mark Lindstone, Tracy Murphy, Karla Brachtenbach, Mr. Booth, Karl and of course my gentlemen. Serendipity #7 (which just happens to be my favorite number).

Here are some more pictures of the day...

Test call on Wednesday

Jeff Boyce and I excited to listen to what was happening in class

The Smitty...

2011-11-09T13:48:00.003-07:00

My kids decided they needed to create an award in recognition of the best banned book movie trailer for our Banned Book assignment. So, they created the Smitty- combination of me and Wonder Woman. I send along pictures later. What I really wanted to share were some of the best trailers. And the Smitty goes to two of the following....

Best videos: Emma

Best video: Alex

Best videos: Alison
Best videos:  Grant
Best videos:  Liz
Best videos: Brooke

Best videos: Maddie D

Best videos: Cassie(all pictures were hand drawn)
Best videos:  Zoey H

Best videos:  Brian H
.
Best stance: Sean and Delaney

Best Why Banned: Bekah

Banned Book Movie Trailers and QR codes

2011-10-21T14:11:00.005-06:00

About a month ago, Karl Fisch sent along a tweet from alibrarian in Grand Junction, Becky Johnson. Becky was creating QR codes to go along the spines of books in herlibrary. The QR codes linked to YouTube videos students had created based uponthe books.

After expressing my interest in building from Becky’s work,Karl contacted her to gain more information about the coding creating processand help us get started. I thought Iwould pass along Karl’s questions as well as Becky’s responses:

What site are you using to generate the QR codes? I know there are a bunch, but thought if you had one that worked well, we'd use that.

I use Kaywa QR-Code Generator<http://qrcode.kaywa.com/> - No registration or download needed, just paste the link to the site you want to generate the code for, choose the size and click generate.

Any advice on printing? My concern is getting them small enough to fit on the spine of a book but still be a functional QR code.

Printing is easy. Copy (copy image) the code and paste into Word or a Google Doc. Resize to fit the spine and print. I've made them as small as a half inch square and never had a problem scanning them. Just make sure you re-size proportionally. I use the ScanLife app on my Android phone, but I've seen kids use other apps and the Google Goggles App works too. I just print them off on a laser printer and fix them on the spine with book tape.

Did you do book trailers at YouTube, or did they create a site to host the videos, or what? Any links to samples you might share?

I've got kids who've created videos in Animoto<http://animoto.com/>, FlixTime<http://flixtime.com/>, Photopeach<http://photopeach.com/home> and Photostory. It always works better if they can be exported or saved in a format that can be uploaded to YouTube, however I've included some examples that play in the native app, like Photopeach and FlixTime. I sometimes create codes linked to student blog post book reviews, so I've included some examples of those.

Anything else we should ask but I haven't thought of?

4. Problems encountered:

* As long as kids have devices with 3G or 4G access, Android or Apple, they can view YouTube videos and they always load quickly and play well. My district's wi-fi blocks YouTube (grrrr), but the kids tend to loan devices to each other to enable scanning. The QR codes are fairly new and I don't have a lot of them on books yet, so it is the geeky kids that are accessing them right now.
* Animoto is my favorite site for students to create book trailers, but I can't get codes linked directly to the Animoto site to play on some devices, so I always export or upload to YouTube. Using the Animoto Educator Plus Account<http://animoto.com/education?gclid=CJ6eiZmMyasCFaUCQAodPg992Q> allows students to make videos with no length restrictions and they can be exported directly to a YouTube account (if the student has one) or saved as an mp4 file, which I can upload to my YouTube account.
* I've tried uploading to SchoolTube. The codes and links work fine, but the videos take forever to load and tend to look wonky on a device.
* The flash-based videos in PhotoPeach and FlixTime don't show on Apple devices.
Samples: https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1e9_OFRb7ph_qnWfDaOA1yl-dM7h12XOgwOn_zjBzPc4

During the month of October, along with our study of RayBradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, we read banned and challenged books. The kids printoff a permissionletter from our webpage getting their parent’s approval on a banned orchallenged book they wish to read. Inyear’s past, we have had the kids complete a banned book project where thestudents create a visual on their desk space presenting the book, the researchon why the book was banned or challenged, and then, take a stance on whether ornot they agree with the banning and challenging.

After hearing of Becky’s school’s work, I threw out the ideato Maura Moritz( mypartner in all things 9^th grade Honors)of our kids making movietrailers for their banned/challenged book. The kids were ecstatic about thethought of creating a movie. We workedwith the original rubric for the project, and adapted the rubric to fitour new idea. The kids wanted a lot of freedom in determining what parts ofthe project could be video and what parts could be still written. I thoughtthis was important since some kids didn’t want to publish to the world theirbelief on whether or not a book should be banned or challenged.

To make this new project even more serendipitous, at parentteacher conferences, one of my student’s mom happens to be a creative directorwho has created a number of commercials and worked with movie trailers as well.Mrs. Friskey offered to come into class and help the kids think about movietrailers offering up her feedback to the kids. This was an amazingopportunity. It helped the kids andmyself refine the project even more. Here is the new rubric based upon her suggestions and tips to thekids. Also, here is some of her sageadvice to our classes:

THE GOLDEN RULE of ADVERTISING

Mention/present yourproduct and share its information/benefits in the best creative way to garnerthe desired response.

What Makes a MovieTrailer? (think of a movie trailer as a tease)

(Mention Product) Thename of the movie (book)- this often appears at the end of the trailer.

(Info/Benefits) Plot points or cool prestige elements such asthe director’s or actors’ names. Be careful not to give away whole story.

(Creative) Excitingediting, clever copy, memorable scenes or dialogue, compelling music. Mostimportant to storyboard out idea. Thinkabout using catch phrases (powerful quotes), use imagery (taste, touch, see,hear, smell), LESS IS MORE

(Desired Response)TICKET SALES! Money? Get people to read your book?

She is also offering to stay incontact with the kids while they are working on their movie trailers. Theycan even postquestions to her.

We watched some movie trailers in class today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRf01Gjosk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOL-wZSCn_g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqfuzkeCJ8kand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnWu1sLtgI8)to stimulate our thinking towards creating movie trailers. Next week, we have one day in class where wewill be solely working on the movie trailers. Other than that day, the kids arecompleting these projects outside of class. The kids can use any video production software they desire. We have flipcameras available to them for check out as well. Some kids are using my Animoto educatoraccount to create their films; others are using MovieMaker, iMovie orPhotostory.

We plan on having a movie watching day with a special awardfor best trailer. Karl and our library/mediaspecialist, Mr. Tracy Murphy, will help the kids create the codes. The kids are submitting all their projects througha GoogleForm to easily collect their masterpieces. I will post our results as wellas feedback from the kids when the projects come in on October 31.

Moving forward with PLNs

2011-10-21T11:46:00.001-06:00

My all boys’ class has been writing up a storm this semesterwith our work on PLNs. We have moved from the first 6 weeks of each writingtheir own response on a selected post/ blog:

WillB:

Tony Wagner’s “RigorRedefined” portrays how the youth of the twenty first century is notprepared for the largely evolving work place. Throughout his article he asksCEOs about the youth they hire and how efficient they are. They all explainedthat the youth they hire are great at the bases of their job, however as theyincreased into the higher level requirements and more detailed work they justcouldn’t process it. This makes me wonder, is the job marketplace evolving toofast for the schools and colleges to keep up. If you ask me, I believe thatschools are not improving what they teach simply because the leaders ofeducation are lazy. They don’t want to respond to change. However if a smallgroup of teachers tried to push that change into action I believe that my generationwould be much more prepared for the future. In the world the younger peoplethat are trying to get jobs are having a hard time because employers are nolonger looking for the blunt man or woman that can do the same thing all daylong. They are looking for the person that thinks at a different level ofthinking, a much higher one that can ask questions and be focused on a broadtopic. It explains in his article that people are working as teams to finishgoals but those people don’t even know each other or even work in the samecountry. People are being brought together through a global conferences andconnections online. But those people aren’t the young ones that have just beenemployed it’s the veteran that knows what he or she is doing. I believe thatbetween now and my generation graduating from college there will be enough timeto improve on education as a whole and complete the goal of preparing us forthe jobs they may not exist. However there is also time for the jobmarketplaces to grow even more and exceed a milestone that was never thoughtpossible. But as time goes on its hard to depict what will happen in thefuture. Many of the CEOs said that the main problem with their young employeeswas that they couldn’t focus or bring their ideas to a conclusion. Which bringsme to ask like Nicholas Carr’s “IsGoogle Making Us Stupid?” has the internet made our attention spanmuch lower? In the case with the employees not being able to focusthat problem is only found in the younger employees rather than the older ones.The problem with them not being able to focus may be because of the youngergeneration’s deeper connection to the internet. As we move forward into adifferent type of work ethic; do you believe that changing the goals we learnin school will make us more prosperous in the work place? I believe it wouldmake the next generations to come much more ready to succeed and be ableunderstand what they are doing. So as we move forward into the future I justhope that schools and colleges can catch back up to where the workplacesadvanced to.

Then we moved towards writing on others’ blogs:

JakeW:

Mr. Stager:

I was intrigued andentertained by your article and Silvia’s videos but I disagree with some of thepoints you made. I watched Silvia’s videos and was very impressed as I couldnot see my self, a ninth grader at Arapahoe High School doing something thateducational or high quality for a school project let alone in my free time. Iam usually worried about a hockey game the next weekend or the cheerleader inmy science lab, not learning how to use an Arduino or a new computer program todo something productive. This sentence from your article really struck me“While you bathe in the warmth of your PLN with self-congratulatory tweets,Sylvia is sharing serious expertise with the world.” The fact that I amcurrently doing a PLN(Personal Learning Network) for my english class makes methink if you are calling out my teacher. PLNs are the first time I have beenexposed to blogs and all of the blog posts we have had to summarize are sendingthe same general message of improving education with technology.

I respect Silvia’s devotion and love for whatshe is doing but she is one of few in our current education system. I, likemany others in my class have just started to understand the art of blogging andpersonally I am pretty proud and then there are the kids like Sylvia who areclearly a level head and shoulders above kids like me when it comes to lust forknowledge. There has always been people like Sylvia who are fortunate enough tocome form such supportive parents and has a love for learning and we call peoplelike that over achievers or active learners. Its not meant to be an insult infact the opposite but it helps show there is another side of the scale. Kidswho come from divorced parents living off lower wages who cant afford homecomputers and struggle in school and life in general. We have to give both anequal opportunity for an education. Should we send them to different schools,or should take away Sylvia’s opportunities and give the challenged kids thesame attention Sylvia needs or vis versa.

And to the blogger responding:

Gary Stager:

Jake,

Greetings from SouthKorea!

Thanks for reading mywork and for taking the time to write. My article is indeed an indictment ofmany educators who fail to seize the remarkable capacity of children and helpthem go farther than they could have gone on their own. It’s not an attack onspecific teachers, nor does it negate the value of blogging, although bloggingis just a new place to write.

I don’t understand whyyou think that all kids could not profit from the experiences afforded Sylvia?Is it fair to blame kids for their parental involvement? Is that reallydeterminative of a kid’s educational aptitude or achievement? As I said in thearticle (above), the reason we have school is to democratize such experiencesand let more children benefit from them.

Few parents arechemists or conductors or sculptors or authors. School assembles people with avariety of expertise and makes them available to more kids.

Best,

Gary

Each Friday, 6 boys presenton one selected PLN to the entire class. The presentations work on usinggood speaking skills:

Stand in the front of the class with your blog projected on the screen behind you
Present your blog entries
Talk about what you are reading, what matters from it, how does it connect to what we are doing in class, and how does it relate to the world around us?
Presentation must be organized- Use an organizational strategy to keep your presentation on track without reading from notes or the screen.
Make eye contact with audience
Must be creative and interesting: use attention getting opening and conclusion to tie ideas all together
You are not allowed to miss on your assigned presentation day!
Stand up straight
No fidgeting: keep arms and hands in good speaker positions
Referenced blog postings- connect similar blog postings under one thematic idea
Asked question of audience at end of presentation

During the presenter’s presentation, the classmates aregiving feedback on the presenter’s individual blog. Once the question has been asked at the endof the presentation, the gentlemen answer the presenter’s question while thepresenter facilitates a group conversation. We have conducted about 6 weeks of presentations.

This week began a new venture for the PLN presentations onFriday. We Ustreamed out thepresentations for the presenter to be able to self-assess and for others towatch what we are doing.

The gentlemen had trepidations today knowing that otherswere going to watch what we were doing, but I think for our first go around,they did a good job. We will see how therest of the semester goes and carrying over this idea into secondsemester. Here are some samples fromtoday:

This I Believe Goes Global 2011

2011-10-04T10:39:00.000-06:00

For the past four years, I have had my classes write their versions of National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” segment. I was introduced to this idea by a colleague and have been always impressed by what my students hold as their personal values and beliefs. Writing these essays has allowed for them to do something they don’t get to do all that often at school - express their heartfelt beliefs.

After writing the essays the first year, we submitted them to NPR, but we also decided to podcast them ourselves – no need to wait to see if NPR might choose to broadcast them. The writing was good at expressing their values, but once their voice was added to their written expression, WOW, it simply transformed that personal essay. Instead of the words simply being words, the words conveyed deeply held emotions. Now, this is the standard.

Here are some previous class examples:
Period 2 06-07
Period 5 06-07
Period 3 06-07
Period 2 07-08
Period 5 07-08
Period 3 07-08
Wiki 09-10
Wiki 10-11

We are approaching that time of year, when I am going to start the kids on this writing adventure, but this year I wanted to invite you in the blog-o-sphere to join us again. I want “This I Believe” to go global. I want my students to benefit not only from knowing what their peers believe, or what the other AHS classes believe, but to hear and see what the world values. What do kids elsewhere in the U.S. believe in? What do kids elsewhere in the world believe in? What do some of the learned professionals that I know believe in? I want my students to walk away from this experience realizing the power they have as professional writers as well as connecting to other teenagers and adults from around the world. I want to see them exchange ideas, foster relationships, and appreciate the variety of perspectives. Maybe you can challenge your principal, your school board members, your local politicians, heck, maybe your entire school. Maybe we can even get our President to write his own “This I Believe.”

So, how do we accomplish this? Karl Fisch, of course, is willing to be my master facilitator. He has set up a wiki (still a work in progress) that will provide the guidelines for the classes to follow. I am making Maura Moritz’s classes join us again, so there will be five classes (ninth grade, 14 and 15 years old) from AHS writing and podcasting their essays: Moritz 2, Moritz 4, Smith 3 and Smith 5. We are hoping to attract at least four other classes from around the world, one each to pair up with each of our four classes. If we get more than ffour classes that are interested, then we will try to pair up any additional classes with another class somewhere in the world.

If your class(es) are interested, please complete this Google Form with some basic information (your name, your email address, school name, location, grade level(s)/ages, how many classes, number of students in each class, and time frame that you’d like to do this) so we can setup those partnerships. (Our thinking is that pairing one class with one class will keep this from becoming too overwhelming for the students, although of course anyone can read/listen/comment to any of the essays on any of the wiki pages).

We will create a wiki page for each set of paired classes and each student will upload their written essay as well as their podcast (the podcast can either be uploaded directly to the wiki, or you can use a variety of other services for that and then link to them). Each pair of classes will be in charge of their own wiki page and we’ll use the discussion tabs on each page to give feedback to the students.

If you are an adult interested in writing a piece yourself, simply add them to the “adults” page on the wiki. I am hoping to get some notable edubloggers as well as my superintendent, CIO, and others to participate. It would also be helpful to include a brief bio so the kids can know who they are reading about.Obviously you don’t have to do this with us or on our wiki, you can create your own. But we thought it might be interesting and helpful to have one wiki that aggregated all these essays/podcasts, one place that students (and others) could visit to learn about beliefs all over the world. Wondering where to start? NPR has a number of education friendly links to help you along the process:

For Educators
For Students
Essay writing tips
How to contribute an essay to NPR

Timeline: For our honors classes we are going to start writing our essays, October 27th with a final due date of November 7th for their essay. The week following their due date, they will begin podcasting their essays. The paired classes don’t have to match this timeline exactly (although that would be great), but we’re hoping they can have theirs completed by Thanksgiving so that the students can start commenting on each other’s essays /podcasts.But for other pairings you can set whatever time frame works best for you – that’s the beauty of the wiki, it’s a living document with no “end” to the assignment (although that’s why we need you to include your time frame when you email us so that we can try to match folks up). We would really appreciate any feedback (now or as this progresses) to make this an experience that is truly relevant and meaningful for these kids.

Writing to our PLN

2011-09-28T14:45:00.001-06:00

Another poignant post by Karl Fisch came to be quite useful in my all boys’ class. We are transitioning this week from simply writing our weekly PLNs to publishing our work so that others can comment and engage. Rather than submitting our work on our personal blogs, we are writing to the bloggers that are inspiring our PLN responses. Karl recently posted a piece by Seth Godin as well as Karl’s own remarks about writing. Both pieces couldn’t have occurred more serendipitously to my classes’ efforts:

Godin writes “Just write poorly. Continue to write poorly, in public, until you can write better.

I believe that everyone should write in public. Get a blog. Or use Squidoo or Tumblr or a microblogging site. Use an alias if you like. Turn off comments, certainly--you don't need more criticism, you need more writing.

Do it every day. Every single day. Not a diary, not fiction, but analysis. Clear, crisp, honest writing about what you see in the world. Or want to see. Or teach (in writing). Tell us how to do something.”

Fisch responds, “So, are you having your students write every day? In public? I know I'm not (although I'm starting to have them write a bit).

I think we're often overly concerned about the quality of our students' writing, and whether it's "good enough" to share. Now, to be clear, I think our students should be concerned with the quality of their writing, and should strive to get better at communicating their thoughts. But if we let the worry about what others will think get in the way of having our students write more, and for a larger audience, then we're doing them a disservice out of fear.”

As a class, we read Fisch’s post discussing both Godin’s and Fisch’s points regarding writing. Should we only be publishing good pieces of writing? Why should we publish unfinished works of writing or writing in progress? What does it say about us if we publish writing that isn’t proofread and contains errors? Is what we are doing with PLNs purposeful and meaningful? Should we share our thoughts with others moving beyond the walls of our classroom? Will the blogosphere write back to us? Will they care what we think?

I challenged them to engage in their PLNs. I challenged them to write about the issues they are reading and ask questions, seek clarification, connect to what the author was saying. I challenge them to move beyond just writing for me, or just writing for them. Write so that others can see, hear, read and learn.

Here are some of the initial posts:

Austin- wrote to David Warlick

Mr. Warlick I couldn’t agree more with this idea of a game! About every kid has played or dealt with any sort of technology. I thought about the point you made, “The goal of this game IS NOT generating the best test scores. No! No!” This focuses on giving the student a fun and more efficient way of learning. My schools today focus solely on grades. I relate this post to Will Richardson’s “Getting Rid of Grades” where he exclaims, “We’re a society hell bent on competition and ranking and sorting, and much of that no doubt has contributed to the focus on grades as an easy way (supposedly) of giving a value to what has been” ,“learned.” I believe that schools should focus a lot on the students themselves other than what they have turned in. I myself, am on a computer for homework, projects, and socializing. I occasionally play games on a computer or any other handheld device. I would try this game no doubt. Because it would give me motivated to seek help, expand my knowledge, and enjoy myself all at the same time. My education would also matter because I check my grades for school daily, or even hourly. Just praying that they will never fall below an A. But with your concept, grades are NOT the most important aspect, the learning is. Finding better ways to progress and innovate the ideals of schools. Our world would not only benefit, but prosper. Think about a nation where success is worldwide. I know it is far fetched, but this game would bring this out-of-site idea into zoom. Kids in Africa, Mexico, and even all the way to India would be inspired to do better than they have before. If the world is more advantageous and astute we could work together and one. No more wars, no more poverty, and no more failures. But once again this “dream” will probably not be happen anytime soon or at all. What would you change in our school systems today? Why do you think kids choose to “fail”? Your idea is not a solution, but it is definitely an excellent place to begin our journey into the world of academic success.

Lou- wrote to Will Richardson

Mr. Richardson-

In “Getting Rid of Grades” you describe how grades affect students and their learning. This matters to me because I am a student and grades really do stress me out. I continuously check my grades and if my grades aren’t what I expect them to be I automatically begin to get stressed. Grades are a good way to show a student’s progress but a student’s growth depends on the student. Grades are the same for every student even though every student isn’t the same. All kids learn at a different pace and learn in different ways, by having grades teachers are forcing students to learn a certain way or they fail. This piece matters mostly to education. Schools and administrators need to have ways to grade students individually not the same way for every student. Schools need to form their grading styles to fit every student personally. If they can’t do this they are cheating their students by not letting them be creative learners. This matters to the world because our futures (kids) have to learn the way their teachers want them to learn not the way that they understand and grasp the most. If we want our future to flourish and be successful we need kids to configure a way to clench and understand information on their own. After reading this piece I have a few questions to ask you, if you don’t like how grades are formatted today then how would you change them? Also have you noticed a leap in students understanding and ability when they no longer have grades that they must worry about? Mr. Richardson you bring up a valid point, and after reading this I understand why you believe that grades are bad for students learning and growth.

Scott- wrote to Karl Fisch

Mr. Fisch,

This article has motivated me to become a better and more effective writer. I'm very shy when it comes to writing, because I feel very discouraged after I post or turn in an assignment; my thoughts in my head are that the teacher is snickering at my work, laughing at every mistake I make. Hopefully, the world can see this post, because honestly, it will encourage more kids to write, helping them to improve their skill. This method doesn't just have to work in writing, the more you work at anything the better chance you have to improve. Your article relates in a strange way to Mr. Carr's blog, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", because kids spend a lot of time relying on Google; this will make them less likely to be succesful in typing because they might just copy and paste documents. They won't ever experience real typing. I have already started to type much more this year and after reading your post, I'm inspired to dramatically increase my grammar and punctuation skills by the end of the year.

Will B- wrote to David Warlick

David Warlick- I really enjoyed reading about your idea for a new video game that tries to push the idea of creating an award winning school out of nothing. However you said the school would not be trying to earn the best test scores, but trying to raise students to be the next “masterminds” for the human race. I believe that that is a great idea. Schools are too focused on keeping up the status quos of trying to make their students earn A’s all year round. Which is not a bad thing, but it is creating this student that is almost made out of a mold resembling an honor student that is successful in school but not striving for anymore than that. Sure that student would go on to be successful in college and life but it wouldn’t create what the world actually needs, someone that can cure a disease thought to be incurable. Someone like Winton Marsellas or Kurt Vontegut both men that changed the world with their research alone. Hey- maybe this game could be published and designed and maybe even sold worldwide. But most importantly it could spread this idea that test scores shouldn’t be the big picture, it should be what these students turn out to be. What this idea might even do is even change that general picture of the perfect student into a student that strives for greatness and knowing that they have the power to change something. What I grew up believing and still am is that a good idea can catch on like wild fire and no matter how unimportant that idea is it’s not one to be thrown away and forgotten. This is one of those ideas and I believe it could be influential to schools all around the world. The idea of education needs to be rethought and I believe your game is a place to start.

Jake- wrote to Gary Stager

Mr. Stager

I was intrigued and entertained by your article and Silvia’s videos but I disagree with some of the points you made. I watched Silvia’s videos and was very impressed as I could not see my self, a ninth grader at Arapahoe High School doing something that educational or high quality for a school project let alone in my free time. I am usually worried about a hockey game the next weekend or the cheerleader in my science lab, not learning how to use an Arduino or a new computer program to do something productive. This sentence from your article really struck me “While you bathe in the warmth of your PLN with self-congratulatory tweets, Sylvia is sharing serious expertise with the world.” The fact that I am currently doing a PLN(Personal Learning Network) for my english class makes me think if you are calling out my teacher. PLNs are the first time I have been exposed to blogs and all of the blog posts we have had to summarize are sending the same general message of improving education with technology.

I respect Silvia’s devotion and love for what she is doing but she is one of few in our current education system. I, like many others in my class have just started to understand the art of blogging and personally I am pretty proud and then there are the kids like Sylvia who are clearly a level head and shoulders above kids like me when it comes to lust for knowledge. There has always been people like Sylvia who are fortunate enough to come form such supportive parents and has a love for learning and we call people like that over achievers or active learners. Its not meant to be an insult in fact the opposite but it helps show there is another side of the scale. Kids who come from divorced parents living off lower wages who cant afford home computers and struggle in school and life in general. We have to give both an equal opportunity for an education. Should we send them to different schools, or should take away Sylvia’s opportunities and give the challenged kids the same attention Sylvia needs or vis versa.

So, just to remind you, these are boys. Ninth grade boys. These are 9^th grade boys who all have something to say. They will be writing to you.

Goals 2011-12

2011-09-18T18:54:00.002-06:00

Every year, I ask Karl for focused goals regarding areas I can improve in my teaching and learning. This year, as with all years, he didn't fail to challenge me. And this year, I didn't have to ask. They were there waiting for me on the first day!

1. Share the passion. I love teaching. I love my classes. I love showing the kids the possibilities that reside within each one of them. I couldn't ask for a better job (better pay, yes), but not a better job. I think what I need to focus on is not just showing my kids the passion for learning, but to show my colleagues as well. Often I feel there is a lot of resistance to what I do and how I do it, but this year, I sense a shift in the tide. New teacher=new attitudes. I am loving life!

