App Review: Explain Everything

I recently discovered the Explain Everything app and have been impressed with with it for several reasons.  My colleague and I were preparing to facilitate some CCSS PD around curriculum mapping for staff, and we realized that we needed to both differentiate our content and archive our work for future reference.

Screencasting seemed like a good option for this, but Explain Everything takes it to another level.  I was able to use Dropbox to import files and photos to create a storyboard, and then narrate through the slides.  A cool feature of EE is that you can adjust the slides as you are recording, capturing any movement, drawings, etc. as you go.  It was a user-friendly experience for the most part; I watched a ‘how to’ YouTube video and I was up and running in no time.  Here is a link to my first video, Curriculum Mapping for our school’s Social Studies/Science teachers in light of the new CCSS content-area literacy standards.  When delivering the curriculum mapping PD to the whole staff, we were able to get the content area teachers to work without forcing everyone to listen to the technical updates that didn’t apply to them.  I am so excited for future PD using this app! Such a great example of technology that can provide solutions and enhance our work as educators.

Common Core, Literacy, and Secondary Teachers

As our organization gears up for implementation of the new Common Core State Standards, we anticipate several key shifts to ELA/Literacy instruction: a focus on informational text, increased text complexity, and an emphasis on mining text for evidence.  There are PD implications for all of these shifts within the realm of ELA, and with CCSS implementation about 18 months away, we must urgently address them so that our teachers will have the support they need to meet students’ needs.

What strikes me as a crucial structural change with CCSS with perhaps the most pressing PD implication for our particular K-12 organization, however, are the Literacy standards at the secondary level.  Our schools are departmentalized in grades 7-12, and there is not currently a cohesive effort to teach literacy across the content areas.  This responsibility rests mostly on our ELA teachers.  It’s really no surprise that we consistently struggle to meet achievement targets in ELA, considering that our (mostly ELL) 7th-12th graders are getting literacy instruction for a relatively small percentage of their school day.

So, I applaud the CCSS move to incorporate literacy instruction across the subjects.  Aligning the literacy standards with the Career and College Readiness anchor standards lends itself well to a cohesive and aligned K-12 literacy program supported by professional learning communities across schools and grade levels.  My concern lies in what I see as an urgent need to provide our secondary teachers with PD in the very practical art of teaching literacy.  Sure, we all take required classes at the University level as a part of our credential programs, but in reality many secondary teachers of history, science, and ‘technical subjects’ have not had recent, in-depth PD or the practical experience of teaching literacy in a focused manner to support this CCSS shift.

At an organizational level, we are still strategically developing a plan to support the CCSS transition.  Because there are still many questions around CCSS even at the State level, I imagine that it’s hard for teachers to start to visualize the changes in instruction and assessment that will soon occur.   I know that teachers want to start getting some concrete ideas about how their roles may shift with CCSS so that they can start to prepare.  However, before this can even happen, we will need to articulate our expectations and identify tangible ways to support our teachers on an organizational level.  What is our current level of expertise in this area? Are there any examples of content area teachers who are also outstanding literacy teachers, and how can we draw from their expertise in order to build capacity in others?  Will we provide internal PD, or contract with an outside vendor?  How can we reinforce literacy PD through our current PLC system?  How will we know it is effective before the 2015 assessment?  How can we support all of our 7-12 teachers on the ground, via mentoring, for effective literacy instruction?  These are all questions we consider as we work with Principals and other organizational leaders to identify ‘next steps’ for CCSS transition.

Lessons Learned From Large Group Professional Development

From our PD Program.

 

Yesterday we hosted a Professional Development afternoon for our teachers.  In addition to receiving very good feedback, I am particularly proud of this event because it is a milestone in the development of our organization’s PD program.  Though it sounds obvious, over the past few years we’ve learned from experience that it is really difficult to provide meaningful, relevant, practical staff development to a group of ~200 preK-12 educators.  Yesterday’s PD was different in several ways.

1) Choice: We structured the 3-hour event like a mini conference.  We had three separate 45-minute sessions bookended by a very brief opening explaining an overview of the day, and a quick closing session.  The bulk of the time was spent with teachers in break-out sessions, learning about new programs and practices.  We were able to offer over 20 sessions in total, so everyone got to attend three different sessions of their choice.  When designing the program, we made sure the sessions had practical applications across all grade levels and disciplines.

