Thanking a Teacher In My Life

This past weekend I heard about a project being run by People Admin. They offered money to hear stories about people who inspired you to become a teacher.

So I sat down and whipped up this thank you to a teacher who inspired me to become a teacher. Enjoy -----

In 1990, at the age of 32, I was at a crossroads. My wife and I were both active duty Naval Officers serving aboard ships. Her ship was out of Norfolk, VA and my ship was out of Long Beach, CA. One of us needed to leave active duty. Over dinner we discussed the pros and cons of each of our futures in the Naval Service. My wife turned to me and said the magic words, “ At least you know what you want to do if you get out.” 

At that point she told me that I had always spoken of being a high school math teacher and a baseball coach. I never realized how often I had said that,  but I knew she was right. By the end of 1990 I was out of the active duty Navy and I was enrolled in graduate school. By the end of the Summer of 1992, I had my MSEd and my certification to teach math and science.

Where did this desire come from? Partly from the fact that I had two Great Aunts who were both teachers and my mother was a secretary in an elementary school. It seems that I had always been around educators and their “school talk.” But the main reason I ended up taking this route was because of my high school junior varsity (JV) baseball coach and math teacher - Mr. Pete Austin. 

Mr. Austin was a very demanding coach. You played his way or you didn’t play at all. Our JV baseball teams were a force to be reckoned with in our state. We played hard and we played the game with passion - just like our coach. He showed us that you would be rewarded for hard work.

In the classroom he was equally as demanding and he rewarded students who worked hard. He expected us to stand up and be bold with answers to questions. Wild guesses and “maybes” in a student’s answers were discouraged. And he wasn’t afraid to throw a chalkboard eraser in your direction to keep you on your toes - (always followed by a smile, I should add). 


One of his ways of helping us with low grades was to give a minimum grade of 50 on any assignment. The downside of this was that he would announce the members of the “50/50 Club.” I was a proud member of that club. But at the same time, my math skills were at such a high level that I went on to be a math major. At reunions we still talk about being in that infamous club.

My take away from this interaction was that teachers can be tough and demanding on their students while being compassionate and loving at the same time. There was never any doubt that Mr. Austin cared about us and he wanted us to be the best. That held true whether we were on the baseball diamond or in the classroom. 

I never made it back to thank this person who so inspired me in life. I only hope that one day his family will be able to see this and will take pride in knowing that he made a difference in our lives. What he showed me then is making a difference in my students lives today.

As I work with new teachers I make sure to encourage them to be firm and consistent in their classroom management. I make sure that they understand that they also need to show love and compassion. That’s the way I was treated in my high school pre-calculus class, that’s the way I treat my students, and that’s the way I want my own children to be treated in their classes. 

Thank you Mr. Austin for inspiring me to pursue this incredible journey.

---->   For those of you who remember Mr. Austin, feel free to leave your own memories in the comments below. I know that there are those who were afraid of that chalkboard eraser and Mr. Austin's style in the classroom and on the baseball field. I obviously loved how he worked and I know it helped make me a better person. So, if you do have any unpleasant memories, please remember to numb the sting before hitting submit.  Thank you.

Smart Kids Need Competition Too

http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/flag.htm

Not a very smart title to this post because many of you will have seen competitions such as Speech and Debate , or  Robotics Competitions, National Academic Quiz Tournaments, or even Model UN.  But there are others who may not realize what these competitions are all about.

If you are in that camp then I would like to suggest that you find where your school's academic teams are competing and go and support them.

This weekend I am attending my first Model UN. It is the Central Texas Model UN (CTMUN) and is hosted by the University of Texas. I have brought 21 students who are mostly 10th graders.  For several students this is their 4th or 5th MUN and for others this is their first. After an opening ceremony last night there was a first session that lasted until 10. These students were in classes all day, withstood a nearly 1 hour drive in crowded vans, and then participated in their first sessions.

As we walked to the vans, at the end of the night, the energy was palpable. There was laughter and discussions about students who they had encountered at other MUN's (both good and bad comments were bantered about). I talked with the students about the Saturday sessions and the end of the day "Social." I almost fell to the floor with laughter on hearing the description of what the MUN Social is like: "It's just a dance with some food. But it's fun to watch nerds, who have had no contact with the outside world, getting sweaty and grinding on the dance floor."

MUN is a perfect specimen of 21st Century Skills on display. Students have to think critically, communicate ideas, cooperate and collaborate, and many will show their creativity by using accents based upon their country or even dressing in character.

And they do so for HOURS.  Today I spent much of the day in the session where students were representing Japanese leaders in the 1850's. They started discussions based around the last decade of the Shogunate starting right after Commodore Perry's arrival. Whether to include the US in a trade agreement was considered.

