You want spoonfeeding? Sorry, no can do

I am really struggling to write here. When in the course of my jobs I write something that I feel is appropriate to post, I'll do so.

The following is a response to a student. I'll let you draw conclusions based on what I say (said).

You said "I understand that we are adults, but I am paying a hefty tuition for a professor to teach me." You will probably be sorely disappointed in this class if that is your expectation. I am a facilitator of learning and much of what you do and learn in this class will be a result of independent learning. As a teacher, I hope your other professors will do the same. Knowing the mission of professional studies as I do, that is the intent, although it doesn't always happen in actuality.

Education has changed significantly over the last 10 years. A major change has been that the impetus for learning has moved from the teacher to the student. This is true in MANY progressive universities and it's how I structured my classes in both the university and the high school. I've learned a lot of what I do from other, veteran professors here on campus, so I know you will run across these same strategies in other classes; some of those profs teach in this program.

That said, I recognize that the program is expensive. I just spent over $30k for a Master's. However, I didn't pay for a professor to teach me. I paid for convenience (1 night a week) and for a professor to know how to engage me in the learning process, whether through lecture or independent learning. My philosophy is that you get out of class what you put into it.

It is my job to bring all of my mental faculties to bear on the learning environment so that it is one that is conducive to students being engaged and learning However, it is your job to come prepared to class (which you clearly do) and do your best on each assignment and while you are participating in class. I say things like "You are college students and need to figure things that are not spelled out on your own" because that is what is expected of college graduates. You should be a critical thinker, a problem-solver, and an independent learner.

This week, I was asked to prepare an RFP for a vendor. Prior to that assignment, I had never heard of an RFP and didn't even know what the letters stood for. However, through a day of research and independent learning, I was able to learn not only what it was, but what was supposed to be included in one and I prepared a (very) rough draft. This was done much to the surprise of my boss. She didn't even expect that I would know what it was, no less be able to create one from scratch. I learned that skill through professors putting me into situations in which I had to think for myself. This is exactly one of the skills I am hoping to engage you in. Be sure to check the learning objectives again. No doubt you will see "critical thinking" listed.

This program is not about (at least it shouldn't be) "paying for a degree" or even "paying for a professor to teach you". It is about you engaging in the process of learning. Many students come to SNU thinking the professor should "spoon-feed" them the information, assign them an "A", and get them on to the next class. I refuse! I will point you in the right direction, facilitate learning to the best of my ability, award points where they are due, and PREPARE you for whatever challenge you meet next.

You guys know how these things go. Sometimes you've just got to get these things out of your head before you can move on.

360 Degree Leadership, Part 2

The second myth was the very next one in the list, “When I get to the top, then I’ll learn to lead.” This reminds me of the parable of the talents when the worker who is given a single talent decides to bury it so he will not lose it. As a result, the master is displeased with him. However, the others who had a little more, made their talents into even more. The master says to them, “You have been faithful with a few things, now I’ll put you in charge of even bigger things.” Leaders must learn to lead before reaching the top. Experience teaches best of all. Who is going to make the decisions concerning curriculum? An inexperienced “yes-man” hired by the Department of Education? Rarely will that happen. The best person for the job would be someone who has a little bit of experience but has the capability and ideas to affect change on a wider scale. That describes someone who has been leading from the middle.

There are many challenges faced by someone leading from the middle. Colleagues may be intimidated by a young (or just new) upstart coming in with new ideas, affecting change. Being aware of these challenges ahead of time can save a lot of distress and angst a less informed middle-leader might experience.

One of these stood out to me the most: “The Ego Challenge, You’re Often Hidden in the Middle.” As a teacher, it does feel easy to be lost in the middle. It is kind of a squeaky wheel situation. You begin to wonder, “Will I ever get noticed for my hard work?” Honestly? Who cares? I am not in this job to get noticed by anyone other than my students. I was selected as Teacher of the Year by my colleagues this year. That was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I am not the kind of person who enjoys being in the spotlight. I tend to be a behind-the-scenes person. However, when my many of my colleagues told me they voted for me because of what they heard students talking saying, I began to feel as though I was doing something right. Honestly, it gave me a huge boost in self-confidence, although it took my “self-pressure” to a new high, as well.

If teachers are teaching for the right reasons, they should be “leading down” to their students and not be worried about whether or not they are being noticed from above. Mr. Maxwell gives several strategies for dealing with this challenge, the most important being to appreciate the value of your position. As a teacher, I am given the opportunity each year to affect change on the future by helping shape the way students view the world around them. I really appreciate that.

360 Degree Leader, Part 1

As a teacher, I have often wondered, “How do I lead others if I am not going to go into administration?” During my four very short years of teaching, I feel as though I have become a leader to my peers. Specifically in the area of technology integration, but to a lesser extent in the area of curriculum and even organizational skills. In the book “The 360-Degree Leader,” John Maxwell offers some much needed guidance in the area of leading while not at the top of an organization. There are three main goals I now have as a result of reading this book: I want to support my leader (no matter who they are), I want to add value to my school (by doing so I add value to myself and others), and I want to do my work with excellence (that is a biblical work ethic).

Mr. Maxwell has packed so much into this book, its very difficult to summarize it in just a few pages. However, there were several points that really stood out to me. The first was covered in section 1 and dealt with the myths associated with leading from the middle. There were seven myths in all, but I picked the two that applied the most to me.

The first, and for me, most important, is “I can’t lead if I’m not at the top.” Impossible! Good leaders emerge and generally move to the top, but where would we be in education if we did not have teachers who are good leaders? I mean are we not leading students? Students look to me as the instructional leader of our classroom. I am making decisions that affect how well prepared they are (or are not) to meet the demands of college and the workforce.

proposition 4 - learning from experience

Here we are at post 200! 100 posts in the last 16 months? I suppose that isn't too bad. That's one about every 5 days or so.

In the continuing series over the 5 Core Propositions for NBPTS, it's time to consider Proposition 4, Practice and Experience.

Proposition 4 - Teachers think systematically about their Practice and learn from experience.

The Master's program has really made me start to think about my practice and reflection has become reflexive! Thinking about what I am doing and the things I am trying to get students to do is almost automatic. I find myself thinking about class all the time. I see shows on television and it makes me think about something I could do, have done, or wish I could do in the classroom. It gets to be a little scary sometimes. Occasionally, I get annoyed with students because I think since I constantly reflect on what they are doing, it should be natural for them to do so, as well.

• NBCTs model what it means to be an educated person – they read, they question, they create and they are willing to try new things.

I remember being an undergraduate student and hearing the words "life-long learner" repeated over and over. I never really knew what that meant until I began thinking in terms of National Board. I mean, somewhere, inside I think I probably understood it, but to experience being a life-long learner firsthand did not happen for me until some time in the last 15 months. I can honestly say it has been the beginning of a journey for me. I certainly can say I am a better person and hopefully a better teacher as a result of the reflective practice.

• They are familiar with learning theories and instructional strategies and stay abreast of current issues in American education.

