Learning is a discipline, and as educators, it is our job to engage in that discipline regularly.
What does the discipline of learning include?
I offer the following points?
Daily Reading
Whether it's a book, article, Twitter stream, or blog, some time for daily reading develops our understanding and knowledge as well as our learning habits.
Goals and Objectives
Determining needs and interests is imperative. What do I need to learn? What do I want to learn?
Action Plan
How do I plan to learn? Who will help me? What resources will I use? What time will I commit to this learning? What is my end goal or success criteria?
Reflection
Time to think and write about the direction. How am I doing with my goals? What else do I need? Where can I gain support, encouragement, critical friends, debate, and review?
Collaboration
Our learning suffers if it is never shared or reviewed, so how do I build important collaboration and share into my learning.
Change
How do I embed new learning into the work I do and life I live? How do I transfer learning from understanding to action?
Schedule
Repetition helps us to strengthen our efforts in any discipline. How do I schedule time for learning so that I strengthen my own learning, and the result of that learning?
As educators, it is our obligation to be lead learners. By embracing learning as a discipline, we will become more knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced as learners, and in turn, this will help us to lead and teach students better.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Teaching in a Responsive Way is Less Predictable
I shared the Friday plans with a specialist teacher on Monday. Then I changed the plans for Friday on Wednesday, and now on Friday morning I have to change the plans again.
The reason the plans change so often is that learning is not a predictable path. The intent and focus of the plans are the same, but the pacing, depth, and connections made during a learning experience are unpredictable.
To rush students just to keep up with the schedule is not good learning. Also it's a lost learning opportunity if you don't respond to opportunities to deepen the learning or enrich the teacher-student coaching relationship during the learning experience.
Therefore day-to-day, and week-to-week the learning will travel the standards/students' interests and needs path, but the specific plans will change often if it means serving students better and teaching well.
The reason the plans change so often is that learning is not a predictable path. The intent and focus of the plans are the same, but the pacing, depth, and connections made during a learning experience are unpredictable.
To rush students just to keep up with the schedule is not good learning. Also it's a lost learning opportunity if you don't respond to opportunities to deepen the learning or enrich the teacher-student coaching relationship during the learning experience.
Therefore day-to-day, and week-to-week the learning will travel the standards/students' interests and needs path, but the specific plans will change often if it means serving students better and teaching well.
Buddies: Leadership and Learning
Friday is Buddy Day.
The fifth graders work with their kindergarten buddies in the afternoon.
Last week was our first meeting; partners or small groups of kindergartners and fifth graders learned in many ways together.
Children created with paper/pencil, Little Bits, Makey Makey, blocks, and art supplies. They also read books, wrote books, and played games.
During the school days following buddy day, the fifth graders play with and help the kindergartners on the playground.
In days of old, when families were bigger and neighborhoods were filled with children young and old after school, this multi-age share and play happened all the time. Now, with busier schedules and sparser neighborhoods in some cases, this play happens less often. Hence, buddy time gives the older children a chance to be a "big brother or sister," and provides the younger children with the chance to work and play with older children.
Buddy time also gives the younger children a one-to-one teacher for important learning goals. As buddies develop their friendships, we'll build the program so that the fifth graders work as student teachers too helping the buddies with important learning goals.
Further, this responsibility helps the fifth graders build their leadership and contribution skills.
When I was a sixth grader, I was a kindergarten helper--I always looked forward to helping Mrs. Leary and her students at Indian Hill School. I know that my fifth graders are getting that same sense of satisfaction.
Buddies is a long-held tradition at our school. Upper grade students match with younger grade classrooms to learn, create, and build community. It's a very positive endeavor, one I recommend if you haven't tried it yet.
The fifth graders work with their kindergarten buddies in the afternoon.
Last week was our first meeting; partners or small groups of kindergartners and fifth graders learned in many ways together.
Children created with paper/pencil, Little Bits, Makey Makey, blocks, and art supplies. They also read books, wrote books, and played games.
During the school days following buddy day, the fifth graders play with and help the kindergartners on the playground.
In days of old, when families were bigger and neighborhoods were filled with children young and old after school, this multi-age share and play happened all the time. Now, with busier schedules and sparser neighborhoods in some cases, this play happens less often. Hence, buddy time gives the older children a chance to be a "big brother or sister," and provides the younger children with the chance to work and play with older children.
Buddy time also gives the younger children a one-to-one teacher for important learning goals. As buddies develop their friendships, we'll build the program so that the fifth graders work as student teachers too helping the buddies with important learning goals.
Further, this responsibility helps the fifth graders build their leadership and contribution skills.
When I was a sixth grader, I was a kindergarten helper--I always looked forward to helping Mrs. Leary and her students at Indian Hill School. I know that my fifth graders are getting that same sense of satisfaction.Buddies is a long-held tradition at our school. Upper grade students match with younger grade classrooms to learn, create, and build community. It's a very positive endeavor, one I recommend if you haven't tried it yet.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Proportional Reasoning, Arrays, and Google Draw
 |
| Students use proportional reasoning to draw arrays with Google Draw. |
Yet, using Google draw makes the activity more reasonable, fun, and easier to refine or revise when necessary.
Also, as children review their cards with me, I can easily point out to them where corrections need to be made or where accurate proportional reasoning occurred.