2) Delivery: Almost all of the presenters were classroom teachers within our organization.  When working with the presenters as they planned out their sessions, we emphasized taking a hands-on approach so that participants got to experience the concept instead of just hear about it.  Asking teachers to present was a great way to recognize the best practices and superstars already within our organization.  Also, It sends a strong message when teachers see their colleagues delivering the information instead of outside consultants.  The practices being presented are seen as attainable, meaningful, and useful right off the bat because it’s coming from someone who teaches the same students, at the same school, with the same resources.

3) Theme: We selected presentations around a central theme: “Promising New Practices”.  We looked for sessions that shared practices for integrating technology and the arts within core curriculum; sessions with a cross-curricular focus; sessions that fostered an entrepreneurial approach to fundraising (think Kickstarter & Donorschoose).  In short, the 20+ sessions highlighted pockets of cutting edge practices that promise broader organizational movement towards 21st century teaching and learning.

Our awesome sessions included:

• Donorschoose.org
• Data Driven Math Interventions
• Kurzweil Literacy Software
• Arts & Athletics: Classroom Integration
• Backwards Planning
• Using iPad Apps to Boost Productivity and Enhance Lessons
• Kickstarter
• VoiceThread
• Mindful Teacher; Peaceful Classroom
• Overcoming Art Anxiety
• Khan Academy
• Connecting. Working. Learning.- HS Internship Program
• Accelerated Reader
• Daily Reteach
• First Grade Blended Learning Pilot
• Classroom Screencasting
• Integrating Art Into Project Based Learning
• Reading With Kloe: Benefits of Reading Education Dogs

 

Virtual Learning Community, Take One

Our organization’s teacher mentoring/induction program spans six different schools, and it’s always a challenge to set a meeting time that works for everyone.  In an answer to that dilemma, we conducted our first Virtual Learning Community this month, and I am really excited about the potential of this solution to impact mentoring and teaching practice in the future.

The idea for a Virtual Learning Community arose due to scheduling difficulties, but there are other benefits, too.  Keeping the VLC online in a learning management system also archives the discussions and content, and makes it accessible for future use.  This was one of the areas that our mentors appreciated the most as a result of putting the learning community online.

In designing the VLC, it was important to me that we adhere to the foundational principles behind a face-to-face professional learning community, and that the VLC provide an arena for meaningful dialogue and collaboration, not just dissemination of information.  I know that I can simply create a screencast if my objective is to deliver content.  However, using a learning management system enables me to create, monitor, and participate in discussion boards, which was a valuable component to our VLC.  The mentors (participants) really appreciated the ability to work asynchronously on their own schedules, too.

Our VLC was housed within the Haiku LMS, which enabled me to create a quick, 5-question pre-assessment for mentors to give me an idea of their understanding and comfort level around our upcoming formative assessment piece, the Fall Mini Inquiry.  I used this data to inform the content of the discussion boards and screencast.  The opening discussion board was an online version of a New Teacher Center protocol, “Problem Pose/Problem Solve”.  Mentors were responsible for sharing a dilemma of practice on the Board, and then responding to two other posts.  I provided them with a rubric ahead of time so that there were clear expectations around the level of depth and reflection I was looking for in these posts.  I was pleased to find meaningful exchanges between mentors at totally different sites and with different content area specialties in this Board.

Next, the mentors had to watch a screencast that I created in response to the pre-assessment data.  It was about 13 minutes long.  In the future, I would like to cut this down to under 10 minutes, and actually embed a VoiceThread within Haiku so that I can ask Mentors for asynchronous collaboration right on the uploaded media.  This time around, I had created a “post-assessment”- containing the same 5 questions in the pre-assessment-which showed that all of the mentors improved in their understanding and comfort level around the Mini-Inquiry process as a result of the screencast.

Finally, I created a “content-based” discussion board, which asked mentors to respond to a question that stemmed from the screencast. Again, they were asked to create an original post, and respond to two other colleagues.  The question asked mentors to reflect on the specific mentoring/coaching language they intend to use with their participating teachers during the Mini-Inquiry process.  Asking them to provide specific examples and rationales ensured that they were reflecting on previous professional development we received through the New Teacher Center, and preparing a practical application to their upcoming work.

Overall, I think the Virtual Learning Community was a success, although I intend to refine it and add some new elements for our next round in February.  I am interested in working with some of our site administrators to explore ways in which this concept might be applied to the existing Principal’s PLC, or even to accent the traditional PLC work done by teachers at each site.  This could be a great way to help articulate between our schools (we have Pre-K through 12th Grades) to ensure continuity and share best practices in the departmentalized subject areas.

