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.

Connection Counts

In education, every minute matters. Effective, regular communication serves to connect and maximize our collective efforts.

Ineffective or lack of communication fosters greater individual paths rather than collective, efficient effort and collaboration. When this happens everyone ventures out on their own often replicating efforts or even wasting time by having to backtrack due to unknown initiatives, decisions, or priorities. 

How can we ensure that our communication is clear, timely, and consistent so that everyone's efforts contribute to shared vision and goals in ways that matter? 

STEAM: Sound Exploration

Inspiration for our Sound Unit End Product Prototypes

I want to use what I learned from the Marble Maze Simple Machine exploration to inform our next investigation: Sound!

This unit was birthed last fall when a student reacted to Bash the Trash's cultural enrichment performance with the question, "When can we make instruments?"

How will I do that?

First, I need to learn a lot about sound. I'll research the topic and learn as much as I can in the next week or so.

After that, I will use back-end planning to outline the unit. I'll let the new standards lead that work in part. I've also decided that the end-product of the investigation will be to design a prototype of a playground sound installation, a sound piece that helps teachers and students communicate to one another in multiple ways.

I'll host all information on the our Sensational Science Sound webpage.

Time to dig in, learn, plan, and begin our next exploration, an exploration that incorporates the learning from our simple machine unit. Onward.

What Does a Teacher Do?

It's important to assess and evaluate your role every now and then. Looking at your role with both a broad and narrow lens helps you to chart the course with regard to your professional growth and effort. A conversation with a friend in another profession led me to this analysis today, an analysis that starts with these questions:

• What are your overarching professional and system goals?
• What efforts contribute to those goals with depth and care?

Professional Goal
To teach children well.

Focus Areas

Home-School Partnership
Working with and for families and students is a primary role of the teacher. What is the best way to support families and children? Regular communication, enlisting families as part of the learning/teaching team, and ready response are integral elements to optimal home-school partnerships. The work we do at the start of the year to establish positive home-school partnerships to serve students well benefits optimal teaching/learning throughout the year.

Knowing Children Well and Positive Relationships
The better we know our students, the better we are able to teach them. What supports this effort? At the start of the year, make time to meet with and get to know each child and family in a meaningful way. Also, early year assessments, both formal and informal, help us to understand a child's learning profile well. Further, asking students to respond to the question, "What do you wish I knew about you?" at the start of the year will help us to know what's important to a child. We might want to ask parents and guardians a similar question, "What do you wish I knew about your child?" at the start of the year too in order to focus in on important areas of a child's profile to support good teaching and relationship building.

Knowing the Content Well
You can't teach well without a deep understanding of the curriculum--that's paramount. This leads me to once again think about what teachers are asked to do. It's important to narrow teachers' competency expectations to realistic parameters. With the incredible information access today, I think it's best to support a team approach to teaching children well. The team approach would foster collaboration in ways that support individual teacher's deep knowledge in specific areas and collaboration that maximizes the collective knowledge for students' interdisciplinary study and vigorous learning experiences. Too many teacher courses, particularly at the elementary level, focus on pedagogy rather than content. I believe that content needs to be a primary focus since understanding the deep knowledge in content areas leads to good pedagogy--this prompts a change in focus, one I believe will better the work we do.

Engaging, Student-Friendly Pedagogy, Tools, and Delivery
Knowledge alone does not translate into good teaching. The way you transfer and promote knowledge is paramount when it comes to fostering an engaging, empowering educational environment. Important components of that environment include the learning experiences, manner, quality, and quantity of feedback and response, pacing and patterns, and culture and community. We can promote these components of good teaching, in part, through regular collegial share and modeling.

The Learning Environment
The physical space and materials we use to teach well impact students' access and availability to learning. By narrowing individual teacher's content expectations we can better maximize the learning spaces. For example the science/math teacher might have a room set up for STEAM learning, while the reading/writing teacher has the room set up for English language arts study. Yet, we want to foster interdisciplinary study and work, hence unlike subject divisions that exist in some high schools, there should be an interdisciplinary flow and teamwork between and amongst the learning/teaching environments and educators to promote blended, interdisciplinary units of study and learning.

