Just Keep Swimming....

When talking about "Scaffolding" with educators, I used to reference a quick example of "It's like teaching a kid to swim. We often don't just throw them in the pool and expect success. We first give them arm floaties and wrap an inflatable duckie around their waist while walking them around a pool. Eventually the duckie comes off, later the arm floats, and finally, after the child shows signs of success... we let go. We support/scaffold the experience for them until they no longer need each of those scaffolds."

After 9 sessions of swim lessons this summer for my 8 month old, Owen, I now realize how bland that example of scaffolding was. While it demonstrates the point that supports are needed for short periods of time until other skills are developed, it does not demonstrate the complexity in design of the scaffolding. Owen's swim instructor had a few goals (i.e. standards) for her work this summer, one of which was:

• Find the wall while moving unassisted through water. 
• Understand the sensation of floating in water without support.

Wouldn't you know it... not a single floatie was placed on that kid's body either!!! Instead, she prioritized which skills were necessary to accomplish this goal early on in the summer, which would follow the early goals, and what could/should come last. She operated with performance benchmarks in mind for each of these phases too:

• Benchmark 1 (early phase): Owen will reach for the wall while I move him through the water and grab it solidly with both hands.
• Benchmark 2 (middle phase): Owen will catch his breath and keep his mouth closed when water is poured on his head.
• Benchmark 3 (late phase): As I move Owen underwater towards the wall, he will emerge from the water reaching for the wall with both hands.
• Final Product: Owen will find the wall while moving unassisted underwater.

Then, she narrowed down this standard to the targeted skills he would need to learn to accomplish each of those performance benchmarks (such as understanding patterns such as 1 - 2 - 3 meant something was about to happen, finding comfort in only water surrounding his body, etc.) With those specific skills identified, she then identified the activities she would use to teach him those skills, pre-thought out potential barriers that would keep him from progressing and had alternative methods ready in the case she would need them to support his learning. Obviously then, there was feedback for reflection and refinement at every phase of learning. It was UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL) at it's finest!

I will never again conduct a training session on "educational scaffolding"with the bland example of floatation. INSTEAD, I want educators thinking about these same elements which allow for guidance of necessary standards and skills while still remaining flexible to support students at every level of learning:

EARLY PHASE

  

                                                                MIDDLE PHASE

LATE PHASE

How will you make learning accessible to YOUR students?! What performance benchmarks will be established to ensure they are on their way to accomplishing the end goal? What barriers could be keeping students from learning the targeted skills and how will you be prepared to overcome them!? 

With the appropriate plan in place, my little guy learned to find safety on his own in a matter of nine, 30min. swim lessons. I hope you find the time to plan and commit to helping your students find "safety" too.

Peace, love, and Michael Phelps wanna-be's

Sarah

30 sec. to impress

Ahhhh, the ole' elevator pitch. A quick ride from the 3rd floor to the Lobby to toss out one of your genius ideas and make it stick! The part most of us struggle with is that our ideas just aren't concise enough to fully articulate in that quick elevator ride, so we blabber and muddle our way through what we'd like to accomplish but just as the elevator door is opening, we realize we haven't actually even pitched our idea!!!! So why are you waiting on figuring out the message you want to send to others about your ideas and your work!

For educators, our "elevator pitch" is kind of a big deal. While you may not think you're pitching anything to anyone, I would challenge you to think about all the times you have and if it's really what defines you and your work. Anytime someone has ever asked you, "what do you do?" You've undoubtedly responded with an elevator pitch. Mine was always, "I teach math to MS and HS students."  Is it true? yes. Did it define me? Apparently. Am I happy about that? HECK NO!  "I teach math"!?! That's so lame! Ok, it's not lame, but compared to all of the things I REALLY did in my classroom, it was lame!

• I inspired* creativity through practical applications of mathematical problem solving. 
• I supported* students in using data to challenge other's perspectives. 
• I made* math come alive to MS and HS students. 

THOSE ARE GREAT ELEVATOR PITCHES! Any one of those gives a better perspective on what I hope students took away from my classroom beyond "doing math" and also opens up dialogue to how others (anyone who would listen, basically) might be able to connect to the math we're learning and join me in the adventure of engaging students in real world applications of data!