As I came in and out the years progressed and as I am sitting here right now they are discussing whether to assist the United States (Union Troops) or Confederate States (Confederate Troops) or whether to stay neutral. We have obviously moved into the 1860's but the discussions are still as emotional and the delegates appear to have just as much energy as they did when I first came into the room 8 hours ago.

And how many spectators do we have for this incredibly exciting and entertaining competition? Right now I AM the spectator in this room. In no room have I seen more than 3 spectators (including myself) all day. And all of the spectators I have seen are wearing badges, like myself, that indicate that I am a school sponsor.

I interrupt this writing to say that we just lost a delegate who disgraced his people for working with the Chinese. There was a trial with 2 Pro and 2 Con speakers. The delegate on trial was found guilty and was sentenced to death. A MUN moderator appeared, asked the delegate to rise and plea for his life. While mid plea he was viciously stabbed by the MUN moderator and he died on the session floor.

From this point forward he will be a Spirit, although there was some discussion of calling him Zombie for the rest of this session. [No students were actually hurt during this session!]

So far this weekend I have rubbed shoulders with Vladimir Lenin, who has been in and out of the Russian Revolution sessions, and various public figures who arrive periodically to add flavor to the discussions.

As I come to a close they are debating whether to take control of Hawaii; to side with the Union by sending troops into California; or to invade China or the Philippines.

This writer rises in defense of academic competition and asks that we have a vote on making these spectator sports. This delegate recognizes that, in the past, we have not had large groups of supporters for these events and it is time that we show that our academically talented students need our love. This delegate yields the rest of his time and takes his seat.

Still Ripping Educators Off

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/171347960792965587/

I started (this current round of...) getting upset about this (continuing) problem of educators being ripped off for supplies, a couple of weeks ago. I was talking about it with a fellow educator and he reminded me of a time when a teacher went to the vendor floor at a conference. She commented on how expensive this one item was and the vendor said, "Why are you upset? The school district pays for it anyways."

Those outside of the teaching profession assume that we get such a great deal and "the district just pays for things." Even if that WAS true, and it's not, I'm a tax payer in a school district and therefore I help put together the funds that are to be spent. I don't need my school district being ripped off when they are using my money!

So then, today, I wanted to price 4 inch to 6 inch balls that I want to use in a project down the road. I figured I'd start by looking at foam balls and that they would be the cheapest. Within minutes I had been to several sights, including Oriental Trading Co (a teacher go-to site) and Amazon.com.  I found what I was looking for in the 50 to 75 cents a ball range and was doing some mental calculations that I would need 50 to 75 dollars to get the 100 balls that I wanted.

Then I went to Discount School Supply. Doesn't that sound like some company trying to help us teachers out? Well, not so fast. These guys wanted $2 a piece for the balls. That is more than double the price - for foam-stinkin-balls! I would be more upset but I have seen this since my days in the military. "Oh, is that being purchased for a government entity? We'll mark it up 100%"

When you see the statistics about the amount of money a teacher spends out of their own pocket on school supplies each year (probably averaging in the $500 to $1000 a year for me) it really galls me that these places would charge double (and often 3 or 4 times) for something that could be purchased somewhere else. No wonder crowd funding sites are so popular with teachers (such as Donor's Choose).

I'm going to get balls for my project. I'll spend 50 to 100 dollars from the look of it. But I won't be spending any money at any of the "discount educator" sites. They can wait for the purchase order that I'm not filling out because I'm using my own money and NOT my school's money.  Grrrr...

You may return to your regularly scheduled lives.....(and I'm pretty happy that I kept my maturity with this post and didn't say anything like, "I got my balls in an uproar!" - That would have been wrong.)

You See, It Takes Time

https://www.flickr.com/photos/badboy69/

We are seeing a real dichotomy in education these days. Thanks to social media we are exposed to teachers, at all levels, doing wonderful things with their students. We're seeing students doing incredible things that they have chosen to do - not because they are completing an assignment that they have to do.  

We are seeing images of happy and excited people from gatherings of educators at edcamps, conferences, and webinars. And we're also seeing students in these images. Students - outside of the normal school day!

Then there is the reality of schools being labeled as "low performing." And students dropping out of school because they perceive life will be better with their gang family or, sadly, because they need to provide for their family. The images we see are of unhappy and, often, angry students. 

Between the two extremes lies the average school in the average district. And, at the average school, teachers are pressured to meet certain test requirements. To meet these requirements they must follow a strict curriculum with every day mapped out for them. They don't dare deviate from the course. The strict curriculum is designed by "experts" who know that teaching a certain topic in a certain way will guarantee the average student will succeed. And by succeed they mean pass the state test. 

But there are INCREDIBLE things going on all over the world. Students are going deeper in their learning. Student attendance rates are improving. Students are, (gasp), having fun and are enjoying learning. If students are attending classes and having fun in school then maybe, perhaps, their scores on state tests might just be improving! What a crazy concept!