Collegial Collaboration and Contribution
Teamwork is essential to good schools. The work we do as a team to teach children well makes a significant difference in a child's experience of school. Good teamwork depends on shared protocols, values, vision, time, communication, and strategic process. I believe that many schools are at the early stages of developing structures, routines, and protocols in this regard. There is great potential for what dedicated teams with time and shared goals can do to make schools better.

Early on when I started my blog, I considered the role of the teacher. Since that time there have been many changes in education and specifically in the environment where I work--positive changes which have impacted the work we can do with and for students. Today, the areas above take precedence with regard to the teaching/learning role. The emphasis on team has replaced the focus on management, environmental design and school structure plays a bigger role in the work we do, and deep knowledge of the content we teach is even a more essential aim in order to teach well in this sophisticated, information-ready environment we live in.

Today's teacher is a skilled professional who serves students and families well with holistic goals and efforts. He/she is a lifelong learner who works to understand his/her content and students with depth and care. Teachers today work together to set goals, advocate, and collaborate around important issues with regard to student response, engagement, and education. It is a vital, interactive, deep role of care, compassion, and contribution.

With political and cultural support, the role of teacher has the potential to strengthen and invigorate community and culture in ways that benefit all. The role of teaching holds tremendous promise for our nation and world if regarded with thoughtful support and right challenge.

I am proud to be a teacher, and I look forward to using the notes above to develop my work in the days ahead. If you have thoughts to add to this post, please let me know. Together, we can continue to develop our profession with strength, contribution, and positive change.


Addition
This is a beautiful post about the role of teacher.



Notes:
David Garcia added "Intellectual Leader" to a teacher's role definition. I like that.

STEAM Open House Introduction

STEAMwork is also a bumpy road.!

I will frame family's experience of today's informal STEAM open house with the following words:

The famous inventor, Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." I'm sure that many students can identify with Edison's words today after embarking on their simple machine marble maze creations.

STEAM is interdisciplinary science, tech, engineering, art, and math blended together.

It's not your old fashion science lesson.

Instead it's an opportunity for students to work independently or with a team to explore, investigate, collaborate, design, create, and learn.

With this open ended exploration comes lots of debate, trial-and-error, success, and failure too--more failure than success.

The big push for STEAM education is that it's real-world mimicking the way that engineers design and create in companies like Google and IDEO. It's the way that true inventors work, and with invention comes frustration too. It's more failure than success, and more and more we recognize that knowing that and building strategy and mindsets to move forward with that knowledge creates students' stamina and willingness to persevere.

So as you look at the projects today, look deeply. Ask these questions as you tease out the learning.

• What part of your project are you most proud of?
• What part of your project was most frustrating?
• Tell me about your project elements?
• What helped you succeed, and what would have helped you gain greater success?
• How many times did you test your project?
• What advice do you have for someone who is doing this project for the first time?
• How could teachers, parents, and classmates have helped you with this project?

Look around the room. Notice the projects. Notice elements of projects, teams, and individual work that were successful, and notice the challenges classmates faced. Celebrate your success and hard work. This is simply one step more on your STEAM learning path, a path that we'll continue with greater strength due to the learning you've gained with this project. I appreciate your hard work, creativity, stamina, and flexibility--all vital skills for success today and in the future. I'm proud of every child in Team 12/14. I learned a lot too. 

STEAMWORK!

Tomorrow I've invited parents in to see the marble maze simple machine projects.

I hesitated to do this because the projects are not all beautiful to look at. In fact, at first glance, they look like a pile of recycled materials. Also, some of the projects don't work that well. Yet, the craftsmanship, problem solving, collaboration, and thought that went into the work was terrific. Some of the projects work in amazing ways too. Many students wanted to share.

As I embarked on this project for the first time, I didn't really know what to expect. I let it happen and followed students' lead. I deviated from the old-time everyone-does-the-same-simple-creation format to the new STEAM investigation and exploration format. The new format is much more real world, and richer with regard to deep thinking, creativity, communication, debate, and problem solving.

I watched and coached as students struggled with the problem which was to include simple machines into a marble maze creation. Some students readily grasped the challenge, managed their groups, and created. Others hesitated and struggled more with the task. Some projects were flimsy, but intricate. Others were simple and secure. Some students worked at home, during recess, and at lunch. Others worked only during the class periods. Some groups had terrific synergy and others were challenged with regard to supporting each others' ideas. Hence, there is great variation with the final projects.

Now that I've been through this project, I know a lot more about my young engineers and what they need for successful STEAMwork.