Signing off, I also have to acknowledge the efforts and flexibility of our team of Mentors, most of whom are first year Mentors and full time classroom teachers.  I truly appreciate their willingness to not only participate in this new learning community, but also to make it meaningful and relevant to their practice as mentors.

Making a Pinterest Addiction Productive (?!)

Has anyone else been swept up in the truly addictive nature of pinning great ideas to Pinterest Boards?  And, has anyone else noticed that they don’t usually end up doing, making, or even reviewing their pins?  I recently started pinning to an ‘Education’ board when I see cool teaching ideas come up, even though I am not in the classroom anymore.  Some pins seem like I might come back to them in the mentoring work I do with middle school teachers.  When I follow through and use a pin from any of my boards (usually recipes), it feels like an accomplishment.  So I’m wondering for Educators out there using Pinterest…. How often do you use your pins, by actually implementing them in your classroom/practice?  Do you feel that it’s valuable to keep an idea ‘board’ for education, even if you don’t implement them regularly?  Any tips on making a Pinterest addiction productive?!

Grammar Emergency Room!

I have to share an amazing experience I had this morning at the Prep Academy.  As I walked across the first floor common area to get to my meeting, I saw something extraordinary happening outside one of the classrooms.  The teacher, Ms. Valine Moreno, was clad in surgical garb- I’m talking scrubs, goggles, gloves, hat, and waving around a plastic severed hand- and was animatedly telling the astonished group of students at her door about their task for the day.  They were standing in line, but they were on the edge of their seats.  They looked at her, with incredulous grins spreading across their faces, as she explained that they were going to come into the classroom and perform emergency grammar surgery to save patients.

At this point, I was already a few minutes late to my meeting watching this scene unfold, but I couldn’t tear myself away.  I wanted to do emergency grammar surgery.  It sounded like the coolest activity ever, and I was excited.  I let my meeting know I’d be a few minutes late, and entered the classroom with the students, dying (no pun intended) to see how we would save the grammar patients today. As we walked inside, the lights were low and there was a ‘heart monitor’ beeping loudly throughout the room, which had been transformed into two mini emergency rooms.

I will admit that I am a bit of a grammar nerd, but judging from the excitement and anticipation building in the classroom I think it’s safe to say that Ms. Moreno had truly hooked her students.  She excitedly distributed surgical costumes to each student (which were donned eagerly and without the typical middle school reluctance) as she gave an impassioned plea for them to use their knowledge of grammar to save the lives of “patients”.

I’ll interject here by saying that Ms. Moreno works with ELL students, many of whom arrived recently from Mexico not knowing any English.  The “patients” were what I will describe as anthropomorphic worksheets- each one was printed with some characteristic related to the human body, with some simple grammar questions on it.  Each student received a series of these worksheets and had to use their scissors to surgically cut out the correct answers and glue them onto the worksheet.  In order to get to the next “surgery” (worksheet), they had to show their work to Ms. Moreno who used it as an opportunity to quickly assess their understanding before having them move on.

I am sad to say that I could only stay and watch the beginning of this activity, but I was incredibly moved.  I’ve worked with Ms. Moreno for several years now and she has an amazing ability to connect with her students in order to truly motivate them to learn.  She is outstandingly creative and constantly reflects on what she can do to improve her teaching practice.  However, what struck me about this activity and many others I’ve seen in the past, is that she could have just tried to give her students the grammar worksheets at their tables.  But, what a difference in student engagement, enthusiasm, and just general level of FUN!  I think any educator can safely say that had she chosen the “worksheet” approach, it would have been like pulling teeth, no matter how great her classroom management is (and it is very good).  Ms. Moreno just returned from the Ron Clark Academy where she attended a great professional development session and says that she got the idea from a teacher there, Kim Bearden.

Watching this lesson today really made my day.  I left feeling inspired and needing to share this experience with the world!  What could have been a dry, tedious approach to a grammar review was transformed into a dynamic, exciting experience that her students (and I) will never forget!  A teacher’s creativity and enthusiasm can truly go a long way in motivating students to learn.  Thank you, Ms. Moreno!

A New Teacher’s Reflection on Year One

Students Talking to Each Other About Their Internships

Mrs. Cortez, a new teacher at King-Chavez High School, helps to coordinate the school’s Internship program.  Last week they held an Internship Expo, which was an impressive display and celebration of the participating students’ experiences in their internships this semester. In this interview, she shares her experiences as a first year teacher working in a new high school Internship program.