I still have a lot to learn about Learning Theories. I could talk about people like Vygotsky and Dewey and Maslow, but there are only a few theories with which I am intimately familiar. However, instructional strategies are an area I fell much more comfortable talking about. I think this is where the experience component of this proposition comes into play. I have been a part of around 300 students education over the past 4 years. I recognize that is a small number compared to anyone who has taught longer than I have, but its not really a small number when you think about it. Those are 300 people who's parents trusted me to shape the way their students think about the Universe. To mold their perception of the World around them. To affect their scientific worldview. That means I have had 300 opportunities to learn a slightly different way that students learn and interact with information. If I may put this into the context of something a little more common: if I baked 300 cakes over the course of 4 years, I would have built a considerable experience. I would know how to change the recipe based on local conditions: temperature, altitude, pressure, humidity, etc. In the same way, I have learned that every student learns in a slightly different way and it is my job to differentiate the instruction to meet the student at their point of need. (That phrase always reminds me of The Gospel for some reason.)

• They critically examine their practice on a regular basis to deepen knowledge, expand their repertoire of skills, and incorporate new findings into their practice.

While I do not think the Carnegie Foundation meant that we should be critical of ourselves, I do think they meant we should consider our practice with critical eye to always look for ways to improve. Every lesson I do can be improved. That does not mean it was not good when it was done, it just means I need to constantly look for ways to improve, lest I become stagnant and stale. That is the time when student begin to see your class as meaningless and irrelevant.

Proposition 4, like the 3 before it, is an important aspect of good, reflective, teaching practice. Meditating on this proposition can color the lens by which we see ourselves and our practice. It is important to recognize that to be effective we must be willing to admit that we have room to improve, no matter what we do. Thanks NBCT for another course in what is turning out to be a fantastic meal!

 

2010 in review

2010 was a really good year in the Science Classroom. We integrated technology even more than before and I grew a lot in my practice.

We spent quite a bit of time working on the textbook over at the Science Classroom Wiki. Students produced some great products and we even got some AP students to peer edit. I think this was a really good opportunity for all students to learn from each other.

Students created some presentations as a part of learning and they can be found here. This was one of my first forays into GoogleDocs and we haven't looked back since. This blossomed into a more recent adventure wherein students created the lecture notes we used in class. Students have taken the integration of GoogleDocs in our classroom to a new level, they have started using them in other classes, they share documents with me instead of turning papers in, they collaborate together on note-taking, and the list goes on and on.

Spending time in GoogleDocs in the classroom resulted in the creation of a presentation I gave to the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association called Google Will Change Your Life. (I'll also be giving this presentation to the Oklahoma Technology Association at their annual conference). I gave a presentation about Wikis, Blogs, and Discussion Boards with one of my colleagues to OTA back in February. Giving presentations has been an enriching experience and I've made a ton of contacts as a result. It has certainly increased the number of people in my Peer Learning Network.

Putnam City High changed over from a 4 block day to a 7 period day and there have been some pains involved (as usual) with the change. I personally have really enjoyed it but it has taken some getting used to. Students have had to learn how to get to class on time in spite of the fact that they now have nearly twice as many opportunities to be late. Teachers (especially those of us in science) have had to redo our curriculum while keeping labs as a part of our classes. This has certainly been a challenge. For whatever reason, it has been easier for me to add labs.

At the beginning of this school year, I decided it might be a good idea to toss my Lesson Plan book into the trash (figuratively not literally, Janie if you are reading this, don't freak out) and start putting my curriculum online. I created a Google Site and started organizing my curriculum to include every component required on our Lesson Plan forms. I really like having it online since I can access it from any computer that has an internet connection and requires no programs. I've even started including a link to each of my assessments since they have all been given online and are self-graded as a Google Form. Students have reacted positively to online tests and really like the timely-ness of the feedback I can give since they are graded before they walk out of the room. The online curriculum will be what everyone is doing in the near future, so I just thought I'd be a trend-setter and set the bar instead of trying to reach it!

I've been working on my Master's in Education and that has affected a lot of what I do in the classroom and has certainly changed my outlook on who I am as an educator and the confidence or lack of it that I have in myself. Everything I have learned through this program has been seen through the eyes of technology. This degree program has caused me to consider going beyond the Master's and look at a terminal degree. That's something I never thought I would do and certainly not something I thought I was capable of doing. Of course, I suppose that outcome remains to be seen since I haven't picked a school (or program)!

Finally, I just registered the domain jodybowie.com to make it easier for my students to access our classroom website. I think students will be more likely to use the site if they can access it easily. I'm working hard to make our website useful to students. One of my goals for this next year is to begin doing video capture of my lectures and embedding this for students who either miss class or need extra time to study.

So, this past year has been a year of growth for me. Has everything been positive? Probably not. Have I been more effective in my practice. I hope so. Have I solved all of the problems in my classroom? Definitely not. However, I think I have learned to engage students more effectively and that's certainly a big part of the battle. What kinds of things have you tried this year? What kinds of things will you be trying in the coming year? I've learned this year I don't have the answers to being the perfect teacher, but I have learned that if I ever stop trying to learn something new, I'll definitely never be the perfect teacher.

I think 2011 is going to have even more opportunity for growth. I surely hope so.

Week 15, 2010-2011 school year

This week has been a difficult one as I get further and further behind. The overload of stuff that I have on my plate at this point definitely affects the way I interact with students and that's a hard reality to face.

I have been learning about students this week. One of my students told me that their car was stolen this week. Yikes. The things these students have to deal with constantly blows me away. I continue to wonder at the myriad of issues that is their daily life. It reminds me of the blessings I have. Insert thankfulness here.

Another student is dealing with a holiday season that is the first after the loss of a parent. Specifically, the parent passed away right at a year ago and it seems that is really taking a toll on the student. My heart breaks for this particular student. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to focus on anything right now.

Everything this week has been hard. When I do formative assessments during class (questions to students, which are review, basic recall) no one knows anything and everyone looks at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. At one point I stood with my face toward the whiteboard and hit my head on it a few times to try and get the cobwebs to go away. The problem was there weren't any cobwebs in MY brain! Some days it is just at the point that I have to wonder "What am I doing wrong?" or "What am I NOT doing right?" I see those as two very different questions and I have to say that I've asked myself both several times throughout the year.

I have come up with several answers, the most important being that I have too much on my plate to focus the best of my energy into the most important task, which is teaching my students to the best of my ability. This master's program is really wearing on me and I welcome the soon to come Christmas break.

I was asked to write an article for Educational Leadership about engaging the 21st Century learner. That's supposed to be published in February, so we'll see whether that comes to fruition.

I taught two classes at my alma mater in their degree completion program (which has given me the desire to teach Higher Ed) and I've committed to two more of those same classes, which are both in Tulsa, for the Spring and Summer of 2011. Additionally, I am scheduled to teach a traditional class at the same University this Spring and the thought of getting ready to teach that, for the first time, is weighing heavily on my mind.

I have been working hard at getting the skeleton of my curriculum online as a sort of "online plan book" with all of my lessons aligned to our P.A.S.S. It comes short little bursts of work where I'll work on it for several days and then go a few weeks without doing anything. It's a pretty major project and I am beginning to realize that it may be a multi-year task.

Another problem is that I am implementing several new things in my class this year. I've been beta testing and kind of critiquing the development of a new product while implementing it into my class. It's called Journie and you can read about it here. It's a great program and really engages students, but implementing something while communicating with the developers is quite a daunting task.

