Snapshot: Positive Classroom Choreography

My colleague, Susan Cherwinski +Susan Cherwinski (@SJCteach) , and I created this poster to guide student-centered, engaging classroom pedagogy and language. We plan to enlarge and distribute at some time, but for now, we hope that it will help you architect a classroom that develops student investment, happiness, and success.

Teaching Well: Lead Time Matters

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."

-Alexander Graham Bell

"You're already planning for next year," a colleague remarked.
"Yes, you know how long it takes when you change grades," I answered.
"Yes, I know," she replied.

Lead time matters when it comes to good teaching for many reasons:

Knowledge
First, it's important to know and understand the curriculum well with depth and breadth. When you are familiar with the standards, knowledge, and skills related to the curriculum you are better prepared to teach in a personalized and differentiated way.  Knowing the curriculum allows you to anticipate the struggles, strategies, and enrichment students will face throughout the unit, and anticipating this helps you to choreograph the teaching/learning day so that it's smooth, student-friendly, and focused.

Materials Prep
Next, lead time gives you time to prepare the curriculum materials. The preparation for blended learning includes the following:

• collecting related books for your classroom library.
• finding posters and making signage for classroom displays.
• identifying online videos, games, and information sites for student access.
• creating a website to host all links and information for 24-7 access.
• reviewing all in-house curriculum materials.
• personalizing and enriching current materials to meet present students' needs.
• embedding new standards into the unit.

Scheduling

Understanding well the unit goals and focus helps with scheduling too. For example if the unit includes some heavy skill areas that relate to skills that are challenging for some of your students you'll know to schedule those lessons at times when specialist supports, technology, or even parent help are available.  You may also schedule less important aspects of the unit during times when some children are out of the room for focused learning events leaving the prioritized unit elements for times when the whole class is there.  Further, if a unit has a connection to a season, special community event, or field study you may schedule it at that time of the year. Also, with lead time, families can plan ahead to participate, attend special events, or contribute to the learning. 

Extra

Lead time also gives you time to connect the unit to extra special events such as national contests, special grants, global connections, and field studies. For example if you wanted to Skype with real-world scientists in their lab, that takes time with regard to making connections, scheduling the Skype, and preparing the class (We tried this for our research project this year, but the lead time was not enough to schedule it well).  Similarly if you want to study the unit with a class in Africa, you might make that connection through Google Classroom Connections which again will take time, but has the potential of greatly increasing student engagement, world view, and content learning. Contests can be motivating for students too so for example if there was a simple machines contest, we might match the study with the contest dates and scope to inspire greater motivating, focus, and possible result. 

As with most well done endeavors, lead time and prep for learning makes a significant difference when it comes to teacher preparedness, student engagement, and learning.  And even though that lead time may challenge current systems, summer schedules, or available materials, in the end, the up front planning creates greater learning peace, harmony, and satisfaction for students, teachers, and families. 

Tech Pilot?

I advocate for tech pilots when it comes to new software and tools?

A tech pilot is a way to test the waters with new tools before purchasing or making the tool a mainstay in your curriculum program.

There are many ways to go about a tech pilot, and I advocate for the following steps.

1. The teacher tries out the tool.  The teacher plays around with the tools thinking about how it might contribute to the overall classroom, and making sure it meets the system-wide protocols and laws related to tech use.  I do this all the time with new tools, and usually can quickly determine if a tools has merit.
2. Next, the students play with the tool.  They too are quite savvy when it comes to using tech, and by observing the students, a teacher can tell quite quickly if the tool is worth further exploration.
3. Embed the tool in a well-designed learning unit, and track the use and progress of the tool. Notice how the tool invigorates engagement, standards-base learning, after school study, and further exploration.  Give this some time.
4. Discuss the merits of the tool with the learning community: family members, students, colleagues, and leaders.  See what people have to say and ask about the tool.
5. Determine the tool's use.  Is it a part-time tool, one used for special events, students, or times in the day, or is it a full time tool--a mainstay for a particular grade level, discipline, or program.
6. Reassess the tool often as tech tools evolve rapidly.  Some tools I use all the time years ago, I rarely use now, and there are many tech tools I use now that weren't even around a couple of years ago.

As you watch and participate in beta testing, online tools, and tech integration, you understand that it is a process that evolves over time and requires steady regular oversight.  How we pilot, choose, and implement tools into our teaching/learning curriculum matters greatly with regard to apt personalization and differentiation in meaningful, engaging, productive ways.

What would you add to this process?  What might you change?  Tech pilots are a terrific first step to employing technology to teach all children well.

