If you prefer to listen, click on the video above! Be kind, this is my first time to read my blog....it is not a strength of mine, but thought perhaps this would be better for some of you who would prefer to listen. In January, I decided I needed a hobby. I think for people who work in education, it is really important to have something that is completely for yourself because we spend most of our days serving others and come home to continue to serve others and I think we miss out on the need to also serve ourselves. But this post isn't about that necessarily....it is about my journey in learning to crochet. I hope that as you read this, you compare my journey to the journey kids have in school and could potentially have in your class as they are learning something new, just like I did. Beginning with the endSo I knew that I wanted to learn to crochet, but why? What was I going to use it for?What did I want to create? How would I know I was successful? First of all, I have an undying obsession with blankets. I love them, I use them constantly, and many hold great meaning to me and I wanted to give that to someone else. My friend was having a baby and I wanted to make something personal, so I decided on making a simple baby blanket. I knew that it was small enough that I would be able to finish, which I'll be honest is a BIG deal. I am well-known for starting and never finishing many of my craft projects (my husband was sure to point this out when I told him about my idea). I also loved this idea, because I knew that I could keep it simple, without forfeiting it's beauty or value. Choosing something complex or that required a lot of time would only frustrate me and cause me to give up before I ever really learned. These two principles really guided my decision on my final product. Collecting ResourcesNow that I knew what I wanted to do, I needed to do a little research on crocheting and find a specific example of what I wanted. I went to my favorite site where all my crafting needs are met, Pinterest. From here it was trial and error, I spent some time typing in different searches, "easy crochet baby blanket", "beginners crochet blanket", "how to crochet for beginners", so on and so forth. I built up some resources on a board that I could refer to as learned. My learning processThe Foundation I didn't start right away with the blanket. I started with just trying to learn a basic stitch. So after reviewing my resources, I found that learning the single crochet stitch was the very basic first step. I grabbed a hook, my yarn, and turned on a video....and then when it didn't quite look right, I turned on another video....and this continued through about 4-5 videos until I found one that really spoke to me and made sense. Then I practiced....I probably went about trying this same stitch for about 20-25 mintues. When I thought it looked pretty good, I took a picture of it and sent it to my mom. Apparently, it wasn't really that good. My mom wrote on the picture and showed me where I had messed up. Gave me a smiley face, and told me it was a great try..... I spent another 10-15 minutes correcting my mistakes. Sent my mom a new picture. This time I got it right. So I hung up my yarn and hooks for the evening and decided to come back later and continue practicing. I did just that. The next couple nights I worked on the single crochet stitch. I added a bit to what I learned each night, how to turn and add another line, counting stitches, etc. I continued to send my pics and she continued to help me fix my mistakes. Time to show what I knowAfter I felt pretty comfortable with what I learned, it was time to show it. I was ready to begin making my blanket. At this time I went back to my resources that I had collected on Pinterest and started sifting through some of the baby blankets I had saved. I ruled out ones that were out of my level. See I hadn't learned some of the more complicated stitches, I couldn't complete those blankets, but I had learned something. So I decided on a simple striped baby blanket, that required me to be able to do the single crochet stitch. To begin the blanket I had to make some decisions, what color or colors, how big did it need to be, what size hook did I need, how thick of yarn did I want to use? So I got out my journal and started to plan. Went to the store and purchased my supplies. Then I started....but it wasn't just like I quickly whipped up this blanket without any issues. I knew how to do a single-crochet stitch, but I wasn't perfect. I crocheted for a few days, got 5-6 lines done...took a picture and sent it to my mom. She told me some areas I could improve, and so as I continued with the blanket, I made sure to correct those things. Then it came time to switch colors. I hadn't learned that....yet! Did I just stop? Did my mom tell me, well Meredith, I guess you just get what you get? No, she pointed me to a few more