I have been integrating the use of GoogleDocs into my classroom this year, much to the delight of my students. While it tends to cut down on the amount of paper that is used, it does take more work to get it done. Along that same line, all of my tests and quizzes are online this year (via GoogleDocs) and that requires a lot of work on the front side, but really cuts down on the grading, after the fact.

I have presented at one conference so far this year and am waiting to see if my proposal has been accepted for a second and I am considering a proposal for a third in the Summer. The saving grace here is that my presentation is the same for all conferences.

My most difficult issue through the last several weeks has been the amount of time I spend helping other teachers with technology. I love working with my peers to integrate technology, but it's starting to cut into my productive time. I have started keeping track of the amount of time I spend doing it and will be asking for another planning period next year. I think I will have enough to show that it is warranted.

Finally, since I will be competing for Teacher of the Year for my district, I have begun thinking about all of the things I need to talk about on the application/portfolio, which was (at least part of) the impetus for this post. If it sounds like I am talking about all of the things I do that are good, I don't mean to brag, I just want to be able to represent my faculty in such a way that they can be proud.

As a side note, I was nominated as Oklahoma Technology Association's Technology Teacher of the Year. That will be announced in January. Just when I thought the year couldn't get any better/worse! :-)

Proposition 1

As you may have read, I've decided NOT to pursue National Board Certification, at least at this time. I've not written the process off completely, but I won't be doing it as a part of this Master's Program. However, that doesn't mean I am immune to the good practice that NBPTS promotes and cultivates. Thinking about the core propositions is a good idea. So, what about Proposition 1?

It states the following:

Proposition 1: Teachers are Committed to Students and Their Learning

• NBCTs are dedicated to making knowledge accessible to all students. They believe all students can learn.


• They treat students equitably. They recognize the individual differences that distinguish their students from one another and they take account for these differences in their practice.


• NBCTs understand how students develop and learn.


• They respect the cultural and family differences students bring to their classroom.


• They are concerned with their students’ self-concept, their motivation and the effects of learning on peer relationships.


• NBCTs are also concerned with the development of character and civic responsibility.

I'll take it one bullet point at a time:

"They believe all students can learn." Do I really believe this? Well, I struggle with this for two reasons (actually one, but it sounds better to say two). As a science teacher, I don't believe anything! I either accept the evidence or reject the evidence, there is no room for belief in science (other than a basic belief that most people are honest and are not out to fleece their fellow man/woman). So, what does the data say? Where is the evidence that all students can learn? I have run across a few students who seemed not at all interested in learning what I was trying to teach. So, does that mean they weren't able to learn? I doubt it. What it probably meant was that they were being "taught" by a teacher who was bull-headed and very inexperienced. As I move further into my teaching career, I am building a fantastic toolbox from which I can pull more and more specialized tools. I am learning to engage learners as they come to me, instead of trying to engage them as I come to them. I can see growth in my teaching methods, specifically in my engagement of difficult and un-motivated students. In fact, I'm trying to learn what motivates students by asking them that exact question.

"They treat students equitably." I strive for this in every aspect of my student engagement. Whether it is harassing every student who is roaming the halls during my plan (harassing is too strong a word, more like challenging) or whether it is recognizing that my students come from a variety of backgrounds with a multitude of worldviews. This really seems like a no-brainer since we begin the year talking about perception and how that colors your worldview and affects the way in which students observe their surroundings. For instance, what I might perceive as yellow might look more orange to another person and this is based on both nature and nurture. In the same way, students might perceive the importance of an education in different ways. It's my job (and privilege) to engage them on in a way that makes what we are learning relevant to their lives.

"NBCTs understand how students develop and learn." If a teacher doesn't understand the basics of human development, specifically as it applies to the age they are teaching, they have absolutely no business being a teacher. Teachers must understand this or students will be getting instruction that might not be age (or developmentally) appropriate. Enough said.

"They respect the cultural and family differences students bring to their classroom." I personally have had a difficult time with this issue since I was just a little blond-haired kid, growing up in Southwestern Louisiana. I was not necessarily brought up to respect those people who were different from me. I was raised to notice those who were different than I, but taught to believe they were inferior to my "type". It was very difficult to realize this as an adult. I firmly believe that education, at least for me, has been the Great Equalizer. My education has taught me tolerance for others and respect for those who "look/act/believe differently" than I. My students do not come from the same culture as me. My students do not have the same experiences I had as a child. My students do not come from the same cultural/socio-economic/religious background as I. However, that doesn't make them "worse" than me. Who in the world can define "worse" anyway? It's all about perception! (Please see previous paragraph.)

"They are concerned with their students’ self-concept, their motivation and the effects of learning on peer relationships." As a person who has sturggled (and still does struggle) with self-concept, I can empathize with students. Maybe it's the result of self-imposed doubt or environmental factors that cause students to not be able to see that they are important and have something constructive to add to every situation. No matter the reason or cause, every student is able to achieve their best. I recognize "best" means many different levels. This is why teachers must differentiate instruction to meet each students needs. As a result, teachers need to know what student's needs are before they can be successful at meeting those needs. I have recently been discussing the issue of student motivation with students. Many of them aren't even sure what motivates them. As a teacher, its extremely difficult to motivate students when they aren't even sure what makes them want to be their best.

"NBCTs are also concerned with the development of character and civic responsibility." Surely there are not teachers who still are in the profession who don't want their students to be upstanding citizens with some sense of civic duty? After all, don't taxpaying citizens pay teacher salaries? I know, this isn't a legitimate reason to be concerned with this. Character and civic responsibility begins with classroom behavior. A classroom is a community and student's have to learn to how to be a part of that community. If they do, this can put them on the road to functioning as citizens who add value to the community of which they are a part.

So, what grade would I give myself on these issues? I would say "Needs Improvement" and say that with pride. I would say that I always need improvement in every area of my practice. However, that's true of any teacher and the best teachers are the ones who recognize it and do something about it. That's the reason I write on this blog. Reflection. It helps my students and it helps me.

apathy vs. empathy

Tonight, during class, I heard two different presentations about parenting of students of poverty. Specifically, parents in poverty deal with issues about which we, as middle-classers, have no idea. Have you ever thought about the fact that parents, as decision makers, have limited options for where they can live? These parents aren't any different than any other parents, other than they are not as able to provide for their students as other parents.

• What if you only had about 10 places in town you could choose to live because those are the places that would provide assistance with your rent?


• Would this affect your mindset on getting involved with your child at school?


• If you had to take government assistance to put food on the table would that change how you saw the world around you?


• Would that affect whether or not you wanted to go to the school and talk with people who might have as many as 10 more years of education than you do?


• Would that intimidate you?


• Would you care at all about whether your student got their homework done if all you could think about was where you were going to get your next fix of drugs? What about if you were working 2 or 3 jobs and needed your older students to take care of their younger siblings, would you care about whether the homework got done?


• If you were going to lose your job for being late one more time (because you have to take public transportation since you can't afford a car) would you leave your child home alone until the baby-sitter got there?


• Would any of these situations change the way your parent your kids?