So, friends... ask yourself this question, "10 years from now, what do you hope your students remember from your class?"  You might also consider:

• What makes your learning environment unique?
• What is the result of your teaching and learning with students?
• How do you create results?

(If your answer to the main question is "I want students to know how to graph a line given an equation in slope-intercept form", then... Great. "You teach math" might just do the trick for your elevator pitch. But if you hope students take away an experience. A learning adventure. An opportunity to engage in learning that is much greater than regurgitation of a specific standard in your area of expertise, then I'm begging you.... PLEASE... take 15 min. to craft your elevator pitch. Embed it in everything that you do (your projects, your open house nights, your bulletin boards and/or student displays of work in your room, etc.) Your curriculum, classroom, and culture should exude the message of your "elevator pitch."


Peace, love, and "what floor?"
Sarah


*Note: The elevator pitches I should have been using are referred to in past tense as these are reflections on what I did for 6 years as a math teacher before I became a School Development Coach with New Tech Network.

Success Depends on You

Just like that, #NTAC16 came to a close for New Tech Network schools across the country and in Australia. The week itself always brings great reflection on my role as a coach and the ways in which I will thought partner with Teachers, Directors, Superintendents, Academic Specialists in various schools. While every educator at NTAC had a different motive for attending (designing a project, creating scaffolding of process/ skills/ content, generating a school culture project to start the year, refining a technology roll-out plan, etc.), there are always underlying questions by these innovators of "Should I design my work to quality or should I just try to get it done before school starts?" As I enter into my sixth year as a School Development Coach with New Tech Network, I have to say... I don't like my choices. One is impossible without the other. 

As CrossFit's founder, aka "The WODfather", Greg Glassman, states:

"Can you learn to drive fast without wrecking? Can you learn to type fast without making errors? Can you shoot quickly without missing? Eventually, but not in the learning. One is impossible without the other. 

You will not learn to type fast without typing where you make a ton of errors and then work to reduce the errors at that speed. Then you go faster, and then again pull the errors back in, then go faster and pull the errors back in. You drive faster and faster and then you spin out in the infield or you hit the wall. 

If you are a race car driver and you have never spun out, gone out in the infield or never been in a wreck, you are not very good. If you are a typist and you have never made a mistake, you are very slow. In CrossFit, if your technique is perfect, your intensity is always low."

While we don't all participate in CrossFit, we do all strive to maintain a growth mindset. As Mr. Glassman refers to, if you're spending all of your time initially making sure every single aspect of your design work is "PERFECT," trying never to make a mistake...you will always be a bit hesitant to "jump in"and implement or "launch" your design. The areas for improvement in your work are unavoidable consequences of development.

So, what are you waiting for?! This constant process of letting the scope of errors (as they relate to NTN, PBL, or education's characteristics for "quality") broaden, then reducing them without holding back on the timing for implementation is exactly the "threshold coaching" that I get excited to support educators with!

In PBL design, if you are able to develop an academically rigorous driving question (DQ) which necessitates application of learning in order to formulate a response, then I will tell you to hone in on the authenticity & adult connection of the question. Suppose with authenticity in place, the academic rigor and application of learning still look good: I will encourage you to go start designing & embedding the DQ into the Entry Event. And if it still looks good, I will encourage you to embed the same standards, skills, and authenticity into the rubric. "Faster, faster, faster!!!" Now the design may start to fall apart.

I don't want you to slow down or give up on the design yet. First, with that same mindset, I want you to fix the elements that weren't quite designed to "quality." What you need to do is continuously and constantly advance the margins at which your design ability falters. (If that's starting with just a rubric to assess "Knowledge & Thinking", great! Then we'll take a look at how "Written Communication" and/or "Agency" come into play!)

As NTN School Development Coaches, we will incessantly talk about "quality" design and implementation of whatever your work may be, but simultaneously, we want you to take risks... push forward... implement your work at the threshold which you're currently operating. Above all things, we always want you asking, "HOW CAN I IMPROVE!?" and "WHAT'S NEXT FOR ME AND MY DEVELOPMENT?!"  If you only take your new learnings or the inspirations you had at NTAC and design ONLY to that capacity, you will never feel safe in trying to implement. My job is to help think your way through to that next threshold. Your job is to be openminded enough to realize there's another threshold out there with your name on it.