resources, and I learned how to do a color change. A few weeks went by, and my blanket was finished. Well I thought it was. I was so proud! It was beautiful. I went to visit my mom and brought the blanket with me to show her. She praised me and told me how amazing it was. Then she offered a suggestion, what about a border? It will really help clean it up. She showed me how to complete it and that's what I did. Now, I had something even more amazing and beautiful and I was so excited to give it to my friend for her new baby. Continuing my journeySince then, I have created another afghan, using that same stitch. But this time I used two types of yarn to add more effect. I made it larger and so it required a bit more stamina. I am now currently working on a much more complicated project. It requires me to use different types of stitches and lots of color changes. My foundation and level of confidence has allowed me to try these harder things. I still need scaffolding and help from my mom when videos and books aren't enough but that help isn't needed immediately or as often. I do still need her praise. I still send her pictures of what I've accomplished, and I love to hear how proud of me she is. She is still there to support me. So what does this have to do with the classroom?Absolutely everything. 1. Make it relevant. I didn't learn crochet because someone forced me. Now, I know some subjects that is hard to do...but we must TRY! 2. Choose our tools and resources carefully. In my case, crocheting resources are found easily using Pinterest. That was the right tool for the job. Researching how to crochet on CNN, would have proven much less productive. As teachers, instructional technologist, librarians, academic specialists, etc we need to make sure we are using the right tool. Not any tool will do! It needs to be relevant, easy to use, and enhance the learning. I think we also have to give great time in choosing our resources. Text, videos, images, resources on different levels, are all going to be necessary as our students are not one-size fits all. 3. Provide feedback in a timely and well-constructed manner. I didn't get a grade for my first attempt. My mom didn't tell me how bad it looked. She showed me what went wrong, where I probably messed up, and how to fix it. She did it immediately. She didn't wait a day before answering my text. As teachers for adults or kids, we must find ways to provide feedback in a more timely, efficient, and effective manner. Grades aren't the answer. 4. Meet kids where they are. I was a beginner. My background knowledge was low. I didn't create a blanket that was too hard. I created a blanket that I felt confident I could complete, but not so simplistic, that there wasn't room for more growth. Individualize and differentiate content, projects, assignments as much as you can for your students. Provide them choice so you can meet the needs of your learners where they are. 5. Provide enrichment or reflection at the end of units/projects. I thought my blanket was done. I thought there was nothing else I could do, it was perfect. It wasn't. I could add a border to really enhance what I had already done. Just because a student finishes a project, it doesn't mean that it is complete or without error. Find time to allow for reflection and peer feedback. 6. Build confidence. I felt good about my blanket. I was confident that I could create something even better. With confidence we are willing to take risks. We are willing to try things that we would have found impossible before. Keep that in mind when starting school. Start with something that can build confidence in your students and can carry them throughout the year. 7. Give kids time. I didn't learn to crochet in a day. I tried it one day, needed feedback, tried again over the next few days and got some more feedback. I practiced. I asked questions. I re-watched videos. I browsed through pictures of what others had done. It took me time to decide on a product, how I would make it, what it would look like....I started it, restarted it, and revised it. It takes time! I hope that you were able to find my journey in learning something new relevant to learning in the classroom. I hope that as you continue to learn new things you will keep in mind your own process and apply it in your classroom.
As always, would love to hear if you have any other thoughts. Did you get something more than what I mentioned or disagree with a thought? Leave me your comments!
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CollaborationThis month's focus was on collaboration. This was a fun session, lots of movement and discussion. We feel that in a classroom, when collaboration is strong, it will seem a bit noisy and even messy at time, but that's ok! The best we can do as presenters, is to show/model those same situations with our teachers. The PowerPoint presentation that was used is below.