Schools are having success. But there is this little statement that stakeholders in schools hate to hear - it takes time.  We saw it at Manor New Technology HS. My first year our scores in math were not good. There was hope that I, the "Old Math Teacher," could suddenly make things better. But what was lost on all of us was the fact that we were doing things differently. Our students had to learn how to learn and our teachers had to learn how to help students learn in this world of project based learning (PBL).  The superintendent and principal bought into the idea of "Trust the Process" and the teachers had incredible support and autonomy. We could try new things, and fail, without a huge to do about it.  And the school's scores started improving. 

All it took was time and the willingness of stakeholders to allow things to not go well so that we could figure out how to do it right. States and school districts have got to be willing to take risks and try new things with their students. Even though things might not immediately improve.  Are you willing to try something that excites students? Are you willing to try something that increases attendance rates? Are you willing to try something that keeps students from choosing life without school? Are you willing to give it 3 to 5 years? Are you willing to see test scores, possibly, stagnate or even go down? All we ask is for you to Trust the Process. Because, you see, it takes time. 

In Which We Are Introduced to My New School

https://goo.gl/xAkChH

On August 10 I will be starting a new school year with new students at a new school. But what does that really mean? Every year we get new students. Every year is a new school year. The only really new thing is the school I will be working at - Meridian School in Round Rock Texas.

I interviewed for this school so I've actually stood in the building before. I even met a teacher from this school at SXSWEdu. He enlightened me about the fact that the school was K-12 (and not just an elementary school). I even suggested this school to another teacher-friend of mine and he not only applied for a job; he was hired to work there.

But my accepting the job is less than 2 weeks old and I haven't been able to go to the school since to see what it looks like or even finish all of the paperwork for the job application. Yet on August 10th there will be students walking into my classroom. It is NOT too early to start putting together my teaching strategy.

Meridian School. I am a retired Naval Officer and have taken many hours of navigation classes and have spent hours on the bridge navigating ships around the globe. So I know what a meridian is. But why meridian for the name of the school? I looked to see if there were other meanings to the word meridian and I found that there was one that I really liked (whether this meaning is the one meant by our school's founders, I'll have to wait to see):

 "Meridian - Any of the pathways along which the body's vital energy flows according to the theory behind acupuncture."

If I am to be a truly effective teacher I will want to know how to help the energy flow of my students along their meridian from head to heart to hand and back again.

During the next 6 weeks I will be writing posts about my preparations for this school, the school year, and my students. I will be discussing how I set up my room, how I design my calendar, how I design my first week's lessons to support a collaborative environment, what my parent/student/teacher communication plan will look like, what technology I will have and what choices I will make for the use of that technology, and much more.

I am a teacher who will be having inquiry, collaboration, questioning, and design at the heart of all that we do. All of those discussions and suggestions I've had with teachers (in my role as a coach) over the last three years will have meant nothing if I don't attempt to replicate those practices that I have talked (and written) about with such enthusiasm.

Come along with me on this trip of discovery. Discovery about who I really am; what I really believe; and, what I am ready to practice with my students.

Exploring Design Thinking as a PBL Guy

Via Eric White

This week I will be meeting with other BIE National Faculty (NF) members at our annual Spring Summit.

For the summit we have broken into Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) and I am with the Design Thinking (dt) group.

We will be sharing with the other NF and we are looking at how dt compares with pbl and what can and should be included in future editions of the BIE PBL 101 or other training services.

I have been thinking a lot about the dt world and I have both watched from afar and interacted directly in the Twitter chat on dt - #dtk12chat. I have sat through a number of presentations from key people in the dt world including Ewan McIntosh. I also have a masters in engineering science so I've taken a few courses in design.

But I still haven't totally been able to marry dt and pbl. As I talk with more and more people who subscribe to dt I am noticing that many of them will do projects using the standard pbl process and then do another project that is based upon the dt process. I am assuming that I'm not the only one with this struggle.

During my years teaching with Project Lead the Way I used the 12-step design process with my students. Since I was at a New Tech Network (NTN) school I was able to marry the pbl process with this process and I worked my projects with the marriage of these two processes.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Image

Overlapping the DT image at the top of this post with this design process I came to the following list of steps for a pbl project with an undercurrent of dt:

1.     Initial Problem or Idea                    
2.   Brainstorm and Build Empathy  
3.     Consider Criteria and Constraints
4.    Create an Initial Concept (IC)       
5.    Gather Feedback on the IC            
6.    Create an Initial Prototype (IP)    
7.   Gather Feedback on the IP           
8.   Create/Build/Write/Make           
9.    Mid-Creation Feedback                 
10.  Present Final Product (FP)         
11.  Gather Feedback on FP               
12. Reflect                                            

This is a 12-step process that starts with a problem or idea, overtly asks teachers to think about inquiry and empathy, gives opportunities for feedback, has a presentation, and ensures reflection.  