2. What is truly essential for your students? Do the rest if you have to , but don't sweat it because it doesn't matter. What do I want my students to know and be able to do? I want them to be intellectual giants for the world. I want them to be articulate and persuasive speakers. Thoughtful and contemplative thinkers. Challenging question askers. In-depth connection makers. Devoted collaborators. Intense listeners. And all around nice kids. I want me kids to see there are endless possibilities in the world around them. I want them to firmly believe they can make a difference in the world and that I am there to help them do it. The rest...doesn't matter.

3. Failure is (almost) not an option. Encourage, cajole, berate, hassle, joke-let them know that they will succeed in your class; that you're not going to let them off the hook.This is right up my alley. The NO D policy I uphold in my all-boys class underwent a little revision this summer- I returned the policy back to its original state the first year I implemented it. We are doing well, but I am still not reaching them all. Some simply do not want to do homework. How to reach them all is the question? How to hold them responsible yet give them space to grow, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes. How can I balance my expectations of work turned in on time, with all my other classes, and not allow myself to fall into a grading nightmare. How can I reach all the kids?

4. Be bold. Why not?

My addition to the goals:
5. Be a communicator. Communicate successes and failures. Communicate with my students in class and out of class. Get to know each kid's passion. Communicate with my students' parents. They want to know what is going on, let them in. Communicate with my colleagues. Be open to listening and sharing. Communicate with the blogosphere.

TED Talks AHS Style

2011-09-16T11:39:00.001-06:00

Towards the end of second semester, our ninth grade Honors students were challenged to deliver their own TED talk based upon a subject they were passionate about. Maura Moritz and I heavily borrowed this idea from Christian Long who encouraged, supported, and motivated our efforts to build off what he had done with his students in Texas. All he asked was that we give credit back to his students and their work, and make it better. Hopefully, we made you proud, Christian.

Christian gave us access to his resources on his wiki that was instrumental in the success of our students’ projects. Having a basis from which to work, Maura and I constructed a similar website to guide our students and ourselves. We asked our students to answer the question, “What Matters?” in a 5 minute Pecha Kucha or Ignite style presentation.

I think this is one of the scariest parts on undertaking an idea you have never done before, nor have any idea where the project is going to go, or how it might turn out in the end. We were navigating in un-charted waters, with a minimalistic map of where we wanted to go. Luckily for us, we had students who were patient, reflective, and willing to try anything we challenged them with. I love those kids!

From the students’ perspective this was scary territory too. They were riding without seat belts on our learning adventure. Not only were they responsible for creating their own TED talk, but their talk was going to be shown live on Ustream for all to see. The students’ job was to “Change the World” by what they discussed. As TED requests, they were to “Spread an idea worth spreading” and “Inspire.” NO PRESSURE! Plus, Maura and I have never given out an assignment before that was so individual, so raw, so independent and so challenging to our students and to ourselves as teachers. Usually when we take on a speaking project, we ask that kids complete the project in groups. However, this time, with issues so controversial yet so personal, it only could be a solo project.

In the beginning we had our students watch numerous TED talks to get a feel for what makes a quality talk. As we were wrapping up our readings from Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind and selections from Drive, we started viewing various TED talks: Sir Ken Robinson, Dan Pink, Clay Shirky, and Dave Eggers. Additionally, our students had to watch TED or TEDx videos on their own. Using their own blogs, our students reflected about each video. Here was the assignment:

Students will offer a written summary of all 8+ videos they are assigned. Each summary will be uploaded as an individual blog entry following these simple rules (to guarantee a ‘Gentleman’s C’, so to speak): 1) write respectfully and thoughtfully, 2) write about "What Matters" from the video c) write about the speaker's effectiveness and purpose and d) attempt to be “remarkable” — to borrow from TED speaker Seth Godin’s talk — so that visitors will want to “remark” about your post and also consider the video itself. Beyond that, write in a way that is meaningful and compelling. Period.

If you need a more detailed list of what to reflect upon consider:

1-What are your take-aways from this video?

2-What are the speaker’s effective speaking techniques?

3- What is his/her presentation style?

4-What matters from this video? How does it connect to you personally? To education? To the world?

Asking the students to be reflective not only about the content, but about the speaker’s style forced the students to examine their own speaking styles they would employ for their presentation. What works? What definitely doesn’t work? How were they going to stand apart from the rest? Here is a sample of one student’s reflective blog post:

Megan M:

Dave Eggers is bent on improving education. By providing students with one-on-one attention and by incorporating relaxed fun into learning, he has already initiated a movement to change the face of learning. Eggers describes in his TED video the multiple, new-era tutoring facilities that have popped up around the country in response to his original site. These educational building are unique; the front rooms of them contain stores in which fun and comedic items, such as pirate or super hero supplies, are sold. In the back room, several volunteers tutor individual students that arrive after school. Not only do students receive help at these sites, they also have the opportunity to compose their own novels alongside interns and journalists. In my opinion, these new learning facilities should be included in every community nation-wide because they help tackle two of education’s largest challenges today.

Many students struggle through their curriculum simply because they cannot remain engaged in their studies. After all, with all of the information teachers drill into students’ heads, it becomes hard to avoid a loss of interest. By the time high school, and even middle school, rolls around, kids’ views of school have switched from an engaging, learning experience, to a chore. One hundred years ago, society would have deemed children crazy for not valuing their educations and feeling grateful for every minute they spent in school. Back then, an education was a luxury that spelled out certain success for those lucky enough to receive one. Education has developed, however, to become commonplace; an education does not guarantee success, nor does a college degree. Instead of ensuring future prosperity, these accomplishments are merely the baseline requirements to even open the doors to success. Thus, students no longer are able to see the direct effect their learning will have on their futures. Kids today may understand that in the long run a better education equals greater prosperity; yet in the classroom, each day of note-taking and memorizing equations seems hardly relevant. For example, I eventually hope to enter into medical school, and thus my main concerns lie in science and mathematics. However, in order to graduate from my high school, I must obtain over twice as many credits in English as I must in math. To me, this means that I must waste my time studying a subject that I will not need extensive knowledge of. The tutoring/teaching style Eggers has set up is the first step towards solving this problem. Students in his original facility learn next to magazine writers and interns, who both help and inspire them. While in the facility, kids also have the opportunity to write and publish their own books with the help of editors. Instructors speak to the kids individually and concentrate directly on their needs, allowing students to concentrate their efforts on the subjects they are most concerned with and focus on the assignments that will benefit them personally. These methods display for kids exactly how their day-to-day work, especially in English, will apply to their futures. Since the kids also learn in a fun, friendly, environment, the drudgery associated with schoolwork disappears. Instead of trudging home to independently complete tedious homework, kids travel to a club filled with people willing to help them and wanting to discuss. Students are released, often with their homework completed, by 5:30 pm. This accomplishment solves the largest issue I personally have with education. At times, it completely consumes my life. One quarter may be peaceful and result in at most two hours of homework each night. The next quarter usually then explodes, and my minimum nightly homework requirement shifts to at least three hours, normally four or five (plus around ten hours on the weekends). With the amount of time my classes demand I dedicate to homework, I must sacrifice several things I enjoy in life to meet my teacher’s expectations. If I could accomplish everything I need for school and still have three to four hours remaining every night to pursue whatever passion I choose, undoubtedly I would enjoy and appreciate my education much more.

Egger’s talk about the buildings in which he holds his tutoring sessions in reminded of Daniel Pink’s words on the importance of design. Eggers’ facilities are a prime example of the benefits of good design. When Eggers first advertized for his tutoring studio, he placed a sandwich sign outside of his shop announcing free tutoring inside. Unsurprisingly, he had no business the first few weeks. His sign appeared unprofessional and sloppy, eliminating all chance of parents trusting him to teach their children. Also, the initial sight people saw upon entering his facility was a shop selling pirate paraphernalia. People who did not already know who Eggers was or what he was trying to accomplish would immediately dismiss him as a joker or a loon. If Eggers had placed his teaching workshop or magazine offices in front, or set out a professional advertisement, he would have attracted much more business. Eggers did succeed with design, however, in a few ways with his building. As I mentioned in the paragraph above, the pirate shop adds and air goofiness and play to the tutoring workshop, allowing kids to escape the mentality of being trapped in a schoolroom. The room in which students learn is further visible to parents and other people as they enter the store, creating a feel of openness, community, and faith in the honesty of what Egger is doing.

Eggers finally made a point that students produce their best work when they know it will be published for the world to see. When Eggers made this point, he was referring to the novels several classes had composed together in his shop. This idea of publishing could be made accessible to all classrooms, however, without a publishing facility. Technology has opened the door for all of us to let our voices be heard, independent of assistance from others. If teachers want to encourage students to always produce their best quality work, all they need to do is have students create blogs and websites and post their assignments on them. Once information is on the web, anyone in the world can read it. Essentially, it is published. The more well-known the website, the more pressure students will feel to post quality work. While publishing work online is a terrific idea for ensuring effort is put into important assignments, having students publish everything they write often overwhelms them. When students are asked to publish too much, they give up after realizing they cannot possibly make every piece of work their best quality. Thus, using the internet as a medium for publication is an effective trigger of instrinsic motivation when used in moderation.

Education truly should learn from the expeditions of Dave Egger, and bring more fun, individualized attention, good design, and publishing into its curriculum.

More about the author: http://www.ted.com/speakers/dave_eggers.html or http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1101630/bio

More about the tutoring shops: http://826valencia.org/

As the students progressed through the last few weeks, they were required to meet with Maura and I individually. We discussed each topic, gave suggestions, encouraged, and reminded them of what a great opportunity this was. The world was ready to hear their ideas! They needed to practice, practice, practice. They needed to look again and again at the visuals they chose for their backgrounds. They needed to think about their dress and speaking voice too.

In class, each day there was a focus regarding their presentation: work on slides, find images that capture idea, rehearse first minute, work on posture and voice, add more slides, practice at front of classroom using clicker, rehearse second minute, rehearse third minute, stand up straight, change slide order, rehearse final minute, smile, appearance, etc…

Finally, the presentations began. All I could hear from the students was how nervous they were but how meaningful this assignment was to them. This could make a difference. This could change the way people thought about bullies, cancer, eating, smiling, and physical attributes. This project would change the world! And boy did they blow me away. As each student presented, his classmates would leave feedback regarding the presentation on the individual’s blog post on our class blog. What a powerful reinforcement for their work and ideas. Here are some samples:

KendallC2014 said...Lauren-Your presentation was very powerful. The stories show just how bullying affects kids. Your message will go straight to people's heart, and make them feel ashamed to judge people. Many people dismiss bullying as trivial, but you have showed them it is a serious issues. Your facts really emphasize your point. Good job!

ians2014 said...Lauren, your topic was very deep and confrontational. It is interesting because because you had tons of stories including a personal story. And not everyone sees bullying from the bullied perspective. I think that your tone was very helpful get your point across. It was very emotionally evoking. Great job honing in on us personally.

VivianD2014 said...Her voice was very passionate and really caught my attention. Her stories were very moving. I was very moved and it really made me think about bullying. I loved how her points flowed. I like how she connected bullying to her own life. The talk was very moving and she knew her topic. I was speechless after Lauren's talk. I now want to be nicer and watch what I say.

As I write this, thinking back to last semester, tears are in my eyes. I can’t express how proud I was of each student. From some students overcoming fears of standing in front of their peers, to other students making us laugh and cry, each student ended their presentation with a challenge to us as the audience. Each challenge came from the heart. Each challenge required more of us as human beings in these crazy times. Each challenge made me want to be more and do more for my students. I was overwhelmed by the energy they created in their presentations. Paraphrasing Dr. Seuss, these kids will move mountains. My students have an amazing digital portfolio of their work from the freshman year. They have left the world a better place because they have challenged the world to be better and do better by them.

I don’t know what this year will bring with a new set of students and their TED talks, but they will have big shoes to fill. Watch, comment and learn. These kids have something to teach us all. http://smith9h1011.blogspot.com/ and http://moritz1011.blogspot.com/

Here are a suggested few: (there are more on our Ustream channel http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ahs-ted-talks )

21st Century Research Methods

2011-02-22T10:13:00.002-07:00

My ninth grade Honors kids are working on their Wikified Research papers examining “as a society, what we have learned, what haven’t we learned and where are we going.” They are basing their writing off of our studies of George Orwell’s 1984 and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother.

As I have written about earlier, we have spent considerable time front loading our kids with background information regarding the historical contexts that influenced Orwell and Doctorow. The kids have used Loggel to display their connections.

Period 2 example 1 and example 2

Period 5 example 1 and example 2

Our US History, World Civilization, and Government teachers talked to the kids about what was going on in the world to influence Orwell as well as talk to the kids about current legislation in light of safety and security versus privacy and liberty.

The format of their essay is a basic five paragraph model with a big twist- they are turning their paper into the world, not just to their teacher. You will see their work here and here. They are able to transcend the basics of a black and white paper with just using quotations from their text as support to now finding audio, video, image, poll, etc… support. You name it, they can use it as support, and even create the support. With this paper, we stress the importance of writing as a form of communication. These kids are communicating to the world their thoughts, understanding, questions and challenges with how society exists today and where they think society is moving towards. I am really excited to see their conclusions since their works in progress have been interesting peeks into their minds.

But here lies the problem…

So, as I have been wondering around the classroom helping kids with their papers and with their sources, I am noticing something occurring- kids are Googling quotes. At first, my initial reaction was “Oh, that’s cool,” but the more I thought about it, the more alarmed I was. I stopped class and asked them what they were doing? What was happening to my kids’ research techniques? Where was their quest for validity of authors? Where was their checking and double checking on what they were about to cite? How did they know to believe who they were quoting? Why were they not going to the text to find quotes, but instead merely Googling “Orwell quotes 1984?” or “Doctorow quotes Little Brother?” or my favorite, “famous quotes about governmental control?” This was especially true of kids finding quotes to use as attention getters for their papers. They simply Googled quotes like “ privacy versus personal freedoms quotes” and would quote whom ever. They didn’t bother explaining or elaborating on who said they quote, they just liked the quote they found. It didn’t matter to them if they were quoting Benjamin Franklin, Moammar Gadhafi, or some unknown pastor from the Southern United States.

I told the class this was not acceptable. They needed to find out who said the original quote; why would that person be worth quoting. They needed to use their text as a primary source not simply Googling for famous quotes from Orwell on technology or governmental control using technology.

I was shocked. All I could think while I was running home that day that was that this wasn’t right. Kids need to go to the text and find the primary source, not simply Googling for popular quotes for the paper. After all this is how I had to write and compose research documented persuasive essays; why shouldn’t they do the same?

But maybe I am wrong. I have always advocated that kids use the tools in front of them to push their thinking, improve their learning and efficiency, and now maybe I am the one holding them back. I have been going over and over this idea in my mind. When teaching kids to write in the 21st century, how do we teach them to be good researchers? Is Googling for quotes a technique our kids need to learn? Or do we need to stay tried and true to the research methods of using the primary sources-looking back directly to the text they were using? Is there a hybrid we need to work towards? I am finding myself in a quandary here wondering where to go? Do I encourage their resourcefulness and efficiency? Or do I keep them using “older” methods of research?

Moving Beyond the Rubric

2011-01-31T11:12:00.023-07:00

I know we are all familiar with Alfie Kohn’s stance on rubrics. And, I know that before Karl Fisch left to go to Educon without me, we talked a little about invention and creativity in kids. He asked me my thoughts on how we helped nurture creativity, inspiration, and innovation in our students. I immediately came back to Kohn’s thoughts about rubrics. My growing concern that as we create more and more rubrics to justify grades and help kids complete assignments our way, the more we are steering our children away from them being able to show their learning and understanding the way they envision it to be. Less of me, more of them!

So, this past week, as we were reading Little Brother, I asked the students to get into groups of their own choosing. In any way they wanted, they needed to show as many connections as they could find regarding Ned Kelly, the Chicago 7 and Little Brother’s Marcus Yallow (Thanks to Gary Stager for this assignment from grad school). I am not going to do the work for you readers; if you are anxious to know- do some digging! The only requirement is that they present their findings in a really creative and engaging way or as I like to say, “Knock my socks off!” No rubric was given out, no further instructions were given, just the opportunity for kids to learn and lead.

Here’s what I learned over the course of the presentation days:
1- Kids can write songs when given the chance and love to perform them LIVE! Not just once, but twice!
a. Group 1- original lyrics to song by Brad Paisley

b. Group 2 (rapping Fresh Prince of BelAir to the knowledge they discovered) and video

c. Group 3- original song and lyrics

2- Kids can go way beyond PowerPoint to show their learning and understanding:
a. Group 1- Prezi
b. Group 2- Prezi

3- Hula hoops make a great Venn Diagram!

4- Group 3- Food Pyramid

a. Desserts are bad for you similar to the actions of murder, conspiracy and hacking
b. Protein fuels the change in society
c. Fruits/Vegetables keep you healthy in order to change the world
d. Dairy supports the bones similar to the support network each person had challenging the system
e. Grains- the basis for the protesting

5- Make a Venn diagram cake
a. With each section of the cake, have a flag with details, pictures, and connections
b. Pass out the cut cake to the audience having them read back the information and learning to the entire class.

6- Game Show x 2
a. Group 1
b. Group 2

7- Making characters into lemonade-
a. Take one container that represents the world.
b. Add in water to represent Ned Kelly
c. Add lemonade to represent Marcus Yallow
d. Add ice to represent the Chicago 7
e. Notice how everything coexists peacefully UNTIL….
f. Add one stirring spoon that represents the police..
g. What happens when the police “stir things up” you have the “perfect sweet uprising”
h. Pour into cups that are a symbol of the people- feeding people/society with your ideas

As I was watching each group present, I was amazed. Without a rubric, detailed instructions, and the perfect lesson plan, my students showed their connections in a way that was collaborative, communicative, creative, inventive, and personalized. They solved a problem together without me or a rubric getting in their way. No two groups looked the same, yet all achieved a similar goal: they learned!

Safety Versus Security: We Want to Talk with You!

2010-12-15T19:21:00.005-07:00

We invite you to participate in a wonderful learning conversation with our ninth grade honors classes on February 3, 2011. After studying the world of dystopian fiction through classics such as Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, George Orwell’s 1984 and the modern response, Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, our students will engage in an intense discussion as their final project. We are inviting you to participate to help our students examine how these works play an enormous part in their world today through such relevant issues as Homeland Security, government censorship, information leaks, and safety versus security, to name just a few.

Our students will participate in a fishbowl discussion with live blogging and we will Ustream out the fishbowl discussion live so that you can hear the in-class discussion while participating in the live blogging.

This is what we need from you:

•Sign up on the wiki. You’ll notice that we’re asking you to indicate which side of the security versus privacy fence you lean toward. We know this is not a black-and-white issue, but in the attempt to get diverse voices with differing opinions into our discussion, we’re going to try to get folks on both “sides” of that fence. So please do your best to put yourself on one “side” or the other for this discussion to help us do that.

We are looking for at least 3-4 participants per class period. The classes meet for 59 minutes. You can certainly sign up for more than one class if you are interested.

Period 2: 8:25-9:24 am MST

Period 3: 9:29-10:30 am MST

Period 4: 10:35- 11:34 am MST

Period 5: 12:14-1:12 pm MST

•You do not have to have read all the texts to be a participant, but a quick review of the texts and a familiarization of the issues would be helpful to keep up with our kids.

Our goal is not necessarily a debate, but a learning conversation for all parties involved. We don't want a winning group and a losing group, but a healthy discussion where we all walk away having learned something new. Thanks for your interest! If this is not your cup of tea, please consider passing this along to someone who might be interested.

Parent classroom communication

2010-11-18T11:09:00.002-07:00

One of the goals I set for myself this year was to be a better communicator with the parents of my all boys’ class. I picked this class since they are my biggest strugglers and tend to need the most support from me and from home.

With my own kids, as they progress through school, I hear less and less out of their mouths about what happened during the school day. The primary focus of our conversations is usually what they did during recess not what learning took place in the classrooms. Their teachers however provide me a connection to the learning in the classroom through parent letters. I really enjoy hearing about activities in the classroom, upcoming work that we need to support at home, and interesting ways I too can help in the classroom.

Thinking that my boys in my 9th grade classroom are similar to my own children with the lack of revealing truths about what is occurring each day in C-11, I decided to employ my own version of the parent letter home to my 9th grade parents. At the beginning of the year, it was more of an introduction to me, and to our class expectations especially the No D policy. As the year has progressed, it has proven valuable to communicate about writing:

Assignments:
Also, we are still working through vocabulary with each week focusing on a new word. The list is available on our class webpage. We review the word on Monday and Wednesday completing our note cards. On Friday, the young men are expected to turn in their vocab card, and apply the word to a piece of writing. (http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=YzfP5Kwh3HQ%3d&tabid=1923 )

Big projects:
As for the final project for our class, the young men will be writing, publishing and delivering a speech based on National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” (http://thisibelieve.org/ ) segment. If that is not scary enough, I have also told all the young men, that I am going to be broadcasting out their final to you via U-Stream (http://www.ustream.tv/) so that you can watch them present their final-LIVE! I will have more details on this as the time gets closer; for now, I would make sure they are writing, revising, revising some more, and then practicing.

Grades:
Next week marks the end of the second six weeks, and that means all work from the second six weeks is due by next Friday. There are a few major projects we have completed during this time. The young gentlemen in my class have been reminded that they can redo their short story essay (http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=-AVgKJNxB7g%3d&tabid=1923 )and Into the Wild essay (http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Qtx_Q_isIaw%3d&tabid=1923) by either coming in to see me, or going into writing lab on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Once they have met those expectations, they can rewrite their essay submitting their original, edited and finalized drafts.

And methods of support:
With the end of the six weeks behind us, we are starting fresh in class with a new six weeks to be successful. Some of the young men are already falling behind, and so I wanted to keep you up-to-date on what we are doing. Right now, we are reading Into the Wild. Accompanying our novel, we have read a short story from Jack London called "To Build a Fire"(http://www.enotes.com/classic-american-short-stories-text/build-fire-1) and a short excerpt from Thoreau's Walden (http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden11.html - paragraph one only). I am attaching both of those so that you can read them as well. While we are reading, we are working on annotating our texts- actually writing down our thoughts, connections from this text to ourselves, to other texts, to the world, and asking good questions (i.e. "What is Krakauer's purpose intelling us about the death of Chris so early in the story?, why does Chris choose to abandon his family? What matters to Chris?).

Annotations are incredibly important for the young men in order to develop their critical thinking and cognitive abilities. I would encourage the young men to work on their annotations at home. We stop and annotate frequently in class so it would be important for them to continue this skill at home. We want them to be active readers, not passive readers.

With Google Earth (http://www.google.com/earth/index.html), your child should have four posts by Monday. The posts are about what we are reading and thinking. We are still working on writing good, effective paragraphs so three of their entries are in paragraph format (complete topic sentencesincluding title, author, restate question, answer question and why, background on story, clear examples with explanations, and concluding sentences).

I have received such positive praise from my 9th grade parents about this additional source of information and insight into our classroom. Now, I would love to do this with all my classes, but I don’t have anymore than the little time that I allow for myself to write these bi-monthly letters. As much as I relish the insight into my children’s classrooms, I know that the parents of my own students feel the same way. Through an easy letter, explanations, and links, I have opened up the door for further conversation and participation in my classroom.

Why do I have to study [Fill in the Blank]?

2010-11-03T13:08:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, as my all boys class was presenting their PLN entries, one student presented an interesting reaction regarding what classes are necessary for students to take in high school. This student felt that classes such as history, math, etc… were not relevant to high school students, but rather that in high school, students should be able to take classes that address their future careers. We talked about this for some time since many others have written about this in the educational blog-o-sphere as well as this student’s classmates had some insights of their own to offer. I was really surprised and amazed how many students are quite adamant about what classes students should and should not have to take in school. There are a number of my boys who feel that math is a ridiculous subject to take (trigonometry seems to be their focal point), history is outdated and is just a bunch of facts( why do we learn about stuff from the past), and I even had one student in particular who thought that learning how to write well was meaningless (my heart broke right there).

With this conversation, I asked the kids what jobs they are interested in the future. Therapists, counselors, police officers, culinary arts, meteorologists, biologists, bio technology, chemical engineer, astronauts, graphic designers, special operations forces were among the group. What puzzled me was not only that the one boy in particular found no relevance in writing being part of his journey towards his career as a counselor and therapist, but that many of the kids don’t see a point to their learning in high school. Which begs the question I hear from my own kids one of whom is 9 and the other is 8: “Why do I have to study [Fill in the Blank]?”

I wonder as a teacher, parent, woman, valued member of society, etc… what kind of job are we doing in education, if kids don’t see the relevance to what we are spending 59 minutes per day, 5 days per week, 36 weeks per year over 13 years? What am I doing if this boy thinks he doesn’t need to know how to write well? Is it he doesn’t see writing as a valuable form of communication? Is it because he has no frame of reference in regards to his future job? Do I need to hook up each of these kids with someone in their dream profession to see why they need History, Math, Language Arts, PE, etc…? What do I need to do in my own classroom so that my boys see the relevance and purpose behind being able to write, read, listen and communicate effectively? I want them to be able to fill in their own blanks.

This I Believe Goes Global 10-11

2010-10-14T12:40:00.007-06:00

For the past four years, I have had my classes write their versions of National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” segment. I was introduced to this idea by a colleague and have been always impressed by what my students hold as their personal values and beliefs. Writing these essays has allowed for them to do something they don’t get to do all that often at school - express their heartfelt beliefs.

After writing the essays the first year, we submitted them to NPR, but we also decided to podcast them ourselves – no need to wait to see if NPR might choose to broadcast them. The writing was good at expressing their values, but once their voice was added to their written expression, WOW, it simply transformed that personal essay. Instead of the words simply being words, the words conveyed deeply held emotions. Now, this is the standard.