The Warm-upTo get the session started we played a collaborative game for a warm-up. This strategy is called a barrier game. This game is an information gap activity. One learner has the information the other learner needs. Information for this game was found HERE. The directions were pretty simple. One person had an image of a food web. They were to describe the image to their partner, who then in turn try to draw it. I love this strategy because it has great ability to help students learn to communicate academically. They are forced to use vocabulary. They must learn to give clear directions. The other partner is then working on their listening skills, which I think we can all agree is a life-long skill that we can all be better at. Below are the directions that were used and the image, along with sentence stems that were give to one of the partners. Consensus Placemat StrategyThis amazing strategy was found on Creative Classroom Tools blog. You can find the particular article HERE. Since showing this to teachers, I have used this strategy in multiple other PD sessions and have also heard great responses from our teachers who have tried it out. It is a keeper! So what is consensus placemat? It is a cooperative learning tool that allows students respond independently and then build collaboration with students to come to a consensus answer. Here are a few examples. The one on the left is the is a screenshot from a PowerPoint, if you wanted students to collaborate on a shared PowerPoint document online. Here is an example. The one on the right is from Creative Classroom Tools website. The teacher begins with posing a question. Each student then writes their individual response around the edges. This should be done without collaboration. After each student has had a chance to write a response, then the group comes together to discuss each response. When they are finished they will then come up with a collective responses or consensus to write in the middle. Graphic organizer carouselMy partner Meghan Alcorn came up with this strategy and I think it is brilliant. We have now used it in multiple high school classes, and the teachers really like it. The first thing to do is gather or create multiple graphic organizers for the speicific content you are working on. Draw the graphic organizers (without the answers) on large sheets of butcher paper and laminate. Then the answers should be printed or written on cards and laminated as well. You can hang the graphic organizers around the room, or you can place them in stations. Randomly pass out the answer cards and tell students to try to find the missing graphic organizer that matches their particular answer. Let me tell you, this isn't as easy as it seems. The results are just what we were looking for: collaboration. We placed multiple graphic organizers around the room about classifying quadrilaterals. Each teacher was given a card, and they had to work together, talk it out, problem solve, and think critically to find where the correct answers went. Another recent example was from our English 2 classes. They were studying To Kill a Mockingbird. So I created 5 graphic organizers that would help them review major content areas for their test. We had organizers for theme, characters, symbols, relationships, and plots. I think the possibilities are endless for all subject matters. Pass the StoryWe have seen this collaborative strategy before: each student adds to a part of the story. We made a twist to it by creating vocabulary cards that have to be used in each pass of the story. This helps students stay on topic and helps them with vocabulary acquisition. Here are the directions on the left. In our particular session, we gave groups of teachers vocabulary from an astronomy unit: axis, rotation, solar system, planet, and revolution. Each teacher began writing their story with the vocabulary word given to them. After a minute, they passed their cards to the right and had to add a new sentence with the new vocabulary term. Continue until completing all terms. You could then have students trade and comment on each other's story. The Wrap UpWe used this Connect the Dots strategy to wrap-up our learning for the day. Information for the strategy is from Lead4Ward. You can the information HERE. I hope you found some interesting strategies to use for collaboration. Please share them with your colleagues. Let me know what you think!
I love this idea that I got from Kathi Kersznowski. You can follow her at Twitter @kerszi . With so much going on in the year, teachers are swamped and finding time for Professional development is hard!!!! So use that free time in the bathroom for some light reading! Basically you take any subject matter you want your teachers to learn and put it in a nice, neat little package that can be read in about the time it takes to go to the bathroom. I started off the year with basic tech tips for OneNote and Windows. Later on in the year I moved to instructional strategies. Here are my posters. My favorite is the little toilet paper roll detail! Hope you liked this quirky, small way of encouraging learning in your school!
overviewThis month's focus was all about summarizing and strategies that would help students create more focused thoughts. Vision 21 encompasses teachers who range from kindergarten all the way up to 12th grades. When planning we want to make sure that there is something for everyone! In this session we broke up the strategies into 4 groups: short text summaries, creative summaries, collaborative summaries, and games. Our presentation is below if you would like to check that out.