I recognize these may seem extreme to those of us who live our lives in the middle-class. However, for those folks who live below the poverty line, these situations are the reality that they live with everyday. I think it's pretty easy to say "Well THEY shouldn't make those bad decisions" but this is like saying "Well, the government shouldn't borrow money from China." The problem with that is that's just not realistic. I mean what other choice do we have when we need to borrow money? About the same amount of options poverty parents have when the electric company is about to shut of the lights, you are down to one more bottle of formula with no WIC coupons left, and payday isn't scheduled for another week. You go down to the ACE Check Cashing place and write a hot check (much like the government does with China).

As you may have heard me say before (if not, I'll say it in my next blog post), "We can talk all day about the problem, but in the end, what are we going to do about it? 'Cause bitching and moaning about the problem will only go so far. In the end, we have to DO something and stop just talking." Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs says that students must have the basic needs met before they can even begin to focus on learning. I think the same is true of the parents. We have to help meet their needs.

I recently taught a class at SNU in which I asked the class the question: "Who should be responsible for those people who are not prepared after a Natural Disaster happens?" I don't think that question is very much different than the situation these parents deal with every day. So, I would hazard that many people would say that we should do away with government programs that support people of poverty should be done away with because "we simply can't afford it". I say this because I hear about it when Kevin Ogle lets the viewers speak on The Rant and living here in Conservative Oklahoma, that's the prevalent attitude.

There is a strong resentment that there is a (perceived?) redistribution of wealth and some of "us" are working hard while most of "them" are sitting around enjoying the day. By "them" do you mean the mom with 5 kids who works 2 jobs to support them and still gets welfare to help put food on the table? What? She ought not to be having that many kids? Maybe her reality was that she struggled/struggles with her self-worth and therefore her sexual identity comes from the decisions she made while being intimate with multiple sex partners. This is her reality.

Maybe you think she should have gotten abortions? But wait! Conservatives are against abortion! Oh, abstinence? Why don't you come spend a day in MY classroom and listen to teenagers reality and then talk to me about abstinence. I'm sure they will be happy to listen to what is being said.

Yes, this has been a soapbox. I'm sorry. But when I see students coming to a teacher's classroom to get peanut butter crackers at lunch because they don't have money to buy lunch, it tends to put things into perspective. It tends to change the way I think about what's going on in my students lives. It tends to make me realize that my problems pale in comparison to the reality of my student's family life and all the (expletive deleted) they have to deal with every day.

So, what should we do about it? We need to keep funding programs that support, both financially and nutritionally, people who find themselves in poverty. We need to have some compassion for those around us in need. We need to look beyond "what people are getting from the government" and try to find out "why they need to take from the government". If the taxpayers shouldn't be responsible to help these folks, then who? (This is the question I asked in class about the uninsured/underinsured after a natural disaster). I think many would say "the Church/Charities". Okay, so what specific things do you see being done? What ever happened to that adage of "teach a man to fish feed him for life". Aren't we simply putting band-aids on a gushing wound by simply feeding people? What are we doing to actually get them out of poverty? What are we really doing to break the cycle of poverty?

Do your students know you care? Do you ever wonder why "that student" has so many bad days? What's going on behind the scenes? It may seem like I'm preaching or griping, but in reality I'm talking to myself, too. I hope, as teachers, we take our jobs seriously. I hope we think about more than just testing. I hope if we are teaching we are there because we care about students and aren't just trying to "have summers off". As I tell students: "If you aren't serious about learning, I'd rather you just not be here. Why don't you leave?" I think the same applies to teachers. We'll go out and get some folks who can have a burden for student learning to replace you.

Sometimes, I really need a reality check for what students are going through and that's what this is. I hope it helped you get a reality check, too. If you were offended by this post, I'm sorry you were offended, but I'm not sorry I wrote it. I'm learning to look beyond my own reality and this is the result of what I see now everyday.

Top 5 ways for me to be different

An excerpt from my journal. I'm trying to process and change the way I do things, this is for me:

In my opinion, a major part of this process is to give students ownership of their education. Students need choices in education, but first they need to be taught to make responsible decisions. When I first started teaching, I would get frustrated if students didn’t “get it” the first time around. When I am explicitly telling them information and they don’t “get it”, how can I expect them to pick up on the implicit lessons I’m trying to teach (like social democracy and decision making)? I’ve learned that students need to be taught numerous times, especially when we are learning life skills. I mean who cares if they don’t understand why the Earth has seasons (fall, spring, winter, summer)? Who cares if they don’t understand why when they flip a switch the light comes on? Okay, I care. But really, who cares? Will they not be successful in life without the knowledge they should get in my class? No. But if they don’t pick up on the life skills I’m trying to pass on to them, then we really have a problem! It no longer is an individual student problem; it becomes a systemic problem because education begins to fail society.

This is (in my opinion) the problem with our world. We have a generation of former students who see education as irrelevant to their everyday lives. All of the testing in the world won’t fix this problem. As I discuss these issues with other educators, I always end with a final question to them: Are we just going to sit around and complain about it? Or are we going to do something about it?

Our school has done challenge day the last few years and they have a saying: “Be the Change”. It comes from a quote by Mahatma Ghandi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” So, is the education system broke? Yes. Are students apathetic about learning? Yes. But what are we going to do about it? I’ll tell you what I’m going to do about it (because I can only control my actions, not anyone else’s):
1.    I am going to be the best teacher I can be. If this means I need to learn something new, I will; professional development is not just a requirement, it is a duty!
2.    I am going to build relationships with my students that instill trust and give them the opportunity to take risks in our learning environment. If this means I need to open myself up to students to show that I deal with issues in my life (get out of my comfort zone), okay! Show me the way out of my box!
3.    I am going to reflect on my practice and always work at being better. If this means I have to take time from my leisure activities to make my practice better, then let it be so!
4.    I am going to constantly look for new ways to make my curriculum relevant to student’s lives. If this means I have to learn new technology, I will! Students use tech outside the classroom to communicate, why should they be required to “disconnect” when they come into class?
5.    I am going to focus on speaking positively of my students. This means even though I get frustrated with the current state of my building, I will maintain a positive attitude so that I don’t bring others down. I will find anonymous outlets for my frustration (think an anonymous blog here).

Student Empowerment

I've been reading in the book, Choosing Democracy, by Duane Campbell, as a part of a Sociology of Cultures Communities and Schools, ED 6093.

One of the quotes I liked was, "When students recognize their own cultural context, they can learn to think critically about it and make meaningful decisions about their life opportunities." Now, this is a quote I can get behind and support. I like the idea. However, I am not sure that we are able, as teachers, to get this point across effectively to students. Can I get an amen? There are students in my classes who are not having their basic needs met. Have a look at Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. There are a lot of students who come to school hungry. Their parents depend on the school to teach them how to be human beings. They depend on the school to feed them. Many of these parents are not even getting their basic needs met. Therefore, they are not meeting the needs of their children.

The quote above implies that students are able to reach self-actualization. How can we expect this if we are not able to meet their basic physiological needs, their needs of safety, and their needs of love and belonging? This last need, the need of love and belonging, really stems from a students identity, specifically their cultural identity. However, how do we as teachers make them care enough to learn their own culture? What motivation do they have to learn this? To identify with it? Some of them already have a culture, a group identity, generally this is in the form of a gang.