Groups
I let the groups happen, and for the most part this worked well. Students self selected good peers for creation. Some individuals and groups joined together or split apart during the process. In a couple of situations, this was not ideal. So next time, I'll be a bit more strategic with grouping by giving some voice and a little more direction too. Teamwork is an essential element of this project, an element more important than I originally thought.

Space
Next time I'll make sure that each group has their own building space. That's somewhat tough in my smallish classroom, but I can make it happen. We also need greater protocols to make sure that students' spaces are secure. That was complicated since there's some structural work happening in our school building which may have affected some of the displays.

Supply Boxes
Everyone will receive a supply box with essential supplies, and they will also have access to other supplies in the STEAM center. This will help everyone have access to a fair share of needed supplies.

Introduction
Like last time, I'll provide a multimedia introduction and resource web page to support the project. Many of the students who succeeded most with the project, took the time to revisit the web page and look online at project examples. The children who did this were highly motivated by the project problem.

Time
I'd like to build in more time, but time remains a premium at school, and big, rich projects like these take time. I chose to stop the project before every group had finished simply because this project could last for weeks for some students. I might scaffold the project more next time so that stage one is easy for everyone to complete and stage two is there for the taking for students who are passionate about the project.

Team Meetings
Rather than having all groups in at once during lunch and recess, next time I'd like to have some small group meetings especially with groups who are facing greater challenge during lunch time.

Parent Volunteers
This is the kind of project that would profit from parent volunteers. Next time I'll know what to expect and be able to coach parents who are willing to contribute a few hours to help out.

Sharing STEAMwork with families requires an introduction to this open-ended, real-world engineering, design work. It's not the cookie-cutter project that many recall from their own school days, but instead a free explore based on scientific principles. It's the kind of work that builds students' ability to problem solve, design, create, succeed/fail, and see learning with a new confidence and awareness, the kind of confidence we need to build in our students to make them ready for the learning ahead.

If there's space and if I'm teaching science next year, this may be the summer to read Invent to Learn and to attend the Constructing Modern Knowledge workshop. When you reach in to teach STEAM well, there's lots to learn. And if you watch the students' STEAM learning in action, you would know that this is learning worth the time and effort it takes to do it well.

Related Posts:
Marble Maze Project Films
Open House Introduction

Let's Get Organized

We're transitioning from one emphasis to another so it's a good time to get organized.

Without the usual patterns and routines, students lose track of what's expected with regard to home study, classroom materials, and learning supports.

We'll make some time in the next few school days to get organized including cleaning desks, passing in old/new homework, asking questions, cleaning the classroom, and readying our minds and materials for the next leg of the school year.

Repetition Builds Skill: Supporting Successful Teaching/Learning Routines

Some routines that successful students employ are not employed by other students.

Why?

Simply put, there was not enough repetition, feedback, and support to establish those routines for all students.

How can we change that?

Identify the routines that successful students employ. Prioritize the teaching and learning of those routines with the entire learning community including students, family members, educators, and leaders at the start of the year. Be vigilant about coaching those routines in the first weeks of school.

Establishing successful learning/teaching routines at the start of the year is essential to student success.

Tending Culture

Educators tend culture. They tend the culture of their classrooms, schools and systems.  Recently I outlined a list of  important aspects of school culture. Now I'm wondering about how to tend culture in effective ways in my classroom, and contribute to a positive culture effectively in the school community.

I believe it's essential that we discuss culture.  At the start of the school year, and throughout the year, students and educators should have the chance to think about and openly discuss what's most important, and how they spend their school time.  What do those conversations look like?  What is the best structure?  I'm so curious about what my colleagues think regarding cultural norms and expectations--it's been so long since we discussed this with any depth or transparency.

I'll take the time to open up this discussion in my classroom today by asking, What's important to you with respect to how we end the year?  Do you have any suggestions for our class to make this a happy, caring end of the year?  Those direct questions will give students an open avenue to discuss our current class culture.

Next year, I'll make time at the start of the year to discuss culture with my students. I'll ask, What makes a great classroom culture?  I'll explain the meaning of culture with regard to classroom climate and events. We'll list our ideas, then think about ways that we can make those ideas come alive throughout the year. Then we'll revisit that list often and revise as necessary.

