"Your Classroom Reminds Me of Panera" and other educational developments

"I feel like I'm in Panera" said one of my students. I thought about it and I have to agree, to a point. I'd love to offer them delicious hot coco and yummy pastries as they work on their projects, however the school nurse would probably hunt me down faster than a missing lap top cart.

I've been experimenting with music in my classroom lately. As I'm sure you know from my previous posts, students work on independent projects during the week in my class, however they sit in groups while they complete them. Well- some students sit in groups. Some sit in a "cubicle" in the back of my room, some sprawl on the floor, some sit on a rug near my book shelf, some pull up a chair along side another student- in other words they sit where they are most comfortable and where they are working most effectively.

I stumbled on music as an aid to learning by accident a while back. On occasion I listen to music while I work during my prep period, like some students it helps me focus and makes time spent doing tedious or arduous tasks go a little faster. One particular day I forgot to turn the radio off, students entered the classroom and started working. The particular class that I had at that point tends to be on the "louder" side (note I did not say noisier side because they're conversations are useful and valuable, they just have difficulty regulating volume at times). However students were "in the zone" that day, they were having quiet chats with their group mates, moving about, but were really focusing in a way I had never seen before. It wasn't until about half way through that I realized the radio was on.

I decided to further experiment with this. I've realized early on I had to choose music that was soft, soothing, and had no lyrics to distract them. I tried classical music originally but noticed that the students had an immediate aversion to it (eww Classical music). Being the mind opener that I am, I told my students to give it a shot, however Classical seemed to have too much variance, getting really loud at times that forced me to rush to the speakers and turn it down and then at other times getting very quiet to the point that it was ineffective and we had that "awkward silence" that is so dreaded in middle school. I've toyed around with several other styles and artists and have finally settled on the Vince Guaraldi station on Pandora.

For those of you that don't know Vince Guaraldi is the musical genius behind Charlie Brown, think of all those great songs in the films and how calming they are- his station on Pandora is filled with similar artists. Its Jazz, but soft Jazz, soothing and calming. The first day I tried the station the students didn't even notice, they sat down started working and I noticed that they were very focused, they were still collaborating and talking but their volume was lower as I made the music very soft.

I'm not sure if its the music or the evolution of the year in general but I've noticed students moving in and out of groups to work now. What do I mean by this? Well, I love collaboration and encourage it, but I think sometimes students felt like they had to talk or get involved in conversations when they really needed to think something out for themselves before joining in with peers. Perhaps its the absence of "awkward silence" but I've noticed several students grab materials and get lost in their own thoughts exploring them. Later they may join in with a group of students or may get up, ask some classmates some questions and return to their work, but I love that I can see them really working on their own terms.

My students that choose to work in groups are also more focused, the music seems to have a calming nature on everyone- including me. As I circulate the room I can't help but feel cheery and peaceful, its as if we all take a breath when class starts, relax and simply start learning. It almost takes me back to days at the library in college just before finals. It was quiet but social, people stopping by your table, some people were in groups studying some were solo, but the learning was palpable, it was an energy of education.

Perhaps someday I'll get permission from the nurse to have a "hot chocolate" day, perhaps someday I'll invest in some comfy reading chairs for students, but for now hearing a student tell me that my classroom reminds him of Panera, for all its humor, is actually a pretty positive statement, after all, people get a ton of work done there...don't they?

Grade Thermometer

I haven't updated in a while and will be doing a larger update later this week. However I wanted to share this. My students struggle to understand the concept of Mastery Based Grading. They get it...sort of. They understand they have to master things at 80% or better, they understand that they have to master all the units for the term to get an "A" and yet they still ask "What's my average?" or "Am I getting an A?." I've had a hard time reminding them that since its based on what they master by the end of the term, their grade is constantly changing. I also wish I didn't have to grade them at all, or that they weren't so obsessed with "grades." I really just care that they are engaged and learning.

I have check lists for them to keep up with their work and they can keep track of their "grade" that way, but I realized that maybe a more visual way for them to see progress towards an "A" might not only be clearer but a motivator so I came up with the following:

I took the units for the Term and divided them along a thermometer. I then put in the "grades" for where they would master a unit. This way they can color it in as they progress and see what their grade is. I realize some of my flipped class colleagues will not like this as it puts emphasis back on the "grade game" the idea that its "all about the grade." However I felt like I had to meet them half way, I'm expecting them to change a lot of how they think of school and grades, I guess I can give them a little of the "point game" back (but only a little)!