Do Students See Themselves in the Medium?

Photo Credit

Recently a debate ensued with regard to tech choices. This is not uncommon in today's teaching, learning, and work worlds as tech is changing at a rapid rate.

As I responded during this debate, I wondered about the value of children "seeing themselves in the medium." I believe that we need to choose some tech tools just because they reach our outliers. For example, if a medium reflects multiple cultures, skin shades, and dress codes, we might actually reach some of the students who rarely see themselves or their family members in the curriculum books, programs, and other tools.

It could be that these programs that include playful, real world characters are "gateway" programs that lead children step-by-step to more sophisticated, and sometimes less playful, mediums. Teachers know that this process is often used when it comes to reading. Sometimes we accept what is considered the lesser book to step a child into reading (Yet the question of "lesser" and "more" is important too, and ultimately high quality tools that include real-world, diverse characters (and avatars) are best). Of course, the ultimate goal is to always choose high quality programs and tools for all children, but as we choose we can't forget about the importance of choosing tools where children "see themselves in the medium" because its those tools that engage children, and engagement is a critical element when it comes to teaching children well.

Google Presentation: A Learning Design Canvas

Google Presentation serves as a wonderful learning design canvas.

For example, I've started synthesizing my knowledge, experience, and research related to math models and elementary school learning. I opened a Google Presentation and began adding my ideas. I shared the ideas on a Google+ Math thread, and John Fitsioris, a Math Curriculum Developer, responded with some great suggestions. Then I woke up this morning with more ideas.

This presentation and a few more for The Wayland Institutes are due a month from now so I have time to play, explore, and create with my Google Presentation canvas--a canvas that makes it easy to edit,  move, demonstrate, synthesize, and present ideas in multiple, meaningful ways.

Focus, Focus, Focus!

There's a temptation to follow many streams of thought, action, and questions.

Yet, true satisfaction and a job well done demands that individuals study the landscape and choose a focus.

As I've noted before, my focus centers on classroom craft and effort--the job of teaching children well.

What does that mean as I continue down this path?

At this time, that focus means the following initiatives:

• Continued analysis of the MA Teacher Evaluation Rubric -a document that essentially outlines the attributes of a job well done with regard to teaching children well.  I will analyze standards two and three this week. This is the summary post for Standard One. 

• Reading Teach Like a Pirate using either a Kindle app or the Kindle.  This will finally be the needed step into ebooks, a practice I'll explore with greater depth with my students in the fall. I find that only when I use a tool myself first that I am able to use that tool well with students. This step has been on my to-do list for a while without result. Just wondering does Chrome have a Kindle app? 

• I'll engage in the Teach Like a Pirate book group as part of the #educoach chat on Wednesday nights from 10-11 p.m. EST. The chat has wonderful moderators and a committed following of educators. Their Teach Like a Pirate chat began last week so I have some catch-up to do. This post outlines the chat. 

• On July 23, a colleague and I will attend MassCUE's Beta Teacher Event to explore new tech tools for education.  That will be a good day to connect with a colleague who is similarly interested in apt tech integration in schools.

• Then on July 31, we're hoping to attend edcamp Steam in New Jersey to explore more ways to integrate science, tech, engineering, art, and math into the classroom program.

• The first week in August finds me at the wonderful Massachusetts' Teacher Association conference (more like a retreat) in Williamstown, MA--a wonderful location and event for teacher share and professional learning.

Then time for classroom set up and school prep. There's much more I'd like to do as the ed landscape today offers numerous opportunities.  The "if and when I get time list" includes the following inviting learning efforts as well:

• Learning more about the integration of music into multimedia composition.
• Exploring virtual models for math.
• Building the STEAM lab in school with greater intent and effect.
• Planning our student virtual cross country tour--a project we'll implement using multiple tools including Google maps, Google Earth, spreadsheets, and guided research.
• Using online audio tools to respond to student work.
• Creating and/or finding a class social media site (I continue not to be satisfied with the platforms available, but I'm on the look out)
• Giving more time to learning about Discovery Education's new possibilities and tools. 
• Exploring Motion Math's apps on the iPad.
• Signing up for Sum Dog writing, English and math for this year's class.
• Resigning up for Xtra Math since they archived the lists.
• Exploring Khan Math with greater depth.

Hence, there's no shortage of education tools and practice to explore, that's why the continued efforts to prioritize and focus are so essential in our world of limitless learning today.

