30-Day Challenge | Days 29 & 30 #reflectiveteacher

Day 29 | How have you changed as an educator since you first started?

1. I've gotten more comfortable working with students
2. I know I can't reach all of my students and have learned to deal with that (yes, I just said that out loud)
3. I am more willing to step outside the box than when I first started
4. I manage chaos better :)
5. I understand that the college prep track is not for every student (yes, I just said that out loud too)
6. I am much more flexible and understanding with certain types of students that are going through situations I couldn't dream of experiencing

I'm sure there's more, but I'm running on fumes...

Day 30 | What would you do (as a teacher) if you weren’t afraid?

I would do what I feel is best for my students as a whole without regard for the "proper" way to do things.  I wouldn't feel like I have to teach to a test that is RIDICULOUS.  I would be more daring.  I would stand up for myself better.  I'd learn how to say "no" when I am at my absolute limit and understand that I can't do everything.  I would use standards-based grading.

Two lame posts on my part to finish off the 30-Day Challenge, but this was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  

One thing I hope to get out of this is to continue to use this blog...once a week at least as a form of reflection for myself on the past week's activities.  I don't feel quite as awkward about it now.

I'd like to incorporate this tool into my classes somehow as well.  Just too much to do!

Thank you for checking out my ramblings :)

30-Day Challenge | Day 28 #reflectiveteacher

Day 28 | Respond: Should technology drive curriculum, or vice versa?

It may surprise some, but in no way do I think technology should drive curriculum.  

In 2007 I interviewed at my current District for an instructional technology job.  I'd never heard of any District doing this and I was trying to get closer to home, so I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a whirl.  I certainly didn't know of a job like that in other states; if there were, I wasn't involved in social media AT ALL (but really was there much of anything in 2007??) in order to have any idea of this kind of job in existence elsewhere.

The situation at that time was basically this: SMART Boards were the rage and all of the rooms were getting them installed at the HS.  At Kent State University, I had worked with them where I worked in the education building and the District (shout out to North Ridgeville!) I was in had them, so I'd been using them already in my classroom.  In addition, the District was switching to an online grading/attendance system for the first time, and again, I had worked in a District that had already been using an online system.

So why am I telling you all of this when the question was about technology driving curriculum or vice versa? Here's a slide from my initial interview with the District on what I thought the role of technology in education was:

Here were my notes to accompany that slide: 

• Educational technology is any technology used by educators in support of the teaching and learning process 
• Technology that enhances teaching and supports the learning process [Lever-Duffy, J., McDonald, J. B., Mizell, A. P. (2005). Teaching and Learning with Technology. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston: MA] 
• Teachers should use technology to help differentiate their instruction in order to meet the different levels of learning that exist in the classroom; from the academically struggling to the academically gifted student 
• Using the SB, for example, to diagram content standards & items they match up with in the text could help the visual learner 
• The up-side of this versus the chalkboard or whiteboard is that, not only is it colorful & captures attention, but is crisp & clear; it can be printed for a student that was absent or saved & posted on a website [US – 21-2, page 10; 18-4, page 10; 16-3, page 1] [WH – 20-2, page 1; 16-1, page 10] 
• When students use technology in the classroom it helps keep them as current as possible in our technology-enhanced society. 
• Because it engages students with different modalities (auditory, visual, tactile) it increases time on task & has the potential to lower discipline problems 
• The skills that they learn will help them to become more competitive in the college learning community and job market upon graduation from Mentor High School

So slight changes here and there (OGT is going away and Standards have changed; truthfully I don't use the SB like I used to because I have everything on my website and Google Drive), but overall I still believe the same message.  *the items listed in [ ] were linked examples from my own work at the time

The shift that is more important to me now is from earning the most points possible in a course to proving mastery of the content, being able to explain that content in a relevant, meaningful way, and more of a PBL approach to instruction.  Do I have to, or need to, have tons of technology for any of that? Of course not.  Does it make it easier and give students a chance to use their creativity in a different way? I think so.  Have I mastered all of this and implemented it successfully within my own classroom? Without a doubt, far from it.  But that's where I want to get to.

#2moredays :)

30-Day Challenge | Day 27 #reflectiveteacher

Day 27 | What role do weekends and holidays play in your teaching?

Well that's a loaded question...a combination of recovery from the week prior and preparation for the week upcoming.