Here are some previous class examples:
Period 2 06-07
Period 5 06-07
Period 3 06-07
Period 2 07-08
Period 5 07-08
Period 3 07-08
Wiki 09-10

We are approaching that time of year, when I am going to start the kids on this writing adventure, but this year I wanted to invite you in the blog-o-sphere to join us again. I want “This I Believe” to go global. I want my students to benefit not only from knowing what their peers believe, or what the other AHS classes believe, but to hear and see what the world values. What do kids elsewhere in the U.S. believe in? What do kids elsewhere in the world believe in? What do some of the learned professionals that I know believe in? I want my students to walk away from this experience realizing the power they have as professional writers as well as connecting to other teenagers and adults from around the world. I want to see them exchange ideas, foster relationships, and appreciate the variety of perspectives. Maybe you can challenge your principal, your school board members, your local politicians, heck, maybe your entire school. Maybe we can even get our President to write his own “This I Believe.”

So, how do we accomplish this? Karl Fisch, of course, is willing to be my master facilitator. He has set up a wiki (still a work in progress) that will provide the guidelines for the classes to follow. I am making Maura Moritz’s classes join us again, so there will be five classes (ninth grade, 14 and 15 years old) from AHS writing and podcasting their essays: Moritz 3, Moritz 4, Smith 1, Smith 2, and Smith 5. We are hoping to attract at least five other classes from around the world, one each to pair up with each of our five classes. If we get more than five classes that are interested, then we will try to pair up any additional classes with another class somewhere in the world.

If your class(es) are interested, please complete this Google Form with some basic information (your name, your email address, school name, location, grade level(s)/ages, how many classes, number of students in each class, and time frame that you’d like to do this) so we can setup those partnerships. (Our thinking is that pairing one class with one class will keep this from becoming too overwhelming for the students, although of course anyone can read/listen/comment to any of the essays on any of the wiki pages).

We will create a wiki page for each set of paired classes and each student will upload their written essay as well as their podcast (the podcast can either be uploaded directly to the wiki, or you can use a variety of other services for that and then link to them). Each pair of classes will be in charge of their own wiki page and we’ll use the discussion tabs on each page to give feedback to the students.

If you are an adult interested in writing a piece yourself, simply add them to the “adults” page on the wiki. I am hoping to get some notable edubloggers as well as my superintendent, CIO, and others to participate. It would also be helpful to include a brief bio so the kids can know who they are reading about.Obviously you don’t have to do this with us or on our wiki, you can create your own. But we thought it might be interesting and helpful to have one wiki that aggregated all these essays/podcasts, one place that students (and others) could visit to learn about beliefs all over the world. Wondering where to start? NPR has a number of education friendly links to help you along the process:

For Educators
For Students
Essay writing tips
How to contribute an essay to NPR

Timeline: For our honors classes we are going to start writing our essays, November 4th with a final due date of November 12th for their essay. For my English 9 all boys class (Smith 1), they will start writing their essay November 19th, with the essay due December 3rd. The week following their due date, they will begin podcasting their essays. The paired classes don’t have to match this timeline exactly (although that would be great), but we’re hoping they can have theirs completed by Thanksgiving so that the students can start commenting on each other’s essays/podcasts.But for other pairings you can set whatever time frame works best for you – that’s the beauty of the wiki, it’s a living document with no “end” to the assignment (although that’s why we need you to include your time frame when you email us so that we can try to match folks up). We would really appreciate any feedback (now or as this progresses) to make this an experience that is truly relevant and meaningful for these kids.

Wonder Woman Gone Country 10-11

2010-10-13T12:58:00.005-06:00

Every week in English Nine Honors, students are given a set of 15 SAT preparatory vocabulary words. Last week’s words were antipathy, elucidate, imminent, banal, obdurate, peruse, bedlam, affluence, scurrilous, parody, sedulous, onerous, amoral, eschew, denouement . They are expected to know and use these words appropriately by the end of the week. One exciting part of getting a new set of words to learn, besides of course learning new words, is our end of the week vocabulary quiz. Students have created bumper stickers, pick up lines, written letters of complaint and recommendation, made me, their teacher, wanted by the law, and written tabloid headlines.

However, none are as clever as when they are asked to create a country western song about Wonder Woman (yes, the lady with the golden lasso and bracelets). In their groups of four to five, after completing their fantastic composition and practicing for a few moments, the next step was for the students to record their “original” work in Audacity. After saving their recording, students were to export the files into an MP3 format and voila! We have Wonder Woman Gone Country!

While none of these may be destined to win a Grammy, take a listen and see if you can pick out the vocab words. Also, take our poll and vote for your favorite version...

Period 2

Period 5

Tune in next week for Facebook pages of literary characters using SAT words.

Third Grade is the New Cut Sport

2010-10-08T14:04:00.002-06:00

In an era where we can’t get kids to participate in many activities, why are we cutting kids out of opportunities they want to succeed at?

This is the question I have been grappling with since Wednesday afternoon, when my 8 year old daughter told me she didn’t get a speaking part in her school musical. Emma tried out for over 10 speaking parts, and didn’t get one-no parts available for her. She was crushed, mortified, heartbroken, and I, for the first time, realized what it was like to be the kid who didn’t make it. It still brings tears to my eyes today as I write this thinking about how here is another opportunity for us to do right by kids, and we limit those who can have a role. Why in third grade can’t there be a role for everyone who wants one? Is third grade a cut sport now? Is third grade the time that we are telling kids, “hey, you are not quite good enough, sorry.”

Growing up as a competitive athlete, heck, I am competitive in about every thing, I really can’t say I ever remember the feeling of being cut out of something-sure when I was older, but not as an 8 year old. I was the kid picked to be on the Dodgeball team, Red Rover team, soccer, volleyball, etc… I never tried out for a play, but would rather have been behind the scenes, and there was always a place for me there. I was cut from my college volleyball team, but I was ready to be done playing then. I was ok with my career being over after playing competitive volleyball for many years.

Wednesday with Emma was the first time I felt like what it was to be the kid no one wanted. (It was so hard being her parent then when all I wanted to do was yell and scream composing some really nasty email to the person who denied my child her heart’s desire). And it made me think a lot about my own classroom. How I am extending learning opportunities and chances to perform, succeed, challenge to everyone; not just those that always get those roles? How am I making a place for everyone in my community of learners? How am I making sure kids don’t feel cut out of my class and making sure they feel as though they have a role?

I have always supported cuts in activities. It helps kids understand that we are all gifted in different ways. This is the conversation that Emma’s step dad, dad and I had with her. She has succeeded in many other ways: art, swimming, soccer. But after our conversation, I had a lot of questions about what we are doing to kids. I am wondering, when did elementary school become a cut sport? When did third grade become the deciding factor in whether Emma is good enough to speak in front of the school? When did third grade become the time for my daughter to start feeling as though she isn’t as “good” a kid as those that did receive roles?

I am not trying to demean the school’s choices; I am sure all those that received speaking roles will be fabulous, but at what point did we decide to limit the participants in school? At what point did we decide that 8 year olds don’t get to do something creative and important to them? (Everyday Emma came home and talked about her excitement over waiting to find out who got a role). If everyone wants a chance to stand up and participate, why would we say no? Why is third grade the new cut sport?

A Conversation to Improve

2010-09-29T15:20:00.002-06:00

With the suggestion of Mr. Kohn, I set up the classroom early on Monday morning circling all the chairs into the center of the room moving all the tables aside. I opened the class explaining to the class about the past few days: my initial blog, the response from Alfie Kohn and others, and the importance of today’s conversation. I explained my frustrations to the class regarding their work completion, efforts at achieving successes, and reminding them how intelligent I think they all are. Then I talked to them about the three questions I wanted us to discuss for the rest of the class: What is working? What isn’t working? How can WE do better? Here is what they said:

What is working?
· Reading as a group and annotating together- talking through what we are reading
· Food
· Writing topic sentences
· Using technology
· Watching movies
· Editing in class
· Six weeks to redo work
· Redo work allows us to learn more, less pressure, more flexibility, not happy with my grade until work is satisfactory
· Class blog keeps me organized, scribes are extremely helpful
· Skype- nice to have direct contact with you
· No books, nice to have print outs
· You aren’t a hypocrite- you do the work with us
· PLN- helps so much with my writing, I can voice my opinion
· PLN presentations- it is great that we get to pick what we can do and present on
· Like the interactive methods of teaching
· Nice to have time to work on writing paragraphs in school
· Note taking is minimal
· Nice to be able to pick the day you scribe
· Rolly chairs and tables
· Make up days- nice to have the time to make-up work and get caught up; you can prioritize your other classes with the flexibility of this class
· Not strict about talking and behavior

What isn’t working? (we talked about solutions with the problems- those are indicated in parenthesis where we had a solution)

Hand writing is hard to read (online comments work best)
Annotations: it is really hard to read to understand, make connections and ask questions all at the same time (can we read a bit, then stop and pause to write questions and make comments; reading could be the night before so that we can read for understanding during the night, and then leave annotations for the next day in class; small group reading based off of reading ability)
Big assignments (can these be broken down more into a day by day format; or paragraph by paragraph format)
Annotating in the format you suggest doesn’t work for me (don’t worry about the literary devices, move on and ask big questions, make big connections)
Don’t like downloading programs such as Picasa and Google Earth (?)
Homework can be overwhelming (?)
Hard to get used to blogging and homework (?)
Structure paragraphs (go over paragraph structures again and again, go over different parts of the paragraph to redo; breakdown each paragraph and give work time to finish)
Assign rough drafts (next day could be a work day, edit, and then edit again, and then final draft)
Show examples of what you mean, don’t just tell

How can WE do better?

Bring in work the next day when it is assigned
Get homework in on time
Turn in work on time so you get time to redo the work
Work in smaller groups based on how fast we work
Hold us accountable when we don’t do what we are supposed to
When we do good things, can you bake for us? YES!
If we all do good things, can we all get rewards?
Be more specific with online comments
Have more group projects
Hold one another accountable
Slow down
Take time with our annotating
Talk about our PLN’s and maybe do one together
Read in circles more often
Put questions up- expand on what questions need to be about

Alfie Kohn Comes to the Rescue

2010-09-24T14:05:00.005-06:00

After posting yesterday about my struggles in class, I tweeted out the blog post. A few hours later, a DM from none other than Mr. Kohn appeared in my Tweetdeck letting me know he had read my post (I practically fell on the floor), and that he wanted to know more: he wanted to know, "At what pt do I get to hold the studs responsble?" What wd that mean, exactly? Punishing them? Wd that improve lrng? Interest?". Since Mr. Kohn doesn't follow me, I couldn't get back to him through DM-ing, but he suggested an email exchange. He didn't promise a detailed response, but did encourage me to write out my questions and concerns and he would respond back when he had time.

Here is the email I sent:

Mr. Kohn-I don't believe in punishing kids- I think all kids learn from their mistakes. Your book The Schools Our Children Deserve changed many perceptions I had about schooling. Your work on homework has changed how and what I do with homework. My husband and I use your Unconditional Parenting with Love and Logic at home. So, please know I am a huge fan... but, I am running into a problem in my school, district and state, where I am continually being measured for things my students are supposed to be able to do. I wonder how I am supposed to be measured by these tests when kids have no stake in the test? Why can't we hold kids accountable when all the factors for success are there? I use Atwell's writing strategies and Daniels work on reading.

I am wondering how do I reinforce turning in homework such as writing, reading, and speaking? How do I help my kids avoid being lazy and come to class prepared? I don't have this problem, of course, with my honors level classes, but with my boys- 33 boys and me! We read current literature, watch videos, read in class, and model good writing in class; they comment about how much they like it, but they don't respond to what I ask them to do with writing or reading homework. I do most of the reading in class with them because I value the reading and writing components greatly. As far as work, my class has a no D policy so kids can't turn in what we call "crap work." As a class, we agreed to only turn in quality work- they defined for themselves and they class what constitutes quality work. Also, I accept work up until the six week grading period so they can redo an assignment as many times as necessary until they have demonstrated they have learned and understood the concept. (This is a change I made a couple of years ago based off my graduate school work with Gary Stager and Margaret Riel).

How do I hold kids accountable without "punishing" kids? How do I get them to do more quallity work and thinking without holding their hands and being the task master teacher I don't want to be? How do I get them to want to be more and hold themselves to a higher standard?

Thanks for inviting the conversation,
Anne Smith

And today, here is the response I received: (this is reprinted with his permission)

I, too, taught difficult kids once upon a time, so I sympathize. But I needed some distance from the situation to realize that I was too quick to blame them for their lack of interest in what I was trying to get them to do. I thought of them as unmotivated or resistant rather than asking how I had failed to engage them.

It's particularly important, I think, when you're on the receiving end of all this accountability nonsense (and top-down control), not to turn around and treat students the way you're being treated, but instead to treat them the way you wish you were being treated.

The high-achieving kids know how to play the game, and they jump through our hoops. Sometimes I worry more about them (over the long haul) than about the kids who don't care so much about the extrinsic inducements and are more likely to say, in effect, like Bartleby, "I prefer not to" when they don't see the point.

Maybe the problem is that you're telling them to do this stuff at home, in effect making them work a second shift after they've spent all day at school. Given that many teachers assign no homework at all (with fabulous results); given that research finds absolutely no benefit to homework, at least before high school; given that it's questionable whether schools have any business telling kids how to spend their time when they're home -- I frankly don't blame them. If you've seen my book The Homework Myth, you know I'm doing more than just asking teachers to assign less of it. At the least, it should be assigned only on those occasions when it's truly necessary (to help kids think more deeply and get them more excited about the topic), not on a regular basis.

Or maybe the problem isn't with what you're asking them to do so much as with the students' perception that they had nothing to say about it. Kids are more likely to respond positively when they participate in making meaningful decisions about the curriculum and other aspects of their education. (I write about this in the current issue of English Journal: www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/nonreaders.htm>.)

There are plenty of consultants out there who are happy to answer a question like "How can I reinforce turning in homework?" -- a question that (a) simply assumes homework is necessary and useful, (b) draws from a behaviorist tradition (in which the idea of reinforcement is grounded), and (c) seems focused mostly on getting compliance. I think what you really want to ask is "How do I nourish their interest in learning?" [Bold is my addition] If so, then a focus on accountability and reinforcement, as well as traditional practices like grades and tests, can only get in the way.

To reach kids who are (understandably) turned off to school means you have to meet them where they are, realize that their lack of interest in what they're being made to do doesn't mean they're "lazy," think about how to create a more democratic classroom (which involves giving up some control -- a frightening prospect for most of us), and be willing to rethink many features of your curriculum and instruction -- what you're teaching and how. That's a long-term process, one that requires not only skill but courage, and it's best undertaken with at least one or two colleagues who are also more interested in creating truly student-centered classrooms than in looking for tricks to make the kids more compliant.

The first step may be something as simple as holding a class meeting, with everyone in a circle, in which you confess your frustration, ask your boys to tell you what is and isn't working for them in your class, listen without defensiveness, and request their help in improving the class. Regardless of what they tell you, the fact that you're willing to ask may itself make an impression on them.

I know my response raises more questions than it answers, and I apologize that I don't have the time to do justice to the issues you're struggling with. (My inbox is perpetually full, and I've already spent more time than I should have.) I do appreciate your reaching out for help, though -- something that complacent and cynical teachers rarely do -- and I wish you luck in this journey.

-- Alfie Kohn
http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.php

Yes, Alfie Kohn lived up to all I have believed him to embody- he came to the rescue of a teacher in need of some direction. A teacher who wants to do best by her students. He answered the call and left me thinking of how to approach my students and my teaching in a whole new direction. I know Monday will be a different day with me focusing on "How do I nourish their interest in learning?" rather than "How do I reinforce turning in homework?" or "When do [students] get to be held accountable?". Thanks for Mr. Kohn for showing me which side of the fork in the road I want to follow.

Alfie Kohn- I Need You

2010-09-23T11:09:00.001-06:00

About a week ago, Alfie Kohn tweeted a new article “Schools would be great if it weren’t for the kids” that he composed in response to a previous article written by Robert J. Samuelson. Samuelson placed much of the blame for the lack of success in schools on the students, and Kohn took issue. Kohn explains:

People who blame students for not being “motivated” tend to think educational success means little more than higher scores on bad tests and they’re apt to see education itself as a means to making sure our corporations will beat their corporations. The sort of schooling that results is the type almost guaranteed to . . . kill students’ motivation.

What may look like simple apathy, laziness, or opposition on the part of kids often reflects a problem with what, and how, they’re being taught, or the extent to which they’ve been excluded from the process of making decisions about their own learning.

Conversely, if you want to see (intrinsically) motivated kids, you need to visit classrooms or schools that take a nontraditional approach to education, places where students are more likely to be absorbed and frequently delighted, where what they’re doing is not merely “rigorous” (a word often applied to very difficult busywork) but meaningful.

Those who presume to weigh in on problems with education should visit schools that look very different from the ones that most of us attended -- and even more different from the chillingly militaristic places that rich white people cheerfully recommend for poor black children. Read Dewey, Piaget, Bruner, and Montessori.

Read the contemporary giants: Meier, Sizer, Goodlad. Read other educators who are thoughtful about what great classrooms look like and how to create them: Lilian Katz, Eleanor Duckworth, Constance Kamii, Harvey Daniels, Nancie Atwell, Jackie and Marty Brooks, Jim Beane, Steven Wolk, and many more.

I want to preface what I am about to say with how much I respect and value Kohn’s work in education. I have read his books, follow him on Twitter, and appreciate his information regarding how to change education. But, I wish he could come into my classroom, and work with my kids, and deal with the constraints, and challenges of a public school. (See new standards post)

I see myself somewhere between the two positions: I see that my students aren’t to blame for my inadequacies as a teacher- if I am not excited, motivated and passionate about what I am teaching, then they shouldn’t be either. If I don’t provide sufficient resources for them to not just meet their expectations, learning and understanding, then they can’t turn in their work. If I am not challenging them, being open for their feedback, or am placing too high of expectations on them, then they can’t succeed. If I don’t fully explain assignments or requirements, then they can’t learn. If I can’t provide a safe, secure, supportive learning environment with extensive resources, then they can’t flourish.

BUT…

What if I am doing all those things, and the kids still aren’t doing the work, turning in assignments, being engaged, motivated, succeeding, and flourishing? When do the kids take some of the responsibility for their learning? When are they supposed to accept responsibility for their half of education? When do they get to be held accountable as teachers are?

As I have previously written, my all boys class continues to be one of my favorites as well as one of the most challenging for me. With my reading of Kohn’s article, and my belief in what he advocates for, I am left wondering how to change my class? As we are working on writing their first essay, we spent one full class just outlining an essay. On Thursday night, their homework was to follow the examples and write their own outline of their paper to bring to class on Friday. On Friday, we took those outlines and started writing the intro paragraph in class. Over the weekend, they were to finish writing their essay for Monday so that we could peer edit their essay before its due date on Wednesday. NINE kids had it completed. So, at the end of class on Monday, I asked how many would prefer another peer editing day so more kids could receive some feedback before their final piece was turned in. Unanimously the class all voted for another day. Before the kids left, I reminded them that all would need to bring a piece for editing tomorrow. Of the 33 boys in the class, only EIGHT had a piece the next day ready to edit. Why? Because as they admitted, they didn’t do their homework.

I wonder what it is going to take to change the state of “work completion” in my class. I don’t accept mediocrity for my students and so I return any work that isn’t satisfactory. They HAVE TO turn in quality work. Is this too much to ask? I don’t think I assign work that is simple completion assignments or mere regurgitation. Also ,I don’t assign work that is meaningless and without purpose. I feel like what I am doing in classroom is meaningful and engaging, but I still don’t see kids completing simple assignments- writing a paragraph, posting a topic sentence, completing a vocab card, adding a vocab word to a piece of writing, etc… My classroom, definitely as Kohn points out, “looks different” from others, and yet I still can’t kids to complete work. My boys have the six week period as the grade deadline and so much of what we do in class is paced by each student not by me. My classroom does a number of untraditional assignments (blogging, Google Earth, podcasts, reading more boy centered literature). We use laptops each day to help my boys write. We don’t do book reports instead we do PLNs. Are my boys too overscheduled in their academic careers to be successful? Are they too unscheduled outside of school to be successful? I don’t even think it is a question of can they do it? I think it is simply some won’t do it. Maybe there are more kids who lack basic technology skills? I am pretty sure we have 8th grade competencies they need to meet, but if they don’t, what’s the consequence? What is going to happen to these kids who still don’t know how to post to their own blog? Who can’t proofread something before they post it online? Who can’t comment properly to another blog? Is this a problem because of the hour I teach the class- 7:21 am – 8:19 am?

Maybe I need to revisit the purpose of why it is important to read critically, write effectively and speak eloquently? As I realized only eight had completed their homework, I was angry. I gave them a very serious talk about how they want to live their lives and was this the kind of behavior that will get them into a college, a job, let them keep a job, or move up in this world? Is this who they want to be?

I have read Dewey, Piaget, Montessori, and I have studied the classrooms of Atwell and Daniels. So Mr. Kohn, at what point do I get to hold the students responsible as I am held responsible? At what point to do they accept and are held accountable for their part in changing education? Mr. Kohn, maybe you want to take a visit to Littleton, CO and come help me out- I am sure my students and I would thanks you for it. Also, I think there are a number of teachers and students here who would love the conversation and learning adventure.

A New Mix

2010-09-14T13:52:00.002-06:00

One part teacher values+ one part state standards= one hard to swallow pill

Over the past few years, as our school has undergone the transformation from teacher led departmental meetings to district Professional Learning Communities, the challenge of being a good teacher has increased dramatically. With each PLC meeting, I feel an ever-growing urgency to defend practices and assignments in my classroom that I think hold larger value than the state standards that are passed down onto me and my colleagues.

As I was sitting in my last PLC meeting, I began reflecting over the last two years of PLC time. Here we were two to three years ago being handed state standards and asked to write essential learnings and common assessments. It literally took us two years to get to a place where we all agreed on the essential learnings and common assessments for those standards. And now, we have a new set of standards to address. A new set of essential learnings we are asked to create and assess.

Rather than approach the state standards as I have done in the past with much contempt and stubbornness, I looked over what the CDE is asking me to do as a teacher:

Standard 1: Oral Expression and Listening: Deliver organized and effective oral presentations for diverse audiences and varied purposes. Demonstrate skill in inferential and evaluative listening.
1. Oral presentations require effective preparation strategies
a. Give formal and informal talks to various audiences for various purposes using appropriate level of formality and rhetorical devices
b. Use verbal and non-verbal speaking techniques to communicate information
c. Define a position and select evidence to support that position
d. Develop a well organizes presentation and defend a position
e. Use effective audience and oral delivery skills to persuade an audience
2. Listening critically to comprehend a speaker’s message requires mental and physical strategies to direct and maintain attention
a. Follow the speaker’s arguments as they develop; take notes when appropriate
b. Give verbal and non-verbal feedback to the speaker
c. Ask clarifying questions
d. Evaluate arguments and evidence
e. Explain how variables such as background knowledge, experiences, values and beliefs can affect communication.

Standard 2: Reading for all Purposes: Read a wide range of literature (American and world) to understand important universal themes and the human experience. Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of informational, literary, and persuasive texts.
1. Increasingly complex literary elements in traditional and contemporary works of literature require scrutiny and comparison.
a. Analyze character types, including dynamic and round character, static/flat character, stereotype, and caricature
b. Explain the relationship among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting, tone, point of view and theme
c. Identify the characteristics that distinguish literary forms and genres
d. Examine the ways in which works of literature are related to the issues and themes of their historical periods
e. Use literary terms to describe and analyze selections.
2. Increasingly complex informational texts require mature interpretation and study
a. Identify the intended effects of rhetorical strategies the author uses to influence readers perspectives.
b. Evaluate the clarity and accuracy of information through close text study and investigation via other sources
c. Describe how the organizational structure and text features support the meaning and purpose of the text.
d. Use flexible reading and note taking strategies (outlining, mapping systems, skimming, scanning, key word search) to organize information and make connections within and across informational texts.
e. Critique the author’s choice of expository, narrative, or descriptive modes to convey a message.

Standard 3: Writing and Composition: Master the techniques of effective informational, literary, and persuasive writing. Apply standard English conventions to effectively communicate with written language.
1. Literary and narrative texts develop a controlling idea or theme with descriptive and expressive language.
a. Write well focused texts with an explicit or implicit theme and details that contribute to a definite point of view and tone.
b. Organize paragraphs or stanzas to present ideas clearly and purposefully for a specific audience
c. Write literary and narrative texts using a range of poetic techniques, figurative language, and graphic elements to engage or entertain the intended audience.
d. Refine the expression of voice and tone in a text by selecting and using appropriate vocabulary, sentence structure, and sentence organization.
e. Review and revise ideas and development in substantive ways to improve the depth of ideas and vividness in supporting details.
f. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of own writing and the writing of others using criteria.
2. Informational and persuasive texts develop a topic and establish a controlling idea or thesis with relevant support.
a. Develop texts that define or classify a topic
b. Use appropriate rhetorical appeals and genre to engage and guide the intended audience
c. Arrange paragraphs into a logical progression
d. Anticipate and address readers’ biases and expectations
e. Revise ideas and structure to improve depth of information and logic of organization
f. Explain and imitate emotional , logical and ethical appeals used by writers who are trying to persuade and audience.
3. Writing for grammar, usage, mechanics, and clarity requires ongoing refinement and revision
a. Use punctuation correctly (semi-colons with conjunctive adverbs to combine clauses; colons for emphasis and to introduce a list)
b. Identify comma splices and fused sentences writing and revise to eliminate them
c. Distinguish between phrases and clauses and use this knowledge to write varied, strong, correct, complete sentences
d. Use various reference tools to vary word choice and make sure words and spelled correctly

Standard 4: Research and Reasoning: Gather information from a variety of sources; analyze and evaluate the quality and relevance of the source; and use it to answer complex questions. Demonstrate the use of a range of strategies, research techniques, and persistence, when engaging with difficult texts or examining complex problems or issues.