Looking at another interpretation of the phases of the design thinking process we see that within this 12-step process there is empathy; there is a chance to define and ideate; there is an opportunity to create a prototype; and there is a chance to test the prototype and get feedback.  

As we at BIE attempt to create the essential elements of "Gold Standard PBL," we are looking at these elements:

http://www.bloomboard.com/

The 12-step process I presented can, and should, contain all of the elements in this diagram. As with all learning we must make sure there are key knowledge and skills at the heart of whatever process we are using. 

If we can ensure students are involved in their learning, are thinking of others, and are reflective in their quest for understanding, then our students will be the kind of adults that make a difference in our world.

 

It's Time For a Project

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/

It's that time of year again for many (most?) of us in the K-12 world of the United States to deal with standardized testing.

And there are many teachers who have been waiting until "that test is over" to start a pbl project.

There are some of you who can't see past the test that is approaching. I understand. But post-test can be the perfect time to knock out a project. And, therefore, now is the perfect time to start planning for that project that will put you and your students on the WOW end of the spectrum. You can do it and there are many of us out here willing to help you on your path forward.

So where do you start with the planning? Content, content, content. What things did you want your students to learn this year? Is there something that you know your students didn't learn at the requisite level? Maybe there's something that they were supposed to learn that you or the students really enjoyed and the topic is perfect for going deeper in their learning? Maybe there is something that they will need to know for the next school year and you might want them to explore it now?

If you are looking for project ideas I have two places you can go, right now, to see projects that might spark you imagination.

First place, of course I'm a little biased, is the BIE website. Look under the Resources Tab and you will see this:

In the Project Search area you can find hundreds of projects that teachers have uploaded. Although I tell teachers to NEVER use a project exactly as written, there is nothing wrong in looking over a project to whet your appetite. While you are in the Resources Tab, go to the Project Planner and do all of your planning in one place.

If you need more ideas for projects I always recommend High Tech High . Their list of projects (under the Project Tab, of course) is quite extensive.

Project planning can be a chore and, if you are new to pbl, it can be somewhat daunting. Don't do it alone. Enlist your fellow content teachers or a friend to help with brainstorming project ideas. And, even better, ask your district or school literacy coaches, instructional coaches, or curriculum specialists to help.

To be successful, you MUST take the time, up front, to get every day mapped out. Only then will you be able to feel comfortable and confident with the daily flow within you classroom. And, only then, will you have the time to work closely with individual groups of students.

When your students present what they have accomplished to a group of professionals and they are answering questions and engaging in conversations with these professionals, that time you spent up front will seem like nothing. But you will be everything to your students.

Another Take on Problem Based Learning for Math

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gpforeducation/

I have been wrestling with the marriage of Project Based Learning (PBL) and Math for nearly 8 years now.  A few years ago I moved towards Problem Based Learning (PrBL) instead of Project Based for math. It just seemed to make more sense.

With PrBL there are shorter time periods to complete a problem which, to a math teacher, frees up more time for "Math Skills." Of course a veteran math teacher, using inquiry-based teaching (PBL or PrBL fall into this niche), will find opportunities for practicing math skills.

Once a teacher decides to pursue PrBL, he or she will need to figure out which math units fit best. Or at least that is what I used to think. Now, after years of working with this, I realize that instead of figuring out which units and then what specific problems to work with, there is a better way.  Teachers need to start the planning process with great "Open-Ended Questions."

Now I use the term "open-ended" loosely because many of the problems I found with that label were actually closed problems.  The open-ended problems I am looking for may have multiple solutions but they may just have multiple paths that can be taken to get to an appropriate solution.

So here's a problem I found for middle school students (taken from the Math Forum):

I can see this being used as an introduction to area. During the first day's questioning I would hope there would be obvious questions about how to calculate area. But I would also hope to hear questions about whether the "whole number dimensions" have to be in feet. Could they be in "whole" inches? How about a question about whether "rectangular" means it has to be four sided - could it be a composite figure of rectangles? There might be a question that comes up that I would never think of.

The beauty of this is that the students can explore their specific questions to solve the problem going down a path of their choosing. At the end of the week the real question is: "Can the students solve a 4-sided, rectangular figure, with a length of L and a width of W?"

My big AHA! then was this - what if I found 20 or 30 or 50 great open-ended questions that represent content I want my students to learn during a school year?  I could then lay these questions alongside my district Year at a Glance or Pacing Guide to see where the questions would make sense on the calendar.

Now as a teacher gets to each unit they will already have 2 or 3 (or 5) open-ended questions that have been vetted. These will be the problems used in class to foster inquiry.  These problems will take 3 or 4 days from start to finish. There will be opportunities for questioning and brainstorming; creating drawings or other models; presentations; and reflections.

For example, the questioning and brainstorming might be completed on the first day. The modeling (along with the requisite critical thinking) might be on day two. On the third day there would be an opportunity for an informal presentation of how the groups solved their problems, followed by a reflection. On the last day of this PrBL there might be an assessment on the learning that was completed.