What's your focus as you look ahead? How will you set goals, prep for school, and find time for fun, family, and friends too? If any of the events above interest you, please join my colleagues and me in this regard. In a sense, we're moving in uncharted territory when we consider a professional landscape with so many choices and at the same time so many requirements (new standards for professional practice and teaching too--common core).  

Hence, the need for prepping our priorities, revising as needed, sharing our journey with others, and then acting with intent.  

Onward!

Does a Passion Become a Pattern?

Does a passion become a pattern?

I've always enjoyed drawing and writing, but in the past that activity was reserved for a journal next to my bed, doodling during presentations, workshops, and classes, and required project work.

The advent of email, collaborative documents, Twitter, websites, and blogs changed that quiet, individual passion by providing an accessible, at-home, cost efficient way to write, draw, publish, share, learn, and revise.

Hence, what was once a passion alone is becoming a pattern--a daily pattern of writing, illustrating, sharing, and revising.

At this stage passion and pattern are colleagues and competitors.  Passion would like take all the minutes of the day, while pattern urges order, balance, and rhythm. The two feed each other creating an elasticity and energy similar to images I've seen of atoms in motion.

So does passion become a pattern?  Or is the energy of passion too chaotic, powerful, and unpredictable to become a pattern? What do you think?

Afterthoughts:
I'd like to make a movie of this question with SCRATCH

Publishing an eBook?

Now that my blog is so extensive, it's time to start publishing short ebooks of similar content to share with colleagues near and far.

How will I publish my ebooks?

There are multiple tools online that support this process.  There are also multiple tools for advertising, sharing, and selling these ebooks to interested educators?

My latest blog stream, the Self Reflection Posts related to the New Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Rubric, has spurred this next activity because these posts will serve teams and individual teachers well as boost their craft and skill to both meet new standards and to teach children well.  I also believe that these posts will support preservice programs in Massachusetts and elsewhere with strength since the posts help educators to utilize the suggested process with specific actions that they can easily apply to any content or skill area.

I'm excited about this project because a meaningful project always fosters tremendous learning, learning related to process, new tools, and the related mindset.

I'll carry out this activity in the following way:

1. Transfer related posts to one document.
2. Edit and revise.
3. Transfer to an ebook platform.
4. Publish on my own and/or publish with the help of other organizations.
5. Share the ebooks with interested parties for free or for a fee (tbd).
6. Assess the effort, and plan for next steps.

Whenever we embark on a new learning effort, our students profit as well.  Perhaps I'll be able to choose a publishing platform that I'll later use with students as they publish their fictional narratives or personal essays--time will tell. 

I welcome helpful tips or links as I embark on this process. I also welcome colleagues who are interested on embarking on a similar journey to join me as we navigate this new course of learning and sharing. 

As always, so many paths to travel and so little time.  Onward!


Helpful Links:
ebook sites

Collaborative Unit Design: Process

If you want to build community and collaborate with strength, then plan to revise or design a student learning unit with students, educators, and/or community members.

Working together to design with a common purpose demands the best of us, and brings us forward with collective skill, creativity, and learning.

Yet, often when a group gets together to plan, they don't have a research-based, efficient road map to follow.

Hence, I offer you the unit design template below.  This template is based on my learning design research over the past few years and the expectations of the new Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Rubric.

You are welcome to use this template to guide your independent or collaborative unit design processes.  If you have ideas for enrichment or revision please let me know.  Also please contact me with any questions you may have.

Interdisciplinary Unit Planning Template

Use this step-by-step planning template when planning a unit of study collaboratively or on your own to effectively teach children and to also meet the MA Evaluation Standards. You can skip around as you create, it's not necessary to complete the chart step by step.  

You can easily make a copy of this document on a Google doc and share the document with all collaborators so all can add/revise information as identified and developed. Decide on a collaborative process for revision so that individual’s work is protected. Note that it is easy to add or delete table rows if needed.

1. Determine Unit Rationale, Standards, and Title:

Pose the title as a question:

2. Keep a list of materials and resources that will be added to the unit website after the initial planning stage.

Teacher Resources Books, Links, Workshops. . .
Student Resources: Books, Websites, links, games. . .
Materials: (including technology)
Resource Sites: Museums, Nature Preserves, Zoos. . .
Activities:

3. Use common core, state, and local documents to Identify the standards that you want to embed in the unit design:

Subject	Standards
ELA
Math
Tech
Social Studies
Science
Other

4. Discuss and chart how this unit will appeal to students’ interests, passions, and developmental level.

5. Learning today points to a need for skills thought of as 21st century skills or life long learning skills. These skills prepare students well for the world they will be live in.  Discuss ways that the unit will develop these skills in student learners.