1. Informational materials, including electronic resources, need to be collected, evaluated, and analyzed for accuracy, relevance, and effectiveness for answering research questions
a. Integrate information from different sources to research and complete a project
b. Integrate information from different sources to form conclusions about an author’s assumptions, biases, credibility, cultural and social perspectives, or world views
c. Judge the usefulness of information based on relevance to purpose, sources, objectivity, copyright date, cultural and world perspective (such as editorials), and support the decision.
d. Examine materials to determine appropriate primary and secondary sources to use for investigating a question, topic, or issue (e.g., library databases, print and electronic encyclopedia and or other reference materials, pamphlets, book excerpts, online and print newspaper and magazine articles, letters to an editor, digital forums, oral records, research summaries, scientific and trade journals)
2. Effective problem solving strategies require high-quality reasoning
a. Analyze the purpose, question at issue, information, points of view, implications and consequences, inferences, assumptions and concepts inherent in thinking
b. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of their thinking and thinking of others by using criteria including relevance, clarity, accuracy, fairness, significance, depth, breadth, logic and precision
c. Implement a purposeful and articulated process to solve a problem
d. Monitor and reflect on the rationale for, and effectiveness of, choices made throughout the problem solving process.

With each standard, we are to create one essential learning and common assessment. Thinking about what I value in my own classroom, I am not sure where my values align with what the state and district is asking me to do? How as a 21st century teacher and learner can I contribute to effective discussions about the standards, make sure my students are achieving these standards and at the same time feel as though I am preparing my kids for more than just another year of school? I do believe many of the learning activities my students currently are engaged in are present in these standards, but what is going to happen if my department doesn’t agree? If my PLC doesn’t agree? What happens if our interpretations don’t match? I really do fear giving up what I value most: the creative genius, the out of the box thinking, the critical thinking and problem solving nature, the independence, the autonomy to be my own teacher and learner and for my kids to feel and be the same in my classroom. What happens when I have to give out 9 common assessments throughout the school year, not including the pretest and post tests that accompany each assessment? What happens when all I am doing is giving assessments that measure essential learnings? What happens when the mix doesn’t work?

I don’t have answers to all of my questions. Like cooking, I know recipes for success can always vary. I know with each new recipe I try, I am tempting fate that it might not turn out. I feel the same way approaching this year of PLC meetings, new standards, new assessments, and essential learnings- it might not turn out like the picture in the recipe book. But, with each new recipe I try, I also can create a new formula for success. I can challenge the way previous ingredients have been combined and make a new and improved version. I can create a new mix that improves both the product and the chef.

On a side note, the old state standards for Language Arts (reading and writing) comprised 21 pages, the new state standards (reading, writing, and communicating) 168 pages.

Giving Myself Six Weeks

2010-09-10T11:37:00.003-06:00

This past week has been a struggle for me on a number of accounts. However, I am having a growing concern regarding my all boys class- they simply aren’t turning in work. Even what I have received from them has been minimal in depth and quality. It seems as though I am working harder than they are in order to help them improve as learners and human beings.
TO paint the picture more accurately, and to help me vent more in-depthly, I want to give you an idea of what I am facing. Each morning at 7:21 am, my 33 boys show up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for another day of reading, writing, and discussion. (I might be exaggerating about them being bright eyed and bushy tailed, but as I stand at the door greeting them, they seem ready to go. ) The moment I start class, the boys take out their student calendars and we go over the homework for the day. Often times we clarify about what the expectations are for each assignment, review the previous day’s work, check in to see who is scribing and should be recording all this valuable information for the class, and then move on to the real learning.
We have been studying the big question of “how do the words and actions of others affect who others become?” We watched Alfred Hitchcock’s The Rope, read Richard Connell’s “Most Dangerous Game”, David Brenner’s “Fish Eyes”, and then this weekend they are reading Ray Bradbury’s “The Utterly Perfect Murder.” With each story, we are practicing annotating by asking good questions, circling words we don’t know, looking for literary devices, and then answering our guiding question at the end of the story. I haven’t given one pop quiz, one reading check, or asked them to fill out one worksheet. I simply want them to read with a focus, to answer one question and to do some thinking while we are reading.

In addition to the short stories, despite what the other 9th grade teachers are doing, I am focusing on one vocabulary word a week. On Monday I introduce the word, we break it down looking at the root word, the prefix or suffix and then we complete a vocabulary frame card for Wednesday. On Wednesday, we review the vocabulary frame. On Friday, we take a quiz on the one word. Last week, the boys had to some how include the word misogynist in their personal reflection to me. There were some real doozies! This week, they need to incorporate the word misanthrope into their PLN entry about Will Richardson’s article “Footprints in the Digital Age.”
Finally, during the week, instead of doing the typical outside reading book, my kids write two PLN (Personal Learning Network) entries, one on Tuesday and one on Friday. On Friday, we have five students present one entry from their PLNs to the class using good speaking strategies, discussing what matters from their entry, how it connects to him personally, to education, and to the world. At the end of the presentation, the student needs to ask a question of his audience and then facilitate a discussion. The students give the presenter feedback on his own blog so that he knows immediately what he needs to do to improve on his next presentation.
After writing all this down, it seems like we are doing A LOT. As I was working out Thursday morning, I suddenly had this thought that maybe what my kids need is a day to get their stuff together. I mean we all have those days where the work seems to pile up, and you get lazy making simple mistakes where if you had just take a little more time, it would have been completed correctly. Maybe they needed a breather- a day to get themselves put back together. So, on Thursday I opened up class with a polleverywhere question:

Now some kids couldn’t text in their vote-I couldn’t believe some kids didn’t have texting capabilities on their cell-phones- but we still included their votes after. We established the conditions for work that day: quiet work time, ask questions if necessary, write down in your planner all your missing or incomplete work, and get to work giving me a sticky note with your completed work that needs to be re-graded. By the end of the hour, I had about 60+ sticky notes not including all those I did the day before, of make-up work from my boys. The problem, and the frustration, was that the work they submitted was not their best- it was CRAP!
Here I had given them the time to work, to help themselves and their grade out, and here I am going to have to grade all this work again, because it still isn’t done to the best of their ability. (Note: I don’t accept crap work in my class- if it is not done as A, B, or C quality work, it is returned to them to redo. My boys have up to the six week grading period to redo their work as many times as necessary to produce their best quality work. )

Which brings us to today and I conversation I had with my favorite, Karl Fisch. As I was venting about my class, I came back to a conversation I had with my student’s parents at Back to School night. I asked the parents that night to give their child six weeks- six weeks to get their act together, six weeks of freedom from mom and dad checking on everything they do, six weeks to own their learning. If I am asking the parents to do this, why am I not expecting the same of myself as their teacher? They need this time to figure things out. I am giving them the time, the resources, and most of all the learning experiences to mess-up and fix it. There is no mess-up and not fix it in my class. If it takes them to the bottom of the grade-dom, then they have to find a way (of course with my help, when they ask) to get them out. I need them to struggle so that the next four years and beyond aren’t spent still trying to figure life out. I need to give myself six weeks.

In today’s class, we talked about all the grading I did yesterday, and what I realized about their quality of work. I asked them how many of them had just turned in the work to get it done. Many hands were raised. When I asked them about the frustration I felt for having to re-grade their work, many agreed that this would be frustrating. So, as one bright, shiny, bushy-tailed student pointed out in our discussion, “if we would just do our best work the first time, this wouldn’t happen.”

Things might be looking up….

Reality Check for the Teacher

2010-09-03T14:24:00.002-06:00

This week, I asked my class to reflect on how the first three weeks have gone for them and to set some goals for the rest of the semester. The students submitted their answers to my questions in letter form- it is simply a way to easily and privately communicate to me what’s going on in their lives. The questions they were to answer were (some of these were ones I have used before; others were added courtesy of Karl Fisch):

Looking back at our first couple of weeks in English 9 or English 9 Honors, how are you feeling? What’s going well or you are excited about? What’s challenging or are you concerned about? Let me know how I can help. Please answer in complete, thoughtful sentences.Then I want you to set three goals for yourself for this semester.
· One goal specifically related to English 9 or English 9 Honors
· One goal related to AHS in general (can be related to classwork, sports, activities or something else at AHS)
· One goal outside of AHS.
Make these goals fairly specific, not just “I want to get a good grade.” For each one, answer with what, why and how – what is your goal, why is it your goal, and how will you accomplish it. Also, let me know how I can help you achieve your goals.

I thought it would be meaningful for my students to answer my own questions.

So here goes:

I am feeling ok. Physically, I am feeling good, but tired. I always forget every school year how exhausting teaching is. I get up every morning about 4:30 am just to exercise and by the time the school day is over, I am ready for bed. But, we, my husband Jeff and I, are usually off carting one of our kids to some activity, or running (yes, literally running) home to get them started on their own homework. I feel much more in the swing of things after getting week three under my belt.

I am really excited about my classes. I was worried after the first couple of weeks regarding my all boys class. Last year, they were probably my favorite, and I wasn’t sure if my new set of young men could go above and beyond as last year’s group did. But here on week three, we are hitting a new stride. They are finally getting to understand high school is different, expectations are higher, and you have to turn in your work. There are no easy assignments.

With my Honors classes, we are finally getting started with reading Macbeth. This is always a tenuous time because Maura and I don’t teach them Macbeth-we expect them to teach one another. It is so challenging watching them sit there and not ask ANY questions of one another. I mean they are reading one of the most challenging of Shakespeare's texts, their teacher is not spoon feeding them an interpretation, and they have NO QUESTIONS? HOW CAN THAT BE? However, period 5 today did a fantastic job dissecting their reading, and I enjoyed listening to the class help one another figure things out. Hopefully, this gets them started on a good trend. I am hoping to see them use the blog to help one another understand, but as classes in the past have done, sometimes it takes the first quiz for them to see how important asking questions can be. Failing a detailed quiz often motivates them to ask questions of one another in class and on the blog.

Challenges and concern continue to be what I have talked about before: are the kids going to catch on, are they going to get their work turned in, are they going to ask good thinking questions, are they going to take charge of their learning, are they going to push themselves to do more and be more, and of course, are they going to change the world?

My goals are a little different from the kids. I blogged before about my goals for the year, but as I was talking with the kids, I wanted to set another goal that I would see each one of them in one of their activities this year. They simply just have to let me know what game/activity/ performance they want me to come to. I used to do this a few years ago BK-before kids- but thinking out loud here, I know how much my own kids love coming to AHS activities, it is just me now making time to get them over here.

Scribing about scribing

2010-08-30T19:23:00.002-06:00

As Plato did for Socrates, as my students hope to do for our class, we are embarking on a well worn venture of scribing. Each year, I ask my senior class to scribe our class periods together in hopes of making a living history of their senior year of high school. I always tell them at their 20 year high school reunion for them to be able to look back and see all they did and discussed as seniors. This year, I am not teaching seniors (see previous upset blog re: Spelling Vocab) and wanted to still continue with the valuable practice of scribing.

I have had my second semester Honors class scribe before, but with their every seeming tendency to out do the previous year by talking to authors, I have lost the practice. There is only so much time! Or is there?

As I discussed scribing with my all boys class, and two Honors classes, they all seemed to value the idea of a scribe. They realized what a benefit it would be to their learning since it could contain the homework, discussions and notes from class, links to valuable resources, and maybe, just maybe, a little humor from class that day. As we talked about what each post should contain, we came up with an oral list of expectations regarding a scribe post. (Note to self: next time record this and write them down)

Scribe Expectations- from Smith’s recall
· Should contain the date
· Should contain the homework
· Should contain what happened in class: detailed enough but not boring
· Should contain notes and discussion information
· Should contain links to anything that was referenced
· Should have a “feel” of the class and classroom
· Humorous
· Well written and proofread
After signing up the kids with posting privileges, deciding the scribe schedule, debriefing after the first few scribes have been posted, reviewing expectations, learning how to scribe, post, hyperlink, embed, etc…, I am still not seeing what I hope to see in the scribes.

For example, here is a post from my all boys’ class:
Today we went over the correct prompt for a blog on PLN’s: Author, Title, What matters? Why? Link Summarize, Conections (self world) Conclusion. Example Topic: “A vision of Students today” by Dr Michael Wesch, Technology Rules people’s lives because technology is entertaining.PLN1. We then got time to Blog if some people forgot. We need to do PLN2 “what matters” on your CLASS blog for homework due Monday/Tuesday. Put any pictures for “what matters” in a folder/on a jump drive. Create collage. Post on Blog.

Notice how there aren’t any links, it is one giant ramble, and no additional information is provided. What this post tells me is that my class is boring, it is jumbled together, there is no explanation of the homework or what we did in class, and my class is boring.

I am not trying to be degrading to myself through this post, but I remember Alan November saying this summer at ISTE, that scribes are a great source of feedback for the teacher. It can tell you exactly what your students are taking away. I have never thought of scribes like that, but more as a tool for my students to help each other out. I guess I need to rethink what my boys are taking away each day. And, why are their posts so limited in content and depth? Why aren’t they helping each other learn?

My Honors kids haven’t completed any outstanding scribes either. Take a look at these two examples:
Today in English 9 honors we came into class, worked for 5 minutes to finish up our projects and then started to present. The first group to go was the group on King James. They made a movie about a guy needing help on a Macbeth research project. He seeks help from a king he found in Burger King who retells his life story. The next group to go was witch craft. They made a power point and showed a video clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They brought up volunteers to be accused of being a witch and tried them for being witches. Most of them died. I counted two survivors out of ten. After them came husbands and wives. They too had volunteers come up and act out different types of skits. The group after them was tragic heros who also had people come up and act out a skit. We did not get through all of the of the groups so we will finish up on Monday. Over the weekend we need to read and annotate the first 3 chapters of Lord of the Flies. Also we need to blog about those chapters on the Class Blog.
And…

First matter of the day, each student was handed an SAT vocabulary book and was told to write their names in the front cover. You are going to be required to memorize 15 words a week. Flip books to page 16. Complete lesson 1 until page 24 but do not do the writing portion. Make responses legible and neat. They are due Friday but do not take more than 15 minutes to complete. Wednesday is word day where you are quizzed on the words you learn and Fridays are the word tests. LOF annotation and blog also due Friday. All students are required to watch a video on Shakespeare as shown below the presentation notes. Take the Elizabethan presentation quiz on the computer and print it out. Sheet was passed around to sign the SAT books out. Globe Theater group came up first and presented their Prezi with small quizzes for the audience. They also asked class members to come up and give summaries of the facts they presented. Very creative presentation. Feudal System group went up and assigned every student a social position (i.e. serf, night, king). Members of the groups explained portions of their role of the social class they were assigned.

Globe Theater
• Globe theater built in 1599 with help of William Shakespeare
• Burned downed once
• No costumes and used bags of pig blood for death scenes
• Actors died/ injured in stunts
• Plays held in “Inn Yards” before theaters
• Many special effects and grand entrances
• Plays took place in afternoon and lasted around two hours
• Theaters used for many weird purposes and flags represented types of plays

The Feudal System
• King and queen pass out fifes to all nobles.
• King passed down to first born son in every generation
• Nobles gave land to nights and peasants.
• Laws restricted the wearing of certain clothes
• Clergy almost equal to nobles
• Clergy were spiritual leaders and were bonded to a church and they were much like priests.
• Knights were part of army and wore large portions of armor
• Hired by nobles for protections of land
• Serfs make up 90% of the population and were poor.
• Serfs lived poorly and farmed land for their higher ranking nobles
Discovery Video

Once again, my basic take away is BORING. So, what needs to change? I think I need to revisit the expectations and see what the kids think about the scribing. I know one student asked a follow up question about a piece of software I used in class because it wasn’t on the post- that is progress. I also had another student create his own duct tape picture version of Shakespeare to post with his entry. I know there are good parts of what we are doing, it just isn’t yet where I want them to be. How can I help them get there?

Funny Story

2010-08-24T07:40:00.002-06:00

Today was my youngest’s, Max (formerly known as Will- but that is another whole story)- first day to ride the bus home. Max had his special name tag all filled out indicating what bus he should take home, what special animal is on that bus, and his two older siblings looking out for him. Unfortunately, none of that worked for him today. I put the wrong number bus on his nametag-apparently it was last year’s number- someone hadn’t updated the website! His brother and sister noticed his absence but only after his wrong bus had already left with him on it. Wonderful siblings that they are, they ran off their bus, found three teachers, a couple of secretaries, and an administrator who all found him. After a whirlwind adventure with the bus driver, he safely navigated his way back to his school, where I proceeded to pick him and his caring older siblings up. Although Max had an adventure, he was so scared- it was so hard to see him fighting back the tears so he wouldn’t cry in front of everyone. I can’t thank enough the people who watch over him keeping him safe: his sister and brother were ROCK STARS, his teacher was the knight in shining armor- even though she is a girl, and the secretaries were hailing the cavalry all to bring him back home safely. What would we do without you?

SV: Not another Law and Order Class

2010-08-24T07:33:00.002-06:00

This summer I found out I was going to be teaching another section of Spelling Vocabulary, a class we offer at AHS. Rather than teaching another section of ninth grade or a section of English World Literature, I was asked to teach another section of a class that I think is pointless. It is basically a drill and kill type class that meets only on Tuesdays and Thursday for kids to “learn” SAT vocab words. We also have incorporated many of the commonly misspelled and confused words on essays (i.e. effect/affect, it’s/its).

Each set of three class periods, the students are assigned 10 SAT words, and 10 spelling words. From the list, they are to know the definition, spelling, synonyms, antonyms, and be able to use it in a sentence. After the first class of introducing the words, the kids are in-charge of the second class period. They pick groups at the beginning of the semester, and each group is assigned one set of SAT words. On their assigned review day, they create games/activities to review the words. The students created a rubric to assess their organization and teaching of the review day. To prepare the kids to teach a full class period, we spend time talking about what good teaching looks like. On the final day of the set of words, the kids review, then take the test, and then we grade them together. Each test contains multiple parts: spelling words, matching word to definition, synonym and antonym matching, fill in the blank, and finally short essay. The essay is really creative (and my favorite part) because we have them use the vocabulary words, but writing about crazy things (videos, movie posters, slideshows, songs, cartoons, etc…)

The challenging point of teaching a class like this is that many of the words are out of context. Although I like the book we use for practice, I still can’t seem to separate the feeling that the kids regurgitate these words for one test, only to be forgotten when the next week’s words roll out. How do I teach this class in a relevant and meaningful way that keeps these words ingrained in their memories?

So I began this year talking with my best buddy Kristin Leclaire about how to change my feelings about the class- she luckily, also gets to teach one section. We decided that the more creative approaches we used with the words (drawing, movement, songs, stories, etc…) the better these kids would actually know the words.

This past week, we did an exercise called Vocabulary Frames. The kids were to take each word and write it on a notecard. After the word was written down, they were to break it down. Then in the top right corner, they were to define the word. The top left corner contained the antonym of the word, and then they crossed it out. In the bottom right, they were to draw a simple picture of the word and in the bottom left, use the word in a sentence that conveys the meaning of the word. We talked in class about how useful these cards would be in reviewing for their test. They could cover up each section to review, slowly revealing each answer they need.

We have some other great ideas in store, but I am hoping to hear some more from you. What has worked well for you in your class? What are creative approaches you have to learning vocabulary? Any links you can provide would be helpful. More than anything, I can see that the more enthusiastic I am about the words the more the kids will hopefully be. If I can find a way to match my passion of technology with learning these words, the kids will be all the better for it!

Writing and Boys- The Challenge

2010-08-19T13:54:00.002-06:00

Each year, we are asked to submit a professional growth plan that sets forth a growth objective and goal for us as individual teachers as well as identifying a way to support PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) at our school. We can select from six different areas for our goal (Instructional Planning, Instructional Delivery, Assessment of Student Learning, Management of the Learning Environment, Professional Growth, Professional Responsibility). After selecting the area, we need to state our goal, decide on the instructional strategies that will help us achieve the goal, determine how will we know if the goal has been achieved, and what assistance do we need to achieve our goal. In regards to PLCs, we need to indicate how we will directly support PLCs and what assistance do we need in that support.

After listening to our former administrator now turned classroom teacher and CSAP expert go over our CSAP scores for our 09-10 9th graders, I decided to focus my instruction this next year on boys and writing. No easy task. Our boys are significantly behind our girls and most especially in the areas of extended writing. With most boys, it seems as though as much as they dislike reading, they HATE writing. If I am going to help boys improve their writing skills, I must first change their perceptions of writing.

One way I am focusing on doing this is through writing in various forms. I have found incredible success in past years with using PLNs with my 9th graders. PLNs (Personal Learning Networks) are a way to get kids to read articles, view videos and respond to items of interest rather than the required textbook. Next week my 9th graders are setting up their PLNs for the first time. I ask the kids to read from the blogs, newspapers, and magazines we subscribe to through our Google Reader rather than doing the typical outside reading novel. After they are finished reading/ viewing their choice, they answer the question “What Matters?” In a paragraph format, they must state clearly the author, title and point of what matters from what they read. Then, they write a summary of what they read, connect their response to themselves, to their education, and to the world around them. Finally, they end the paragraph with a concluding sentence summing up their argument or point. Last year, my all boys’ class really loved these PLNs- they didn’t care for the number of them I asked them to write, but they did enjoy reading and responding to what they were digesting. They loved hearing from one another on Fridays what the presenters had read. One area I want to do a better job on is to give more detailed feedback to their PLNs to help them improve their writing rather than just assigning a grade. With more students this year, this will be a challenge. I also want to find a way to help my boys become better peer editors. I think this will aide in improving their own writing as well as the writing of their peers. On a side note, this will help me with the grading/ assessing/ feedback overload I tend to feel.

Another way I am going to focus on writing is through using blogs to share topic sentences. When each student is asked to post his/her topic sentence for the world to see, students seem to take that responsibility into account. Also, I am going to have the boys use Google Earth to share their interactions with Chris McCandless from Into the Wild and Odysseus from The Odyssey. Using the graphic of Google Earth to give a picture to their words helps the boys put down their thoughts.

I am also counting on the support of my administrators to help me look over my incoming 9th graders Assess track data to see in what areas of writing my boys most struggle. This past year we implemented a writing lab to assist our struggling writers and many of my freshmen sought out its assistance and feedback. I am hoping and encouraging the kids this year to do the same.

Combining some of the writing strategies that I have found successful in the past, along with the technologies that we use in class everyday, meeting with my students at least twice outside of class to discuss their CSAP and MAP test scores, reviewing Assess track data, writing lab, constant writing feedback and practice should make a change for the better for me as a teacher, and more importantly for my boys with their writing.

Defining Quality Work

2010-08-19T08:42:00.003-06:00

For the past three years, I have asked my students to participate in my No D Policy. No student can earn a D in my class- this ultimately means anything at a 69% and below is a failing grade. For a large majority of my classes, this is a tremendous motivating factor to achieve. Many comment that "no one should pass with a D; a D is below average work anyway." Because of the No D policy, the students and I have agreed that they need multiple opportunities to redo their work so that they can achieve to the best of their ability. Here is the perfect example to illustrate the need to redo work:

A few years ago I had a student named Molly, who was never a successful writer in her LA classes. After working with her throughout the school year on redoing her writing assignments time and again until they were A quality work, Molly realized how much she had grown as a writer. Before she used to struggle with writing basically avoiding it until last minute. After seeing writing as a continual process through revision and feedback, she grew to like writing- not sure about loving writing. Every year she continues to improve as I have kept track of her in her other LA classes.

To me this says so much about holding kids accountable to be better than they think they can do. Teaching 9th grade, I see many kids who let themselves off the hook with poor quality work because that is all they think they can do. If we take away the possibility of "crap work" kids have to achieve. And, when we give them time to redo work, and feedback in multiple ways, they will achieve.

Along with all of this, I have the kids define what A, B, and C quality work looks like. We did this in my all boys class today. Here is their list so far:

Period 1 Quality Work Defined

A quality:
· Proofread: error free
· Exceeds expectations
· On time
· Organized
· Proper formatting
· Great effort shown
· Originality and creativity
· Neat
· Quality work
· Thinking shown-deep thoughts
· Voice is used throughout
· Flow- consistent stream of information, thoughts flow easily from one to another
B Quality:
· Above expectations
· Above average work
· Few errors
· A little late is ok
· Few organizational errors
· Mostly original ideas
· Few neatness errors
· Thinking shown in work
· Few flow problems
· Few formatting mistakes
C Quality:
· Average
· Just meets expectations
· Some errors but not enough to be distracting
· A little late
· Some organizational errors
· Some formatting errors
· Some originality
· Some neatness errors
· Some thinking shown
· Some flow problems
Unacceptable work:
Not acceptable, crap work
Last minute or extremely late
Doesn’t meet expectations
Multiple errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting, flow, and neatness- so many they are distracting to reader
No originality, creativity, thinking shown

Tomorrow, we are going to go back over their list seeing if there is anything else they thought of. We will use this as a rubric to grade/assess all their class work. They created it, they know the expectations to achieve.