This all started from having a sound, content specific, question that fueled inquiry, questioning, and thinking. Using an open-ended question allowed students to go in different directions in pursuit of answers. Successful students ask questions, think critically, and defend their ideas. That is where deeper learning happens and that is how we help our students develop perseverance.

What is Essential For Successful PBL?

   

http://earthmosaic.org/index.html

This year the Buck Institute for Education (BIE.org), of which I am on the National Faculty, is re-examining the "Essential Elements" for PBL.

As I was thinking about it I remembered that I have posted about these elements a few times, over the years, and I came across this post from July of 2013.

So, in the essence of recycling, please read it again, or read it for the first time, so that you too can begin thinking about what the Gold Standard should be for PBL:


THE NINTH ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF PBL(7/7/13) -  I am about to work in my last co-facilitation with the Buck Institute for Education (BIE.org) doing what they call a PBL 101. A basic, 3-day, course in the planning, managing and assessing of a PBL project.

Within a project most people can agree that there are certain items that make it successful and BIE has narrowed the list down to 8 items that they call the 8 Essential Elements of PBL (see the diagram to the left).

Anyone who has truly done PBL knows that there must some sort of significant content, there must have been a way to establish a desire for inquiry (in this case by having a driving question and by overtly discussing what it is the students will need to know), and there must be a public audience so students feel an added desire to do their best.

Through group work, research, and the inquiry process students end up having to do, what most people call, 21st century skills.  These skills include, but are not limited to, collaboration, critical thinking, communication (orally and in writing), and creativity. Finally, there must be a chance for students to have their work assessed. At that point, they must be allowed to revise their work and reflect on their assessment. This ensures the final product is something the students are proud of and the product demonstrates the knowledge that the students have gained during the project.

As I said, most people can agree that these 8 elements are key components of a classroom or school that uses PBL as the primary mode of instruction. But these elements are not as connected as the diagram might suggest. The glue that holds these 8 elements together is the classroom, school, or even district culture. Culture is the 9th Essential Element. Without a proper culture students might not be allowed to have voice and choice in the products they work on. Without a proper culture students might not be willing to do revisions of their work or they may not feel a need to reflect on their learning.

Even the 21st century skills can be restricted when there is not a culture of collaboration; students aren't encouraged to think critically; student communication is not allowed or shown as unimportant; or when students have no outlet to show their creative side. Each of these issues with students comes directly from the way teachers and administrators interact.  If the teachers don't collaborate, communicate, or get a chance to try creative things in the classroom then there is a shadow upon the entire school culture that can't be ignored.

So, teachers, as you finish your PBL 101,  your New Teacher training with the New Tech Network, or some other PBL training this summer, remember to work hard and stay positive. You can do this. But get your fellow teachers and administrators involved in what you are doing. Get the PTA or other parent organization involved too. It is time to work on the entire educational system so that you and, more importantly, your students can be successful pursuers of inquiry.

Make That Desert Project More PBL'y

http://goo.gl/XqZSjZ

Friend of mine had their son bring home a "project" to make a cell membrane.  I sighed. But then I thought about how the teacher could have done something with the same material.
And it hit me - science teachers need to see how to take that internet or youtube project and make it a PBL project.

So, I googled "make a cell membrane project," just now to simulate this process that the teacher might do.  Based upon 13 ratings it (the one I selected) had 4 stars (out of a possible 5) - so it has to be pretty darn good, right?

The Objectives of this project: (1) To build a model of a cell membrane and (2) to investigate how the cell membrane regulates what moves into and out of cells.

The "Research Questions" of this project: (1) What molecules of the cell membrane do the cotton swabs represent? -and- (2) If a molecule needs to enter or exit the cell and it cannot fit between the phospholipids, how can it cross the membrane?

Reading this made me think of the movie I enjoyed as a young boy: Fantastic Voyage. And I suddenly had a concept for the project. What if the students read the book or watched the movie and had to write their own chapter for the story where the crew had to move between cells in their craft.

http://goo.gl/1YsMlm

What if they had to create a cell and craft that were able to fit on a small table (for display)? What would they make the cell out of? What if they were required to explain how the craft moved through the cell walls?

Let's roll with this idea - Students are working for a toy company who will be working with a movie company creating an updated version of the movie "Fantastic Voyage." They are to create a mock up of a vehicle and a cell that would be scientifically accurate and will be sold to children ages 8 to 12. Their cell structure is to have an educational value and must be able to show the structure of a cell and must demonstrate the process of a molecule crossing a cell membrane. And, for this situation, the vehicle the crew will travel in must move like a molecule.

There you go. (Almost) the same project that I found on the internet. Except, in this case, the students are given the task of creating a cell structure that can demonstrate molecules crossing the cell membrane. They will have questions that will lead to inquiry (we can assume) which, in turn, will lead to a need for scaffolding (by the teacher or a guest lecturer) about how cells function.