With regard to the school community, I'm wondering what that discussion might look like.  We might start with defining culture and the aspects of culture we think are important to a positive, responsive school community. Next we could prioritize those aspects of culture.  After that, we might define what those cultural norms look like in our work day today. Then we might look at the calendar to make sure we make time for the events and actions that support the desired culture. It's possible that we'll prioritize some events and potentially eliminate others. By taking the time as a school community to discuss culture, we'll positively impact our collaboration and student work.

Creating and tending culture is a big part of an educators' job both in and out of the classroom--an essential element to serving children well. How do you do this in your classroom, school or organization?  What experts, books and practices lead this effort?  I want to learn more about this.

From Frustration to Advocacy

At times when one looks out into the world, he or she may feel frustration or even anger and think, Why aren't things different, or Why hasn't change occurred? When that happens it is important to define what is not working, and turn the strong emotions and energy of frustration and anger into actions of advocacy and change.

My dad says, "Don't complain; do something about it." I am also reminded about the famous Gandhi quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Tuesday's #leadfromwithin NOW leadership chat reminded me that we are living in the now,  and while the "then" can inform our journey, "then" should not serve as an anchor to our current action and growth.

This week, a parent Olympian came and spoke to students and staff. He reminded all of us that achievement happens with one small step after another. Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots Coach, looks at the game in "chunks," breaking it down into plays rather than tackling the whole game at once.

We can help our colleagues and students when they become frustrated by asking these questions:

• What is making you frustrated? 
• What would be your ideal?
• How would you help a student/teacher like you?
• What can I do to help you create change? 

 Then you can support a plan for change.

When frustration and anger grow, those emotions disable individuals, and they become mired in a sense of hopelessness or despair. However, turning those emotions into a forward movement towards change, one step after another (and sometimes one leap after another), will move individuals, families, organizations and communities toward better effect and greater happiness.

#Blendchat Two Summary

We had another great #blendchat tonight.  Terrific ideas.

You can read the chat at Storify.

My big take away was that next year I'll be running a blended learning environment. This year I dabbled in it, but next year it will be the mainstay program in my room.

The chat made me realize that I'll have to prepare students for this environment.  Using Responsive Classroom techniques, I'll teach children about the tools, expectations and ways of working in a blended environment at the start of the year.

As also suggested by Scott, Celina, Duncan, Brian and Heidi (the chat participants) it's essential that I identify the primary tools we'll start the year with, and leave room for trying out new tools too since the landscape will continually change.

The next #blendchat will be on 8/12 at 8EST.  The focus will be preparing students and the environment for blended learning.  In the meantime, if you come up with a great blended learning ideas related to our next chat, please add the ideas, links and thoughts to this Blended Learning Google doc.

Thanks for chatting and/or taking a peek at the notes.  Let me know if you have any questions.

#Blendchat: 6/3/12

Our first #blendchat occurred at edcampbos in April.  Then in May, we had our fist online chat. Tonight is our second online chat.

As earlier posts demonstrate, there is a wide variety of specific definitions related to blended learning, but most will agree that the blended learning environment is an environment that combines a myriad of tools, processes and intent for best educational effect.

Tonight's chat will discuss the nuts and bolts of the blended learning environment.

We'll start with a focus on organization and communication. How do you organize a blended learning event or environment? What structures help you with this endeavor? How do you communicate expectations and process?

Next we'll discuss the teacher role in a blended environment?  What metaphors and descriptors best describe you as an educator in a blended learning environment?  Where's your focus?  How do you coach, mentor and guide your students?

Finally, we'll look at assessments?  How do you know that the blended environment is helping students to acquire skill, concept and knowledge? What assessments, both formative and summative, do you employ?

Then we'll choose possible topics for next month's chat.

Please join #blendchat tonight if this is a topic that interests you, if you'd like to share your expertise. I'm looking forward to the chat.

The "Everyone Wins" Test

George Couros' post, Insanity, prompted me to write this morning.

I've been following the many discussions about grading and assessment that have been posted and discussed throughout the year.

Fortunately I teach at a level where students do not receive grades on report cards, but they do receive numbers and comments on many, varied assessments.

How do I feel about that?