Literary Analysis in the 21st Century

2010-08-17T14:36:00.002-06:00

For almost the past year, I have taught a lovely young woman in Spain named Rachel. The learning environment Rachel and I have is ideal: we meet twice a week-although it is at 4:30 am MST, class is one student to one teacher, whatever questions problems, concerns Rachel has, we can work through without having to get an administrators ok, see a counselor, etc… she simply calls/Skypes/emails and we handle it. There are considerable benefits to having a teacher all to yourself! The feedback and dialogue we are able to exchange remind me of how precious each individual moment we need to make with our students in classes of 30+. But all of that is not the reason for this post, Rachel has done something impressive I want to share with all of you.

Rachel, by her own admission, is not a big fan of writing. Writing is time consuming, often involving struggles with getting it right the first time, word choice, and questioning if this is what the teacher wants. Verbally and creatively, she can express her ideas, but holding true to traditional forms of writing often proves to be a challenge. Our classes together focused on Fiction to Film and then the recently completed Modern Political Struggles in Literature. During the time between the Fiction to Film and the political struggle unit, I wanted Rachel to read Persepolis and watch the movie. Afterwards, she was to write a literary analysis but with a twist- the essay was to be completed in graphic novel form.

I am sure there are many out there who would argue that what I am about to link to is not a literary analysis per se, but it does meet all the requirements of a literary analysis. Rachel still needed to have a strong argumentative thesis/essay, to use the texts (both novel and video) as evidence to support her essay, and even more challenging, she needed to find images to support her thoughts.

Before Rachel wrote anything, I introduced her to using Webspiration to map her graphic novel essay. What was amazing is how visually helpful this was to Rachel’s organization and thought process. After graphing out her essay, Rachel then started collecting images and text that would support her thesis.

After meeting off and on over the course of the semester reagarding this project, Rachel put it all together. Here is her finished work. I know she would love for you to comment on her accompishment.

Think about the graphic novel form in your own classes. I know one thing I am going to ask my students to do is to do graphic novel sticky notes- an idea I learned/ stole from Christian Long. Think about using images to support writing versus just text and quotes. Think about how well this works as a way to change the way we teaching writing. Think about it.

Goals

2010-08-16T11:29:00.002-06:00

I think back to school for teachers is similar to New Year’s Resolutions for the rest of the world- it is the time to make promises, to get a fresh start, to reexamine your teaching and learning, and plot a course forward.

Each year, I ask Karl Fisch to write some goals for me; these are the ideas meant to inspire me, give me the light at the end of my tunnel, and of course, give me something to constantly think about. Some years the goals are minimal (i.e. Change the World), other years they are vast in numbers and ideas. This year, he went simple but profound:

1. Do less . . . by having your students do more. By that I mean continue to try to turn over more stuff to them.
2. Blog more. Not just because it's good for you (although it is). Not just because it's good for teachers elsewhere that read you (although it is). But because it's good for your students. Not only will it improve your practice, but you'll be modeling for them what a thoughtful, reflective learner looks like. Be the PLN. Just do it.
3. Do one thing. I don't know what it is, but pick one really important thing and focus in on it all semester or year. What's one thing that will really impact your students and your teaching? Find it, and focus.

Number 1-do less. I am all for doing less and shifting (that shifts for you, Karl) the ownership of learning onto my students. One thing I wish I did a better job of last year was helping my all boys class become better peer editors. With increasing class sizes, this will be a good life long skill for them to add to their arsenal but also assist me in providing relevant and immediate feedback to one another. I am going to also blog later about redoing Spelling and Vocab, but I need to find a way for kids to do more with words- to own the words not simply memorize the words.

Number 2-Blog- This is one goal I am not just holding myself to. One of my deskmates, Lauren Lee, has started a new blog and a new focus on us blogging regularly (blogging is much more fun with a partner). And she asked if I would do this with her. I was thinking about blogging regularly with my students. Since I ask them to be part of the network, I think this is something I should commit to as well. I already have three posts in my head I want to get out, and hopefully they will keep coming. I encourage you to follow Lauren as well.

Number 3-Do one thing-this one is easy and NOT, all at the same time. This year, I really want to focus on learning differently with my students. I want to help them develop a mindset that there is not one way to solve the problem, complete the project, write the essay, or take notes. I want there to be a multitude of ways for them to demonstrate their learning and understanding. I also want to focus on writing-A LOT. I want my boys to be better writers, and to realize that writing is a good thing (thanks Martha Stewart). In this life, you need to know how to write, and more importantly, how to write/ communicate effectively. I want to move away from the standardized practice of the 5 paragraph essay, and have them write in a wide variety of forms- movie scripts, cartoons, editorials, memoirs, etc… Any interesting writing ideas that you come across, please pass my way. I plan on meeting with them individually to assess their writing and work on their writing throughout the semester. But Karl- that is my one thing!

So here it is, another school year, another set of goals, but a new chance to start fresh, to change lives, and to change the world.

Have you tried these tools?

2010-02-28T16:50:00.002-07:00

Last weekend, I attended Learning2.0 up in Loveland and heard Amy White talk about some tools she uses in her classrom. I showed these to my students as soon as I got bakc Monday morning. They wanted the tools to all be in one place so they could come back and find them. SO...
Go2Web20.net- resource of things that help with web 2.0 applications (go look at the e-learning tab)
www.edzone.net -Marilyn Western’s Technology Tips for Classroom Teachers

http://www.xtranormal.com presentation and summarization of reading

http://animoto.com/ make a video from images-

http://goanimate.com/studio (every time you create something, you get points)-create own people and scenes; more time consuming than Xtranormal.

http://prezi.com/ going beyond Powerpoint

http://foldplay.com –show relationships between three ideas/symbols/pictures Kaleidocycle
make your own photo collage

http://glogster.com –create posters
create posters with photos post reading of novel.

ComicLife/ToonDoos/Bitstrips

PowerPoint- illuminated texts- animate words to come alive with words or phrases in text
Great idea for poetry!Select text and animate text using animate feature

Garage Band-podcasting and music –could use for interviews (Audacity and Finale Notepad)
(Create a song for the character in the novel- make sure to couple this with narrative and reflection about creating piece)

iMovie- digital storytelling instead of personal narrative (Photostory? Moviemaker)
make the example with video, stills, and voiceover so kids can see all those elements

What Have We Learned or What Haven’t We Learned? Where Are We Going?

2010-02-28T16:48:00.001-07:00

After a long and drawn out approval process, our 9th grade Honors students were able to read Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother after reading George Orwell’s 1984. Throughout the novels, we completed a multitude of chronological charts connecting the years of 1920-1950 to the book 1984, and 1950-2006 to Little Brother. We wanted kids to examine the events that might have influence these authors to write their novels. All along we asked the kids to think about “What have we learned or what haven’t we learned from these two novels? And given that information, where are we going as a society?”

Every activity during this 8 week process built upon our students formulating an understanding of those questions. From watching videos about MIT’s 6th sense, Google Googles, and Karl Fisch’s 2020 to reading about full body scanners and laptops being used to track student’s home life. We also brought in guest speakers from our History department who talked with the kids about the events surrounding WWII that would have influenced Orwell and post 9/11 legislations /actions that influenced Doctorow. We even had kids figure out the connections between Ned Kelly, The Chicago 7, and our protagonist Marcus Yarrow(can you figure that one out?). Towards the end of the unit, we had the kids write about Ben Franklin’s quote from 1759, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Upon completion of reading both texts, the kids were challenged then with writing a paper defending their answer to the questions “What have we learned or what haven’t we learned from these two novels? And given that information, where are we going as a society?” that wasn’t a traditional black and white paper, but a Wikified Research paper.

As a previous student wrote:
In most English classes, inventing new verbs is reserved for confused students. However, in English 9 honors, wikified has become a universal verb penned by none other than the teacher herself…. A WRP, or wikified research paper, is made on wikispaces.com [and this year we added Google Sites] and allows students to link to resources within their papers, along with embedding various images and videos within their papers. This concept broadens the research paper from words on a piece of paper to a worldwide published work that includes interactive and supplementary elements which help define and support the student’s thesis.

As the students composed thesis statements defending their view point, we taught them about the wonders of wikispaces and Google Sites showing them the difference between publishing a paper for their teacher to publishing a paper for the world. There is a whole new level of engagement and responsibility in writing a paper of this magnitude.

Throughout the writing process, the students were challenged with composing something that was meaningful and relevant to their take-aways from the novels. Some students felt we have learned nothing as a society and continue to fall into the same traps Orwell and Doctorow identify such as blind acceptance of the truth, inability to decide for oneself, lack of trust in government and others, and the overwhelming power of technology. Others feel that because of Marcus’ role in Little Brother and Winston’s role in 1984, that we are learning not to blindly accept what others say and that everyone is empowered to challenge the system.

The students were also asked as a result of their learnings what will happen to us in the future. This part of the WRP could take any form: traditional paragraph, podcast, poem, video, etc…. If they could imagine it, they could create it. I think this is the part of the paper I have enjoyed more than any other. The kids are challenged with creating their own interpretation of a world which they have a greater role in. As they progress through these influencing years of learning, they are creating a future which could mimic their predictions, or challenge the future they see.

At the end of the writing process, the students turn in their wiki work and arrange for a assessment date with Maura or I. We grade their papers together talking through what the student’s intended in each paragraph as well as what we take away from their writing. The writing process comes alive at this point with the ability to walk each student through their thoughts clarifying confusions and appreciating their willingness to do something different. With each paper, I am able to see a clearer picture into my students’ writing mind reflecting back on their growth and seeing the amazing possibilities that lie in front of them. It is so powerful to sit next to each kid while commenting on the creativity of their work and feeling their personal pride in a job well done. Their exuberance at showing their teacher, and I would even guess the world, their thinking is inspiring.

I would encourage you to look through their work as well giving them feedback.
Period 2
Period 5

To: Texas From:Colorado re: 1984

2010-02-19T14:07:00.002-07:00

Sometime during first semester, the date escapes me, Christian Long put out a tweet looking for someone to collaborate with his Texas students regarding 1984. Karl Fisch forwarded the tweet along to me, and so began our venture into Long’s World of Learning-Texas and Colorado style. Maura Moritz, my partner in 9th grade Honors, and I were going to have our students read 1984 at the end of first semester, and end at the beginning of second semester. Following this reading, our students were going to read Cory Doctorow’s response to 1984, Little Brother. Along the way, we were asking the students to think about “What have we learned or not learned in the 60 year span from Orwell to Doctorow? As a result, where are we going as a society?”

Working with Christian is like jumping into the Alice’s White Rabbit Hole- you just never know where you are going, but it is an adventure along the way. Christian and I spent a few Skype sessions with Maura planning out what our collaboration would look like. More importantly, the ability to exchange ideas outside of our department was refreshing. Christian has such a passion and stream of consciousness about his love of teaching and learning. To sit and talk with him is to take in all that it means to be a great teacher. Quite simply, my mind hurt when we would finish talking.

And so the plan became that quite magically all our teaching hours aligned. Christians’ period 2, 3, and 4, matched with our period 2, 3, and 4. We decided that since our students here at AHS had read 1984, they would lead Christian’s classes in a propaganda discussion. The kids planned a day of small group discussion focusing on various aspects of propaganda. Their planning is here and website they created for the discussion is here.

It is really interesting to sit back and watch the kids take over. There are those kids in class that are the planners/ organizers, those that are creatively minded coming up with all sorts of ideas, and then there are those that are along for the ride. Initially, the kids broke up into small groups planning what they were going to teach Christian’s kids. This worked out well and was well orchestrated. When the day came, their plan was that Christian’s kids would rotate between their small groups learning about a different facet of propaganda from a variety of kids. The plan was great, the implementation was more challenging. At least I can say for once, my kids were the guinea pigs and Maura’s got the benefit of our experience.

The technology allowed for some problems between the Texas to Colorado connection. One set could hear, and another couldn’t or one group could access the website, and another couldn’t. We set-up the classroom so that the kids were far enough away from one another each group having a computer with built in webcam that allowed them to Skype into Christian’s classroom in Texas.

The second day went much better- our kids led a large group discussion with Christian’s kids asking them to bring together all they had seen and talked about from the day before. This was a fun exchange of ideas regarding the purpose of propaganda (is all propaganda negative?), rights and responsibilities, safety and security, etc…

I think going forward some things we need to change are:
1- I think fewer groups and more time- maybe having two groups lead the entire class for 15 minute blocks of time.
2- Need to build in set-up time for technology: kids work out Skype difficulties day before so Skype is ready to go, kids all try website ahead of time to make sure all have access, etc...
3- Kids need to be better prepared to lead discussions. My kids had one or two questions, but didn't know how to work through problems with discussion or lack of responses. Kids need a wide depth and breadth of questions to ask. I guess this just proves not everyone can teach! Kids also need various means of delivering information when website doesn't work.
4- Less laughter from kids, more focus on professionalism and responsibility of task. Kids can have fun while still being academically challenged.

Maura’s classes went really well. I am glad we were able to have this intellectual exchange. The power of collaboration far outweighs and of the technical difficulties. I was amazed at the shift in my students from being learners to teachers and watching them struggle with how challenging it is to teach and engage your audience. I know they walked away with a new appreciation for me, and I walked away with a new collaborator- Christian, thanks for this opportunity and here’s to many more.

Changing the World ala Diigo

2010-02-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

Part of the ninth grade curriculum is for our students to write a persuasive research paper where students apply their composition skills to a five paragraph essay. Last year with my student teacher, Mr. Ruggles, we changed the focus of the paper to a Change the World paper.
This year, we started the paper writing process talking about issues in this world that were injustices or wrongs that have been committed. These could be as simple as personal issues (curfew laws, child abuse, drug abuse) or complex as international issues(blood diamonds, world poverty/hunger). I wanted this paper to be very different for my students. We had spent the better part of first semester perfecting the paragraph with strong topic sentences and we had spent some time working with thesis statements. I wasn’t so concerned about the formatting of the paper, but helping my students find something they were passionate about and then helping them DO something about it. The paper was just a means to the end of creating an action plan. As they constructed their paper, they had to be thinking about how to solve this problem and then what could they personally do to Change the World.
After brainstorming and learning about proper internet search techniques from our library media specialist, Mr. Murphy, I asked Karl Fisch to come in to introduce the wonderful world of Diigo to our kids. Karl came in and presented about the organizational and collaborative nature of this tool. We had a group set-up for our entire class so that when one kid would bookmark a site, his bookmark would be shared with the entire class. The kids had the capability to collaborate on researching and sources, rather than be seen as “cheating.” – they were going to help one another succeed.
Another benefit of using Diigo was that all the information for the boys was stored online. As they read through articles, they could sticky note important information, tag the source with reminders as to where this valuable piece could support an argument in their paper, and most importantly, stay organized. No matter whether the student was at home or at school, as long as they could log into Diigo, they could access their sources.
As the students organized their papers, they were asked to create thesis statements that identified the problem, but then also identified a solution or two. Throughout the paper writing process, the ability for the kids to access the sources was so helpful. I think I would make some changes to this process in the future:
1- I would have the kids use Google Docs as a composition tool. Too often, paragraphs were lost or misplaced. I think this would parallel well with Diigo in that everything is available to the student wherever they go.
2- I need to stress the importance of not just Googling quotes about the topics. After finding sources for their papers, some kids would just find any quote that dealt with their topic rather than focusing on the research work. If they were arguing about global warming, they would just Google “global warming quotes” and use whatever came up, rather than facts and data that would support their opinion. I think a change to the rubric would help eliminate this problem.
3- I would like to get more kids to write their papers as Wikipapers. I think this is so important for writing in the 21st century. I don’t want their papers to be limited to my reading, but for everyone to see what these kids are thinking about and what they want to change. I need to work on this. After presenting Wikispaces and Google Sites to the kids, only one took me up on the offer.
4- I have to find a way to make kids better editors of each other’s work. This is something I have struggled with all year long. We do musical chairs editing (which if you have never tried is the best thing), but the kids are not either capable or focused enough as to what to edit. We walk through the papers step by step, and I have done example editing with them, but they don’t seem to follow through. I want them to develop this quality but am unsure beyond modeling, and reinforcing expectations how to get them to be better.
At the end of the paper, the kids were asked to develop and implement an action plan where they are going to personally do something about their problem. This is my favorite part of this whole project. The kids aren’t just writing a paper, but trying to change the world. They are actually doing something that is meaningful, relevant and personal to them. I have kids talking to news channels, emailing ESPN, Sports Illustrated, writing letters to congress, volunteering at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. You name it, they have considered it. With their final paper, they turned in their action plan as well. I asked the kids at the end of this whole six week process to reflect on the paper, Diigo, as well as the action plan. Their thoughts are posted on the class blog. It’s a start, and I know I will make changes next year, but these kids are beginning to see that the change all starts with them.

Come On In- We are Open for Learning

2009-12-04T08:39:00.007-07:00

A year ago, I was entrenched in graduate school thinking about a message Gary Stager had delivered to our class. He indicated a profound need for our students to build relationships with other adults (not just their parents) and to help our students find meaningful connections to others in this world.

As I have contemplated his words over and over again, along with Karl Fisch’s challenge for me to bring in experts into my students’ classrooms, Maura Moritz and I have embarked upon this journey to bring the experts to our kids.

Earlier this year, as we were starting to teach Inherit the Wind, we brought in our Biology teachers (Jesse Craig, Adam Wallace, and Kathy Dinmore) to speak with our students about what it is like to be a modern day biology teacher. What changes have come about since the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925? What issues and concerns do you have as a Biology teacher? What do you teach regarding evolution versus creation? After the teachers presented their stories, the students had great conversations exploring more about what the teacher had brought up. The kids were all incredibly appreciative and felt more informed going forward to read the play. They could see the modern connection to a play written in 1955.
Currently, we are having our Western Civ teachers (Jay Lukes, Amanda Crosby, Carrie Levi, and Jeremy Hawthorne) come into our classes to help our kids understand what was going on in the world around 1930-50’s. As we are starting to read George Orwell’s 1984, our kids need to have some contextual knowledge in order to understand what were the political and economic challenges Orwell was witnessing that influenced his work. The informational sessions and connections these teachers made in our classes have been impressive. Personally, I learned so much about political and economic spectrums that our history has faced as well as the other countries. In my classes, I witnessed Amanda Crosby weave a fabulous tale regarding communism, Marx, Soviet style communism putting into context Orwell’s world for us. Then, yesterday, I was able to watch the enthusiastic Jeremy Hawthorne connect all of the Cold War to our modern day situations with Cuba and North Korea.
Bringing in experts into my classroom has brought a new insight into teaching and learning. By letting go of me being in charge of the background information, or even asking the students to pursue background information, we are changing learning. We are showcasing learning as not being just limited to one class and one classes’ curriculum but extending the learning into all areas. We are showing the students and the community that learning can be anytime and anywhere. We are also linking our classes together moving from isolated learning behind four walls to inviting in experienced voices aiding our understanding and furthering our learning. We are creating a community of learners.

Next semester, we are inviting in not just one author but two: Daniel Pink author of A Whole New Mind and Cory Doctorow author of Little Brother. We are also inviting in experts to talk with our students about post 9/11 legislation in order to understand the time period of Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother.

And so I challenge you, how are you extending your classroom? How are you finding other adults to help you students learn and understand? How are you moving beyond your four walls? I know you all have experts in your building, in your departments, and in your community. So, why not bring them in?

To Be or Not To Be- Hamlet Cross Country

2009-11-16T18:37:00.011-07:00

Earlier this school year, I tweeted out a request for classes wanting to collaborate with my college preparatory English Literature class. We were already in the midst of Oedipus Rex, but were soon to be exploring the worlds of Beowulf and Hamlet. This semester we have been studying the idea of heroes based upon the Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey as well as looking at different types of heroes: anti-hero, epic hero, and tragic hero. I received a response from Laura Deisley who is the Director of 21st Century Learning at the Lovett School in Atlanta, GA. She thought she had a teacher in her building who would be willing to take the jump and collaborate with us.

After a number of email exchanges looking at ideas, timing (they are East coast, we are Rocky Mountain time), moving schedules, permission from administrators, we decided to live blog two parts of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. My students would be discussing with Debi Ohayon’s AP students Act 3 and the end of the play. My students have been reading Hamlet for a little while and were a little further along then Debi’s, but are not part of the AP curriculum here at AHS. Also, my students have EEE PC’s we use each day in class and have live blogged in previous classes so they were aware of the challenges of live blogging. Debi’s students were not used to this methodology in their classes.

Despite all the challenges from both sides and nervousness that this could be pulled off, today we made our first connection. We made this happen with great thanks to Karl Fisch and Laura. From the lovely Atlanta based school to our AHS home here in Centennial, Colorado, we managed to connect our students together…and they were impressive. Debi’s students rose to the challenge that the technology and new discussion method presented, and my students didn’t back down when discussing Hamlet with an advanced placement class. Both sides walked away commenting about how great it was to hear different points of view than from the students in their own class. They were surprised at how similar their thoughts were, but appreciative of the various ways ideas were presented. New ideas were explored and discussed, and common thoughts were expanded upon. Students on both sides of the country talked about how valuable it was to have a new angle and perspective on Hamlet.

And the kids acted like kids too. At one point, a student in Debi’s class even asked out another to their Sadie Hawkins dance. Too Cute.

As far as the set-up of how we created this cross-country connection, we each had a webcam and mic set-up for the inner circles of the fishbowl discussion so they could see and hear one another. Each inner circle faced the screen projecting the other class into their classroom using Skype. Both classes commented about the value of being able to see each other. For the discussion with the outer circle, the students used CoverItLive embedded in our class blog. The kids did a really nice job discussing the text with one another. There were some quiet spots, and talking over one another, but for the most part they all felt comfortable enough to agree, disagree, and have a thoughtful, intellectual discussion. Even those on the blog felt they walked away having made a new friend or debate partner.

On December 9th, we are going to live blog again with our friends on the east coast this time using the entire text as our basis of discussion. Hopefully by then we can iron out some of the technical challenges(hard to hear at times, webcam view to see all kids, etc…), help the kids feel more relaxed and building on their previous success, and create a longer lasting relationship between these two learning communities. I would encourage you at the least to follow along, and if you want, maybe brush up on your Hamlet and join in.

For me thus far, I have been so impressed by Debi’s willingness to jump right into live blogging and sharing her students with ours. Additionally, Laura Deisley’s support of her staff is commendable. I have only seen Karl Fisch work this hard before. It is nice to know its replicable. I have also been impressed with our students’ intellectual prowess to tackle not only reading Hamlet, but their willingness to lead and discuss their understanding with students on the other side of the US. They put themselves out there (or I put them out there J). They didn’t back down from the challenge, but rather set a high standard for themselves and other students wanting to discuss texts with classes from around the world. They continue to challenge me and I hope one another. As always, I am expecting bigger and better for the next go around.

Wonder Woman Gone Country 09-10

2009-11-03T10:01:00.007-07:00

Every week in English Nine Honors, students are given a set of ten SAT preparatory vocabulary words. Last week’s words were Bleak, Blight, Boycott, Brash, Bravado, Blithe, Brusque, Bombastic, Boisterous, and Boorish. They are expected to know and use these words appropriately by the end of the week. One exciting part of getting a new set of words to learn, besides of course learning new words, is our Wednesday vocabulary activity. Students have created bumper stickers, pick up lines, written letters of complaint and recommendation. However, none are as clever as when they are asked to create a country western song about Wonder Woman (yes, the lady with the golden lasso and bracelets). In their groups of four to five, after completing their fantastic composition and practicing for a few moments, the next step was for the students to record their “original” work in Audacity. After saving their recording, students were to export the files into an MP3 format and voila! We have Wonder Woman Gone Country!

While none of these may be destined to win a Grammy, take a listen and see if you can pick out the vocab words. Also, take our poll and vote for your favorite version...

Period 2:

SBJ song
SBJ lyrics

SGKM song
SGKM lyrics

KNA song
KNA lyrics

DG song
DG lyrics

NZ song
NZ lyrics

EA song
EA lyrics

GJLJ song
GJLJ lyrics

MEZN song
MEZN lyrics

MLTTKR song
MLTTKR lyrics

Period 5:

AJ song
AJ lyrics

AMKEM song
AMKEM lyrics

BJKSM song
BJKSM lyrics

BRM song
BRM lyrics

CKJEC song
CKJEC lyrics

ENDJ song
ENDJ lyrics

KTSABC song
KTSABC lyrics

This I Believe Goes Global- We Want You!

2009-10-19T11:25:00.002-06:00

For the past three years, I have had my classes write their versions of National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” segment. I was introduced to this idea by a colleague and have been always impressed by what my students hold as their personal values and beliefs. Writing these essays has allowed for them to do something they don’t get to do all that often at school - express their heartfelt beliefs. After writing the essays the first year, we submitted them to NPR, but we also decided to podcast them ourselves – no need to wait to see if NPR might choose to broadcast them. The writing was good at expressing their values, but once their voice was added to their written expression, WOW, it simply transformed that personal essay. Instead of the words simply being words, the words conveyed deeply held emotions. Now, this is the standard.Previous class examples:
Period 2 06-07
Period 5 06-07
Period 3 06-07
Period 2 07-08
Period 5 07-08
Period 3 07-08
Wiki 09-10

We are approaching that time of year, when I am going to start the kids on this writing adventure, but this year I wanted to invite you in the blog-o-sphere to join us again. I want “This I Believe” to go global. I want my students to benefit not only from knowing what their peers believe, or what the other AHS classes believe, but to hear and see what the world values. What do kids elsewhere in the U.S. believe in? What do kids elsewhere in the world believe in? What do some of the learned professionals that I know believe in? I want my students to walk away from this experience realizing the power they have as professional writers as well as connecting to other teenagers and adults from around the world. I want to see them exchange ideas, foster relationships, and appreciate the variety of perspectives. Maybe you can challenge your principal, your school board members, your local politicians, heck, maybe your entire school. Maybe we can even get our President to write his own “This I Believe.”