Short Text SummariesShort Text Summaries allow for students to focus on vocabulary. They also help student determine essential ideas and consolidate important details. We gave teachers 5 minutes to look through the 3 strategies: $2 Summaries, Text Messages, and Six Word Memoir. Below are the OneNote pages with information and examples of each strategy. Short Text Summary: Text MessagesSHORT TEXT SUMMARY: $2 SummarySHORT TEXT SUMMARY: 6 Word MemoirThen we had them pick one of the strategies and create a short activity for their particular grade level and content. After, they posted their ideas to a padlet to share with the rest of the group. To wrap-up and lead into our next group, we had them watch a Matt Miller video, "Is creative work REALLY worth the time in the classroom?" Then they used a short-text summarization strategy by summarizing the video in just 1 sentence. Creative SummariesThe next section we visited was using creative summary strategies. The benefit of this strategy is that it allows expression of creative and artistic abilities of students. Visuals ideas are also more easily retained for later review. Each group was given a strategy. They reviewed the strategy and then used poster paper and markers to summarize and give examples of how it could be used in their classroom. After each group finished, they hung up their posters around the room and shared out their information. Here are the 5 strategies that were discussed. Creative Summary: Bumper StickerCREATIVE SUMMARY: Text TransformationCREATIVE SUMMARY: STory BoardCREATIVE SUMMARY: WOrd SplashCREATIVE SUMMARY: Key Concept ClotheslineCollaborative SummariesThe benefits of using this type of strategy is so students can practice oral, written, and collaborative skills. It also involves movement in the classroom environment. To learn these strategies we played SNOWBALL FIGHT! Directions are below. But let me tell you, getting teachers to throw paper at each other at 5pm on Wednesday may have been a miracle, but they LOVED it! Collaborative Summary: Graffiti WallCOLLABORATIVE SUMMARY: Alphabet Sequential Round TableCOLLABORATIVE SUMMARY: Snowball FightCOLLABORATIVE SUMMARY: Numbered Heads TogetherCOLLABORATIVE SUMMARY: Sequence or TimelineCOLLABORATIVE SUMMARY: Speed DatingGamesTo end the session we played Red Light, Green Light. We showed a clip from the Office (the CPR episode, a fave of mine!) and then played the game. The description of the game is below. We asked questions regarding the clip they had just watched. The winner then had to summarize it. The game got competitive! I loved how this Vision 21 session turned out. Each session is about 90 minutes, so it is fast and furious. But the teachers love how they can learn strategies, apply them, and move on to another concept.
Hope you are able to find some helpful strategies as well! Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! I'll first start this post by saying, it isn't going to be pretty, formal, or probably very organized. I just finished my 3rd day at TCEA and my brain is a bit fried, but I do have some pressing thoughts that need to be said, or at least I think heard by the leaders and teachers currently in Microsoft Education.
It takes guts to present. I don't present. It makes me feel ill. So I know that presenters have to be so brave to go out and do this voluntarily. That being said, if you are a company like Microsoft, who pay people to promote your product, then I think we need to get more focused on the lesson design, sound instructional practices, and learning. Here is why. I didn't attend all Microsoft sessions, because frankly the ones I do attend are a bust for me. They are focused on the button clicking and bells/whistles that are found in Office 365 products. Great. There are a lot of them. They are awesome. But what is out there for those of us who can push those buttons already? The answer is nothing. There aren't sessions around the amazing lesson designs that can be utilized with OneNote. No sessions on the really cool options for feedback and branching in Microsoft Forms. Nothing about the ability to create personalized learning and student choice through the Class Notebook. Nowhere to be found is office online. ONLINE POWERPOINT and ONLINE WORD are the same as GOOGLE SLIDES and GOOGLE DOCS and nobody knows it. Today I sat through a session that coined OneNote as a 3-ring binder. You can put all your stuff in. You can put those PDF worksheets in it. Your kids can get it anytime they want. They can even write in it and keep their notes. BUT IT IS SO MUCH MORE!!!!!! Where are those sessions at? Where are the innovative ideas? Sulphur Springs ISD cannot be the only school district in Texas utilizing OneNote to redefine lessons through technology. OneNote is more than a house for digital worksheets and notes. Now I know what my colleague John Bimmerle would say, well Meredith you lead those sessions. Perhaps that is one answer. But who else will also lead those sessions? Where are our other Microsoft schools and teachers? Where are our strong Microsoft Education trainers at? We don't need them on the floor of the Expo hall. We need them leading sessions with strong instructional mindsets. Google is. They are leaving you behind, and not because they have a better product. Because they have a team of teachers who stand up and scream from the rooftops about how wonderful it is and how it can impact LEARNING. I am not saying there isn't a need for training. There is. But there is a larger need for sound instructional strategies around Microsoft tools. I love Microsoft products. I love the online community and I love the responsiveness of the Microsoft Team. This post isn't meant to be a bashing of Microsoft or those presenters at TCEA. It is a plea for help. It is a calling for the leaders in Microsoft Education to attend events like TCEA with an instructional mindset. UPDATE!!!!! Thank goodness for Suzy Lolley. She saved my conference with some cool ways to gamify the classroom and use OneNote. OneNote wasn't the topic but the tool to help along the strong instructional strategies. I wish I could have stayed longer to check out her other sessions. I believe Microsoft paid for her travel, and I hope they continue to do so! I encourage you to seek her out if you are wanting to learn more about Microsoft products. October's Focus: Student ChoiceThis month we wanted to focus on something that was near and dear to our hearts, and that is providing more choice in the classroom. This could be choice in how student's were delivered content, type of homework assigned, choice in seating, or assessment. We wanted to provide our teachers with a variety of choice as well, and model how it can be handled in a classroom. The teachers were provided with a choice board. They were then given 45 minutes to self-pace through 3 of the 9 choices on their board. Most of our work as presenters was done prior to the meeting. We set up each station, explained to the teachers why we felt student choice was important, and then allowed them time to explore. As always, we did wrap up with time for the teachers to create some lesson plan ideas and share out those ideas before leaving. You will find the short presentation that we used attached below. There are also screenshots of our OneNote pages that are used to create the stations and then saved for those who participate later on.