As I watch children, I notice their wide menu of talents, interests, skills and challenges.  No one child "has it all" and no child is without his/her areas of competence.  I often say, "We're all a mix of strengths and challenges."  Also successful adults represent a wide variety of passions, talents and abilities--it's not a one-size-fits-all path to success.  Instead successful adults represent a combination of physical health, mental health, social skills, a knowledge/skills foundation, drive and passion.

I'd rather school systems mirror the process of learning by focusing on what students achieve rather than what they don't achieve.

For example this week I gave a states/capitals test.  My students bring a great variety of skills, schedules and mindsets to the classroom. Some are eager academics with strong memory skills, and others are active, playful children who have a heavy schedule of outside of school activities.  The time, interest and ability to do well on this test was skewed from the start.  For some this is a terrific task that won't take them too long to master, and for others it is an almost impossible task.  A typical test would only reflect what I already know about the students when it comes to a task like this.

Instead I offered three test levels:
1. Fill in the map with states and capitals from memory.
2. Fill in the map using a list of states and capitals.
3. Complete the map by copying another map with all the states and capitals.

There was a way for each child to achieve success.  Immediately, I could see shoulders drop and ease pervade as I introduced the three test types.  Then students asked for even more differentiation.  One child asked if he could complete the test from memory until he couldn't remember any more, then he'd use the lists or map.  I said that was fine.  Another asked if she could use the atlas rather than the print out as it was easier to read--that worked too. A third asked if he could complete the test with a friend--terrific.

After that students positioned themselves around the room and happily began the test.  Now some will say, that's not the real world, and others might ask how do you know if they are learning the material? Further, you may wonder if this type of testing builds the rigor students need for later success.

The learning goal was to familiarize all students with the states and capitals of the United States.  If the task was too big for some, it could discourage them from this learning and turn them off from tasks like this.  Instead, this method gave every child an inroad to mastering the information in a way that was comfortable for them, and no one left the task discouraged or upset.  Instead there was happy chatter and work related to the task at hand which also serves to develop the knowledge.

Rather than one-size-fits-all assessments, I believe we should lean towards many paths of approximation providing students with the coaching and mentoring needed to achieve a determined level of knowledge for each task. These types of assessment will build engagement, motivation and a positive, know-thyself learning environment--the kind of learning environment that develops a positive attitude towards learning and a mindset for future success.  Do you agree?

Endangered Species Continued. . .

The furniture has been shifted to make room for our upcoming endangered species open house.  The projects are nearing completion.

Now it's time for the final project list:

1. Finish your Google presentation. Spell check. Share with teacher by Friday, 6/8.
2. Finish your iMovie, export to desktop or Youtube, upload to presentation by Friday 6/8
3. Finish your animal drawing by Friday 6/8
4. Choose from this bonus list to make your exhibit inviting.
• create a word find.
• practice presenting your presentation.
• make a crossword puzzle
• create a diorama.
• write a song or poem.
• make signs about the animal's amazing facts.
• do you have another idea? If so, let me know.
5. Or help out with an open house job:
• make an open house invitation.
• make a welcome sign.
• help to organize and clean up the room.
6. Download a powerpoint version on 6/11 just in case the server doesn't work on the Open House morning. 

On the 14th we'll share the projects with family members as a way to celebrate a job well done. 

Keep the Child Center Stage

A day in school can be long particularly when the demands outnumber the minutes in a day, but no matter what we do, we will do a good job if we keep the child center stage.

Fourth Graders' 2012 Summer Olympics Intro Film

Students enjoy making films, and there are so many tools for easy film making available today. If you've made a film, you understand how challenging it is.  It is especially challenging to stop and say, "good enough," as a film can be a limitless project.

My small book group worked with a professor from BC and me to craft a script and create a movie.  They had a difficult time reconciling that the movie would not look just like a Hollywood film due to our inexperience and time limits. However we were able to include their ideas, voices and creativity.  They'll present the film at our upcoming Summer Olympics Assembly as a way of introducing the whole school to the games.

Take a peek at their final product.  This is one of many films to come for this small band of learners.

We'll end the school year crafting films for our endangered species projects. I'll challenge students to think deeply about their audience and message as they create each film.  I'll also take into consideration that creativity is a step-by-step, contagious process that will spread about the classroom with joy if I allow it. 

A Homework Solution?

Homework poses a dilemma for most educators.

One colleague describes it as "the three bears" dilemma: too much, too little, just right.

This year I opened the door to the homework discussion with parents through the use of a letter.