So, how do we accomplish this? Karl Fisch, of course, is willing to be my master facilitator. He has set up a wiki (still a work in progress) that will provide the guidelines for the classes to follow. I am making Maura Moritz’s classes join us again, so there will be four classes (ninth grade, 14 and 15 years old) from AHS writing and podcasting their essays: Moritz 3, Moritz 4, Smith 2, and Smith 5. We are hoping to attract at least three other classes from around the world, one each to pair up with each of our four classes. If we get more than four classes that are interested, then we will try to pair up any additional classes with another class somewhere in the world. If your class(es) are interested, please complete this Google Form with some basic information (your name, your email address, school name, location, grade level(s)/ages, how many classes, number of students in each class, and time frame that you’d like to do this) so we can setup those partnerships. (Our thinking is that pairing one class with one class will keep this from becoming too overwhelming for the students, although of course anyone can read/listen/comment to any of the essays on any of the wiki pages).We will create a wiki page for each set of paired classes and each student will upload their written essay as well as their podcast (the podcast can either be uploaded directly to the wiki, or you can use a variety of other services for that and then link to them). Each pair of classes will be in charge of their own wiki page and we’ll use the discussion tabs on each page to give feedback to the students. If you are an adult interested in writing a piece yourself, simply add them to the “adults” page on the wiki. I am hoping to get some notable edubloggers as well as my superintendent, CIO, and others to participate. It would also be helpful to include a brief bio so the kids can know who they are reading about.Obviously you don’t have to do this with us or on our wiki, you can create your own. But we thought it might be interesting and helpful to have one wiki that aggregated all these essays/podcasts, one place that students (and others) could visit to learn about beliefs all over the world.

Wondering where to start? NPR has a number of education friendly links to help you along the process:
For Educators
For Students
Essay writing tips
How to contribute an essay to NPR

Timeline: For our classes we are going to start writing our essays, November 6th with a final due date of November 13th for their essay. The following week they will begin podcasting their essays. The paired classes don’t have to match this timeline exactly (although that would be great), but we’re hoping they can have theirs completed by Thanksgiving so that the students can start commenting on each other’s essays/podcasts.But for other pairings you can set whatever time frame works best for you – that’s the beauty of the wiki, it’s a living document with no “end” to the assignment (although that’s why we need you to include your time frame when you email us so that we can try to match folks up). We would really appreciate any feedback (now or as this progresses) to make this an experience that is truly relevant and meaningful for these kids.

Cellphones in the classroom- POLLEVERYWHERE ROCKS

2009-10-13T14:20:00.001-06:00

This past week, I wanted to get the kids thinking about the role of our government, who do they work for, what is the role of mass media, who controls us, are textbooks accurate (ask Gary Stager about this), etc…

We just finished our unit on Macbeth and Lord of the Flies, where we were looking at the question “What does it take to challenge the system?”. We are going to continue pursuing this question now through our study of Fahrenheit 451 and a couple of short stories “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. Also, to get the kids thinking about technologies role in their lives in connection with the novel, we watched Dr. Wesch’s A Vision of Students Today and The Machines are Using Us. (Of course, we already have watched the infamous DYK).

In order to get the kids to shift into a new novel, and while continuing to thinki about those questions above, I created a poll via polleverywhere.com where the kids in pairs, could discuss a question and then text in their answer to our class poll. This created a lively discussion amongst the class! Wow- these kids were on fire. The combination of technology, questions, group work, and a classroom where we operate under the motto “This is NOT education as usual” made this an amazing day. The poll was extremely easy to create and it was fascinating to ask the kids to defend their answer or different answers, change sides, or limit their responses to a few words. The questions I asked were from a study guide that I used to use. I am anxious to keep on implementing this easy tool that is FREE as a quick gauge for understanding or to pose thoughtful questions helping the kids to take sides.

Wondering About Writing Conferences

2009-10-06T14:44:00.000-06:00

Over the course of my teaching career, I have discovered the value of individual writing conferences with my students. It is not as though the written feedback I provided for so many years wasn’t valued, but more so that I watched student after student simply turn to their assigned grade and then put the returned paper away never to be seen again- lost to the abyss of the backpack.

After some time, I thought, why am I spending all this time writing this great feedback when it seems that students are just tossing it aside and moving on to the next piece? I also came to the realization over the past few years that writing shouldn’t be a one-time only process but that we should continue to teach kids of the process not simple completion. And so entered the 1-1 writing conference.

Since we have a variable schedule here at AHS, we have the ability and convenience to meet with students on our off hours. I usually have kids schedule meetings with me when we have the same unscheduled time, and if that doesn’t work, before or after school. This year, I have met with all my students to go over some piece of writing. With my freshman it was their initial writing piece (we call their writing sample) to see where our students are in their writing instruction. For the most part, I am not sure if I am going to continue this practice. I see the value in having a pretest of their abilities, but many don’t know how to write and so I end up teaching them how to compose a formal essay anyway. I guess I am lost as to the purpose of the prewriting assessment as a real means of learning. I suppose I could have them take their first writing samples and look back at them at the end of the semester to comment and reflect on their growth as writers (that is hoping that they grow J). My seniors use their writing conference time to review their college essays before final submission. I really enjoy this time with them, getting a chance to help polish a piece that speaks loudly of their accolades and experiences. With all writing conferences, the time to instruct one on one, hearing their questions and comments by receiving direct feedback is so valuable. Additionally, by having the students come in to see me, many students come to recognize the connection that teachers are here to help them get better at learning. I think this is definitely one of the most important aspects of my teaching and my classroom.

With both of these writing conferences, I transition to different conferences for the next meetings. There are two methodologies I use and feel are valuable, but I am unsure if one way is necessarily better than the other. One way I conference is before they submit a final piece to be graded. I see real promise in helping kids develop their writing skills before receiving final grades on papers so that this conference can help with preventative measures. The problem with this is it assumes (you know what happens when you assume) that grades are final, there is a due date, and that the writing process has ended on this paper.

The other way I do conferences is post submission, post due date. I like this idea because it gives kids a chance to correct mistakes on their papers with my written feedback, but I often feel as though then I am simply an editor for their paper and they are fixing the little things, not the ideas, arguments, etc… I think there is value to this because it focuses on the process rather than the grade, but the students who simply view me as their professional corrector makes this much more challenging.

I still see relevance in both, but am unsure if there is one method that works better than others. With increasing my student numbers in all my classes, this semester I have had student conferences at every single off hour plus before and after school, so I know that the conferences are meaningful. I am just wondering if I need to focus more on the preconference or post conference. Maybe I should let the kids pick which one works better for them? Also, the conference is something I require because I do feel it is so valuable, but I wonder after the initial writing conferences, if I should see if they come to me if there is no requirement?(a supposed “Build it and they will come”-thank you Kevin Costner).

Just a lot of questions here, no real answers.

Tales of the Document Camera

2009-10-01T14:16:00.001-06:00

This year has been exhausting. More students, more preps, more demands of increased test scores on writing and reading. More, more, more with less given back. This equals exhaustion.

As a ninth grade team, one of our essential learnings is for our students to write with a critical and argumentative intent. Our common assessment working towards meeting this essential learning is having our students compose thesis statements that state the title, author, answer the question asked and provide a value as to “why” that is the answer. With every story we read, we write a thesis statement working towards proficiency. By now, my kids have composed at least 7 thesis statements on various short stories from Frank Stockton’s “The Lady or the Tiger” to Richard Connell’s “Most Dangerous Game” to David Brenner’s “Fish Eyes.” All of these stories focus on our essential question of the semester “How do words and actions affect who others become?” We have written out our thesis statements on note cards, posted our thesis statements on our class blog, and shown them to one another using the document camera. Ahh, the document camera…

I can’t tell you how much I love this piece of equipment. After having laptops for four years, I am so used to the instantaneous power of learning and immediacy of information. When I have taught student writing before, we always exchange papers with USBs to edit one another’s work and to showcase writing workshop tips and suggestions. It takes time loading one’s paper, and getting the kids to emulate the strategies I am demonstrating on a student’s papers. But it is worthwhile to see them learn from one another.

This year with the document camera is different though. I am not sure if it is just the tool, or the amount of writing my all boys’ class is doing, but they can’t wait to share their writing with the class using the document camera. On Wednesday, I asked the students “who would like to share their writing so we can learn together from the editing process?” Almost 2/3 of the class had a paper they wanted to share. They all wanted to use their writing as an example so that the rest of the class could give feedback to the paper under the camera. As we talked through the paper, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, the students were making the changes to their own paper that they were seeing on the screen. The kids were visually learning and kinesthetically learning. Kids weren’t just sitting idly by while I was helping one student; through my review of helping one student’s paper, we were all working together learning from one another’s examples and mistakes.

Reflecting, I am not sure if the excitement over editing was from the free editing, the sharebility of ideas, the feedback for writing, or that they are all boys and feel “ok” with sharing their work since there is no female pressure (I remind them all the time that I am a female, but they tell me I don’t count). I am saddened though that I lose my document camera next week. Hopefully, the technology gods can come to my rescue and replace it with one I can keep, because I can see real continued use of this not with just writing, but the reading process as well. Rather than kids just sharing their ideas out loud- which I love but know it doesn’t meet all kid’s learning needs , some kids can share their thoughts through the document camera that are written into their own books. Kids can show their questions, their thinking process, their inferences and connections.

Learning and H1N1: Students Skyping into Class

2009-09-22T13:00:00.010-06:00

I think make-up work is the bane of every teacher’s existence. No one I know likes the idea of kids missing class, and then having to relay information not just once, or twice, but multiple times to kids who are missing from class. Lately, with our good friend H1N1 making his presence known in our schools, make-up work and sick kids are on the rise. It seems that everyday for the past week or so when I have started class with my cheery “Hello everybody” the number of students replying “Hello Smith” is dwindling. And that makes me sad.

In order to combat this loss of personality in my classroom, and more importantly to keep my students abreast of what we are discussing, I showed the kids Skype the other day. We talked about how I used Skype extensively last year with my grad school classes at Pepperdine, and how they too can stay in contact with the class even though they are at home in bed sick. I had a few students take me up on the offer to Skype into class yesterday and today. The students have different computers at home with two capable of using a webcam and microphone and the other just being able to listen and text/chat back to class. What was really impressive was that the students’ willingness to be connected back into our class when they are at home feeling crummy. They want to participate, they want to stay in touch, they want to continue to learn and aren’t letting the flu get in their way. Watching my other students react to the webcam in our classroom and then being able to watch the girls and boy connect into class, many of the students thought about what an amazing use of technology they were witnessing. We were truly extending the walls of the classroom to homes in Littleton doing our own part, along with the number of hand sanitizing dispensers we have installed here at AHS, to put H1N1 out of our minds and keep on exploring the wonderful world of Macbeth.

32 boys and me: Tales from the all boys' class

2009-09-08T11:23:00.002-06:00

This year, I added a new prep- Single Gender All Boys English Nine- yep, 32 boys plus Anne Smith in a first hour Language Arts class. This class has been one of the most interesting I have taught because it often requires me to rethink my lesson plans at the last minute in order to keep the boys motivated and encouraged.

The class follows the idea that each gender learns better when separated and taught by a teacher of the opposite sex. I have watched this class from afar over the past years and learned a considerable amount just within these first few weeks. I don’t know if I could have prepared myself more for this class other than growing up with three brothers of my own, but this class has been and continues to be a mental challenge.

I knew I would really need to change the focus of this class in-order to meet all the boys’ learning needs. Many in this class are struggling writers and readers thus probably the reason that they are in this class. Some weren’t even aware that they were in this class- they had not selected to be in a single gender class. Obviously, we are overcoming a number varied backgrounds, impressions, and approaches to this class.

To start the year, I wanted to continue work I had done last year with my freshman- removing the possibility of the D. This went over very well with the boys. Many admitted that they didn’t want to settle for poor quality work and should be held to a higher standard. Others liked the challenge that lay before them asking them to do more than they had in previous classes. The premise behind the No D policy is that the students can’t earn a D. Students will receive an F and be asked to redo any work that doesn’t meet the expectations of the A, B, and C quality work that they defined- yes, THEY DEFINED. They created the expectations and so they are aware of what it takes to achieve their desired grade. Along with this, the students have multiple opportunities to redo their work up until the 6 week grading period. Last year, this whole approach was met with rave reviews. My students worked so hard and improved significantly in their reading and writing eventually coming to the realization that it is better to do their best work the first time assigned than to do “crap” work and be asked to redo it.

Enter the problem: so far this year, my grades are really low- really, really low. Now I should say that these grades are not mine, they are the students, and they have earned them. Right now the kids are sitting with some of the lowest grades I have ever seen- they would put Bart Simpson to shame. I am wondering what is going on? Why aren’t they doing their PLNs? Why aren’t they redoing the work that has been returned to them for improved grades? Why does it seem that I care more than they do about their work? Why aren’t they coming in? What is going to happen to this class if this keeps up? Is this the same way these policies affected the class last year, but I just don’t remember?

The kids are turning in some work, (many turned in very impressive "What Matters" blogs- check these out) but not all of their work. Is this because they have up till the six week period to get the work in? I know I confronted this same obstacle last year, but the kids soon learned that there is a lot of make-up work to do if they wait till the end? Is there something to the fact that this class is first hour? Am I not doing my job here? Am I overwhelming instead of inspiring?

Last week, I had the kids do a reflection piece on how everything is going for them considering they have been in my class for three weeks? Surprisingly, a number of the kids weren’t concerned about their grades, but much more concerned with learning how to do the PLNs correctly. This is fabulous insight for me- I need to take some time to slow down, re-plan and give them the time they need to learn how to do the assignment in a professional manner. I always get trapped in this idea of plowing through material rather than doing it correctly- hmm, same problem my students are facing! What an epiphany. Why don’t I give them the time? If this is what the boys need to get back on track and be successful, I need to meet those needs, not the needs of the grade. With the increasing demands on our test scores that our school is placing on those of us who teach ninth grade English, I guess I am worried about preparing my students and not just for the test, but for life. I want them to improve reading and writing, find a personal connection with literature, make a difference, change the world, but I need to remember that it all begins with baby steps. Go slow to go fast…

Over the next couple of weeks, each of my ninth graders will be coming in for a writing conference with me. I am going to use this one to one time to talk with them about their work they have submitted thus far, to go over their CSAP scores letting them know I know where they are at and in what ways can they improve, review their writing sample they submitted on digital footprints, and finally, talk about some of the work they have already submitted. Hopefully this combination of one to one meetings, slowing down the pace of the class, and refocusing the purpose to “what matters” will lead us all in better directions.

Ahh, reflection- I guess Karl Fisch is right; it does put everything into perspective.

Back to School

2009-08-19T12:42:00.001-06:00

I have been meaning since graduating this summer from grad school to take some time and put down my thoughts about this school year. Of course, here it is the second day of school and I am finally getting an opportunity.
This year will be a different year for me in many ways. I am unsure of where I belong in the big picture of education. I know I want to stay in the classroom, but I feel like there should be more. What that more is, I am not sure. Opportunities for things outside the classroom pop up but they are not always interesting or motivating ones, just ones to make more money. Much like the characters I teach to my students, or my students themselves, I find myself trying to figure out who I am and what I want to be. This year is also different because I have two new classes. I am still teaching English Literature, English 9 and English 9 Honors, but my English 9 class is now an all-boys class (yes- me and 33 boys!), and a Spelling and Vocabulary class. All my classes are now in laptop classrooms so we have the information abundant world at our fingertips.
I think the beginning of the year is always a challenging time not for just for the new students, but for the teachers as well. I think every year I feel the trepidation of starting. Will this class be as good as last years? Will they be able to let go of their preconceived notions of education and try something new? Will they want to do more, be more and learn more than they have in the past? How will they respond to me? Will it be bigger, better, and more rewarding than the years before?
This year, I want to do something different. I am not sure what it is yet. There are many possibilities bouncing around in my head, but I know I need to be open to whatever comes my way. I want my kids to connect with classrooms in their own school, in their community, state, and world. I want them to own their learning, to be empowered by knowledge and seek it in every aspect of their life. I want to be as fearless towards their curiosity as they would be to mine. I want to be a learner with them and for them. I want to not only conference with them about their writing but their reading as well. Heck, we can even conference about life. I want there to be endless possibilities for these kids. I want to change the world, and I want these kids to show me how to do it. We are off and running…

Come and watch:
http://smith9h0910.blogspot.com/

http://smith90910.blogspot.com/

http://smithewl9010.blogspot.com/

Gary's Debate

2009-06-29T08:13:00.000-06:00

Gary's Debate

Where will I be tomorrow?

2009-06-15T16:54:00.001-06:00

Where will I be tomorrow?
This last semester of OMET has me really thinking with all of the reading, discussions, and influence of friends and professors, where do I want to go with my career?
I know that I feel a special pull to remain at the school I teach at now. I can’t imagine leaving to go anywhere else because I really do love my job. I still love being in the classroom, teaching students, lighting the fire within, and creating a new way of learning for them and with them.
I wonder though, if by staying in the classroom am I limiting myself? Am I limiting the possibilities that could exist for me and my future? I think there is a lot of validity to my being a classroom teacher with speaking about my changes I have implemented in my classroom. But I wonder if that too is a cop-out? Am I sacred to try something new? Am I scared of change and where it might take me? Couldn’t there be a hybrid out there of classroom teacher/staff development instructor/ speaker, etc…?
I know one thing, I am surrounded by people who can help me talk through these changes and where I am to go? Graduating from OMET and all the hard work and learning that has taken place has made me more open to changes. Heck, it has me eve n thinking about going for my doctorate something I never considered before.
Something else I can see me doing is teaching courses in OMET. I would love a chance to try teaching people who were in my position.
The possibilities seem endless right now…

Where I am today

2009-06-15T16:52:00.001-06:00

Where I am today...
Today, I thought about the fact I haven’t blogged for class for a while. Part of it is challenging because with my AR work done, and the school year at AHS over, I feel like there is not much to right about. I am leaving tomorrow to go to LA to present my work on creating more successful learners. I feel proud about what I have accomplished this year and am thankful for the never ending guidance of Margaret and my LC. I truly feel blessed to have had such a community of learners guiding me through this past year. What a challenge, change, and blessing.
I have practiced my speech about 8 or so times; it has been helpful to help me deal with some of the raw emotion in discussing a topic I put so much heart into. The first few times I read my speech, I couldn’t get through some of my personal changes or quotations from my students because it touched something deep inside of me. I was too close. I liked the emotion, but didn’t like feeling as though I was going to cry during an important presentation.
Having gone over and over it again, the challenge for me now is to maintain that control, but allow the personality of the speech to shine through. I want my passion for my subject to be known to all and for them to recognize the difference.
I wonder what kind of questions I will be dealing with after my presentation. Having been selected to go first, that is a worry that I have because I can’t anticipate questions having witnessed other groups. I might have to ask my LC for some help with this.
I shipped all my stuff to the hotel last week to await my arrival tomorrow. On Wednesday we have time to put our boards together and I am anxious to see what everyone’s creations will be.
For now, it is just time to practice the speech a couple of more times, then put it away, and let whatever happens happen.

Reworking My Job Prospectus

2009-05-28T16:36:00.002-06:00

Colby who is completing this project as my interviewer, has been fabulous helping me flush out y ideal job. After the first go around and subsequent Skype sessions, I feel better about where this job is headed:

Model classroom teacher and learner
Summary:
The ideal candidate will be a well-qualified, veteran teacher who is engaged in 21st century teaching and learning that will create a model public school classroom where other teachers can learn from the teacher and his/her students. Additionally,
· Minimum of five years of classroom teaching experience in Language Arts or similar experience.
· Demonstrated experience with various on-line technologies and computer programs (Microsoft Office Suite, blogging, wikis, etc…)
· Connect his/her classroom to 21st century practices (see ISTE standards [teachers and students] and NCTE standards)
· Dialogue before and after with observers in order to provide the opportunity for reflective growth.
· Excellent written and oral communication skills
· Travel around the country and world to spread the message of 21st century teaching and learning practices as well as examples of exemplary work the classroom is producing.
· Present at conferences, schools and universities.
· Contribute to the academic world through writing about practices in journals and publications.
· Participant in various on-line communities (blogging, Twitter, Ning, etc…)
· Model continuous learning through attending various educational technology conferences and pursuing further educational learning opportunities.
· Demonstrate evidence of a reflective practioner who is continues to learn and grow.
· Evaluation of job performance is conducted by administrators and students
· Collaborate with faculty to promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning.
Education:
· A Bachelors degree and teachers certification from an accredited university
· Masters degree in education or related field
Preferred related skills and experience:
· Online presence in various social networking and professional organizations
· Background in public speaking
· Experience in mentoring other teachers in 21st century technologies and classrooms
· Experience in creating collaborative work environments working with teachers, administrators, staff.
Compensation:
This is a salaried position based off the Littleton Public Schools Salary Schedule. Additional salary is gained beyond the structured step scale through model classroom observations and speaking engagements.

Thoughts?

2009-05-28T16:32:00.001-06:00

As I am preparing for my exhibitions, I have been doing a lot of thinking about how to condense down by final report into a 10 minute presentation on my work. We have an outline our LC developed in order to get us thinking about our presentation. The outline that we constructed basically looked like this:

Exhibition Presentation Outline
· Elevator pitch introduction: (1)
· Present your action research - what did you read/Lit review that lead to your AR work (1)
· what approach you took - AR cycles (2)
· how it worked- (2)
· what changed - in yourself and in your subjects (2)
· what did you learn overall: about your practices, your workplace, and yourself - essentially a conclusion (2)
*remember to keep using your metaphor!

Lucky for us, MR came out yesterday with a timeline as well to guide us along:
(1 min) Introduction-- your opening statement should be more interesting than My action report is about.... You might start with a provocative statement, a quote, a question, or some other way of getting the interest of your audience. (It is good practice to memorize your opening and closing sentences. ) Really put some thought into the your first sentence as that starts the tone of your presentation. This can be something that you mull over for the next few weeks.
(1 min) Some theoretical justification or some framing in terms of the literature. You all did a lit reivew... tell the audience what you learned or what was the most critical thing you learned from your reading and how it helped shaped your planning .
(30 secs ) Tell us about the problem you plan to tackle in your context
(30 secs) A comment or two about why action research is a good strategy for explroing your problem might be helpul
(3 min)Then in broad stocks, what did you do in each of the cycles. You will NOT have time to tell the whole story in all of the rich detail. Give us the "Cliff Notes" version. Depending on your work, you might want to give more time to one cycle. You don't have to spend equal time.
(3 mins) Then tell us what you learned from the experience of doing action research...--what you learned about your own development or practices,--what you learned about creating change in workplace (including that it is not as easy as you might have thought) ,--what you learned about yourself as you worked through the process.You might end by sharing an insight, a quote, telling us something youplan to do in the future or maybe by giving advice to the new recruitsfor cadre 12.
So I started going through my final report trying to pull together elements that I thought captured each area in my LC outline. Here is where I am at so far:
Opening on screen- fuzzy sort of Monet-esque picture of me
Elevator pitch introduction: (1)
A teacher can see behind the stone facade that masks student potential. How does a teacher unlock the masterpiece that lies within each and every student? How does a teacher engage her students to want more, to know more, to be more? Students in a traditional educational setting struggle to find their place in the world of learning. Education seems something more done to them than they are a part of the design and implementation of their learning. Students should be more than receptacles of information teachers fill up and pass along from class to class, hour to hour. Students who are valued, encouraged, motivated and who have high expectations set for them achieve. Too often as educators, we allow students to slip through the cracks disappearing behind layers and layers of paint covering who they really are. Teachers do not expose the original work of art that lies beneath the facade. Students need to be collaborators in their learning working with their teacher and peers to change the picture of education. Students need to expect more from themselves than they have done previously raising the standard of achievement and learning. No more should a student desire to just finish a product, but instead produce a creative and interesting new way to demonstrate their understanding. Teachers should work together with their students. By engaging their students in meaningful, relevant real world projects, teachers are communicating a larger message to all the learning matters. By assigning projects that must be completed on time and only see one version, teachers are halting the learning process. Instead, teachers and students should be engaged in learning as a process with multiple revisions of student work and reflection on the learning process throughout. Then, learning becomes the focus, not simple completion.

Students must be held to a higher level of expectation, be participants and leaders in constructivist learning environment collaborating with their teacher and peers, revising piece after piece thus moving from blank canvases to wonderful masterpieces of art.