Peace, love, and "no reps,"

Sarah

Summerspiration

As I looked the pile of mail on our kitchen table earlier this week, I stumbled across this little gem:

Yes, I've seen these reports before. (Every year that I've had a mailing address of my own to be exact!) And in Fall 2009, Anna Kinsella and I were co-teaching an Integrated Chemisty/Algebra I/Physics course and even had our students help test the water quality of a local water source. But for some reason, I looked at this particular water quality report a bit differently. As I opened up the pamphlet to find the summary of why and how this report is conducted as well as what data is contained in the report....

     

...I said to Jared (my husband who is also an educator), "YES! THIS is what Writing like a Scientist looks like. Why aren't more teachers having students investigate or generate this type of data or writing that's specific to a content area."  And my favorite thing.... IT'S AUTHENTIC LEARNING AND DATA AND CRITICAL THINKING (regarding future water quality predictions)!!!! So then I started thinking... If I were using this as inspiration for a PBL unit, what could I do with this?! These were my initial thoughts:

• I could present this very report to my students AS THE ENTRY EVENT to a project. Maybe students could work in teams of 4, each student investigating a different source stated on the report, to determine how a shift in that particular source's output might also shift the quality of water. As a team, they could generate an addendum to the report (or perhaps information to propose to the city as additional information to link on the website where additional water information is found). So if that's the case... what would my problem statement be such that it made sense to use this document AS the entry event???
• Then I thought, "I don't even know "who actually does that? what role? job title? responsibility?" So I looked on our IN DNR website under "water" and found all KINDS of good stuff!!! ... I believe this would fall under someone's role in the "resource assessments" department. So, how about something like: How can we as employees of the resource assessment division for the DNR, determine the current and long term impact of the contributions from local sources into the stream of water, so that we can strive to purify our local water source for the community of Greendale, IN. 
• Or, what if I contacted a representative from DNR, talked to them about what their next steps are after collecting this type of data, and had them introduce THAT to my students so that they were my Entry Event!?!? Students wouldn't just be regurgitating information they could find on Google, but they'd be DOING THE WORK OF SCIENTISTS in assisting with the next steps for this water quality reporting process! Perhaps their individual assessment of knowledge  & thinking (IAKT) could be a document similar to this (or even better... a document that the DNR would actually create next to inform the local community of whatever research and data is collected after this!!!! 

PRETTY EXCITING, RIGHT!?!?  And I have a BA in Secondary Ed Math with a Masters in Integrating Technology K-12, but I have a passion for generating real-world learning experiences for students which are authentic to the discipline! SO I'M READY TO BE SOMEONE'S THOUGHT PARTNER TO MAKE A SWEET PROJECT HAPPEN USING THIS AS INSPIRATION!!!!! 

This also made me think... what's lying on your kitchen table that could easily be inspiration for your own curriculum map (that I hope you're starting to think about a bit as you lounge pool side this summer and begin to put more depth into each project closer to school start)??? And/or What events have you been part of already this summer that could pose a potential learning opportunity for your students?!  Here are some I've come up with from my own experiences... and please...SHARE YOURS WITH ME IN THE COMMENT FEATURE BELOW! 

• There was a professional bike race in our little Downtown area of Lawrenceburg, IN! These cyclists have to go through an intense training program (health/wellness/PE) but more importantly...they compete all over the country, so don't you think they also have to prepare for the climates and altitudes they will be competing in (geography)!?!?
• I attended the Crossfit Level 1 Trainer Certificate Course in Cookeville, TN. Clearly we talked about endurance and weight training and proper form (Health/wellness/PE) but also nutrition (ditto) and which foods fuel your system and why they do so (science & health). Then there was a WHOLE conversation about programming workouts for a week so that they build overall strength and not just one targeted area of muscles over the course of a week. Who do you think calculates all the reps, rounds, total times, anticipates performance levels with prediction charts/graphs,etc (math)?!? That's right...YOUR TRAINER!!! 
• My garden... use it for your project, science people! I have four raised beds, all within a rectangular area of land that's fenced in thanks to the local deer and rabbits, and had to figure out how large the beds could be in the given area of land I had and taking into account the type of vegetables and fruits I wanted to plan (math). But here's my current problem... All four beds are growing VERY WELL on the outside edges, but the inner parts of the beds are either slow growing or not growing. Not kidding. It's the same soil, similar amounts of shade and light throughout the day. Same amount of watering happening. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING BUT half of my lettuce/onions/peas/beans/tomatoes/spaghetti squash are growing and the other half of the rows are not. What's going on in the soil here, people (science)!? 
• My in-laws just moved to IN from KS. My father-in-law is an amazing MS Social Studies teacher. Just so happens that Morgan's Raid went right through the area where I grew up and currently reside (the little area in IN to the left of Harrison & Cincinnati, OH). We thought it would be cool to put together a little "scavenger hunt"of sorts for him for his birthday in August using this trail as a guide (history). We're just not sure where to start.