Skill	Ways this skill will be incorporated into the unit.
Communication
Collaboration
Creativity
Critical Thinking Skills

Also include Citizenship and Character in the C's Chart.

6. Students respond to learning that is meaningful and relevant, learning that they can connect and develop with engagement. Also, substantial learning exists when students synthesize and apply their learning as well as teach others. Discuss ways that this unit will have meaning, relevance, engagement, enrichment, connectivity, synthesis, application, and opportunities to present to, teach, and coach others.

Unit Attribute	Ways that the attribute is exemplified in this unit.
Relevance
Meaning
Engagement
Enrichment
Connectivity
Synthesis
Application
Presentation, Teaching and Coaching

7. What skills, concept, and knowledge do you hope students will learn as they engage in this unit.  Define the “success criteria” related to this unit. Since most units are presented to a diverse group of learners, educators may want to design the success criteria that responds to three levels including review (meets standards prior to grade level and lays a foundation for grade-level learning), grade-level, and enrichment.

Level	Success Criteria
Review
Grade-Level
Enrichment

8.  How will you know what students know before starting this unit study? How will you incorporate this information into the unit design and execution.  

Unit Pre-Assessment Design, Analysis, and Use.

9.  Design the overall roll-out of the unit in general with a step-by-step unit map.

(Leave space in the unit design for student choice and voice whenever possible)

Unit Step Description (listed in order)	Approximate Dates

10. Create a Unit Website that includes the following:

I like to use Google Sites, but there are multiple website tools available.  Here’s an example of a unit website.

• Unit Title
• Unit Rationale: (research, student interest/passion, developmental appropriateness)
• Unit Standards
• Success Criteria
• Plan (the schedule of learning experiences and expectations)
• Resources
• Enrichment (Extras)

11. Design unit specifically using this lesson design template for each lesson or group of lessons, activities, and events. Add specific lesson information to website as desired.  

• Consider students’ ages, unit depth and breadth and desired effect when making the decisions about what specific lesson information and links to add the website.
• What website information will support students’, colleagues’, and families’ learning review, efforts, enrichment, and celebration?  
• Note that lesson design today can be considered lesson choreography. See related links: http://teachwellnow.blogspot.com/2013/02/todays-lesson-plan-ma-educator.html , http://teachwellnow.blogspot.com/2011/11/lesson-choreography.html

12. Review unit design, website, lesson plans.

13. Collect necessary materials and adapt room design to meet unit requirements.

14. Share the unit plans and website with the learning community: students, families, educators, leaders.

15. Execute unit roll out.

16. Analyze summative assessment and unit roll-out.  Make decisions about unit revision and growth.

The New Massachusetts Teacher Evaluation Rubric: Actions?

I spent this week carefully analyzing the new Massachusetts Teacher Evaluation rubric elements for Standard One: Curriculum Planning and Assessment. You are welcome to read all of my specific posts (links at the bottom of the page), or you can simply use the information in this post to lead your efforts in a way that will meet Standard One with strength.

I completed a self assessment connected to the nine elements associated with this standard, and then turned the assessment into a color coded action list with the following categories:

With many of the elements' expectations I created a lesson design template and unit design template that leads curriculum planning and assessment forward with the intent and focus of the Massachusetts Teacher Evaluation Rubric.  This was a complex task, but a worthy task since the Massachusetts' rubric represents thoughtful, research-based, student-friendly learning design. On my self analysis document, the areas highlighted in purple represent ongoing learning design work that will be done during the school year independently and with the learning community: students, families, colleagues, leaders, and the community.

A number of expectations related to Standard One need to be planned for and prepared prior to the school year in order to be effective with regard to student learning.  I highlighted those activities in yellow.  The new standards do require substantial school year preparation, much more than the average classroom or subject-area teacher can do in the one or two days of standard prep during the professional year.

Standard One also has substantial implications for professional learning. This will differ from teacher to teacher. I highlighted the implications for my practice in pink.


You are welcome to use the links included on this post to match your professional practice to Massachusetts' Evaluation rubric.  In doing so, you will set the stage well for a proficient or exemplary evaluation, and for a job well done when it comes to teaching children well.

Please don't hesitate to forward comments, ideas, or questions with regard to this work.  I will continue to reflect on the rubric as I tackle the remaining 24 elements.


Reflection Links:

Reflection #1

Reflection #2

Reflection #3

Reflection #4

Reflection #5
Reflection #6
Reflection #7 
Reflection #8 
Reflection #9

Collegial Collaboration
Lesson Planning Template
Unit Design Template