Present your action research - what did you read/Lit review that lead to your AR work (1)
Michelango is often quoted as having said that inside every block of stone lies a beautiful statue (Zander and Zander, 2000, p26). In our current educational system, many students are viewed not as beautiful statues but rather simply as blocks that are unwilling to change. The industrial model of education has received the brunt of the blame being cast on all sides from teachers, to students, to legislatures and the larger community. Rather than focusing on assigning more blame, many researchers suggest what is needed is a shift in conceptualizing student learning and motivations in order to create learning environments that are beneficial for all parties. (The Alliance for Excellent Education , 2008;Tapola & Niemivirta 2008; Jones, 2008; Khamois, Dukmak & Elhoweris, 2008; Vansteenkiste, Timmermans, Lens, Soenens, & Van den Broeck ,2008). This review of these studies will examine the modifications necessary to transform our traditional classrooms by focusing on reshaping the classroom environment, recasting the role of a teacher and his/her instruction, and increasing student motivation. By creating student centered classrooms where teachers deliver personalized instruction, there is evidence that students are more motivated to learn and be successful thus revealing the possibility that lies within every stone.

what approach you took - AR cycles (2)
In the first cycle of my action research, in order to empower my students to become more successful learners, we decided as a class to remove the possibility of a D. No student could get by with barely passing. So that I was not setting my classroom up for failure, we decided that students needed multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning and understanding. Students and teachers need additional opportunities to improve on their learning since learning is a continual process. When given chances to revise their work over and over gain, my assumption was that students’ comprehension, writing, and success would improve. Also, students needed a role in deciding how they are going to be assessed. When students know the expectations for work ahead of time, they can determine their own grade and take ownership over their grade.
In the second cycle of my action research, our class accepted a student teacher where we focused on helping him become a more successful learner and teacher while still retaining the No D policy, multiple revision policy and student generated rubric. Together, we studied the use of feedback and explored the idea of one to one feedback, oral feedback, modeling effective uses of feedback, peer feedback, and written feedback. The students, the student teacher, and especially my self all grew tremendously as successful learners as a result of this cycle.

how it worked- (2)- use PowerPoints?
also think their reflections are a testament to the power of students having a say in the design of their education. By students being in charge of their grade through the multiple redo policy, the students generating the rubric to assess their learning, and failure not being an option, students achieved more in this class than in many of my previous years teaching this same class. I feel that through their comments, this was the best many of the kids had ever achieved in a Language Arts class. This success would have been possible without the mutual pairing of the No D policy with the multiple redos. I think the class would not have been as successful if only one element would have been implemented at a time.
1) Extensive Feedback: We decided that we needed to give feedback throughout the paper. Even if students are making the same mistakes, we thought it was important to give thorough feedback since we are doing limited in class peer to peer feedback. With the peer to peer work, we found that we needed to do a better job training our students on how to give feedback. This could be an extension of this work into next year and their next writing assignment since they have seen Randon and I model feedback and they have reflected on the kinds of feedback they have received from us.
2) Using similar language terms for editing helps students: I used writing terminology that is familiar to the kids when I taught first semester and Randon used language in his feedback when he taught the class. This might have lead to some confusion because I overheard students debriefing with Randon at their final writing conference that they were confused as to some of the terminology (explanation of quote, relate quote to point of paragraph, relate quote to thesis- Anne’s terminology v. Randon’s –quote says, point to the paragraph, make the point). Keeping our language similar would assist the students in their feedback and understanding.
3) Stress Coherence. We discussed the need to focus on bringing all their points back to the overall point of the essay. This was a struggle for Randon having never taught writing before. This is one area consistently where he would consistently focus on details rather than the students making the big argument. Are they actually relating everything back to the thesis?
A major area of reflection is the change in giving feedback both to our students and to Randon. The students responded so well to helping us all learn and grow from the experience. When first presented with dual sets of feedback the students were really overwhelmed. Interestingly though, although the feedback was abundant, they rose to the challenge and realized how valuable the feedback was even if it seemed too much for them.
Looking forward, I am wondering how I will do all this next year without a student teacher. I wonder what will make the greater difference in my students’ success: more class time to work or individualized time with teacher (Ruggles or Smith) or even dual feedback on assignments? In school there is limited time for me to connect and conference with each student. Not to mention, I actually need to teach the curriculum and meet each student’s learning needs in a 55 minute class period. So as the teacher in the classroom, I must decide how to spend our class time to benefit all students not just some. Can I enlist the assistance of the students who are more proficient or advanced in providing feedback to some of the struggling students?
Based off their feedback, most all students found growth in their writing. 21 students indicated positive growth in writing. This is a huge accomplishment for not only them as they have improved, but for Randon’s teaching as well. This demonstrates the power of mentoring and feedback (oral, written, 1-1) in changing the students by changing Randon.

what changed - in yourself and in your subjects (2)
1-When students feel in control and empowered, as we all want to feel in our lives, change is possible. Students realized that by determining the rubric, there were going to be no surprises in the grade. And, if students did not achieve to the best of their ability in round one of an assignment, they had the opportunity to keep revising it as many times as necessary up till the six week period in order to truly demonstrate their learning and understanding. They seemed to really embrace the idea as a class that failure was not an option.
2-One thing that really surprised me was how encouraging all their feedback was towards me as their teacher and the changes I was trying to make in the classroom. Some students now see their learning and grade in their hands and not so much in the teachers. I think this is a dramatic shift for such young kids to experience. I also was impressed by the reflections of students who really see my role as a teacher as more of an encourager, not wanting them to fail, but instead giving them multiple opportunities to be successful. It makes me wonder what teachers have done in the past to them that teachers haven’t created this feeling within them before. This echoes the difference between teachers as coaches and teachers as assessors. Students are differentiating roles of a teacher into a golden standard
3-Focusing more specifically on the multiple revision policy, I think one of the things I garnered from their comments is how critical it is for students to be able to redo/ revise/ rework their work in order to learn. …My students overwhelming value the chance to redo their work, and see it not as an expectation placed by me, but an expectation they place on themselves. They value the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and to grow as learners. Whether it is through feedback I have given them as their teacher, the peer feedback or student teacher feedback, they have taken all of this in mind to change their work
One aspect all indicated was that the feedback from the teacher was instrumental in their ability to redo their work
I am not sure I would be capable of giving the quantity of feedback in all of my classes that was necessary to assist these students.
Another area to acknowledge is helping the students see themselves as writers not merely students in a Language Arts classroom. I think the students do not always see the huge changes they have made since they stepped foot into my classroom back in August. I noticed this as well with Randon. He would be so focused on the negative or things he did not do well, that he would forget all his accomplishments and areas of growth. So whether it is helping my students see themselves as more successful writers, readers or learners, I need to focus on making this an aspect of my classroom. Learning is a continuum and we are all on the path towards continued improvement.
Over the semester, I have seen growth in Randon and myself each of us becoming a different version of who we were before. Having never taught before, Randon grew into someone who put together a writing unit, developed writing skills in his students, and challenged them to change the world with their essays. He grew in learning to accept feedback from me and his students in order to improve as a teacher. There is still so much to learn for him (giving consistent feedback, remembering the big picture with writing, variety in feedback, expanding in explanations), but he is on the continuum of learning especially if he learns to accept, reflect, and be open-minded. He has had such an experience of student teaching because he not only had me mentoring him, but in a way, he had a classroom of students mentoring him in teaching and learning as well.
I saw a change in how I think about feedback as well. I realized how important it is to make sure I am explaining my comments, the value of 1-1 time with my students, the value in providing multiple feedback times without overwhelming myself, and the need to train my students to be better at giving feedback. I already see how important it is for me to explain the kind of feedback I give and why I give that feedback. Thinking ahead, I will make a more conscious effort to give positive feedback but making sure it is meaningful and relevant.
Another change in me was the realization that I need to be supportive of ways Randon wants to teach things even if I disagree. It is better to let him or my students fail and learn from their mistakes rather than jumping in to try and save them

what did you learn overall: about your practices, your workplace, and yourself - essentially a conclusion (2)
Just as my students moved from blank or masked canvases to masterpieces of art, so too have I been changed through this process. This year has been a challenge and a blessing at the same time.
I learned that it is more important to learn from my students. If they need me to work harder by providing them with more feedback so that they can be successful learners than that is my job. If only given one chance to succeed on an assignment, they do not learn, they simply feel defeated and give up. Giving multiple opportunities improves their writing, their work ethic, and their personal feeling about themselves as learners. It also improves the student teacher dynamic because they see all of us working together to achieve the same thing: success as learners. I am learning from them, they are learning from me, and they are learning from one another.
The responsibility rested on their shoulders. I had moved from the enforcer of policies to a supporter of their learning. It was such a natural shift and so welcomed by me. The positive change to the learning environment was transformational. I could now be the teacher I wanted to be. I could be the coach, motivator, encourager, educator not the task master, scheduler and hand holder. Kids were staying after class to finish work. They were reflecting on their learning and changes they witnessed meta-cognitively

do not know why it took until I was working on my Masters to feel that I had permission to change.

Whether they knew it or not, their drive to do more and be more, was inspiring me to do the same for them

I have incredible support around me to try new things- to be the masterpiece of myself. I am surrounded by greatness that my students embody. They want to work hard for someone who believes in them. When they are challenged to do more and be more, they rise to that level. I know great things lie ahead for these kids. They will be forever changed and opened to the possibilities that are contained within them. I see the same for my student teacher Randon. He has so much to learn, but if open to the opportunities, he will be amazed at the transformation that comes from learning from others and reflecting himself. Lastly, I have learned the possibilities that lie with in me. I am an agent of change who will not be satisfied with mediocrity anymore. I will hold myself and my students to a higher standard.

Through empowering my students, I have empowered myself. The art of possibility has created not only more successful students but a more successful teacher and learner as well who will continue on the path of reflecting, changing, questioning, and growing.

Close with clear picture of myself and my class.

I still need to do a lot of condensing, but I think I am at least getting an outline down that works and is more manageable than where I was a week ago. I need to do some thinking about my backboard and brochure. I am going to continue with the art metaphor and creating great works of art, but I need to make sure that aligns with the art of possibility. Anyhow, lot of thinking and time narrowing down.

Creating my ideal job

2009-05-19T11:12:00.002-06:00

One of our tasks this semester in Action Research is to create a job prospectus of our ideal job. Being in the midst of planning a wedding, school finishing up, my own kids school finishing up, and grad school still under full swing, it was nice to take some time to think about what my ideal job would entail. So far this is what I can imagine for myself:

Seeking a well-qualified, veteran teacher who is engaged in 21st century teaching and learning to create a model classroom where other teachers/educators can learn from the teacher and his/her students. Prospect must be willing to connect his/her classroom to 21st century practices (see ISTE standards [teachers and students] and NCTE standards) and willingness to dialogue before and after with observers in order to provide the opportunity for reflective growth. Additionally, to fund such a classroom that is a 1-1 professional learning environment, the teacher must be willing to travel around the country and world to spread the message of 21st century teaching and learning practices as well as examples of exemplary work the classroom is doing. Travel could include presenting at conferences, schools and universities. Finally, the teacher must be a participant in various on-line communities ( blogging, Twitter, etc…), be willing to model continuous learning through attending various educational technology conferences and pursuing further educational learning opportunities. The teacher must be a constant example of a reflective practioner who is continuing to learn and grow.

As I reflect on where I want to go with my job I have now, I realize I don’t want to go anywhere. I love where I teach, whom I work with and the students never cease to amaze me with their willingness to try new things. So why would I want to go anywhere else? My thoughts were that if I didn’t want to go anywhere, how am I going to grow and be challenged with where I am at? Over the past few years of having a 1-1 classroom, I have had a number of visitors come in to watch me teach as well as observe and talk with my kids about their learning. This is an aspect that I would like to grow. Our district is moving forward into all 9th grade Language Arts classrooms being 1-1 learning environments with the ASUS EEE PC’s. I can see myself leading some of this change because I have had the experience of transforming a traditional classroom into a 1-1 classroom. My classroom could then be a model for other classrooms. And I wouldn’t want to limit visitations to just my school but we could bring in other teachers and educators as well. I think it is important to not only see what is going on in these observations, but have the opportunity to dialogue before and after with the teacher and students. My final area of growth that I would like to see in my ideal job is more speaking opportunities. I already travel some now with The Karl Fisch (whom I love and adore), but I know this is an area where I haven’t achieved my full potential. I want other teachers to see the power in constructivist learning environments where students and teachers are all learning together. I want to spread the message about the power of technology in learning.

This is a start to crafting my ideal job; if anyone has any additional feedback and suggestions, I would appreciate it.

AR week 2- Moving Forward

2009-05-14T14:36:00.001-06:00

Moving forward...
After completing my last cycle of my action research, I started working towards exhibitions and how I was going to present all this information, learning, and growth in a 10 minute presentation. The task, ever since I have started concentrating on it, has become daunting. I am not afraid of speaking nor lacking excitement about what I am presenting. It is merely, how do you reduce down a year’s worth of thinking and reflecting into 10 minutes.

I am hoping what I am presenting will be worthwhile and memorable. I want to start off presenting my kids, their one word reflections and then move into what I did this year and reflections from me. I also want to Skype in one of my students, maybe two depending on time, into the presentation. Time is a factor though and I am unsure how much time to devout to each section.

Moving forward though, I have been thinking about where I want to be a year from now. In Melissa’s class we are spending some time looking at being agents of change. Reflecting on where I am now, I can’t imagine anymore on my plate, but there are some areas I know I want more from and want to expand.

1- I want my classroom especially my students to be examples of the possibilities in education. I want to put my kids out there so others can see the possibilities.
2- I want to put myself out there. I have really enjoyed over the past couple of years traveling and speaking with Karl Fisch. I want to do more of this, and unsure how to move forward on this. I know at one point Margaret suggested just speaking at various conferences, but this requires time and money to travel of which my district doesn’t fund and I don’t personally have the money. Anyone out there want to fund this endeavor?
3- I want to be a leader in my school, district, state and heck, even nation for teaching. I want to speak about the transformational difference of empowering students with their learning and technologies role in the process. Next year, our ninth grade LA classes will all be 1-1 classes. I want to help lead this adventure. I can foresee a role for me in sharing my past experiences to help others move forward. I also can see me being a leader for my district in having a classroom where others can learn from.

I am really thankful for this opportunity to start thinking about where I want to grow and how I want to grow. I know after having some time off this summer, my batteries will be refreshed, my spirit enlivened and more clearly see how this next year fills out.

Why Standardized Testing Doesn’t Work for My Kid

2009-05-14T13:39:00.002-06:00

The other day, my daughter came home from school and as usual we started in on her math homework. They are starting to learn fractions in her 1st grade class. The first question on the worksheet asked her to take two candy bars that were drawn on the paper and divide each into ½. Now, one of the candy bars was much larger than the other. After she had divided the candy bars into two, the next part of the problem asked which half of candy bar she would rather have. Knowing that she is my daughter, she, of course, picked ½ of the smaller candy bar. I asked her why she picked that half? She said that if she picked the smaller half then she wouldn’t get sick from eating all that candy.

Do you think on standardized testing they have a space for her to explain her choice for eating healthy on a math question?

LC3- Week 2

2009-05-11T09:46:00.001-06:00

I have been reading The Handbook for Emerging Technologies and am pleasantly encouraged by the work I have done in my classroom and staff development efforts that I have experienced that align so nicely to what the authors are describing. The authors are describing the necessary changes we must make to our educational system in order to embrace the technological revolution that is underway. They however, do not just jump at using tech for tech sake, but using it in meaningful and relevant ways. I find that throughout this handbook they provide such well thought out counterpoints that this handbook would be a great basis for discussion for teachers who are on their way to 21st century learning environments ad those who are more hesitant. They provide well thought out groundwork for us to consider and how to see our role as an educator change and adapt.
What strikes me the most is how doable a 21st century education or learning environment is and how often we make excuses as to why it can’t be done. We are at the peak of change here. It is our time to step up for our students and make a difference. As the authors claim:

“The aim of education to 'arm every single person for the vital combat for lucidity' appears more difficult in a world of hyper-fragmentation, reflected in the development of the Internet and in the breakdown of traditional information structures such as newspapers, journals, and books.

How is education to fulfill its societal role of clarifying confusion when tools of control over information creation and dissemination rest in the hands of learners, contributing to the growing complexity and confusion of information abundance?”

I see all of this coming true with the changes I have made in my classroom. By empowering my students with technology that allows them to seek out understanding and clarification, my students have a new understanding of the world around them. However, this doesn’t mean that I have just let them loose in the wide world of web-surfing. Instead my role as a teacher has shifted. I can see my job as a combination of atelier, network administrator, facilitator, concierge and curator. Teaching is not a one descriptor job anymore. We need to be adaptable as do our students. And technology makes it all possible to not only meet the ever growing and changing needs of our students but for ourselves as professional learners too.

LC3- AR reflection

2009-05-06T09:06:00.000-06:00

Having lost my student teacher, I am back to full time teaching. It was so great to have the kids back. I missed them so much. I missed teasing them, talking with them, and watching them grow and learn. It was so hard to remove myself and become a “bystander” to their learning while helping Randon grow as a teacher and learner. To transfer my focus from 30 to 1 was a challenging task. I am still wondering how well it all went. I think it was hard on all of us, but over the long term, will be something we are all better for.

Interestingly, after Randon was done student teaching, I talked to the kids about taking away the No D policy and multiple redos. They were adamantly against it. In fact, many of the kids were not comfortable with going back to a traditional approach to learning. I wonder what will happen with them next year. How are they going to succeed next year in classes where there are enforced deadlines and no redos? Have I set them up for failure? Or can I look at this in a positive light wondering that if they now know how to succeed and learn best, will they apply those skills into other classes? Will they advocate for themselves in their future classes letting their teachers know how they learn best? So we are continuing on with these policies in place and the kids still in charge of their grade and learning.

I also wonder for myself what I am going to do next year. Will I try this again? Will I take away the D and have multiple redos? How will the kids respond? Will they be as engaged and interested? Will they want to be participants? Can I do this again?

The rest of this semester the kids have been working on coming back to me. It has been a welcome transition I think for them, but they are readjusting after struggling at times with classroom management policies that were in place with Randon and now switching back to the way I run the classroom. I am planning on taking their pictures and doing some wordle.net work them this week for my final presentation. I am asking them to give me one word that describes the change in them, in the class, and the change in learning. I want to take these words and their images creating some works of art to display at my presentation creating more of a gallery approach rather than a traditional poster board. Hopefully my art metaphor will carry over into all things. My vision is of frames of them as art work with charts, data, and words as art work as well. We will see if I can get it all to come together without it being tacky or overwhelming.
The mode for the next few weeks is working on my presentation, cleaning up my website (adding images and quotes), and doing lots of reading.

LC3-1

2009-05-06T08:41:00.001-06:00

Last nights first LC meeting of the last semester of our OMET program was desperately needed. I think many of us are facing this last semester with trepidation and excitement. We can see the end in sight, but there is much work to be completed before all the hard work pays off.

We discussed what this next semester is going to focus on and I really appreciated hearing about our readings, expectations, and assignments going forward. I am especially excited about the idea of creating our ideal job and then interviewing with one of our classmates to get that job. I think this is a prime example of a real world application of learning. This is the kind of activity I try and create for my students where their learning is applied to a new situation. Also, there is a great measure of creativity here. We get to think about our ideal job- what would we do? What would we be responsible for? What changes could we make to the world? I am excited to learn who I will be paired with and start working towards designing my ideal job (right now I have no idea) and thinking about where that job would be and what I would be doing. I think talking this out with some people that know me best would be a good idea to flush out some thoughts. Luckily MR is sending us information about this assignment with interview tips and suggestions for designing our ideal jobs.

We also talked about presentations/ exhibitions in June. This is something that has been weighing on my mind for some time. I really want to do my best and impress not only my colleagues but myself as well. I remember watching the presentations from last year and hearing people say that some of the presentations were mind blowing. I want to hear that about mine. It was really helpful to get some clarification on what all of this is going to look like. I like the idea of presenting with our group all focusing on similar ideas/ topics/ venues of AR work. I think that lends itself to a nice cohesive presentation. I have already started working on my presentation (more the visuals that I want to use). I think I am going to use some charts and graphs, but I want to remain consistent and steadfast with the use of the emerging works of art metaphor- Creating more successful learners. We did a great exercise last night playing with verb choices that reflect our metaphor. MR did this with me first semester, but I would like to spend some more time with my LC exploring this.

Going forward, I think I will continue spending time figuring out my presentation, planning my exhibition board, and contemplating what my future job will be. Also, I will be reading, reading, reading, and umm…reading. I like the idea that we are going to be exclusively in Google Sites. I think this will be an excellent change into using one platform for all things OMET. I am doing something similar in my own classes and would like to see ways that I can expand my classroom by the work that we are doing in LC’s.

Last Lecture- The Final Project

2009-04-29T09:55:00.003-06:00

The final semester for seniors (and for teachers, too) is always a challenging one to keep everyone motivated and on task. When I think of some of the activities I have created in order to keep the kids focused on their learning and not on holding down a beach chair, I wonder how effective and meaningful these projects were. This year I decided to start the semester off a little differently and a little more challenging. Rather than focusing on a question that dealt specifically with a thematic topic connecting all the pieces of literature, I challenged my students to answer the question “What’s the Point?” Under that mind blowing question, student needed to consider why we are reading the assigned texts, what relevance do they have towards their own lives, and what messages are the authors trying to send to us all? What’s the point of their final semester of the senior year of high school?

At the beginning of the semester, Lauren Lee (formerly Gaffney), told me of an assignment she was thinking of asking her students to complete. The task was to have our students write his/her own last lectures mimicked after Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture. During Pausch’s speech he reminisces about important and seemingly unimportant aspects of his life growing up and how each of these elements influenced the person he became. He ends the entire motivational speech with humor, tears, and lessons we should all take away. He didn’t write this last lecture for us, but for his kids.

Lauren and I talked about how their speech should be structured and what elements we wanted to have it contain. At first we thought the speech should be around ten minutes, but realizing how much time that would take to complete each students’ speech, we decided to narrow down the time. We decided on three parts to their speech: reflections on the past, lasting legacy to Arapahoe High School, and looking forward (what do you want in the next year, five years, ten years). Having the central question “What’s the Point?” helped focus the students on what they wanted their speech to say to the audience.

The first two segments of their speech were to be turned in at the end of each six week grading period. I commented on the written papers, and then the students met with me or my student teacher individually for one on one conferences. On a side note, one to one conferences are far more meaningful than any written feedback. After the second part of their speech was written, we discussed during their writing conference how they would bring together all three parts of their speech. What was going to be their focus or central theme? What is the lasting message they wanted the audience to have from them? We brainstormed during this session mapping out some possibilities of bringing all the parts of their written speech together into one cohesive, inspirational 5-7 minute speech- knock your socks off quality. Also, I wrote my own last lecture delivering the segments to my students for their review and feedback. Here are the first and second segments. This was really challenging to put my thoughts, ideas and writing out there for my students to not only to read, but to comment upon as well. As Karl reminds me, it is important that whatever we ask our students to do, that we are willing to do the same assignment ourselves.

Before finals, students are not only going to be giving their last lecture to our class, but we are going to tape and U Stream out their speeches for their families, friends, and the world of course, to see what these wonderful talented and charismatic kids have to say. I am anxiously waiting to see how it all comes together. The students agreed to this rubric to assess their speech. Hopefully, as they have done before, the kids will rise to the challenge realizing what an incredible opportunity this is to leave a lasting impression on their peers, teachers, and world to let everyone know what is important, meaningful, and relevant to each and everyone of these kids.

If you are interested in watching the last lectures, keep an eye on The Fischbowl for times and the Ustream link. Also, there will be blog posts on our class blog to comment on each individual speech. We are asking commenters to leave feedback about the presentation and to be every careful about how they comment regarding topics the presenter discusses.

The following students have signed up for presentation dates and times: (all presentations will occur during fourth hour which meets from 10:35- 11:34 am MST).

May 6:
Steven W
Rick M
Lauren B
Hailey M
Taylor S
Lauren L

May 8:
Adrienne B
Katie M
Kevin N
Shelli Marr
Jordan S
Jake F

May 11:
Eric L
Drew B
Anna P
Brittney W
Sara B
Patrick B

May 13:
Kendra S
Tom B
Will B
Kaitlyn W
Mackenzie L

May 15: (Juniors only)
Molly
Irene L
Sara E
Kim
Kaitlyn R
Katie O

Toons and AR work: getting to know our LCs

2009-03-21T14:42:00.000-06:00

Cartoons to get to Know Someone
When we were first given the syllabus for 665, we had to create a Learning Activity that would be a small part of a larger course in which we would work at using the planning of Understanding By Design. My group spoke right away of what we wanted to do, and after talking with Melissa, came up with some greater clarification and direction that we wanted to proceed. We all decided that for us, Virt Camp was something although meant to be well designed, lacked design. So, we put our head together to create a new improved vision for Virt Camp or an introductory camp like it. What we soon realized, given our LA was that our focus and G7’s focus were very similar. We both valued getting to know people in our groups before we opened up to them. They created a really fun activity that I can see using in my own classroom not just with getting to know others.

As students of OMET, we are conducting research in our field of work. Each semester, we are asked ot switch learning circles in which we learn, support, and challenge one another’s research work. The challenge in switching LC’s so much is that you have to relearn someone else’s project and how far they have come. In order to make that process simpler and more clear, G7 developed a cartoon acitivty where I would create a toon of my AR without captions, then in our LC we would exchange toons and another of my LC members would add the captions to go with my AR work. The three toon programs we could use were ToonDoo (web-based), BitStrips (web-based) or ComicLife (download free trial software). We were also asked to read an article about building trust in online learning circles.

It was fun to see the hard work some put into their toons and as usual how others would not contribute. This was a fun activity and was nice to see a bridge between our 665 class and 638. I thought their activity was very effective as did Margaret because she is adding this as an activity to assist in our LC work.

The followed their activity with a survey for us to complete looking at the connections between this activity in their essential questions and learning goals. I think it did an effective job and is something I am going to use in my own classrooms.

Real World Economics

2009-03-21T14:24:00.001-06:00

Saving for the Future...
After working on the large activity of learning a foreign language, I was worried about how big in scope each groups’ Learning activity would be. Luckily, the following group created a very meaningful and relevant activity for us to learn about real world economics.