And, if done right, students will have to interact with a book or a movie giving this project an additional literacy angle for a written product.

I'm not a science teacher but I'm betting your average science teacher could take what I suggested and run with an awesome (and fun) educational project that will help students understand the cell structure and the function of the various parts of a cell.

If you are a good science teacher tell us about this project by using the resources at BIE.org.  Start with the Project Planner.  Once you have it all planned out send me a link in the comments section and then I can share it out on Twitter to our science friends using #scichat.

Take Time to be Thankful (even in a crappy year)

Via Smithsonian

There is so much going right in my world that I shouldn't dwell on the downer stuff - but the holidays push me towards that abyss. And no one would fault me for whining and complaining. But I'm going to try and take a different tack.

Tomorrow will be the first Thanksgiving that I won't get to talk with my big brother. There's been a lot of firsts since that sad day last Spring when cancer took his life. 

That's the mean thing about death. Those left mourning get to experience the first birthday, first pick-a-holiday, and first pick-a-season.  But what about those others who are living with this? Every day I read about another person who was wiped off of this planet by something tragic. There are a zillion people experiencing their own first______ since ______ died. 

I want to celebrate resiliency.  My brother had 2 sisters and me. [Our parents passed years ago.] He also had a wonderful wife,2 sons, and a daughter. Each of those people have their own family. If we call these folks the immediate family circle, then we have 15 individuals who all are dealing with this loss in different ways. And they are all going to be ok - we're all going to be ok. 

So I want to think about things I am thankful for, such as:

• 25 years of marriage
• a great wife who keeps the ship heading fair
• a great daughter and son who are heading in the right direction and, by all accounts, will be people others will look up to in life
• wonderful sisters (MaryAnn, Janice, Alice) 
• incredibly gifted nephews/nieces - 6 amazingly talented people.
• a job with a good salary - I get to work with some great professionals
• good health - I haven't had to spend time in a hospital since losing my appendix back in 1987.  
• ready to go somewhere else to work - and there are options out there!

It's Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for and I am already looking forward to Thanksgiving 2015 - because it won't be 2014!

My best to each and every one of you. Take time to find at least one thing you are thankful for - and then hold on tight to that one item. Keep a vision of that one thing with you for all of those bad times that are waiting out there for you. Here's to resiliency - cheers.

There Was Gold In Them There Colorado Hills

http://goo.gl/oNBuIc

A Gold standard for PBL - that's what the folks at BIE.org are trying to define. And we are reaching out to all of you who are practicing this in your classrooms and schools. This past week the National Faculty (NF) met for our Fall summit and we had some rich, deep discussions on the topic. My takeaways:

(A). Many people refer to our 8 Essential Elements for PBL. If we are defining the Gold Standard then we need to determine whether we keep these as they are; we change them all; or, we just change key elements. For our summit we decided to start here and we were shown a proposed new look that is far from the finished product. The original 8 elements will probably be changing slightly. For example, Public Audience might be replaced with  Public Product.

Outside of the original hexagon there might be a new layer of teacher/facilitator practices. The idea here is that the teachers will now have specific things to think about as they create,facilitate, and assess projects. My question on this layer is the shape - do we keep it hexagonal or do we use a circular or rectangular shape to show how this layer envelops all of the 8 essential elements.

Look for more on this as we go through the next few months and follow #goldstandardpbl on Twitter.

(B). In our signature PBL 101's we concentrate on helping teachers create projects and we refer to the importance of them taking their students' learning deeper. Who are we educating in these sessions? Adults, of course. 

We acknowledged that we need to do better at educating these teachers. To do this we need to increase our knowledge of adult learners. This was our next focus for our summit - the adult learner. As with all summits I was amazed by the level of knowledge of my fellow NF's. 

We looked at various aspects of learning and we had a very informed discussion from our own Jennifer Klein on the Male and Female Brain. She even gave us a diagram of the 8 essential elements with how each type of brain interacts with that element.

(C) Another key topic in our summit was the idea of PBL Sustainability. As one NF put it, for true sustainability we need to work ourselves out of a job. We want our clients creating a culture of collaboration on their campus. We want our clients growing their own PBL "experts." And, we want our clients creating a culture of learning for all of the stakeholders. Teachers should be co-creating projects with community members and students should be interacting with local companies.

When we have a sustained "gold standard" of PBL in a community or school we will truly have reached the gold standard for education. Then, in fact, we will have worked ourselves out of a job at BIE. And I'd be OK with that.

(D) With each summit I attend I find myself increasingly excited about working with this incredible group of NF's. They come from diverse education backgrounds and experiences and we push each other by questioning accepted norms.  