I have learned to accept that I cannot "reach" every student. This doesn't mean that I stop trying. I do, however, try to build relationships with each student. I am definitely not successful at this task, but I still try. It seems that this year I am being less successful than ever before. I am not sure why, but that is my perception for this year. It seems that even as I become more successful with my curriculum and technology integration, I become less successful at building relationships with students. I don't know, maybe I'm losing sight of what's really important.

Even as I write this I am frustrated because there are so many different issues that our students deal with. Teachers need to be equipped to handle pregnancy, drugs, hormones, relationship drama, and more. It is so difficult as a teacher to see students who are struggling with issues other than academics. The really sad part is that these issues usually affect their academics as well, which compounds a student's problems.

So, the meat of my thinking is this: what can I do as a teacher to meet students needs so that I can then motivate them to become culturally aware? To motivate them to be able to be successful in their studies? This is the way to student empowerment. Students who are successful in academics (there are differing levels of success for different students) have options. If students drop out of school or barely make it out of school, they are locked in to a low paying job for the rest their lives, barring some act of providence.

Sadly, these are questions that I don't have the answers to at this point in my life. If you have ideas, I'd surely love to hear them.

My brain got started and I couldn't stop it

I wonder about culture. What is it that defines our culture? Is it heritage? I mean, I understand that heritage is important, but really, what does that mean? How does what my family did or did not do, affect me? I mean, should I be responsible for them? If not, should I even claim them? I tend to think culture is more affected by nurture (environment) rather than nature (genetics).

I more readily associate with people I grew up with rather than those dead people I’ve never met. I understand that the path of my life was influenced in some ways by those dead people, but that has more to do with their actions (environment, both theirs and the effect they had on it) and less to do with what they had in their cells (genetics).

So, what defines/has defined MY culture? My parents and grandparents influenced me heavily since they raised me in a “christian home”. One of my grandparents was a preacher and the other was certainly capable of praying like one. I was required to go to church anytime the doors were open and this colored much of my early life. I was taught that there was a lot of difference between my culture and that of people who looked differently than I did. I stayed under the influence of my “raising” as an adult until I went back to school. This changed my cultural outlook (and my consequent “raising” of my own kids) significantly.

I no longer see people as “different”. We are all humans. I no longer listen to the “stuff” that conservative talking-heads spout each day on AM radio. I have begun to think for myself. As I have started thinking for myself, I have been thinking that people deserve a second chance. People deserve my respect until they do something to lose it. People don’t act as a group (unless they are an angry mob). Just because someone looks different, doesn’t mean they are different. It simply means they look different. On the other side of the coin, just because some one looks the same, doesn’t mean they are the same and share the same values and cultural norms that I do.

Culture is something that is taught. Culture is passed from generation to generation. Children who are a certain color/ethnicity are taught the culture in which they are brought up. I have known students who were not raised in the culture of their ethnicity because they were adopted. So what is their culture? I think society has such a misconception about culture and multi-cultural education.

The module I am currently starting promises to be informative and I am looking forward to it. I’ll be “allowed” to do a research paper which is going to allow me to research my thoughts that have been started in the paragraphs above. I want to understand what the definition of culture is. What is it that makes us, as humans, who we are? Why are their wars fought over culture? Why do people get so bent out of shape about their culture? I understand why culture is relevant to education. But what I want to know is why is it relevant to everything else?

And there is the first 54 minutes of class. That’s just a result of the syllabus!

I'll continue this train of thinking over the next several weeks. She just said this should be a mind-set change for you (meaning the class). Too late. I think mine has already happened.

Thinking about thinking aka knowing about knowing

In Forget's "MAX Teaching with Reading and Writing" he quotes someone named Georghaides who was unfindable during a short web search. I prefer to know who an author is quoting, just because I like to see the kinds of things in which the author is interested. Nonetheless, I like the quote:

“Georghiades (2000) describes metacognition as a process of reflecting upon and taking action about one’s learning.”

I’m definitely intrigued by the idea of metacogniton: the idea of thinking about thinking. Some even describe it as “knowing about knowing”. In my class, I do ask students to think about and reflect about their knowledge and learning. In my opinion, this is no small task and probes the depths (or heights) of Bloom’s Taxonomy to the extremes.

Honestly, its not much of a stretch to ask students to think “deep thoughts” when you are teaching them about physics. Some of the greatest minds in physics are well known for doing “thought experiments”, in which they thought something along the lines of “what would happen if…” These great thinkers include Einstein, Schrödinger, and Heisenberg.

I’ve been priming my students to be ready to think deeply when asked. I am going to implement a blog assignment on Fridays (we have a great online learning platform that is new this year) in which students will be doing a “Glog” or Gist Log (as a blog). This Gist activity is something we’ve talked about in Reading Comprehension and I would love to learn how to do it better. I’ve never done it, so I’m not sure how to go from here. Right now, it simply looks like, reflect on what you learned this week and have already started doing a short activity as a bellringer every Friday in preparation for the project.

Many students have been (falsely) led to believe they were thinking deeply about something because “it was hard” or the teacher said “critical thinking” when they introduced the activity. I would say that most (if not all) Pre-AP and AP students have not been required to do much more than “get to the right answer”. However, in my class, I am much less concerned with their answer and much more concerned with the process by which they arrived at the answer.

To that end, I have instituted a series of brainteasers as my bellringer activity. Just today, after a logic activity, a student said, “This is stupid. This has nothing to do with Physics.” I went on to explain that they obviously had not the slightest clue about teaching an advanced science class; especially one in which students should be developing problem-solving skills. This was met with silence as I was probably on the verge of loosing my cool and I think the student picked up on that. Hopefully, the student will begin to see that I don't simply do stuff because its busy work. I think many students miss the point of a lot of the stuff we ask them to do.

So, as I think about thinking, I ask myself: "Self, what can we do in class to help students see the point of what we are doing?" I only hear silence. So back to thinking about thinking with the goal of knowing about knowing.

my shortest post ever

It’s important to plan activities that have students in a collision with the information. They should be in the same place at the same time (to put it into physics lingo). Pre-planning these engagements will result in increased student learning. Consider the physical environment of the classroom when planning. Design your classroom such that it includes the type of interactions in which you are interested. There are three types of situations in a classroom: reader-text, collaborative, and engaged. Which one do you primarily use?

Motivating Low-Performers

As I was reading Chapter 4 of Mark Forget's "MAX Teaching with Reading and Writing," I found a quote that talks about the difference between students who are motivated by success versus those who are motivated to avoid failure.

"Students whose focus is on striving for success derive emotional rewards from eagerly taking on new and challenging tasks.

On the other hand, Students whose focus in on avoidance of failure are often behaving in response to a lifetime of failures in the task."

Forget goes on to talk about what the manifestation of the later might look like and how to deal with those manifestations. The rest is interesting, but I was really struck by the idea that there are students who are more focused on not failing, rather than being successful. I guess maybe I realized this somewhere inside my mind, but I never really physically had the thought (are thoughts physical?) Anyway, this may help me to see many of my students, especially those who have not developed a love for science (yet).

I am already thinking of several students, (yes, I'm profiling based on appearance and class choice) many whose names I don't even know yet, who fall into the category of "likely low-performers". I'm going to have to think differently now about students who may act out in class or feign fatigue when they are in my classroom. Maybe they aren't just trying to be lazy or obtuse. Maybe they are simply not being successful and really want to divert my attention away from that fact.