Choice #1: Homework
Choice #2: Choice Board Structures
Choice #3: Creating a Digital Choice Board
Choice #4: Choice Board Gallery Walk
Choice #5: Video Resources
Choice #6: Alternative Options for Choice
Choice #7: Content Delivery
Choice #8: Practicing Content
Choice #9: Assessment
For the month of September, our Vision 21 meeting focused on critical vocabulary strategies. We chose this topic because no matter the grade level or subject, the understanding of vocabulary is going to be critical to student's learning. Many of the strategies presented come from Marzano's research. We used a station-rotation model to practice each vocabulary strategy. Groups of 4-5 rotated through the 6 stations. They each had 5 minutes to complete the strategy. Three of the stations were manned by myself, @J_Bimmerle and @AlcornMeghan. This helped us explain some of the stations that needed more specific directions. After each group had a chance to go through each station, we took time to reflect on the strategies presented. We think this is one of the most critical parts of the PD. Teachers can share out what strategies they think will work for their students, parts of the strategies they think won't work, or other variations of the strategy. The teachers are then given an adequate amount of time to look at their curriculum documents to see if there is a place to work some of the new strategies into their lesson plans. Strategy #1: Frayer Model
STRATEGY #2: Slap Card
STRATEGY #3: Word Clouds
STRATEGY #5: NON-LINGUISTIC Representation
STRATEGY #6: Odd One out
As part of our professional development offerings, the Instructional Tech Team at Sulphur Springs ISD provides a once a month training called Vision 21. The idea behind this training is to provide PD in what we believe are important 21st Century skills; such as; communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. But most importantly, we want the focus of our PD to be on student-centered instructional strategies.
While instructional technology is our role in the district, we have become very aware that integrating technology without first concentrating on strategies is counterproductive. We can teach how to use OneNote or our Online Office tools, but without strong student-centered teaching strategies, those programs just become banks for the digital worksheet. A look at our month's so far: September: Vocabulary Strategies October: Student Choice November: Summarization December: Student Voice January: Collaboration January: Vision 21 Recap January: Vision 21 for History Teachers February: Engaging Strategies for Review March: Playing Games in the Classroom What I believe is most important about these sessions is the modeling of strategies and time to reflect on how those strategies can be used in the classroom. These are NOT your typical sit-and-get PD sessions. They are tailored to the teachers who attend. The strategies that are chosen, are done so because they work well for any subject level or grade level. I am excited to share those sessions with you. Keep checking back, as I will link each blog post to the month where it belongs. I don't typically write about the mushy gushy world of education, but this is on my heart. My blog is more practical, as that also tends to be my personality, but today I am hit hard with the sadness that we are losing a great teacher. This post isn't about why she is leaving, for those are personal, but it is about what made her a great teacher and how we as instructional technologists, teachers, and administrators can continue to support others so they too will have an impact like hers. The first time I really sat down with Mrs. Newsom was in August of last year. She was planning for her first few weeks of school. She was a hot mess. She didn't know what standards were, how to write a lesson plan, how in the world to put together a scope and sequence, or really what was even expected of her as a teacher. She will tell you, she had no idea what she was doing. I sat down and listened to her as she rattled off her many to-dos and a laughed a little inside, because she was all of us in our first year. Even those of us who went to school to be a teacher, none of it truly prepared us for the actual duties of teaching. But I knew from that first meeting, she was going to be a great teacher. Mrs. Newsom hung on to everything we have ever talked about in these 18 months. She was putty ready to be molded into the best teacher she could possibly be. She had no prior knowledge or bad habits to break. Plain and simple, she loved government and she loved kids. She wanted to put them first in all things. She never made excuses for why something couldn't be done. She held every student to a high standard and expected nothing short of those. She didn't blame her lack of knowledge or use of technology as a reason not to try. She didn't let checkpoints or assessments get in the way of truly assessing her student's knowledge. She wasn't scared of trying and failing because in her mind she didn't even know what that