1) What is the vision behind the KCHS internship program? What is your role in bringing the KCHS vision to life?

In partnership with community interests and local businesses, the KCHS Internship Program provides students with skills and opportunities that lead to careers, college, and engage in lifelong learning. Internships are about getting the real life, hands on experience that will get students thinking about what they want to be or do in the future. I work very closely with Stacey Praizner, the internship director. We bring this vision to life by evaluating each student who has been through the classes that prepare them for internships (9th grade Leadership, and 10th grade Career Development). Each student completes a survey, and based on their answers we match them up according to the mentors and organizations we have available. Twice a week, I teach my students how to develop professionalism in the work place, communicate and connect real world experiences in the classroom. We also do a lot of reflections and peer to peer support meetings. The rest of the week I am out in the community. I schedule meetings with mentors to make sure interns are developing the skills needed to work in a real world environment. I observe their work and evaluate their progress and overall experience.

2) What is the best part of your job? The most challenging part?

The best part of my job is being able to teach, which I love to do. I also love to coordinate with the community. I enjoy seeing my students succeed and gain experience which will help them in a real world work environment. Throughout the

Students presenting their Internship work for the semester at the Expo!

semester, the students experience many challenges. Fear and anxiety are major obstacles most students face. The school has high expectations for students participating in this program and all students want to do the best they can to succeed. These students have become young professionals in a short period of time and have learned to present themselves well. The most challenging part of my job is getting students to understand and comply with our internship uniform policy. There is a lot of pushback from students about the policy. With the support of mentors, teachers, parents and our school administrators, students began to understand and comply with the policy.

What have you learned about yourself as a teacher this year?

This is our first year having the Internship program, and though years were spent planning this program, there are just some things you end up learning along the way. This year has taught me to be more flexible and helped strengthen my teaching skills. This year has also strengthened my communication skills as I had to be sure to keep students, mentors, parents and other teachers all on the same page. I have had an amazing experience this year, and look forward to many more.

The Internship Expo

What new strategies or approaches do you hope to implement next year?

Next year I would like to implement more of a real world disciplinary approach for our interns. I’d like to reward students who show vast improvement as well as implement write ups for those who do not comply with the internship program policies. I will take time this summer to create something which will provide our interns with a more real world work environment. This way they can be prepared for the good and bad experiences they will face in the workplace.

Student Data: Is there such a thing as too much?

To all you data enthusiasts- bear with me after that title!

Educators have a wealth of student data at our fingertips- CST, CELDT, diagnostics, benchmarks, daily formative assessments (to skim the surface)- and we have the data and assessment management systems that enable us to view and analyze the data quickly and easily.  Experienced teachers are able to systematically use student data to drive their instruction, and create formative feedback loops so that they are constantly able to assess and respond to their students’ needs.  However, it takes time, experience, and training in order to do this well.  Teachers who are only starting the journey of becoming data-driven can feel overwhelmed by the plethora of data out there, and many either use data inefficiently, or they may be reluctant to use it at all beyond a cursory investigation into CST proficiency level.

I have been thinking about how we, as school leaders, support new teachers in becoming data-driven.  Like any data-driven inquiry, I find myself wanting to gather a range of different data points on this topic.  We know as site leaders what information we want our teachers to have and use.  But sometimes our experience removes us from the realities that new teachers face in the early years in our profession.  So, I would like to hear from new teachers who can reflect on the year they’ve just had in light of their students’ achievement:

• What student data is essential- what should be provided up front to new teachers so you can hit the ground running Day 1?
• What data should they be guided through finding themselves so that they can navigate the system in the future?
• How would you recommend getting teachers the data they need, without overwhelming them?
• What support around data-driven instruction do you think is needed up front in August?
• What follow-up support do you think is necessary throughout the year?

Teacher Self-Evaluations

As the school year comes to a close, let’s create the space for teachers to honestly self-reflect on their strengths and challenges this year. In doing so, teachers can begin the process of preparing for a new, and better, school year in ’12-’13.  This can complement and add depth and meaning to the ‘official’ evaluation provided by an administrator.  The goal of going through a structured self-reflection process is to purposefully collect a wide variety of data that can inform one’s own practice as a teacher… so in other words, this is just another way to be data-driven!  Set aside some time now to reflect on the current school year and record ideas around the following questions, thinking not only about your perceptions and impressions, but also considering what evidence supports your views.