When you see the book on Gold Standard PBL come out (next Summer?), you can bet that it will have been discussed, analyzed, and vetted by some of the greatest minds in education. And, some of those minds will be BIE's own National Faculty. Feel free to add your thoughts via Twitter. Remember the hashtag: #goldstandardpbl.  

20 Thoughts on Instructional Coaching

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Thursday and Friday I attended an incredible training by Steve Barkley. If you haven't heard of him, get to know him. If you have heard of him and haven't attended one of his sessions then get going and attend one. As a coach, this is one of those must attend events.

What I learned is forever going to change how I look at the coaching process and teaching, in general. I know this is true and, from talking to the other coaches in attendance, I know others felt the same.

 Here are 20 things mentioned in these two days that caused me to stop and ponder:

1. How can your teachers trust each other if they've never been in each others' classrooms?
2. Are your teachers a franchise or are they a team?
3. Department Heads should be the model classroom.   
4. When using rubrics have the "top" line be created by the students.
5. Students cause student achievement. Teachers do not cause student achievement. Therefore, coaches need to focus on students when they observe.  
6. You can't teach a student math. You teach a student how to learn math.
7. Teachers should use their inclusion teachers to model expected behaviors, thinking, and discussions.
8. Schools should do Emotional Walkthroughs. On a 1 - 5 scale what is the emotional level of each classroom?
9. When you walk through your school, how many Wow!'s to you get?
10. If students complete the exact work assigned they should get a "C." Go Beyond that for a "B" and go above B-work for an "A."
11. A student's major work shouldn't be graded until the end of semester or year and students should have multiple opportunities to revise/edit.
12. Students should be exposed to more book options. One teacher put 5 books on each of 20 tables at beginning of the school year. Students rotated, table to table, and scored the books based upon interest. At the end of one class period they had seen 100 books and should have seen a few that met with their satisfaction.
13. The hardest part of teaching is when the students aren't there.
14. Coaches, you have been hired by your school to change kid's behaviors.
15. Homework should never be the same for the entire class.
16. Teachers should have a 3 year commitment to kids: Spend time with them the year before they come to you. Spend time with all of the students on your grade level. Then spend time with them the year after you have them to see how they are doing.
17. We tend to do vertical alignment without the students.
18. Instructional coaches should be evaluated on the teacher growth during the year.
19. We were hired to bring discomfort to our school. We want a culture where our teachers are comfortable with discomfort.
20. The biggest coaching mistake is to let teachers know what the coach is thinking before the coach knows what the teacher is thinking.

Which Came First PBL or Small Group Instruction?

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Ye Olde Chicken-Egg story. Why am I wrestling with this? Because many consider me pretty smart about Project Based Learning(PBL). And, our school which calls itself a PBL school, is pushing small group instruction.

So, is PBL just a version of small group instruction? Not sure. And when you infuse a very structured form of small group instruction will teachers feel that they can't do PBL any more? Yes, unfortunately.

True confession. The title doesn't really align with what you are about to read but, hey, it got you to click on the link and start reading this, didn't it?

Right now our school is in its third year of using PBL as its primary mode of instruction. Now, primary is a funny word. Two years ago we started with our 6th grade teachers and many of them struggled to understand how to do a project. Many, however, excelled and became known for their expertise.

Last year we pushed PBL out in all three grades and also insisted upon having small group instruction. The same 6th grade teachers, who had success in the first year, continued to do well and incorporated a rotation to a teacher table into their daily process. A few additional 6th grade teachers took on "a project" during each semester. And, many teachers created projects during each semester. Almost all of the ELA teachers and most of the Social Studies teachers created classrooms with good to great small group rotations.

So, at the end of year two we had a large group of teachers doing good small group instruction. And, we had a large group of teachers who had run at least two projects during the year with varying levels of success. The best news was that we had teachers in both sets: a win-win situation! We decided to minimize change for year three and the word we used was "enhance." As in we will enhance our instruction.

Then we discovered Glenna Tabor and her Tabor Rotations process for small group instruction. If you get nothing else out of this post, go look at Glenna Tabor's stuff and, better yet, figure out how to get ALL of your math teachers to one of her trainings (or get her to come to your district). A day with her was one of the best PD's I have ever attended (if not the best ever).

Tabor Rotations is a VERY structured plan for small group instruction. And, that is its biggest strength. I held a half day training with math and math-inclusion teachers yesterday for our school district. We will be sending nearly 40 people to a Tabor Rotation training day in Dallas next month and I wanted to pre-teach some of the concepts and give them an overall view of the process. Our inclusion teachers summed it up best - "With Tabor Rotations you get all of the best practices for SPED and ELL students rolled into one package."

So, here's the dilemma - Tabor Rotations is very structured and many of our best PBL teachers are in the math department. Why is that a problem? Several felt that the structure doesn't work with what they do. With Tabor Rotations we have 4 heterogeneous groups for part of the week and 4 homogeneous groups the remainder of the week and these teachers are used to project groups of 3 to 4 students in each group. When you have a class of 30 students that means 7 to 10 groups for projects. Do we have 8 groups of students who are working on a project; a different set of 8 students working in their Tabor Rotation groups for a couple of days; and, a third set of 8 students working in their Tabor Rotation groups for the other days of the week?