For example, one child who was making the arrays for 32 had all the lengths correct relative to each other, but then all the widths were the same. I could easily point out that the width of one looked the same size as the width of two and three. The child easily understood, and went back to make the correction--a simple correction of moving the rectangle edges in and out to make each array proportional to the others.
Last year I gave students grids to make most arrays--a good first step for 4th grade, but this year at fifth drawing their own arrays with proportional reasoning is a great exercise.
Supporting Educators' Good Work
There are so many ways to support educators' good work, and when educators are supported, their efforts to support students well are enriched.
I've noticed many of these supports in place in the community where I work, supports such as the following:
Websites
Websites of essential learning/teaching information support execution of the curriculum program. The continual update of these websites helps us to teach in collaborative, timely ways.
Regular Updates and Information
Regular communication that updates and inspires educators about important information related to the work we do has been very helpful. Also, the thoughtful compilation of score reports has also helped us to analyze our efforts and make positive changes to meet students' needs.
Supplies
Many supplies have been delivered and help with teaching. I'd still like to see this system take on a more responsive pattern so you can order what you need when you need it. The end-of-the-year rush to order doesn't always result in the supplies you need which means you have to run out to purchase the supplies yourself or live without them.
Differentiated Professional Development
Today there are so many ways to learn. Our system provides educators with computers, funds for conferences and course work, in-house PD days, and release time for PLCs and other professional learning. This is very positive.
Goals and Objectives
The goals and objectives were shared early in the year which has helped to focus our efforts right from the start.
Thoughtful Scheduling
Our schedulers this year did an amazing job. We started the year with a terrific schedule that puts learning first which really helps us to meet the students' needs and interests as well as the objectives set.
Infrastructure and Tech Tools
Our tech infrastructure works very well, and we have lots of tech tools (Of course I want 1:1 laptops (or laptops w/tablet screens), but we're getting close to that at the elementary level. The High School and Middle School already have this. We are very fortunate in this regard, and this reality helps us to meet individual student needs well.
Summer Institutes
We have summer institutes that help teachers think and learn for the future, and also provide educators with an opportunity to share their learning and knowledge.
PLCs and RTI
Though I think we have room for growth with these models, weekly PLCs and RTI have served to grow our collaborative, professional environment and the work we do for students. The fact that we have time during the school day for these endeavors is very positive both for educators and the students they teach.
Voice
Educators have been invited to share their voice with regard to multiple initiatives that matter. This is important as it gives all educators a chance to share their viewpoints from the frontline, the work with children.
At yesterday's PD session, it was clear to me that we have grown a lot as a system. Role supports and direction I longed for are in place in many areas. This has empowered my direction towards the classroom and the students in a more detailed and thoughtful approach to the daily work and the long term vision with regard to teaching children well.
There is a temptation to negate change you've longed for when it arrives, but that is not positive. Instead it's time to embrace the positive changes, and move inward to the classroom realm and individual students' needs and interests. This is the area I want to develop and grow. Onward.
I've noticed many of these supports in place in the community where I work, supports such as the following:
Websites
Websites of essential learning/teaching information support execution of the curriculum program. The continual update of these websites helps us to teach in collaborative, timely ways.
Regular Updates and Information
Regular communication that updates and inspires educators about important information related to the work we do has been very helpful. Also, the thoughtful compilation of score reports has also helped us to analyze our efforts and make positive changes to meet students' needs.
Supplies
Many supplies have been delivered and help with teaching. I'd still like to see this system take on a more responsive pattern so you can order what you need when you need it. The end-of-the-year rush to order doesn't always result in the supplies you need which means you have to run out to purchase the supplies yourself or live without them.
Differentiated Professional Development
Today there are so many ways to learn. Our system provides educators with computers, funds for conferences and course work, in-house PD days, and release time for PLCs and other professional learning. This is very positive.
Goals and Objectives
The goals and objectives were shared early in the year which has helped to focus our efforts right from the start.
Thoughtful Scheduling
Our schedulers this year did an amazing job. We started the year with a terrific schedule that puts learning first which really helps us to meet the students' needs and interests as well as the objectives set.
Infrastructure and Tech Tools
Our tech infrastructure works very well, and we have lots of tech tools (Of course I want 1:1 laptops (or laptops w/tablet screens), but we're getting close to that at the elementary level. The High School and Middle School already have this. We are very fortunate in this regard, and this reality helps us to meet individual student needs well.
Summer Institutes
We have summer institutes that help teachers think and learn for the future, and also provide educators with an opportunity to share their learning and knowledge.
PLCs and RTI
Though I think we have room for growth with these models, weekly PLCs and RTI have served to grow our collaborative, professional environment and the work we do for students. The fact that we have time during the school day for these endeavors is very positive both for educators and the students they teach.
Voice
Educators have been invited to share their voice with regard to multiple initiatives that matter. This is important as it gives all educators a chance to share their viewpoints from the frontline, the work with children.
At yesterday's PD session, it was clear to me that we have grown a lot as a system. Role supports and direction I longed for are in place in many areas. This has empowered my direction towards the classroom and the students in a more detailed and thoughtful approach to the daily work and the long term vision with regard to teaching children well.
There is a temptation to negate change you've longed for when it arrives, but that is not positive. Instead it's time to embrace the positive changes, and move inward to the classroom realm and individual students' needs and interests. This is the area I want to develop and grow. Onward.
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