1)   What went well?  What projects or units resulted in the most student learning?  When were students most engaged in your lessons?  How do you know?  What students really excelled or turned it around this year, and why do you think that was?

2)   What didn’t go so well?  Were there any students who struggled consistently, or seemed to slip through the cracks?  Any lessons, units or projects that just bombed? How was your classroom management- can you think of anything that didn’t go as smoothly as you would have liked, and brainstorm ways to teach a corresponding procedure or routine for next year?

3)   What did you learn about yourself as a teacher, a professional, a colleague- what do you see as your strengths, and what are some areas you’d like to work on in the future?  What evidence would you cite to support these ideas?  If you are transitioning from an Induction program, what structured support would you benefit from next year?

4)   From your students’ perspective, what worked and what didn’t?  You can create a student survey and ask them questions like about their favorite project(s), activities, etc.  When did they feel they learned the most in your class?  When did they have the most fun?  If they could change anything about your teaching style, what would it be?  If they could give advice to an incoming student who will be in your class next year, what would it be?  The students’ comments can yield invaluable understandings about your practice as you see yourself through your students’ eyes.

5)   Set aside some time to meet with your administrator to talk about what they saw as your strengths, challenges, and improvements this year.  If you work closely with a PLC, or mentor teacher, have a conversation around your work this year with a respected colleague.  Again, seeing through another lens can add depth to your own reflections about the year.

The end of the school year can fly by so fast that if you don’t make a concerted effort to reflect, you might find yourself right back where you started next Fall.  First, set aside the time to reflect and record your own thoughts.  Then, try to get a 360 degree perspective on your practice – yourself, your students, their families, your colleagues, and administrators.  Finally, set some personal goals for the coming school year.  However you choose to get the feedback- formally or informally- you can take a proactive approach towards becoming your personal best.  Teachers and administrators: What would you add to this list of possible reflection topics?

Teacher-Driven PD Through Peer Observations

Too often observations are used as a tool to either fix or evaluate the focus teacher.  The implicit assumption is that A) there is something wrong with the teacher and/or B) that a teacher’s practice can adequately be judged or captured within one observed class period.  Either way, it’s no wonder that many teachers are averse to being observed by their administrators or even by their colleagues.

What if we were to expand our understanding of the role of observations within the culture of our schools?  In doing so, observations can become a more versatile and valuable tool for teachers and administrators alike.   However, before we can expect teachers to welcome the opportunity to be observed, as school leaders we must first take responsibility for creating the right conditions.

So, how can school leaders build a culture in which observations are used as a meaningful tool to improve teaching practice?  Let’s begin by redefining the traditional observation, and change it from an accountability tool into a form of teacher-driven professional development that will lead to real professional growth and build collegiality.

While observations will certainly continue being used as an integral part of summative teacher evaluation, the real power of observations comes when they are frequent and targeted- when they are formative.  Leaders can provide structure and support through which teachers can receive constructive, peer-to-peer feedback.  School leaders who create a foundational expectation for collaboration send an underlying message is that we are all collectively engaged in continuous improvement, and that not even the most veteran teacher is ever finished with professional growth.

We can also take it a step further, and redefine the observation roles.  Who does the observing, and who is observed?  What if the administrator modeled a teaching technique for a group of teachers to observe?  The technique could be connected to school-wide goals or PLC-driven focus areas.  The observation process can also be structured so that teachers can observe and support colleagues, like in the Instructional Rounds process.  Peer observations that are structured and targeted can allay fear of being judged and evaluated, and reappropriates observation as a formative feedback tool that strengthens classroom instruction.  By stepping back and removing their positional authority from the observation cycle, school leaders empower teachers to lead the PD process and to engage in self-driven inquiry cycles to improve their practice.

For as beneficial as it can be to receive feedback on one’s teaching, there is also much to learn as an observer.  Watching a colleague teach can prompt critical self-reflection in addition to facilitating the exchange of ideas.  Having observed a colleague helps ground PLC discussions about teaching and learning in real-life experience, and connects groups of educators to each other’s practice.

Ultimately, teachers who are supported to use observations as a formative and proactive tool are empowered to drive their own professional development, and there is unlimited potential for growth when teachers have the passion, resources, and support to pursue professional goals.  And what that happens, we can bet that our students will benefit from stronger instruction.

Have you had experience with peer observations?  What impact has it had on your teaching practice, or on school culture?  What recommendations do you have for using peer observations at the PLC or whole-school level?