I was just talking with my English teacher wife about this group of students this morning. My view of learning is getting a taste of teaching adults (which I love, by the way) and its changing the way I think about my own classroom. I realize that adult and adolescent learners are quite different, but honestly, there's not that much difference between thought processes when it comes to the adult learners and my physics students, at least. That said, Michelle and I discussed the idea that maybe I should do a small social/educational experiment in my class.

I polled students in all of my classes as to whether or not they would like to be treated like an adult and got a resounding "yes" from 100% of those polled. I gladly agreed to treat them as adults, as long as they continue to act like adults. Michelle suggested that maybe I talk about how being in class is analogous to having a job and install myself in a "supervisory role", since "boss" can have such a negative connotation. I hope to make some connections between being successful in class and being successful at work. There may be several of these students who already have a job and can actually learn (if I make the connection) how to be a good employee.Additionally, there are many of these students who are going to go directly from high school right into the workplace, so a little vocational skill training is a great thing.

The take-away thought from this quote for me is to recognize that many student are at different levels of motivation and are motivated by different situations and factors. Its my job as their "learning facilitator" to help them be motivated to be successful in my class. My measure of their success? If a student is able to do their best in class and do that most of the time, I think they are successful.

Do you have students in your class who are simply motivated not to fail?

Quotes and Notes from Forget

No, that's not pronounced "four-git". It's pronounced "Four-Zhay". If you didn't know that, I doubt you'll ever "forget" it again! Ha. That's an educational joke. Mark Forget is a well-known educational researcher. He wrote a book called "MAX Teaching with Reading and Writing" which is a textbook for my class, Reading Comprehension. I'm required to do two entries of what are called "Quotes and Notes" for each chapter of my reading. In typical fashion, I've decided to do my stuff here. I have no idea where the "notes and quotes" format comes from but I intend to reproduce it here, if possible. So here's my first attempt:

Direct Quotes from the Text	My notes, thoughts, reflections, and questions for further study.
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being."	I love quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe! I use his quotes in my classroom on my before class PowerPoint often. This perfectly fits my philosophy of teaching. Do not lower your expectations because of the level of the students. Set your expectations at the point you want your students to be. In fact, I had a personal example of this with one of my advisory students who was in my Physics class two years ago. I distinctly remember her saying, "This is too much! Why do you expect so much out of us! This isn't a college class. You expect too much and we just can't do all of this!" I explained (probably not in so rational of a voice as I had wished) that I set expectations high of all of my students. I said, "If I set the bar way down here, everyone achieves the goal. But, if I set the bar way up here, not as many reach the goal, but everyone achieves more!" I'm not sure she got it that day, but after she had time to process she did. I know that because she came and talked to me later and said "we sure had some rough times but I remember doing more because you expected so much." She went on to add, "I didn't really think I'd be successful in your class, but I did and I really think its because you set the expectation so high." Goethe's quote really hits home because of this specific situation.
"A second reason is that many who enter the teaching profession may take literacy skills for granted, not being aware of how they themselves acutally acquired the abilities to read, write, speak, listen, and think critically."	I'm not really sure where I fall on this category. I mean I don't know if I take (took) this for granted or not. In theory, I should not have, due to the intimate relationship I have with an English Teacher. However, in reality, I don't think I ever really thought the process of "learning to be literate" before I started teaching and began having conversations with said English Teacher about specifically using reading in my classroom. I knew teaching reading and writing across the curriculum was the right thing to do, but putting that stuff into practice was another animal completely. I've learned (in no small part due to this class, already) some really good strategies for engaging students in text and writing. I think I do a reasonably good job of having students write, but I'm still learning a lot on how to implement good literacy strategies in my classroom. Critical thinking? Oh yeah, this is one of my pet projects. I love working on critical thinking skills. Most students think this means "thinking outside the box". They've got a lot to learn about thinking critically! Fortunately, my English Teacher wife has taught a class which was centered on critical thinking and she is more than happy to share activities which guide students through the critical thinking process.
"All effective teachers use some form of the three steps that comprise MAX. At the beginning of class, most teachers use some form of "anticipatory set" to get students thinkings about the subject matter."	I really struggle with this. I'm not sure I always do this. I have worked towards doing this, but according to my peers, I've been identified as an effective teacher. Does this mean I can be effective without doing this? Or does this mean I'm doing anticipatory sets without realizing it? I'm not sure. I haven't specifically written this down anywhere in any plan book so honestly I'm not sure if I am doing this or not. That said, I am definitely going to be much more cognizant of using anticipatory sets so that hopefully I can be even more effective! Other than asking students what they know, I'm not sure exactly what other kinds of A.S. I can do. I'm certainly going to have to do some serious contemplation on what I can do to make this happen in class.
"Three essential steps must be incorporated for real cooperative learning to occur: Individual writing on the part of each student before entering group discussion Small group discussion in an effort to come to consenssus as to what the text means Large group, whole class discussion, with the teacher acting as mediator/arbitrator"	While my thoughts may be completely off-base, all I can think about here is my second period class this year. I am going to have both AP students (who have had my Physics 1 class already) and Pre-AP students (who are just now taking Physics 1). I think about my AP students acting as coaches for my Pre-AP class. I think of them as teachers who are going to learn so much more because they are going to be teaching for me! I'll simply act as a mediator. Definitely not content delivery on my part! I'll be sitting back and making sure students teach correctly while doing continual formative assessment on all students to make sure they are grasping the concepts at the level at which they should. Physics 2 students should certainly be at a much deeper level than the Physics 1 students, but they should also be gaining some understanding of the basic concepts of Physics. Does anyone think this is a good idea? A bad idea? I'm thinking the 1st 9 weeks is a good time to give this a trial run. In fact, I might even let them look at the P.A.S.S. and see what their pacing should be. Problem-solving exercises with AP student leaders. I like it. What do you guys think?

Life as I know it

Right now, life as I know it is about to get incredibly busy. Is this a problem? No, I don't think so. Life as I know it is getting busy because I have purposely chosen to do things that are important to me. They are activities about which I am passionate. No surprise that they all revolve around education.

I'm working on my syllabus for Physics for the upcoming year and thinking about my kids (yes, my own children) being my students for the upcoming year. One of those two will be a Senior here at Putnam City HS. (How many people have the opportunity to spend every single school day of their child's Senior year with them? Hooray!) I initially was thinking, "I've got to make this the best year ever", just for Jess' and JC's sake. But then I realized, why should this year be special for them? I want this year to be the best, but really I want it to be the best year for ALL of my students. I hope to build deeper relationships, get to know my content at a deeper level, and motivate students like never before. School starts on Thursday of next week. But, between now and then, it's going to be crazy.

I've already started teaching at SNU as an adjunct professor in their Bridge program. I'm driving to Tulsa once a week, on Monday nights, to teach Earth's Natural Disasters. I have another class, by the same name, here at the Bethany campus that starts a week from this Monday. Teaching adults is definitely a new experience for me and I am really enjoying it. I have been able to pass on my passion for Science through this experience and hopefully, it's just the beginning! (I'll be learning to be an Instructor in Astronomy and Geomorphology during the month of December).