Okay, your turn. What have you done this summer? What content does it connect to? If you dont' share it with other educators here (in the comments section), then how will you share it with those at your school AT LEAST?!?

Peace, love, and inspiration while you vaca,

Sarah

Hair it is....

 Last Saturday, I was able to stand by my twin sister, Molly, on her wedding day… talk about a great experience! Truthfully, this was the first wedding I’ve ever been in (except for my own) and I forgot just how much “wedding day prep” actually takes place!

We started the morning getting our hair done…. If you’ve ever paid attention, I know the styles of “ponytail” or “combed”. Yes, yes, I AM a fashionista! So I sat down in the chair for the girl who was about to create my style for the big day and the first thing she said was, “do you have a picture of what you want?” I told her I found a few that caught my eye on Pinterest, showed her the photos and then proceeded to tell her that rather than replicating a photo, I knew what I’d preferred in the final hairstyle, but was relying on her creative genius to make that happen. She smiled as she listened to my silly “list” (a half up-do or a low-do…yeah, I guess that’s a thing… and I needed it to visually connect the updo to my shoulders since it was an off-the-shoulder dress, and nothing too puffy, blah blah blah) and said “Okay” as she proceeded to stare blankly at my hair and grab a curler just so she could start somewhere. After 10 minutes of curling, she did some trial and error pinning here & there and would hold pieces of hair up in places to see what it would look like, then she’d get frustrated and look at me like, “please, lady! Just choose a picture for me replicate!” She disapearred for 2-3min, and I then saw her on her smartphone. “Would you just like me to choose one?” I asked hoping to be out of that chair soon. Then I heard a video playing on her phone and she told me that she found a “messy low-do” that she thought she could make work. YES…that’s where I got slightly nervous and wish I would have just told her what to do, BUT…she was the expert here, not me. 25 minutes later, I walked away with a hairstyle that I gave a rating of “meh”! (Front was okay, back was TERRIBLE, but after all…I let her try something out and that’s what I got.) 

Molly asked me how I liked it and all I said to her was, “Well, I thought that a professional would be excited to have the opportunity to let their creative juices fly, but I’m pretty sure I freaked her out!” And it was at that moment that I thought of each and every one of you. The learning and prep for next school year that you will do will certainly allow you to let your professional creativity shine.  That said, I now have a new perspective for how scary that can be too. So I’m going to encourage you to do as my hair dresser did….. Use resources around you to get inspired! 

• Why fall victim to replicating other projects from a project library or from something you did last year? Instead, ask yourself “what am I trying to get out of this project design that will make it great for my students?” 
• While you’re out and about this summer, pay attention to what learning opportunities might lie in the activities you’re already doing. (An Example: Gardening = science of growth & nutrients, geography & vegetation in particular areas, math & surface area.) 
• Don’t hesitate to google “real world connections and   (insert your content area here)   “ or “ What are   (insert a field of study by your content area here)’s researching?” to get inspired for a stellar project idea…or at minimum, maybe you’ll find a messy low-do and think of me. :) 
• Use community and real world connections referenced in a text book or a Webquest or by friends & family to just begin playing around with ideas…no harm no foul in trying something out! 

Bottom line… you’re an educator. Use your craft. Take this opportunity for summer R&R to also refresh your creative juices and get excited to be ABLE to design authentic projects for your students. Don’t stare blankly at your curriculum map for the upcoming school year waiting for someone to “show you a picture of what you can replicate” from the first curl to the final bobby pin.