looked like. In her first year she integrated various aspects of technology, created engaging and useful PBL units, used student choice for assessments, brought in speakers, started a class blog, took her kids on field trips, asked her students for feedback, and loved the hell out of them. I want to take this moment to share her testimony and expand on a few of her points that I feel our profession can impact. The following is a post from her Facebook. Over the past year and a half, I have had what I can only describe as a life-changing, eye-opening experience. I have had the tremendous honor of teaching SSHS seniors. Teaching. Seniors. Yeah. The lessons I have learned and the insights I have gained over the past couple of years might surprise many of you. For those of you who teach or have taught, as you read this, you will laugh, nod your head, roll your eyes, and well, completely relate. For those of you who, like me two years ago, think teaching is “easy” and suggest things like, “who couldn’t do that job?”, please allow my final academic lesson to be educating you. 1. Teachers do not get off of work at 3:30 each day and have Christmas, Spring Break, and all summer off. Their job NEVER ends. NEVER. Ever. Ever. 2. Administrators, with their walkie talkies, big ideas, and PowerPoint presentations, really are humans with good intentions. And their jobs are hard. Really hard. 3. Morning duty is the worse part of teaching—it throws off your whole day. 4. Caffeine isn’t optional—it’s necessary. 5. UIL events are sporting events for the academically inclined and UIL competitors are student athletes with extraordinary discipline. 6. Technology is not the enemy, but it has definitely changed our world—some good, some not so good. 7. Writing legibly on a white board is much more difficult than it looks. 8. The culinary specialists of the cafeteria and the janitorial staff are angels and schools couldn’t function without them. 9. Scentsys are absolutely necessary in a classroom regardless of what the Fire Marshall dictates. 10. What works in one classroom for one teacher may not work for another. And assuming it will makes teachers feel inadequate and judged. 11. Students, no matter how old, big, or gruff, love candy, hugs, and compliments. 12. Students are hungry for attention and affirmation—some of them literally hungry. Starving. 13. Athletics are not the be all, end all. But cheering like a crazy person at the games, meets, and matches is a dang good way to connect with students and meet them where they’re comfortable. 14. Teachers and tests aren’t the problem. Out of touch, lazy parents are. It is a school’s job to educate children, not to raise them. If you’re offended by this statement, you’re probably the problem. 15. Not all assessment should be in the form of a written exam. Ask the student, let them answer, if they know it, give them a passing grade. 16. People over think education—Way. Too. Much. Sometimes simple works. 17. Michelle Obama’s fat free nacho cheese Doritos haven’t ended childhood obesity. 18. Nor has George W.’s “No Child Left Behind” increased academic achievement. 19. Bean bags are student faves. 20. If you expect it, students will do it. The good and the bad. 21. Substitutes are amazing, scarce, and dreadfully underpaid. Plus, it’s easier to just go to work sick than to plan for a sub. 22. There is never a good time for a fire drill. 23. Taking attendance is much harder than it sounds. 24. Co-teachers are priceless and students are blessed to have them. 25. Each student takes a piece of your heart when they leave your classroom. You can love someone else’s child deeply. 26. Teachers are under-appreciated, under-paid, and over-worked. And until society values education more than entertainment, math teachers will struggle while illiterate athletes make millions. 27. Some students change your life and teach you far more than you will ever teach them. 28. Not all teachers are good. In fact, some are down right bad. But a vast majority of teachers are working harder than you can imagine for minimal pay and recognition. See, I’ve been awake since 2:55 am thinking about the field trip I have planned for 85 students on Friday. This job has changed my life. It has given me a deep and profound appreciation for each teacher, coach, and administrator who passed through and poured into my life. Educators invest in the lives of students in ways most can’t imagine. They worry and pray and plan and devote themselves and their time to individuals who are often ungrateful, difficult, or defiant. It is, in some ways, a fight. And yet, a teacher gets up each morning and returns to this educational battlefield. I have been blessed by the past year and half. I am better for having known each person—teacher and student—and am thankful for a new perspective. While, there is so much truth in this post from many different perspectives, I think there are certain points that we can impact on a daily basis as we work with teachers. So here are my thoughts. 