The letter fostered discussion, but the homework dilemma continued. At the end of the school year I will survey parents to gather more data about future homework decisions.

In general, most parents wanted homework. They wanted to provide students with the chance to develop independent, at-home study routines. They also wanted students to develop their skills and proficiencies in all academic areas.

I provided a fluid list of homework topics that students were able to work on at home and in school. I also provide a bonus list of learning options both on our class website and through links, images, videos and discussions on our classroom social network, NING.  Also most classroom projects are open-ended providing a limitless list of options for extension.

As I think ahead to next year, I want to advocate for more online self-paced homework.  We utilize a number of online resources to develop students skills and proficiencies.  The online resources are often independent, self-paced programs such as Lexia, targeted assignments (That Quiz), or venues that are easily manipulated for speed, repetition and focus (YouTube Videos, Content websites).

The advantages to online homework include the following:

• Homework results are typically graded or lead to the next steps digitally saving the teacher time with regard to correcting and collecting papers.  Instead the teacher can easily access the scores or levels and make coaching decisions with that information, then utilize the time saved to plan rich, collaborative learning events.
• Homework is less frustrating since students are moving at their own pace and level.
• Homework requires less parental input since it's tailored to students' interest, level and need.
• Homework doesn't rely on memory of a single lecture or assignment. Instead the digital format allows repetition and manipulation of the information to suit students' needs and interests.
• Written homework benefits from digital tools such as spell/grammar checks, thesauri and easy access to editing and commenting features for teachers who coach writing skill.
• Parents can access scores, reports and feedback at home, work or even in the car.

The lost homework or confusing homework factors should disappear with this format. 

So as I begin to think about homework routines for next year, I imagine that I'll employ the following actions:

• Greater use of online, self-paced, responsive, independent programs. (I will continue to advocate that my school system supports this effort by opening up these programs to at-home use as well as in-school use.)
• Reading books, articles and text of choice at home independently or with family members.
• Practice packets for specific skills (online and off).
• Family, student voice and discussion related to "just right" personalized homework goals and assignments.
• Enrichment/bonus opportunities.  

I am open to your thoughts and ideas regarding this area of school life.  I will report on the results of my parent survey once the school year comes to a close.  

Teaching Gifted Students

I actually don't like the term gifted. Like every other label, the term gifted never fully and accurately describes a person. However, the term does give us trends, profiles and possibilities to consider as we teach.

Who are the gifted students in your midst? Simply, I identify the gifted students in my class as those that want more, do more and/or demonstrate specific traits and talents that match both the broad and specific attributes of giftedness.

When I set up learning endeavors I plan for the entire spectrum of ways students might interact with the information or task from a level of early teaching to advance mastery and creativity.  I never pose limitations on any child for any broad task--the entire spectrum of accomplishment is there for the taking and children can rise as high as they'd like with regard to that task, knowledge or concept. Thanks to the 50% one-to-one computer initiative at our elementary school's fourth and fifth grade, a successful RTI implementation, collegial collaboration, adequate staffing and the addition of wonderful technology tools, we are able to broaden our reach and focus with regard to serving students at all places on the learning spectrum.

For example in setting up the endangered species project outline, activities and resource website, I imagined how children might interact with this information. At a basic level, students will learn with the class about the reasons for endangerment through reading articles, watching films and classroom discussions.  Then they will read specific websites, collect facts and present those facts using a Google slide template guide.

If a student wants more, does more or demonstrates a specific trait or talent, that student might extend this project and learning in any combination of the following tasks:

• A specific talent might be demonstrated by writing a song, creating an art piece, conducting extensive research or applying literary skill to the presentation text or prose.
• Doing more might mean skyping with an expert in the field, conducting research at a zoo or museum, reading extensively about the species or creating a project which turns the information into a service learning project that combats endangerment in a meaningful way.
• Wanting more may result in more targeted coaching from me or a project that is an offshoot of the typical endangered species project. In some cases, a child may quickly complete this project so he/she can work on a project that matters more to them.

All of the examples above put the child in the leadership role of their learning; the teacher acts as coach and mentor making sure that basic learning standards are met while children develop their ability to independently learn with engagement and success. 