Their group assigned each student a profession and a salary. We all had the common background that we were all single and no children. We were then to figure out a savings plan for ourselves in light of our current US economic situation considering rent, insurance, utilities, grocery, etc…. This assignment was interesting in many ways because we all had ot step out of our lives and consider what it would be like to be another individual earning either more or less than we do now. The activity asked for us to learn Budgetpulse and create charts that demonstrated what we would spend and what we would save. We used these charts for a discussion that followed.
I enjoyed this activity a lot and thought the relevancy for today’s adults and youth was quite meaningful. We could all learn, especially with the numerous software applications available, to budget appropriately and learn the power of saving. Additionally, the follow up questions that were asked created a nice discussion for us to examine our current practices in spite of what we learned.

Finally, the group concluded with a survey asking about the connections between their essential learnings and the activity itself. I was really impressed with the overall plan of their lesson, the execution, the follow-up discussion and the survey.

Learning a Foreign Language

2009-03-21T14:08:00.001-06:00

The Furious Five had ambitious goals for their learning activity asking the students to learn a foreign language, prepare a travel itinerary, learn a new piece of technology, and write paragraphs in the foreign language about all of this. The developed a wonderful learning cite that would guide us students throughout this journey. I shared the Busuu.com site with our foreign language teacher in order to provide another tool for their tool box to use at school.

Some of the aspects of their LA I really enjoyed were the number of interactive and informative tutorials to assist the learner throughout this adventure. The tutorials working your way through Busuu was helpful and necessary so that time could be concentrated on the assignment itself. Also, I really enjoyed all the mapping their website provided. Whenever you had a question, there was a point of reference that could be found on the website to answer your question.

Challenges included the scope of the assignment. I felt for a one week assignment, this activity was well beyond what you would learn or be able to do in a classroom. The time just to make it through the tutorials, and writing paragraphs was considerable. I am just unsure of how realistic the assignment was.

Overall, I was glad at the variety within the activity. I could take the learning as far as I was interested in pursuing and I think that is essential with a large activity such as this. I wish there was more participation in the discussion boards when I reacted to my participation in order to conduct more of a dialogue. What I was impressed by and influenced my approach to my LA was how attentive the leaders were to your answers. I took away their attentiveness and applied it to my groups LA.

LA reflection Type A: Redoing Virt Camp

2009-03-21T13:48:00.001-06:00

When we were first given the syllabus for 665, we had to create a Learning Activity that would be a small part of a larger course in which we would work at using the planning of Understanding By Design. My group spoke right away of what we wanted to do, and after talking with Melissa, came up with some greater clarification and direction that we wanted to proceed. We all decided that for us, Virt Camp was something although meant to be well designed, lacked design. So, we put our head together to create a new improved vision for Virt Camp or an introductory camp like it. What we soon realized, given our understandings of UbD is that this was going to be a challenge.

We are all opinionated members in Type A and all are outspoken in what we feel, but this has extreme advantages when working with others who understand you and want to do their best work. By meeting several times before Orlando, during and after, we were well organized. We put together a plan for introducing ourselves to one another before we would arrive at Virt Camp in order to have a better understanding of whom each individual is and why they would want to pursue their Masters degree with OMET. We addressed this issue in the broader learning goal of understanding what makes up a community of learners and how to do create a community of learners. Our learning activity can be found here.

I think we introduced the plan well in our initial email that Tanner sent out, and also sought out questions and clarification our group members would need by reintroducing the lesson again at the TI session. This way, we could make sure students understood the essential learnings that would be the focus on the lesson, why we wanted them to create the video, and hopefully, begin building the foundation for a community of learners. We introduced the essential questions first in our lesson design so that students could see the whole then break it down into parts as it would relate back to the whole.

It took some time to get people to participate in this activity as can be expected because three LA’s were all assigned at the same time. However, the videos that were posted were all fun to watch and interesting to see other’s reactions to each others videos. Some were of course higher quality addressing all the questions that were asked for them to put into the video in order to address the essential questions, but overall I think it worked well.

After the videos were posted, we asked the students to react to one another’s videos. This is one area where we were hoping to see not just acknowledgement and praise for each others efforts which could be the basis for building trust in a community of learners, but to also ask for additional clarification and understanding. Some did a good job of this, and others chose not to complete this aspect of the assignment at all. I think we could have put the students in smaller learning circles or taken their LC’s to have them react to one another’s videos in order to assist in reacting to videos. This way at least their would be smaller groups checking in on one another versus us.

As a final reaction from the group, we asked them to complete a survey to see their reflection on the assignment as well as its connection to our essential learnings. The survey results provided clarification on some aspects of the videos. Students who did a good job on their were frustrated by others who had not answered all the questions, and others who produced poorer quality videos expressed the challenge in being limited to 1 minute or of learning a new piece of technology. Some discussed the challenge of this being an opening activity at Virt Camp and would everyone have the expertise to know how to create a video. All of these are good reflection to consider when redesigning this lesson for another class or as Margaret has suggested for use in when we change LC’s.

I think it can’t be emphasized enough the importance of building a foundation to grow from when you are working in cooperative groups. Because we have all gotten to know each other this year, it has helped build that trust. But, could this trust have been established sooner if some of the techniques our group and G7 used? I think so.

Overall, I was happy with the Learning Activity. I wish we could have received some better quality work from all members, increased assistance from one of my Type A members, but regardless, we all completed this activity as a team, and building the foundation of a community of learners.

Kids responses to cycle 2 feedback

2009-03-21T10:44:00.002-06:00

What was the most effective part of the dual feedback you received?
Understanding what other people have to say(JO)
Where my mistakes and errors were shown to me so I could go back and fix them (BG)
I liked the two opinions expressed in ever feedback (AW)
Getting back two different perspectives of advice (MB)
The feedback was very helpful because most of the time if I didn’t understand something the feedback would help me and it was very detailed (GV)
Getting feedback from two people is very helpful to me. The most effective part of it has been getting information back on ways to improve writing from more than one person. (CW)
That there are mistakes or other opinions that just one person could not find (ML)
I got feedback from two different points of view (FB)
I found it to be interesting to have feedback from two teachers. It was kind of weird at first but it really helped later on. It helped me to revise my papers correctly and accurately (CO)
Most effective part about the dual feedback was that each teacher had different suggestions. And if one missed one mistake that I made the other teacher would catch it. (BS)
The most effective part of the dual feedback that I received was I got to see how two different teachers graded my papers, and what they thought. (AL)
I can always see what I’ve done wrong (MB)
It helped me look at different aspects of my paper in different ways, from different standpoints and it helped me perfect if you will my whole paragraph structure. (NK)
The most effective part was that I had a chance to hear from two teacher and what they thought was good and what was wrong. It was quite overwhelming (JL)
The most effective part of the dual feedback was the fact that if Ruggles missed something Smith could catch it and vice versa (OB)
Having two points of view to listen to and two different sets of advice, because if I didn’t like one idea I could go with a different one (NL)
I got to see what I was good at and what I needed to improve. It also helped me see what the teachers said and if I missed something they would tell me so that I wouldn’t get graded down on it. (BB)
The most effective part of dual feedback is that since two people were looking at the paper there was less of a chance to keep having to redo stuff that was missed the first time. (AS)
The most effective part of the dual feedback has been that my paper was more carefully looked over things that one missed and the other caught. Also I gave me the chance to see the opinions of two completely different people and apply the suggestions to my paper making it even better. (EK)
The most effective part of the dual feedback that I received was just the idea of having two different sets of opinions. You get to see from two different people with two totally separate writing styles what one thought you did good and another teachers opinion of what you did bad. (MI)
Probably the punctuation in my paper (ER)

What could have been improved about the feedback you received? Think about oral feedback, written feedback, and dual feedback.
Oral was ok, written needed to be more clearly, dual was good
More specific on the feedback and examples to help me fix it
I think I would have done better one my paper without two conflicting opinions
Feedback contradicted each other
Dual feedback wasn’t as specific as the oral was
The feedback that I received was very helpful tome. It was all good feedback oral, written and especially dual.
What could have improved is completely different thinking and not the same thing twice
Explain what you are saying more
I think that what could be improved is that on the feedback you guys could talk to each other so that you guys don’t put down all of the same corrections on the papers.
I really liked having the oral feedback. It made more sense to me when it was explained in person instead of having the mistake written down and not understanding it.
We needed more time because it was overwhelming to get so much feedback all at once.
On the dual feedback there are a lot of repeated things
I don’t think that anything needs to be changed about feedback. I don’t really see how you can improve anything on feedback, feedback is just comments left by teacher, usually just ideas.
The feedback was a lot to handle all at one and was a lot to fix. I thought it was way too much to fix and it was crazy.
I think the written feedback could have been explained more because I always have questions on the written feedback because either I can’t read it or it is not explained clearly enough. I like the oral feedback better because it is one on one and I can question right then and there. I like the dual feedback as well.
I think that sometimes the written feedback was hard to understand and a lot of times I had to ask about what exactly the writing meant.
Was explaining on why we had to change something in our writing. Oral feedback was good because they could come to our computers and show us what we needed. The written feedback was good because they would circle the things that had to be changed to show what was wrong. The dual feedback was not my favorite because it went by really fast and I didn’t get all my questions answered.
The thing that could have been better about the feedback in general is that it could have been more consistent. It just felt like I fixed all the mistakes on my paper just so that the next time we turned in another draft there was always more in the same place I had just fixed. I think it just needs to be more consistent.
Often I had to fix a part of my paper and then I would get feedback the next day instead of before I fixed it. It would have been more helpful if we didn’t correct the papers until we had the feedback from the day before back. That way we could use the feedback when we were revising our papers.
I think sometimes the feedback can be too harsh. I understand that it is important to criticize what was done wrong, but I think more ideas need to be given how to fix the problems.
I don’t think much could be improved I think Smith and Rugs did a pretty good job at covering everything we need to fix.

Over the course of the A-CW paper, do you think your writing improved? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?
Write a better essay get a better grade
I really do that think I just exercised my previous skills but I did learn about how to put quotes in and to organize a paragraph but my skills did not improve
I do not think my writing improved that much because I didn’t receive writing instruction on how to improve my writing in the future. I only got instructions on how to improve this paper.
My writing improved because I received feedback so I knew exactly what to do to make my paper better. I improved my grammar and structure
I would say that this assignment helped me a lot because I didn’t really know that there was so many steps to writing a paper.
Doing the ACW paper helped me improve my writing in many ways. Before that paper, I did not format papers very well. Now I can format the entire paper
Yes, I think my writing improved lots because before I started I did not know how to right a formal paper
I think my writing improved more because we did a lot of writing
I think that my writing improved. I learned a lot more about attention getter for an opener. So I had a new creative way to start off essays and paragraphs.
I think my writing did improve. All the feedback that was received was very helpful and even more helpful that it was from two teachers
I thought that my writing had improved. I improved in the way I put my writing together, along with learning the correct way to quote people as well as making a point to the paragraph
I think that it has because every time I thought I was done, you would always have more things I could improve upon
I think that with all of the papers we had to write and all of the research we had to do, I think that it made me think of some topics in a more broad spectrum if that makes sense.
My writing improved in the way that I think . I normally do not do papers that make you think a lot and this one was a challenge for me
I think my writing did improve over the course of the paper. I have become better at providing information …
I do think that my writing improved because as the paper progressed because I learned how to use the format better and what I should say when writing my paper.
I believe my writing had improved because I understand how to line up paragraphs better. I have also gotten better at quotes and citations. I am now good at understanding where to put the citations after the quotes.
I think that over the course of the paper I did improve my writing a lot because I learned about some of my common mistakes and because of all of this I could proofread myself better.
I think that my writing improved in terms of structure. We made sure that each paragraph had every part and that they all flowed together. Also we made sure that we all understood how to write each part.
I think that it has improved because from the start I found this assignment very challenging. It was hard to make everything flow and to keep my opinion toned down into a manner that was acceptable for formal writing piece which is challenging when your topic is something you want to change. Through this unit, and even still now I am working on my corrections I am learning more and more about the set up of writing styles.
I think it got a little better however, I do not think I’m an excellent writer.
What essential writing skills did you take away from the unit?
Better topic sentence, thesis, longer paragraphs
None except incorporating quotes and organizing paragraph skills
I learned how to write a 5 paragraph essay and stay on topic
Organization skills and structural skills. I learned how to write a paper in sections and how to write it in a good advanced form.
All the punctuation that I didn’t exactly know how to use
The things that has helped me the most outside of that paper and that unit is knowing how to format papers and more specifically the paragraphs in the paper
I took the skills of not saying I me my or you and also to write a formal paper
I learned the structure of writing a paragraph
I learned a lot about grammar and correction and revision. I now know how to efficiently revise and correct my paper and know the right grammar to use in some situations.
I think I got a lot better at the forms of my paragraphs and how to write them better and relate back to the topic sentence
The essential writing that I got out of the unit was the overall format
The most important writing skills I took away from this assignment would be proofreading
I learned how to keep the reader glued to the paper and really make my paper come to life with elements that are interesting to the reader, and it really make writing easier if you know how to put it all together in some sort of creative way.
I did not really take any essential writing things away from this thing.
An essential writing skill I took away from this unit were stating a position, writing a better thesis and overall writing better paragraphs.
Took away a new format for writing including the format for writing thesis and how to use quotes and research in my paper.
How to put together a perfect paragraph. Now I know how to do lead-ins and my topic sentence better.
I learned a lot more about grammar and things that should be written a lot because I learned about some of my common mistakes and because of this I could proofread myself better.
I learned how to write properly and in a certain format. Now if sometime in the future I need to write a paper like this one I will know how and I will have experience.
Opinionated and persuasive writing skills were taken away in my paper. When writing a formal letter, you do not want your passionate feelings and reasonings to come across rude.
How to form a position paper.

What suggestions for improvement do you have for teaching the A-CW paper next year? What suggestions would you give to students next year in completing A-CW?
Make sure you get it right the first time
Not to do the paper period, (BG)…
I think that you should do more of the paper in class so that students can ask questions when they have them instead of later when they forget them
More work time and the project cut into a shorter amount of time…
It might be hard to find quotes for some of the topics they might choose.
Not to pile so much work on at one time. It is a very challenging paper and should not be rushed too much.
Give more work time to those who need it and let them use their I pods so the classroom stay quiet
Give more time
I would suggest that you expand more on the intro and how to do that. More time for each paragraphs
Improvement for a teacher on the paper would be to go at a little slower rate towards the end of the paper.
Give students more time to finish the paper
I wouldn’t change anything
Just turn it in on time
Do not do the double feedback thing because it is a lot to handle and a lot for a kid to try and fix on his won. Also he needs more work time with the teacher just one on one.
One improvement is to explain the difference between point to the paragraph and make the point. They are so hard to differentiate so it was hard for me to actually think of them and I didn’t actually add one of the two for some paragraphs
Would suggest that you have one on one editing time for papers because that helped me the most when I got one on one time.
The suggestions that I have for the teachers nest year is to give us a better explanation on our mistakes in our writing.
Stay on top of this work
For teaching the paper next year, I think more time should be spent on finding subjects to write about, exploring action plans.
This isn’t something that can really be taught. I think its important that the students pick a topic they are passionate about or else there will be no point in them even doing the job. SO your job as a teacher should be to motivate and inspire the kids maybe by showing them videos about problems throughout the world, read articles, anything.
Just let them know that although they might have the redo policy it’s still in their best interest to get everything in one time so they can be squared away for the due date of the paper.

What kinds of feedback were the most meaningful and relevant? Think about oral feedback, written feedback, and dual feedback.
Dual feedback
Oral, written and dual feedback is best because it gives a variety and two teachers can help you the more the better
Written most relevant
Written feedback- let me know exactly what I needed to do to make my project better and was very specific
Best feedback was the oral kind because I would understand it better
Written feedback was the most helpful. I always knew what was being asked of me because it was written right on the paper.
Oral and dual feedbacks were the most meaningful and relevant
Written feedback
Big errors like missing quotes and stuff
The most meaningful feedback was the oral feedback because I learn better when I hear it
Dual feedback because we got to see not only one but two different ways that people revised the assignment
The most helpful feedback was the oral feedback because I could argue and or show my side of the point instead of the teacher telling me what I did wrong
Like I said before, I think any kind of feedback and ideas and corrections are good for me as a writer.
Do your best speech
Oral feedback I think helps me the most because when I think of a question at that moment I can ask it and won’t forget about it. I think the oral feedback helped me the most and I work better that way. (OB)
Oral feedback because then the teacher can explain exactly what I could do to make my writing better.
Oral feedback- because when we had work time the teacher will be talking around the room for any questions that we might have on the paper and they will help us.
Didn’t answer
Dual feedback was the most meaningful and relevant because I got twice as many corrections and twice as many suggestions to make my paper better.
Written feedback that was more than a sentence explaining that you had a good start and just needed more work. That type of feedback meant the most and was the most useful because it doesn’t insult you and it shows you that you are getting there.
See question 1 response

Over the course of the semester, did you notice a change in Mr. Ruggles’ feedback? Think about oral feedback (1-1), written feedback, and dual feedback. Did his feedback improve over time? What suggestions would you have for his continued improvement in giving feedback?
It did but I can’t read his handwriting
I think didn’t improve, his feedback has always been great
I think that oral feedback from Ruggles was the best and it improved over time
Did not see a difference in the writing feedback I received, but it is ok because the feedback was great.
I am not quite sure but I think the feedback that he gave me was good
His feedback has improved over time. At first I did not always understand what it was he wanted, now I always know what he is asking me to do. He should always try to improve on feedback to keep his feedback getting better and better.
You can’t really change the way you think or feel about how an essay is written
I think it was the same the whole time
Feedback became more informative and helpful overtime.
I think his feedback did improve and got more detailed when he graded my stuff. Suggestions would be to keep doing what he’s doing.
He improved mostly on the written feedback.
I didn’t take into consideration the writing/ feedback of Ruggles. During the course of paper, I was more focused on my writing
I didn’t really get much feedback from him. I struggle with getting my work in on time this year.
He kept giving way too much feedback but in the long run it was helpful.
Mr. Ruggles feedback improved over time because at first it wasn’t really that much help because it wasn’t constructive feedback. Now it is better and it is easy to figure out what you need to fix. A suggestion I have is not to worry about being to mean about something and just write what needs to be fixed.
I didn’t notice any chance because I was more focused on my writing and how I could fix that, than Ruggles feedback. I think that it did not really change that much over time.
At the beginning of the year, he didn’t really help out much because he was new and didn’t really know what to do. Now he knows our class and helps us all the time on our questions that we ask
Both feedbacks were very helpful. I just thought that it was interesting that the two feedbacks were different sometimes. I think that it might be good idea for both to do 1 paper. Ruggles looks over it and makes corrections and then Smith looks at the same paper and just puts down anything else she sees.
I noticed a slight change in Ruggle’s feedback it got nicer and less corrective. I think that the more corrective the feedback the better because it tells the student what they need to do to make it better.
Ruggles feedback was good and very helpful. The beginning of the semester I think he was a little more lenient about the problems he found in the papers. But he has changed in a good way and now is down to the point which in the end helps out the writer the most.
Not really

Over the course of the semester, how helpful was Smith’s feedback? Was the written, oral (1-1), dual feedback the most helpful? What was the least helpful? What suggestions do you have for Smith to help Mr. Ruggles with feedback?
Dual feedback was good
Same as above
Smith’s feedback was the most helpful in written form her oral feedback was the least helpful.
Smith’s feedback was great. She was really specific but a hard time reading her handwriting. Also, to read each others feedback so that they do not make the same corrections or contradict one another’s feedback because it gets confusing and is too much.
Smith’s feedback was very helpful to write the paper and I think that she could help Mr. Ruggles by maybe giving him some feedback on how to do things when he is teaching
Smith’s oral feedback was always the most helpful to me. Whenever we did not understand something, she would explain it to us and help us get started. The least helpful to me was the dual. This eventually got to be the best feedback I got, but at first it was new and got me jumbled. Keep giving Mr. Ruggles your best feedback and showing him things he needs to improve upon also things he is doing well on.
Over the course of the first semester Smith’s feedback was helpful but we didn’t get it very often
It was very helpful. I think Smith should show Ruggles how to explain his feedback
Pretty helpful most of the time. Some of the stuff got a little repetitive but that is ok in some cases because it could be a very obvious problem
Didn’t answer
Smith’s feedback was very helpful the most effective to me was the oral feedback because it helped me from falling behind in my writing. The suggestion that I would have for Smith to help Ruggles would be to keep on doing more of the 1-1 feedback because it helps people improve their writing skills.
Again the oral was more helpful
Same as above
It was helpful but once again a little too much to handle if I was going to read both teachers feedback.
Pretty helpful because I knew what needed to be fixed. Oral feedback is always the best I understand it more this way. Suggestion for Smith is to help Ruggles with feedback is show him how sometimes being what some people may thinking is mean really isn’t it is just being really helpful and makes them do better in the long run.
Smith’s feedback was very helpful because she is good at showing me what I should be doing better with my writing and how I should fix things that I do wrong. She is really good at helping me change what I have wrong.
Smith’s feedback is very helpful. The most helpful was the written feedback this is because she really isn’t our teacher right now but she was in the case of her reading and helping us with our paper. The least helpful was the dual because we didn’t really talk one on one with her. Suggestion- Smith teaching Ruggles how to control a loud and energetic classroom.
Both feedbacks were very helpful. I just thought that it was interesting that the two feedbacks were different sometimes. I think that it might be good idea for both to do 1 paper. Ruggles looks over it and makes corrections and then Smith looks at the same paper and just puts down anything else she sees.
Smith’s feedback was very helpful because it not only said what was wrong but she was willing to help you fix it and give suggestions of another way to write it.
Smith’s feedback was good and helpful. She was always down to the point to tell you exactly what you did excellent and what was done horrible which sometimes you really do need especially with big assignments like this. You want to be told about your problems as early as possible so you are not making them worse as you continue to go on with the assignments. The types of oral feedback that were the most helpful was one on one conference. I would maybe even suggest having a sign-up for this one time throughout the middle of the project.
I think both teachers did a good job letting people know what they needed to improve.

LC week 10

2009-03-11T08:51:00.000-06:00

I spent the better part of Saturday composing my cycle two report (otherwise known as part 2 of my cycle one)according to some discussions that I had with MR and with my LC. We had decided before to show the iteration of my AR work by splitting up my cycle one into smaller sections. I was taking the idea that because of the No D policy that lead to the multiple revision policy which lead to students creating their own rubric. In essence, my cycle one report would be a rather large document generating smaller subsections that each dealt with the topics.
However, as MR left feedback about my report, she thinks it would be better to go back and do it the way I had started it which was all within the same report. Oh well! Nothing like a good rewrite to refocus and solidify your ideas.

Basically, the structure I will follow is that the report will be an overall focus of the iterations that took place as a result of instituting the No D policy. I will then break down the report into subsections only in the data analysis so that the data can be examined separately to see its effects upon the class and me as the teacher.

Also, in the reflection section of my report, I could break it up into various sections if I felt it worked well for my paper. I can see this being beneficial for a focused reflection, but sense each part of the cycle leads into one another, I feel like I often come away with the same reflections and questions about the process as a whole.

Impressively enough and I have to remember to pass this along to my students, MR commented about what great reflections my kids write. I was really proud of them hearing this compliment and hadn’t thought before about how good they are at reflecting. I have done reflections so much in my class and give my kids that class time to do them, so I hadn’t thought about how well done they are until she pointed this out. It really made me feel good, and I am excited to share the news with my students.

We also had a great conversation in our LC about writing as a reflective process and how important it is to write over and over again. Yet, in schools, we do not teach writing this way. We are so focused on the one time only assignment. And for me, that was especially my focus until this past year when I gave my students multiple redos. What a change for both me and my students.

Sadly, I learned that we have to change LCs again at the end of this semester. I really am not excited about that. It seems as though each time we start gelling and working together, then we have to move on. And especially, I don’t think it makes sense so close to our presentations because if the LC we are working with really knows our AR work, they could better assist us in making really effective presentations. I am not sure if a new LC with so short a time before our presentations can make that work. I need to trust in the process and last time when I was ambivalent about a new LC, it all worked out. I hope the same can come true again. Wouldn’t it be great if we could pick our own LC?

LC Week 9

2009-03-03T19:58:00.001-07:00

We began by listening to budget cuts from Abrash and my district. We are all feeling the crunch. It is really scary to think about cut backs for all teachers and administrators especially people we know.

I asked the group about spending time going over how they are feeling about their AR and work on cycle 2. Many of us are either feeling overwhelmed or can’t get a handle on where to go.
I talked with Matt, Tanner, and Abrash about the amount of data I had accumulated for what I thought would be my cycle 2 and 3 but unsure of how to write it all up and where to put all my cycle report information. Should I try to incorporate within each of my six week period studies a further analysis of the multiple revision work? Or should I write a “Part 2” of my cycle report to add at the end of my part one which would be the No D policy?

After some discussion and frequent explanations because I wasn’t being clear about what was in my head, we decided to divide cycle one up into the three parts would be the most effective and meaningful way to illustrate and present the results of my multiple revision policy and student generated rubric.

So, that leaves me with a lot of writing and analysis. I really wish there would be time to get this all accomplished. I did a lot of work with the multiple revision policy soliciting feedback from kids, completing a survey and personally interviewing students as well. Now I need to put all that together. Also, I need to think about the aspect with the student generated rubric. How am I going to assess that piece of the AR puzzle? I think the kids reflected on it somewhat, but I haven’t used it this semester with them because of my student teacher and their Change the World paper. Hmm, I just need to do some more thinking and reflecting I guess to pull this all together. Time would be nice too!