First Day of IBL

After a few weeks of build up we finally started our first week of in class projects. Last Friday students were given a question and a project proposal sheet. Questions varied but were all topically the same. The unit we are studying is Mesopotamia so one question was: What features would an area need to give birth to and encourage the growth of a civilization? Be sure to include information about Mesopotamia and why it is called the "cradle of civilization."

The proposal sheet asked students to think about what information they already knew, where they could find additional information and ultimate what kind of project they were going to create to demonstrate the answer. I'll put a copy as a tab off of the main page.

I was really excited for students to start researching and working, I knew from experience last year that despite the fact I'm constantly circling and checking in, many students would stop working until i could get to them, or in some cases follow me around. I saw an elementary school teacher on Pinterest that used different color cups to signify when a student needed help, I adapted it with flags for my class today and it worked great:

Green = I'm all set and working hard

Yellow = I need help but I can keep working, check in with me ASAP

Red = I need help and I cannot keep working. Check in immediately.

I tried to emphasize to the kids that most questions would be "yellow flag" questions and to only use red if it was something I needed to leave their classmate to come and help them with. It worked really well, I only had one red question all day, and it was an actual red flag question. The flags helped me to see who was struggling and use my time more efficiently. 

Here are some pictures of the students work today, all of these projects were thought of and developed by students, I'm excited to see how they turn out:

This was only the first day so these are all still in the planning/first steps phase but so far so good!

If you flip your class what do you do with your new found class time?

Will the Real Fred Flintstone Please Stand Up?

Sometimes with the flip I feel I can over emphasize technology. Don't get me wrong I love utilizing technology in the classroom. I feel the more students access various technology platforms on a daily basis the better. Sometimes however, its nice to take a minute and go "low tech." This week we did some "low tech" yet "high impact" activities. The Flipped Classroom allows me the time to do this kind of stuff, sometimes I have to remember that when I'm preaching the gospel of the flip- its not about videos or technology- its about having time to reach my students and let them explore the material in a meaningful way- technology assisted or not!

The students recently watched a lecture on Cave Painting that went along with their study of CroMagnon man. I thought it would be fun to try it first hand. Students had to "crawl into the cave" which was dark inside and leave something to "symbolize they were here." It was very interesting all day not knowing what it was going to turn out like...here it is:

The "cave"

"Inside the Cave" (it was darker when students entered):

Our finished results: 

In addition to cave painting this week we watched an episode of The Flintstones where students categorized things into show into "Old Stoneage" or "New Stoneage" (ie things like: written language, cooking food, axe, fire, wheels, etc).  I love the kids realizing how much of The Flintstones is historically inaccurate ("Hey there were no dinosaurs at the same time as man"). Its a fun way to get them to think outside the box.

We also studied the "Naciremas." If anyone has done that exercise themselves in a Sociology class it was a great way to introduce the kids to historical empathy and cultural awareness. They loved it. Basically its a fake anthropological study of a "unique culture" that does "weird crazy things." Its written in such a way that the students always tell me it must be an ancient culture from far away. The great part is the reveal when they learn the culture is actually our own! Its a great way to get them to open their minds to other cultures instead of just saying their "weird." It also is a great example of the "historical bias" we go over at the beginning of the year, students realize they need to examine ancient accounts rather than take them at face value, since its all about how something is described. 

Finally they got their first essential question today and are starting in class projects next week. Overall I'm really happy with how this week went, hopefully the long weekend will be a re-energizer and not a momentum loser! 

Standards Based Assessment Exit Interviews

I currently grade on a Mastery Based grading system. I really like it because it allows students to reap the benefits of time spent relearning material and also allows me to see what they are struggling with and what I can spend more time going over with them.

Their current "Mastery Tests" at the end of a unit are essay based. They are usually asked to define terms by explaining their relationship and significance to larger historical events and write essays that synthesize the information from a particular unit into a well crafted written piece. Only once they demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts of the unit and the ability to synthesize, rework, and produce information do they "master" the assessment.