6. Technology is not the enemy, but it has definitely changed our world—some good, some not so good. So many times technology becomes a scapegoat. It doesn't work all the time, it isn't perfect, the learning curve is high, my students don't know how to use it, I have to teach them that and my content???? On and on and on…but we must remember technology is NOT the enemy here. It is an inherent part of how we live and we must integrate that into our educational system. It can open doors, simplify communication, give student's a voice, allow for creativity, and push our critical thinking skills. When working with teachers, we can't start with the tech, with the skill, but with the WHY. 10. What works in one classroom for one teacher may not work for another. And assuming it will makes teachers feel inadequate and judged. There is no one size fits all in education. Students do not all fit in one mold, and neither do teachers. Offering a one-size fits all opportunities for professional development only add to the insecurities of our faculty, instead of bringing them up. We offer once a semester opportunity for teachers and PLC's to meet for a 1/2 day with me to work on ANYTHING they want to. We allow them to choose where they are at and meet them there. I can offer ideas based on their schedules, time, comfort level, ability, and class. It isn't enough to send out great ideas in an email, offer whole group faculty meeting trainings, or mandate that certain technology or strategies are used in the classroom. It is hard to deliver personalized, on-time, training...BUT it is our job and time, resources, or participation cannot be an excuse. We want to teachers to feel comfortable, empowered, and excited to try new things, not deflated because our ideas were meant for a particular type or style of teacher. 15. Not all assessment should be in the form of a written exam. Ask the student, let them answer, if they know it, give them a passing grade. Teachers want personalized learning, and so do students. We have the ability to show teachers just how easy it is to provide choice when assessing students. It is easy to say, but it is not always easy to envision. Show them samples of work that assess in multiple ways. Provide help in making those assessments and information on how to grade them. Single-point rubrics are a great place to start. It gives them simple guidelines that can be applied to various products. Students will feel validated and trusted when they are allowed to show understanding in a way that best suits them and their strengths. But most of all, give them the time and support to do this. When the value is seen, then the process will continue. 28. Not all teachers are good. In fact, some are downright bad. But a vast majority of teachers are working harder than you can imagine for minimal pay and recognition. How can we help recognize and ease the workloads of our teachers? It isn't enough to just be a trainer. It isn't enough to just be a place for ideas. We have to pick-up our teachers and show that they matter, we appreciate them, and encourage them while they are in the trenches. It is easy as the instructional technologist on campus to just focus on my area but it isn't what is best for teachers. Give them notes of appreciation. Showcase teachers going above and beyond in a way that can reach outside of your building. Offer rewards for hard work and trying things outside of their comfort level. Continue to push and praise throughout the year. My heart is sad because I know there will be kids who are going to miss out on the goodness that is Mrs. Newsom. I know I have lost another teacher who is going to fight and do right by kids. But I hope that the great impact of her loss will be felt wholeheartedly and the impact that loss can have on others, will be great. I would love to hear your thoughts or comments about any of the above topics. I think planning in-service days for teachers is the hardest thing I have ever done. We planned and re-planned and planned some more. The goal was to make sure that every teacher walked away with something to use this year and were engaged in the process. So when we started planning, the first thing I knew I wanted to ensure was that whatever we chose it would be interactive. We can't preach student-centered learning and then do sit-and-get all day. Here is a look at what we did, the reactions we got, and what I would like to change. Session #1: Revamping the WorksheetOne of my focuses this year is going to help teachers move away from the worksheet mentality and into more student-centered and interactive class-time. The only way I thought I could make an impact, was for them to do the work in the same way their students are asked to work. So we did just that, the teachers were given a worksheet and asked to complete it. I tried not to give the groups a worksheet that would be easy for them to complete, after all, their students aren't experts either. After about 5-7 minutes, we had them reflect on the activity using padlet. Here are the questions they were asked to think about. 