I'm continuing in my Master's program in Curriculum and Instruction and that one night a week keeps me busy every weekend with lots of writing, reading, and thinking about my classes. This really is the reason I'm a bit stressed about the next school year. I have so many ideas and new things to try that I've been learning over the summer that it's going to be like starting from scratch. In some ways its exciting to think about a brand-new group of students with whom I can share my passion for Physics. In other ways, I feel a bit overwhelmed.

I'm going to try to take 6 hours as a "traditional graduate" student in some "by arrangement" classes to make up for my decision not to do National Board Certification. I need the hours to finish the Master's. That won't happen until the Spring, but I'm trying to get it all "lined out" so we are on track to walk at graduation in May and be done with degree #2.

I've been asked to teach several professional development classes between now and next Thursday. I'm doing an in-house webpage class, talking about assessing students through technology integration, and I'm trying to work on integrating our school calendar into all teacher webpages. It's really a lot of fun to be given a problem and asked to solve it using technology integration. I am learning that is something at which I can be successful. I have some really great colleagues that I am able to collaborate with on projects and that makes it a wonderful experience.

Science. Technology. Education. Those are three things I can get excited about! When someone asks me to share about any of those? How can I refuse? Even if it means I am (possibly) over-extending myself, I can't say no.

I have learned so much about myself over the last 5 years. My education at SNU and my experience teaching Physics at Putnam City has been the most rewarding vocational time of my life. Have I made mistakes? Sure! Will I still make mistakes this year? More than likely. Will I learn something new every single day? I sure hope so. If you see me in the halls and I seem a bit distracted, please don't take it personally. Just know that I am thinking about the next opportunity to share my passion.

the final assessment project

We did a short video as our final project for assessment. I've learned a lot and the following is what I wrote to accompany my video (it's at the bottom of the page).

Before:

Last semester, while working on our classroom wiki, I used this rubric. I also gave this sheet as instructions. That was pretty much it. I didn’t assess to learn, I only assessed for learning at the end of the project. I knew this was not the best thing to do. I knew it was not correct practice, but I was not really sure what else to do or what to change.

After:

After taking the module on Assessment, I have put a significant amount of thought into what I am doing in my classes, particularly on my wiki project. I realized I was not assessing students formatively and giving feedback in a manner, which would be productive for them. I was only doing a summative assessment and students had no chance to adequately prepare for this final assessment.

Students will now begin with the same sheet for instructions and they will be given instructions on a wiki: what it is, how we plan to use it, how to edit, and the purpose of editing. The instruction sheet is now posted to my website and is easily viewable by students at any time as a reference page. They will also be taught about the use of delicious.com (a bookmark sharing site) and will learn how to appropriately share their research sources with the instructor through Delicious, the bookmarking/networking website.

After their initial wiki page is set up (and weekly thereafter), students will use a formative assessment rubric to self-assess each week. They will also be required to blog about their research for the week. We will use the “discussion tab” within the wiki to accomplish this simple formative assessment. Students should write reflectively about their topic and the process of research. I will use this rubric to assess their reflections. In addition to self-assessment, I will do a weekly formative assessment using a similar rubric to the one the students are using. We will conference together so students can get weekly feedback on their writing and research.

Finally, after students have had an opportunity to correct the weekly conference issues, a summative assessment of their overall page will be done using this rubric.

My realization in this class has been something I teach in my own classes: “You cannot eat the elephant all in one bite.” This mantra certainly applies to assessment. It is unfair to expect students to be able to be successful on any assessment if they have not be getting little bits of assessment (with feedback) all along the way. I cannot expect students to be successful in their learning, nor expect them to even take responsibility, if I have not been giving them the tools for that success.

Assessment, Session 5

The next to last session of the final module in Semester number 2. Then only one more semester!

The time has really flown by and my thoughts on my education have certainly changed over the last year, even over the last few months, the direction of my educational plans has changed. This is due in large part to the infinite wisdom of our legislators. Their actions have driven me to make some decisions I had previously thought undecideable. They decided that the National Board Certification for Teachers isn't important enough to fund. Meaning, they ceased funding the scholarship for the application process ($2500) and they suspended the yearly stipend for at least the next two years. Because of this, I have reconsidered my decision to sit for the National Board process. I know, that sounds like I was only doing it for the money, but that's not the case! I am reconsidering because of the timing of the process. The intent was for me to do it next year. SNU awards 6 hours of Master's level credit for mentoring during the application of National Boards. This would be the last six hours I would need for my degree in Curriculum and Instruction. However, since our legislators cut our funding, I would be doing the National Board process over the next six months, a full year early. If I apply this year, I would be eligible for reimbursement of the application fee and would be eligible for the stipend, if certified.

But, because I wouldn't be going through the mentoring process I would have to find six other graduate level hours to substitute for the mentoring hours, as mentioned earlier. The timing is the problem. If one wants to get into a doctoral program, one must have a Master's degree (usually) in hand. Because of stuff at @mishelleyb's place of employment, the time for her to do her doctoral program has arrived. This just so happens to coincide with me finishing my Master's. We got the bright idea to do a program together and found one that suits both of our needs, which begins in the Fall of 2011. Before I can be accepted into a program, I must have the degree conferred for my Master's. This means, I would be doing Nat'l Boards, while being a part of the lives of two fantastic teenage children, while taking 6 graduate hours online, while finishing the MACI program modules, while teaching full-time, and finally, while teaching some adjunct hours in SNU's bridge program (which I committed to before the Nat'l Board stuff came up). Can you see my dilemma?

Anyway, I'm supposed to be reflecting on class. Last night was a night for group project presentations. We worked on a selected response assessment (a pretest) for 8th grade mathematics vocabulary. We chose selected response simply because we were the "experts" on this subject. It was the chapter we had researched and done extra study on. It also lent itself well to our preferred use of technology, the Clickers! We chose clickers because they are able to give quick feedback to students. Questions in the assessment would be tagged with the particular concept and could give students (and teachers) a quick view of which concepts/words students needed more help on. Teachers can even print out a spreadsheet with the answers, notes, and concepts listed so students would have a visual representation of which areas they need extra study.

I've been impressed with this class, simply because it has been the class which has made the most connection with me for my personal practice in the classroom. I have realized that I have been cheating my students and myself by not putting enough work into my assessments. Sometimes, especially when you other obligations, its easy to just put together a bunch of questions out of the textbook test-bank and throw a test at the kids. This does them a disservice. Other than assigning a grade, student get no real feedback on their learning. They have nothing other than a report card grade to show for their efforts. This is especially true if students have not gotten any buy-in into the class already. They have absolutely no motivation to further their learning. Particularly so if they are not being successful in the class. By the way, I'm constantly thinking about how this is going to play out in August when I begin teaching adults, as well. I suspect somethings will be the same, but I also think much will be different.

We also conferenced a little bit, since one of our chapters deals with this practice. I was simply an observer for this activity since I had an alternate assignment. I never cease to be amazed that folks depend so much on me for technology ideas/practice when it seems to me that these skills should simply come naturally to people. I've been struggling with this issue for quite a while and I'm still not sure how to take the "attention". I don't always have a great self-image so when people give me compliments or depend on me to accomplish something, I'm not always sure how to take that. I do know this: when I started teaching 3 years ago (holy cow!) I didn't really set out with any kind of goals in mind. I didn't think I'd go back to school, I didn't set out to be on the "cutting edge of technology" in my district. I didn't think I'd be teaching technology classes to the best teachers in the world. I did simply follow my passions. Science and technology. Those two things are what I am interested in and teaching them to others comes naturally.