In order to master an entire unit they must, in addition to the Mastery Test, complete all of the work associated with it. This includes watching lecture videos, filling in two-column notes, answering section review questions, creating flashcards, completing Critical Reading's of articles and finally completing their in class work which is an in class project each week based around an essential question they receive. Its a lot, but manageable. 

I have been struggling to find a way where I could give students another opportunity to demonstrate mastery that did add on to their current workload. I have also been looking for more effective ways to use my one on one time with them. Currently I can assist them with in class projects, or if they struggled with a particular concept and come to me, I can sit and go over it. I wanted a way however to suss out those that were too shy to tell me they weren't "getting it." Additionally under our new evaluation systems they are interested in seeing how we use data to assess and react to student learning. I've been wanting to do this for a while and this will be a good push.

I decided to create "exit interviews" for each unit. Currently a student must present me all of the coursework for the unit when they have mastered all of it, and I sign off that it is done and mastered and it goes into the books. I've decided to change this a bit and make it another chance to assess mastery.

I made a simple checklist (adapted from Frank Noschese's great examplehat I found through Brian Bennett ...yay for the power of networking!) that included all of the state standards for the course. The first column had the standard the second column had a simple "Mastered?" This year I'm starting with just "yes" or "no." I'm sure in the future I can find ways to show "working towards mastery" but for now I wanted to keep it simple. At an "exit interview" students will bring all of their work, notes, quizzes, tests, projects, flashcards, critical readings, etc. One by one I will go through the standards, they can either orally demonstrate mastery, or they may show me in some of the work they have done where they can demonstrate mastery of the concept.

I plan on making these "interviews" as comfortable and informal as possible. "No" answers under the Mastery column may be changed at any time, a student can bring me something that demonstrates a mastery of that standard and I will change it. This won't take away from what they've done, rather it will be one more chance for them to show master, for many of my students answering orally is preferable to writing. I am not lifting the required writing of the course, merely giving them another opportunity to clarify their thoughts.

While this will be time consuming and initially difficult to set up I think it will allow me to track where students are more closely and get a better sense of who is mastering things quickly and could be more challenged and who is still struggling. However I think it will be worth the time in the end. I will have a calendar where students may sign up for the exit interviews. They may sign up during class time (only 1-2 per class I want to make sure I'm still available for the class at large), during our SSR (a silent reading period...a post for another day), or before or after school. 

After they've received "Yes" on everything for the unit, they will have truly mastered it, and I have decided to print out "mastery" certificates for the units. After all, it is still seventh grade, and everyone likes to be recognized for their efforts!

 Here is an example of a checklist for our Early Man unit, taken from the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks: 

Standard	Mastered
7.1 Describe the great climatic and environmental changes that shaped the earth and eventually permitted the growth of human life. (H)
7.2 Identify sites in Africa where archaeologists have found evidence of the origins of modern human beings and describe what the archaeologists found. (G, H)
7.3 Describe the characteristics of the hunter-gatherer societies of the Paleolithic Age (their use of tools and fire, basic hunting weapons, beads and other jewelry).
7.4 Explain the importance of the invention of metallurgy and agriculture (the growing of crops and the domestication of animals).
7.5 Describe how the invention of agriculture related to settlement, population growth, and the emergence of civilization. (H)
7.6 Identify the characteristics of civilizations. (H, G, E) A.  the presence of geographic boundaries and political institutions
B.  an economy that produces food surpluses
C.  a concentration of population in distinct areas or cities
D.  the existence of social classes
E.  developed systems of religion, learning, art, and architecture
F.  a system of record keeping

So as an example for checkpoint 7.1, they could tell me orally, show me an essay they had written on a test where they already did this (everything will have been graded at the interview), or show me a project that they created in class dealing with that standard. 

I really want them to reflect on why they are doing what their doing, and really realize how much they know and are learning! 

Do you do any kind of standards based assessment? What do you do to encourage students to reflect on their own work? How do they demonstrate they've mastered something?

Our In Class Archaeological Dig!