The biggest role currently is that of playing catch-up with some grading.  I try to get to it during the week, but often am trying to get ready for the next day's material or possibly tweaking the lesson from that day.  I try to look back and see if there were some hazy portions of the material that I somehow need to go back and reteach about.  This is a big reason why I'd like to make the switch to standards-based grading, not b/c the grading would necessarily be easier, but because students aren't focused on the "points" so much.  I feel pressured to get points in the grade book to appease students and parents and I just don't like it.  Where's the meaning in that?

I try to get a rough sketch in my mind for where I want to go with my classes for the week as well.  I say rough, because, well look in the previous paragraph.  As much as I try to get a little ahead, it often doesn't happen.  Life gets in the way and there are only so many hours in the day.  I'm quite sure most of us (teachers) say the same thing - there is just never enough time.

What role do I really want to see my weekends and holidays play? Now that I'm back teaching the curriculum I started with 12 years ago, and admittedly enjoy the most, I'm hoping to get somewhat of a "base" down this year.  Then next year, my weekends and holidays can be spent doing much more true reflection from the past week's work.  That more meaningful reflection can then help reshape what the upcoming week will look like.

A lofty goal? I hope not.

30-Day Challenge | Day 24 & 25 #reflectiveteacher

 Day 24 Which learning trend captures your attention the most, and why? (Mobile learning, project-based learning, game-based learning, etc.)

Project-based learning captures my attention the most.  I used some books in Economics last year that were modeled after the PBL style of instruction and really enjoyed it.  It was difficult for the students to grasp, but I think with repeated exposure to this type of learning, they will be able to make the transition.

I am looking forward to using this more in the history classes that I teach this year.  With the Common Core and shifts within testing, I truly feel that the PBL approach is the most beneficial to the students.  It requires students reflect, research and resolve.  They need to be able to support their answers with evidence from their research.  They have to be able to articulate why.

One big thing I would like to get out of this year is more of a focus on this approach - how to help students work through this process.  They will not be handed the material, asked to memorize it for a test and whoever can recall the best, scores highest.

I may have the opportunity to get some PD on this; I hope that's the case, because I can't wait!!

Day 25 The ideal collaboration between students–what would it look like?

Collaboration among students.  I guess in my perfect world it would be something in which the students feel they have a vested interest in the outcome.  

History is a lot about making connections; even if you don't particularly enjoy history, I still think you can make valuable connections to today.  Collaboration can help that.  Working with someone, bouncing ideas off of others, critiquing each other; I think you learn best that way.  

I'm just getting into implementing more "creating" into the curriculum.  It's hard; I'm getting a lot of push-back.  But I'm not going to back down.

At the heart of all of this is collaboration amongst students.  Hopefully we get to a point soon where the  students are feeling more comfortable and are able to do this more easily.  From the Day 24 post above, I think PBL will help that immensely.

30-Day Challenge | Day 26 #reflectiveteacher

Day 26 | What are your three favorite go-to sites for help/tips/resources in your teaching?

A majority of the sites that I get to for help/tips/resources are through Twitter, so I'd have to mention that as the first one.  I haven't participated in many chats yet this year because I've been swamped.  However, last year I participated in a number of them, and when I did, I'd have another tab open to add to my resources in Evernote.

One of the sites I came across was from Common Sense Education - @Graphite.  It's a platform that helps educators find the best apps, games, and websites.  I've come across many cool resources through this site.  

Another site I frequently find myself linked to is @teachthought.  I found it through a blog from Richard Byrne at www.freetech4teachers.com.  That's probably my third site at the moment; or Google+.

So, just a lot of searching for things.

30-Day Challenge | Days 19-23 #reflectiveteacher #neededabreak

Well, suffice it to say I've been busy.  I have been prioritizing things in my head lately and some things are just getting moved to the back-burner unfortunately.

I said I'd complete the challenge, so I'm not going to skip what I've missed, but will try to make up for it now.  Since I punked out the past few days, I will try to keep it short, for all of our benefit :)

Day 19 | Name three powerful ways students can reflect on their learning, then discuss closely the one you use most often.

One of the most important ways for someone to reflect on their learning would be to evaluate why they had to do something in the first place.  What was the objective? Are you able to answer it completely with evidence to support your claim? You received a 2/5 on the formative - what resources do you need to go back to in order to correct your mistakes?

Be honest with your reflection(s).  You truly know whether or not you've put forth the best effort possible at that moment.  If you didn't, fix it.  Ask for help.  Review.  Reorganize.  Take advantage of opportunities to correct your mistake(s) if you are given that chance.  Don't be satisfied with, "I just didn't get it."