Who knows the plans that are in store for you? I certainly didn't think I am where I thought I would be. In the words of the great Douglas Adams, "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." Teaching is definitely one of my gifts. Although its hard sometimes to think of what I do as work (doubt you could tell by all of my complaining). I'm so thankful to be given many opportunities to simply share things about which I am passionate. If you have anything to do with those opportunities, Thank You!

reflection on Session 4 of assessment

We talked this week about the balance between the two assessment types: formative vs. summative. I admit, when we started this program, I didn't really remember what the meanings of those two words were. In fact, I remember in our first class, way back in September of last year, one of the program participants used them in a sentence and I drew a blank. I remember having those words in my Secondary Science Methods class during my undergraduate work. (I'll warn you now, this may turn into a reflection on the Master's program as a whole, rather than a single class session.) It seems I have come a long way over the last few years. It seems that only yesterday I was busy tinting every window I could convince folks needed tint. In reality, it was just yesterday that I was looking at a bunch of different schools, trying to decide which one has the right doctoral program for me. (thinking very hard about this one, we'll see. We would look at starting in Fall 2011, yes, I said WE).

So where does the balance between summative and formative assessment lie? We even did an activity from our text, which had us look at a unit and see how much of each type we did. I always feel like I'm doing enough formative assessment, but in reality I'm not really sure I am. I don't have a specific design (yet) as to when to formatively assess, I just pepper in some "check for understanding" questions throughout the lecture. I won't soon be repeating (probably not ever) that pattern again. I'm learning through my Master's that I have to be purposeful in everything I do in the classroom. Don't get me wrong. I do think there is room for the teachable moments. However, I am finding that to have true success in my classroom I must be pushing my students in a direction that is more focused than what I have previously been doing. That shows in my AP test scores this year. I (obviously) didn't have as good of a plan as I did in previous years. I only had 2 out of 16 pass. I know that isn't entirely my "fault", but I know I didn't do as good of a job preparing students for the test this year.

It is certainly possible that means I didn't have enough formative assessment in my curriculum. What is an AP test, other than a huge summative assessment? Granted, it may be the hardest test many students ever take, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the person who knows the most about the subject, the teacher. That person is me. I am the adult in the classroom and I take full responsibility for the preparedness (or lack of it) of my students.

A Master's program, especially one in Curriculum and Instruction, certainly makes one examine oneself as a practitioner of instruction. I used to only associate the word practitioner with the medical profession. Now, I recognize that word certainly lends itself to vocation of teaching. In fact, the teacher, as a practitioner of instruction, is not unlike the medical practitioner. I don't mean to say students enter your classroom "sick", only ignorant. Many students come to my classroom with absolutely no knowledge of the subject of physics. Of course, this is ridiculous since Physics is the Study of the Entire Universe. They have been learning about their surroundings since the day they first entered the womb, but I digress. In the successful teacher's classroom (even in mine), students leave the classroom with a deeper grasp of the subject at hand. Hopefully, and maybe more importantly, they leave with a stronger interest in the subject, as well.

Where does this leave us with assessment? More importantly, where does it leave ME with assessment? It leaves me in a place in which I must work harder at my job. I means I have to change the way I teach my class and insure that students get enough formative assessment (with feedback) so that when the summative assessment comes along they will be prepared to be successful at the task. I heard today from a colleague that his students used to have to take qualifying exams just to be able to take the summative test. Hmmm. Intersesting idea. Yes? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Reflections on #ISTE10 and assessment

Last week, along with about 17,999 other educators, I had the pleasure of spending time in Denver, CO dwelling on one of my favorite topics: technology in education. It really was great to get together in one place with people who are of the same mindset as me: using technology in the classroom can make a great teacher even better. I'm pretty sure every teacher there recognizes that technology is not the answer the myriad of woes that has befallen what was once the greatest education system in the world. Many technology advocates are more than just that, they are advocates (as I'm sure many other teachers are) for genuine improvement in education. Most want education reform to start with them. I certainly know I do.

So, where does assessment fit into this change or at least into the idea? There are so many tools in technology that goes hand-in-hand for authentic assessment. In class we read an article by Thomas Guskey ("How Classroom Assessments Improve Student Learning," (2003), Educational Leadership, 60, (5)). If you have access to ERIC, I highly recommend the article. The take-away items from this article are extend instruction with assessment, give timely feedback after assessments, give some corrective training (kids need to un-learn what they learned wrong), allow students a chance to show their knowledge through a second-chance test. Teachers need to get back to the basic reasons for assessment and the rest (high-stakes testing) will take care of itself. GoogleApps for Education offers (free of charge) a particular tool that is invaluable in aiding a teacher with the previously-mentioned items.

First, engage students with the method of assessment. In my (very) informal research, most students would rather take a test online than take a paper test. Students react positively (usually) to technology. It would be very easy to allow students to take a paper test if needed. I guess my point here is that we do a couple of things by giving tests online, save paper, (and therefore money), use resources we already have (computers that aren't being constantly used), and allow student to interact with their education in way in which they are already familiar: through technology.

Second, give students timely feedback. If a teacher is using GoogleApps for Education, they are able to have tests graded on the day they are given. They can also give students a printed copy of the test with the correct answers. This can stimulate discussion (if students are so inclined) to find out why they missed a question. I think this could be a way to save class time for its intended use: instruction. This is an area in which I am sorely lacking. Feedback. So the reason I'm writing this is to tell myself that's what I should be doing.

Third, give feedback to teachers on what students have (or have not) learned. Again, I admit I am deficient in this area. I usually don't go much further than looking at the class average on a test. But when GoogleApps has a handy-dandy tool to see the percentage of correct and incorrect answers on a test, even in a neat pie chart, why NOT use it?!? Maybe it would be useful to allow students to see this information, too. They might benefit or see some kind of pattern that teacher miss? I don't know, but is seems silly not to use a tool this useful, especially when Google provides the service for free. As educators, we don't even have to use our own server space. Brilliant!

Lastly, second chances. Oh dear, this may be the hardest of all. I know in principal this is the right thing to do. The logic if the concept is...well, logical! I suppose I need to rethink my entire view of learning, or at least of assessment. Isn't the goal of assessment to determine if students learned something? And if so, what? Well, that means I need to re-teach after a test and then give the opportunity to show they learned it the second time around. What's that? You don't think life is full of second chances? Well then you don't know that I found my love of teaching after being in the military (twice) and working as a window tinter for many years before going back to school at 35 years of age. 2nd chances, indeed! More like 4th chances! Anyway, don't even get me started. I guarantee you there are teachers reading this who had to take a "second chance" on their subject-area test. If not, you guys are a heck of a lot smarter than I am. I didn't have to retake any subject-area tests, but the first class I ever failed in college? You guessed it! Physics, circa 1989!

So, I've certainly got a long way to go when it comes to performing authentic assessment in my classes. However, I guess that's the great thing about teaching, you always have a new group of students to work with next year! If you are anything like me, next year is always going to be the best year!