I think sometimes in the Flipped Class community we can spend a lot of time discussing the out of school part- the creation of videos, the work that goes with them, and what to do with students who don't always watch them. This is fantastic and helpful, but I think its also important to share what we do during class, since this is the whole point- freeing up this time and realizing what we can do with it.

This week I had two great experiences. The first was a discussion of our "critical reading" article. Students read an article about stolen artifacts and we had an in class discussion surrounding the idea of returning objects to their home country, preservation of artifacts, private owner rights..etc. IT WAS GREAT! Sure it took a few minutes to warm up, but once we got going to students had a lot to say. I got to hear a lot of opinions and spend an entire class period taking an idea and fleshing it out from start to finish- I never had time to do something like this prior to the flip. This was a topic related to Ancient History (which is my core subject that I teach) but tied to the modern world, it was something interesting but not something that we would have had the time to spend on before.

The second thing we did was an in-class archaeological dig. Students were broken into teams. At each table I set up a "mini dig site." A tray with brown sugar, corn meal, or flour filled with artifacts, and an iPad. Students had to map the dig site, divide it up, and excavate and record the artifacts they found in the site. They also had to record "soil conditions." They used the iPad to take pictures of their artifacts and ultimately put them into a presentation. I put all kinds of things in the trays, spoons, paper clips, necklaces, cupcake wrappers. Teams then had to determine what they thought the site was and ultimately present their findings and information to the class in a Powerpoint presentation.

Here are some pictures from our team dig:

How are you using your class time? Do you find more time to do hands on activities? Has flipping your class changed the type of activities you run? 

Of Mice and Men: First Day Hurdles, Week 1 of the Flip, and the Positives of a Negative Twitter Experience

Warning: Lengthy post ahead.  I haven't posted in a while so this post will be three posts lumped into one.

First Day Hurdles

After two days of staff meetings and logistical meetings my version of New Years Day finally arrived: The First Day (with students). The smell of freshly sharpened pencils and new denim filled the air as the kids bustled in for their first day of seventh grade. Homeroom seemed to last forever as we explained all of the paper work that the students would need to bring home that evening (Google Docs would simplify this process so much, but alas thats a discussion for another day).

I was extremely excited about the activity I had planned (see my previous post). I went to the main office to pick up the laptop cart, brought it to my room and plugged it in, and with that lost power in my classroom. Apparently our 1960s era school did not anticipate the toll that computers, ipads, and the like would take on the circuit breakers. Incidentally I also caused the Vice Principal to lose power..oops! So there I was on the first day with no power and an awesome lesson I couldn't implement...what's a teacher to do?

Well we proceeded anyway sans technology, I'll admit the first few classes did not go as I hoped since I didn't have the ipads to do the online portion with them. I have a prep in the middle of the day and was able to print out the materials, so things went MUCH smoother the second half.

In terms of the tape and straw activity, the kids LOVED it and I think they were really able to see how it connected to the flipped class and how the flipped class was going to help them. I will definitely be using this again next year, with a few minor tweaks. One being that in all the excitement I forgot to go over names with my kids (oops sort of a big deal on the first day). I felt a little like a first year teacher again. I guess in a way I am since this is my first fully "flipped" year. A lot of what I'm doing is reminiscent of my first go around.

What I learned from this? Technology is great, iPads are wonderful, but sometimes they fail and don't work, so don't forget to have a paper back up! Incidentally, don't we tell our kids this all the time!?!

Onward and Upward: The First Week

Overall this week wasn't the most exciting for the kids, I went over how to watch the videos at home and did a lot of checking in with their passwords and such. I handed out the coursepacks and went over how to use them. I also lectured in class so they could see how I explain the powerpoint slides that they would be seeing in the video and made sure they knew how to follow along with the notes.

What I learned: Students adapt quickly. I was really worried that students would need a whole week to get used to me and my note style before they started to watch the videos at home, I think all they really needed was a day. Next year I will probably start with the at home videos within the first two days, that way we can get right into the fun stuff "doing" history instead of listening to me talk about it.