There are a number of "tools" out there that are beginning to make formative checks easier to complete.  Make sure to discuss them to make sure there is a clear understanding for their purpose.

Not too sure if that counts for different ways to reflect, but it's all I got at the moment.  I really liked the rubric that Kirsten implemented within her standards-based grading.  It truly forces students to be honest with their reflection.

Day 20 | How do you curate student work -- or help them do it themselves?

Personally, I feel like I have stuff all over the place sometimes.  My piles of paper are almost obsolete at this point, but they've just turned into lists within Drive.  I think Doctopus helps me to stay a little more organized currently.  I'm able to look at student work in one place instead of having to fish for it.  I have to remember to use it more often actually.  I have folders set up for each class within my email, so as things come in (even from Drive) I throw them into the appropriate folder right away.

Last year I tried having the students use Padlet to host Content Statements from Economics.  For each CS they had to upload an example (or more) that was evidence for that particular statement.  I liked the idea, but I don't think the students grasped it too well.  I still would like to try something like that this year; maybe with Padlet, Tackk, or something else.

I think it's important to have students have some type of "portfolio" to show their work and how all of those examples work together (if that makes sense).

Day 21 | Do you have other hobbies/interests that you bring into your classroom teaching? Explain.

I have always loved to run.  Usually (and I don't this year as I'm looking around) I have a Pre poster hanging on the wall.  My desktop background cycles through Runners' World backgrounds.  I love to watch 60-minutes and TED Talks; when applicable (or because I just think it's a nice life lesson!) I show different clips in class.  I enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, but especially stay close to music from my teenage years.  In Economics class I always mentioned going to a Stone Temple Pilots concert as my example for something that was inelastic - I never thought I'd get to see them live in concert, so when they got back together and were touring in 2008, I didn't care how much those tickets were, I was going.  I have pictures of my kids all over the place and talk about my immediate and extended family all the time.  Some people think that's getting too personal, but it's just who I am.  Whenever I can, I try to interject little personal things into what I am talking about because it feels more relatable to me, and hopefully, to my students as well.  My funny man face always hanging or propped somewhere in the room.  Why? It typically elicits a laugh, followed by what is that and why do you have it? It made you laugh!

Not sure if this was the intention with this posted question, but it's what I got. :)

Day 22 | What does your PLN look like, and what does it do for your teaching?

My PLN starting forming about a year ago now.  Well formally anyways.  I've always had a few people I converse with regularly in regard to teaching styles and trying new things.  I had not heard of a PLN before using Twitter last year.  My face-to-face people that are part of what I consider my PLN are social studies, science, english, foreign language, and math people.  They don't have to be within my content area necessarily; everyone teaching all kinds of things has valuable methods of madness that I love to hear about.

My PLN has now extended into the virtual world with Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.  I would like to get to a point with the virtuals where I feel like I am giving as much as I'm taking, but I don't think I'm there yet.  My lovely excuse called time creeps in frequently and I neglect to follow up on really cool ideas or collaborations.  I am hopeful that things will settle down (finally) a little bit after this year with my content so I am able to do more of that.

What it does for my teaching? Revitalizes my teaching.  I get excited all over again about teaching something that I've taught dozens of times.  And if I can do that for someone else? I'm in.

Day 23 | Write about one way you "meaningfully" involve the community in the learning in your classroom.  If you don't yet do so, discuss one way you could get started.

When I taught Economics, we (the Econ teachers at my building) would have different speakers come in from the Business network set up with the District.  I thought it was important for the students to see some of those folks that work within their community and vice versa.  It was a nice change of pace to hear someone else discuss an important concept with the students besides me.

With history? I think another set of teachers has some veterans in to speak, but I'm not sure.

I think a way to get started is through being a part of the digital world.  There are parents of students who work in the community.  If they are exposed to what we are doing within the classroom, hopefully they speak about their child's experience at work to get the word out a little bit.  I have some interesting ideas for different projects this year and think it would be neat for some exposure outside of our four walls.

Now let's see if I can keep up the next 7 or so days...

30-Day Challenge | Day 18 #reflectiveteacher

Day 18 | Create a metaphor/simile/analogy that describes your teaching philosophy.  For example, "a teacher is a _____."

Groan.  Not good at things like this.  

So I took a picture of something that greets me daily (mostly nightly) as I walk through my "den" (extra bedroom that houses the computers) door.  

Someone gave us this pillow and frame years ago; I no longer recall who, but it's been a part of the "den" decor wherever we've been.  If you can't tell what the frame says, it reads, "Children are always the only future the human race has; teach them well."