1. Was the worksheet interesting and were your personally invested? Shocking....almost all the answers were NO. 2. Like the students, you were not overly familiar with the content, so how did you find the answers? *gasp* We had teachers who admitted they copied! Many also used Google. 3. Do you believe that you actually LEARNED the material completed in the worksheet? Again, the majority said that they probably didn't learn the material, as they wouldn't remember it at a later date. 4. Did you use any of the 4 C's? Here answers varied. Some said they did collaborate with their group members in order to come up with the answers. 5. Did you get feedback on whether your answers were right or wrong? How long does it normally take you to give feedback on a worksheet? No, they were not given feedback. Answers varied from group to group. The majority would say feedback isn't given til at least the next day, sometimes in class feedback is given as teacher moves around the room. Here are the results of the reflections: Most teachers could admit that worksheets were boring. They did not take much critical thinking or creativity. They weren't given feedback immediately and that can be a frustration for many students. They were easily Googled. While intentions of the worksheet are good, the goal of that worksheet weren't being truly met, and so learning isn't really happening. Now we let them fix it! They got in their groups and developed ways to convert those same worksheets and fix the problems that we discussed. They then placed that on a padlet. Here is the link to the padlet where the new ideas were shared. So what was the consensus? Overall that session was rated an 8.27/10. Here were some comments: What would I do different? Overall, I think it was extremely effective. Teachers were able to really feel like what it's like to be a student, I think sometimes we forget. - Perhaps this could have been done in a shorter amount of time because it felt redundant in some situations. - Some also asked to do a worksheet in their own subject area. Perhaps instead of revamping the worksheet they did, they could have revamped a worksheet of their own. Session #2: Speed GeekingI knew from Day 1 I found out we were planning the first day teachers came back, that I wanted to do Speed Geeking. I wasn't sure who I wanted to present or even over what topics, but I knew that teachers would love the idea of speed dating with technology. At the end of the year last year, our principal asked teachers what they wanted to see for professional development, and may of them said they wanted to hear what other teachers in the building were doing with technology. That is who we had present in our Speed Geeking session. These teachers presented on a wide-range of topics: OneNote, BreakoutEDU using OneNote, Adobe Spark, Edpuzzle, ClassFlow, Microsoft Teams, Twitter, Microsoft Forms, OneDrive, Flipgrid, and Kahoot/Quizziz. We set up in the cafeteria and the groups rotated through each presentation. The tie in was that these presentations were supposed to HOOK the other teachers. In session #3, they would be able to pick 2 of their favorite presentations to learn more about. So what was the consensus? Overall the session was rated 8.75/10. Here were some comments: What would I do different? The plan went really well, but always room for improvement! - Definitely would do a better job of letting everyone know what was happening so they could bring something to take notes with or I would have a sheet available for them. - Also pair up presenters so they wouldn't get so tired! Session #3: Teacher Choice with TechnologyAfter lunch, teachers were then allowed to choose what 2 sessions they most enjoyed. Then they would spend an hour in each session, learning how to use the technology and hopefully coming away with some ideas or products for the classroom. So what was the consensus? Overall this session was rated 9/10. Here were some comments: What would I do different? This one is hard, because it went so well teachers wanted more! We had given them 2 choices, because we didn't want to give them too much, and then have them overwhelmed and not implement any. But it seems teachers want more! - Offer a time at the end (like a breakout session) for those teachers to follow up with questions they may have had. - Possibly give 3 sessions instead of 2. - Other problem, we wanted the teachers who presented to also attend sessions. So sessions were only offered once out of the 2 hours. That meant some sessions people wanted to attend were at the same time. Next year, I want to find 2 presenters on each subject matter and they each do 1 session and teachers will then have more options. I am really pleased how the day went. It is comments like these that help reiterate the importance of interactive experiences for all. We must teach our teachers with the same methods we preach to our teachers.
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April 2018
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