My First Negative Twitter Experience

I was participating in a Twitter Chat and I used the word "irregardless" I hadn't even realized that I'd used it. Now, trust me, I am fully aware grammar is one area that I could really improve on (you read my posts so you're aware of this) heck I'm sure this post is filled with errors (I'm not saying this is OK, just that I'm aware it happens). However, I am fully aware that "irregardless" is not a word. I honestly, even now cannot tell you why I used it. I was tired, it was the end of a long day, none of which excuses using a made-up word, but my point is it happened, as these things some times do. I was alerted that I had a new tweet and when I looked someone had replied with a statement that "irregarless is never acceptable for an educator to use." I froze, I realized my mistake, I was mortified and embarrassed. She was right of course, how could I as an educator have made such an error? Would people still take me credibly on Twitter? I pulled the offending statement from the interwebs hoping people hadn't seen it. As silly as it sounds, this woman's tweet sat in the back of my mind the whole next day at work. I began to question myself. I suddenly pictured my tweet getting picked up by some organization as an example of an ill prepared educator. I started to wonder if I could call myself an educator. I couldn't get past those words "is never acceptable." Someone in my profession should know better, should never have made such a mistake. Beyond all that my feelings were hurt, I had been trying to make what I thought was a really positive point on education and this woman zeroed in on my mistake, broadcast it to the universe and really made me feel like I had no business being a teacher. I felt judged it was "never acceptable" for an educator to make that mistake, therefore, I am not an educator, I am a fake.

I realize this may seem very silly to some of you (I can hear you now: for goodness sakes it was JUST a TWEET) but it honestly really really impacted me...and then it hit me....words are powerful...words hurt....we as teachers use words all day every day.

How often do we quickly correct a student's error without looking past it at the point they were trying to make? If this woman via cyberspace that I have never met in person could impact my feelings in such a negative way, imagine what I could do to a 13 year old sitting in my class. If she could cause me to question my abilities within my profession...what could I cause my students to question?

I firmly believe in making mistakes, I believe that you learn from them and that failure can lead to great outcomes if you choose not to accept it. However I also believe there is a way to correct my students without causing them to question themselves. I realized I need to approach how I correct students very carefully and so I came up with following to guide me this year as my students (and I myself) inevitably make mistakes.

1. Absolutes do not encourage improvement. I would never tell a student "it is never acceptable for you to make this mistake." Rather I would tell them that it is acceptable, they are human, they are learning, they are incomplete in the best possible way. Together we will learn how to take mistakes, learn from them, and implement change from them. We will look at why we make mistakes, what preconceived thoughts we have about things, and realize that sometimes, we just make them, and as long as we are willing to fix them, and try our best to not make them again, that's ok.

2. Public correction of a mistake is more about the corrector and less about the learner. It's one thing to realize many students are making the same mistakes and going over them together, but announcing a students mistake in public is going to do little more than embarrass them and make them afraid to make another one. All it will serve is to make the teacher look "all powerful." Socrates was famous for purporting that the first step to becoming wise is admitting that you don't know everything. I'm not saying we should let mistakes go and never point them out, but rather I think it is important to allow students to learn of an error in a comfortable private environment where they are given the opportunity to fix it.

3. Words have power, negative words, positive words, all words. I need to choose them wisely and be aware that constructive criticism while far better than negative criticism can still hurt. It is essential for my students to realize that I am correcting their mistake and not personally attacking them. I believe strongly in the use of positive language with students and will continue to look for the meaning and the message first and foremost before I go about correcting the incidentals. I don't want to miss out on a student's brilliant ideas because I'm stuck on a spelling mistake. Praise the idea first...privately correct the spelling mistake. I need to make sure my words are about empowering my students and not phrases meant to only empower me as a teacher. A private message from this woman pointing out my error would have been welcomed, but I guess I wouldn't have learned as much from that.

I thought about tweeting back to this woman and telling her that she'd hurt my feelings, telling her that I hoped she would never correct her students publicly like that, but finally I realized that I need to get it together and grow up. I'm an adult, I've been avoiding Twitter, I've been ridiculous. I made a mistake, I fixed it, and now I'm returning to probably make more...but that's why life long learning is so great! In the long run this woman did me a great favor, reminding me of the power our words have.

Ok way too long of a post. So as you can see I've learned a lot these last two weeks. How are things going in your first few weeks? How do you handle things like technology and power failures? Have you had any negative experiences on social networking sites? What are some ways you help students realize their mistakes without making them feel poorly about themselves?