Peace, love, and hairspray…lots and lots of hairspray…

Sarah

Data Dives & Protocol Police

Yeah, yeah…I get it…you’re tired, perhaps slightly overwhelmed, maybe even staring at a list of activities to be graded during your prep period tomorrow, or maybe you’re even conjuring up the final details on your end-of-year celebration(s) with students. While ALL of those things are important, so is taking time to sit down with your colleagues (all of them in a Critical Friends Group setting, or even some of them before/after school or over lunch) to dive into some data for the sake of identifying growth areas your students have made this year and/or areas YOU have grown in your curriculum design and implementation. SO, I want you to consider a few data sources you might explore based off of your learning focus or what you’re hoping to get out of the “data dive”:

• Want to take a closer look at what your students currently know & are able to do regarding a particular set of standards? Get your critical friends together and bring some student work samples to the table (with student names removed) and engage in a Learning from Student Work protocol
• Want to make sense of some student feedback (that you took notes on or recorded during a student focus group)?! Why not find 40min. And try the ATLAS: Looking at Data protocol on for size!? 
• Not quite sure how “quality” your PBL/PrBL units actually were at the end of the year?! Why not bring a Project Briefcase from echo or a Project Planning Form to your group of critical friends and have them take a look at your work in alignment with the indicators of a quality project using NTN’s Project Quality Checklist! 
• Trying to make sense of some good ole’ numerical data (test scores? Attendance ratings? College acceptance data? Etc?) How about using the Compass Points Visible Thinking Routine to determine what you’re excited and worried about, what questions the data raises and next steps/implications for looking at the data!

Who knows…you might even uncover a piece of learning and growth during your data dive that makes that time of working in your class space a LITTLE more valuable! :) 

Peace, love, and structured conversations!

Sarah

Are You My Mother?

I think it’s safe to say that it’s no coincidence that Teacher Appreciation Week falls within the same calendar timeframe as Mother’s Day. As such, here’s a shoutout to the educator characteristics I see in all of you which mirror that of effective parenting:

• We never give up on our kids – Even if they’re still grappling with the SAME need to know/research question 2 weeks from when we did a workshop…we don’t give up on them!  We have hope for them when others may not.
• Sometimes, we’re harsh on our kids... But only because we love them -  We really just want them to grow and be good individuals. So if we’re strict about meeting deadlines, holding others accountable for their actions, or upholding team or class agreements, we know it’s from a place of love in our hearts. We just need to make sure our kiddos know that too!
• We are a guiding light for these li’l guys/gals – We don’t need to spew information at them, or spoon feed them information, but the phrase I most commonly hear from all of you is, “I model that (insert skill, piece of knowledge, or attribute here).” They see what we do (both good and bad) and we’re constantly reminding ourselves to be the source of positive, influential light for our kids.
• We’re inspirational  - Not only are we a source of inspiration and encouragement for our students to follow their dreams, but we stand by them every step of the way to guide their learning and boost their confidence as those dreams become reality. 
• We’re a lot more than just someone who teaches – We’re a guide, a friend, an enemy, an “extended" family member…
• We’ll celebrate when our kids rise beyond ourselves – We know, as educators, we’re not really going to become financially rich and famous, but our most proud moments are when our students rise above our own expectations, show off a piece of knowledge or a skill we hadn’t known about, and fulfill their dreams even after they’re out of our care. And why are we so proud?! Because, let’s be honest….we helped make them into who they are!
• We always put ourselves second – That’s right… just like your mom who ate the burnt hamburger from the grill so you could have the better burger…. We always put our student’s first. They are our priority. Always.
• We make sure to always do the best we can, admit when we’re not, learn to do better and follow through….
• We let our kids know when they do a good job…
• We “baby proof” our classes and schools well early on so we don’t have to say “No” all the time when they want to get into things they shouldn’t….
• We try to see things from our kid’s point of view. We ask their opinion whenever it’s possible or appropriate….

Obviously I could keep going, but Owen’s waking up from his nap, the rain is stopping (I hope), and we’re gonna go plant a garden (or play “how many times can we try to keep dirt out of our mouths”…we’ll see how this goes…)

Know that from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all that you do and all that you are for our students across this country (and in Australia).  ;) I hope your week of “Teacher Appreciations” will carry you through these last few weeks of the school year and smile at your kiddos when you get to your classroom tomorrow, just like an effective caregiver smiles at their kids at the fresh start of every new day!

Peace, love, and Happy Mother’s Day!

Sarah