NING, our social network, is the 24-7 communication piece that guides student work.  Well before the project began in the classroom, I posted the project outline, resource site link and introduction.  Students who wanted to get a head start used that information to work on their projects independently.  In one case, a highly artistic and creative student came to me and told me that she had completed all the required parts of the project.  I responded that I would soon edit with her, but in the meantime she should begin working on her public service message. The guiding information for that project was listed on the website.  

She took a computer and began reading and preparing for the message creation.  On a couple of occasions she came up to me and asked me for green paper.  I told her where she could find it.  Then she asked if she could leave the room to find more and I said she'd have to wait.  She responded by sneaking out or eventually convincing me (I can't remember which) to leave the room to find green paper.  I was busy working with a myriad of students on initial aspects of the project.  The next thing I knew the young girl had created excitement in the room.  When I looked up, I noticed that she had pieced together a large number of small green colored paper squares to create a green screen in the room.  She chose a place where she could prop up the computer to videotape herself "on location" using the green screen for her public service message.  It was an amazing example of independent, engaging learning.

As this example shows, setting the stage for all students to develop and demonstrate giftedness depends on thoughtful design of the classroom environment and program including the attributes listed below:

• A social network to give all students a 24-7 voice when it comes to their education.
• Online resource centers, links, blogs, images and videos that support and inspire independent learning, research and coaching.  I often post links to engaging videos, projects, organizations and problems that match my students' interests.  
• Time to converse with and coach students online and face-to-face in order to understand and respond with care and focus.
• Inclusive units and lesson plans that reflect a spectrum of interest and accomplishment from early teaching to mastery allowing all students to work to their potential.

It is also essential that educators take the time to read about giftedness and to understand both the challenges and advantages gifted children experience.  Defining giftedness however can be limiting because gifted programs are not inclusive.  That's why I prefer creating learning environments where all students have the chance to learn to their potential in real-world, diverse settings. This gives each child the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their areas of giftedness and passion in vibrant learning arenas.

How do you identify and respond to gifted students in your class?  In what ways do you create a spectrum of learning opportunities that maximize student potential and engagement?  What are your best resources for meeting the needs of students who display giftedness in one or more areas?  I look forward to continued study and exploration in this area.  When we nurture students' giftedness, we nurture the potential our world holds for positive change and endeavor, and that's a worthy pursuit.

MCAS: Setting the Stage for Doing Our Best

Today we'll set the stage for optimal test taking.  Tomorrow and Thursday students will take the math MCAS tests.

Students and I will clean desks and organize the room today.  It's easier to take a test if the room is clean.

I'll also do some direct test taking teaching:

• Read with your pencil: Underline key words, circle the question asked.
• Do all calculations and work on the page so you can check it over.
• Multiple Choice: Read the question, think of the answer and then and only then look at the answer choices.
• Open Response: Be explicit.  Explain your thinking/problem solving in pictures, numbers and/or words. Then write: Answer:_____, putting your answer in a complete sentence for the corrector to find and read easily.
• Write neatly: The corrector doesn't know you and if it's messy, it has a psychological affect on the corrector's time and care with your answer.
• Most of all do your best, show off what you know--this test will let teachers know which test information you know, and which information we need to teach.

There's no official homework this week--students can work on their research projects if they'd like.

The other lessons will be fun, interactive, student-centered learning events.

I'll do everything I can to make the test taking a relaxed, thoughtful event with a focus on "showing off what you know" as you work quietly and independently.

#blendchat: First Chat Reflection

#edcampbos prompted me to lead a #blendchat last night at 8 EST to discuss blended learning.

What is a blended learning environment?  In the broadest sense, it is a learning environment that blends many techniques, tools and structures to promote optimal learning.

What did we discuss during the first chat?

We discussed what blended learning means to individual educators?  We shared our definitions, tools and links. We learned from each other about the many ways a blended learning environment can invigorate and optimize education. Our questions and rationale for blended learning were woven into the conversation.

The reason I offered to lead this chat is that I want to learn more about blended learning.  I want to study this teaching method because I believe it holds great promise for student engagement, empowerment and learning.

The first #blendchat was a great success.  You can read the discussion on my Storify page.
Please join us on Sunday, June 3 at 8 EST for the next chat when we'll discuss communication, assessment and the details associated with blended learning environments. #blendchat will be a first Sunday of the month chat.

Thanks to all the educators who participated in the discussion last night.  I know I left the discussion with new ideas, articles to read and tools to use.