And how do we do Tabor Rotations with research days and presentation days?

All of these questions are now fully engulfing my brain. Our teachers will be going to the training in two weeks and then I'll have other brains to help me figure this out. Because we will figure this out. PBL will work in every environment. PBL will help your students go deeper with their learning. Tabor Rotations will help your students go deeper with their learning too. The marriage of the two will be a truly magnificent thing. Just give us time to perfect it - because our teachers can, and will, figure this out.

Sometimes Words Do Hurt (My Brain)

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When you are over 50 years old and have been in a profession for a couple of decades, you see periods where certain buzz words are all the rage.

I googled "education buzzwords" and found a list of some words I have heard a ton within the last few years but the following is a list of words that I feel are use wayyyyy too much.

The list, in no particular order, includes: Rigor, Grit, Agency, Influencer, and the phrase "allow to fail." If you notice, with the exception of Influencer, they all deal with getting students to work through their problems. We want them to have stick-to-itiveness and not give up until they have exhausted all options. Or, most commonly, to persevere: To keep steadily on in doing or striving; persist 
 
So why can't we just say we want them to work hard and not give up? Instead we talk about increasing the "rigor" - does that mean they have to work harder to understand? Well last time I checked the ol' Funk and Wagnalls, rigor meant: Stiffness of opinion; Strictness; Harshness; Austerity . That definition doesn't make me want to do that to anyone. So why would we do it to our students? Intuitively I knew that someone must have the same issue with this word and so I started searching.

Having heard Alfie Kohn talk about his dislike for the word rigor I wasn't surprised to see his name linked to many posts on this word. But the best post I found was by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach from a few years ago. It is called In Defense of Rigor and she has already done the legwork on this topic. Take the time to read through the comments left there before you decide what side you are on. In the end I still feel the same.  Why should I use a word that has so many meanings to so many people? It just renders it meaningless in the end. Head aching....

When I was 11 years old John Wayne starred in a movie called True Grit. I also helped my Dad a lot and I knew it was important to have the right sandpaper grit for the job that you were working on. Since I was young I took the word grit to be synonymous with the word tough. I was happy to go through life keeping those two words together in my mind. They remade the movie in 2010 and I went and saw it and liked it as much as the first one. It was different but still great. And I never had to think about the word grit because I already had my definition.

Suddenly I'm hearing that we want our students to have grit. The vision I had for 50 years of a stern, driven, and not so nice person wasn't what I wanted my students to turn into. But I do remember hearing the adage "grit and determination." As in he did the task with grit and determination.  It couldn't be that bad. Maybe, just maybe, it had more to do with perseverance than being a tough old goat.  Having to shift my definition of the word meant more headache.

About the same time the new version of True Grit was coming out I heard the New Tech Network talk about a new learning outcome. It was all about perseverance and the word they were using was agency. Like a travel agency? An acting agency? No, I was told, agency meaning students being resourceful and continuing to work on a project exploring all options rather than giving up.  Ummmm, isn't that perseverance?

I have been completely happy using the word perseverance all of my life. Why then, can't we use this word? It seems that "real" academicians use the word agency because it is better than perseverance. I'm sorry. Even though the word has grown on me I still prefer my own words and you won't hear be using agency in a sentence describing our students. That would just add more pain to my growing headache.

The expression "allow to fail" is used when you say that you want students to persist even if things aren't going well. We don't want teachers telling the students how to solve the problem, directly. We do want teachers guiding the students to find the answer though. I don't have a problem with this concept. But I do have a problem with the word fail. Allow students to struggle? I can live with that. I just don't want to have students who are so tied to academics to think it is ever OK to fail. So I won't be using that with my teachers. I will be asking them to get away from giving the students the answer quickly however. I want the students to struggle and then persevere.

So, out of the first 4 things I've talked about I only plan on using one of them. I will now add grit to my lexicon. As for the last word, influencer, you won't see me ever using it. I haven't really seen this word used in the education world, yet. But it is used in business all of the time. Anybody who is influential is an influencer. Well, duh, why don't we just call that person an influential person. Why do we have to make up a word?

So, if you have finished this post and I have swayed you in any way, please feel free to consider me an influencer. Just don't make me describe myself that way.

Yes There IS a Right Way to "Do PBL"

http://goo.gl/C3gteK

It started when I was contacted by some friends who were attending the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) conference this past February.  "What is your principal saying about PBL here - do you REALLY do this at your campus?" What they were talking about was someone who was filling our spot because we had to cancel at the last minute. And, what that person was saying was, "We do PBL at our campus and here's the issues we have had..."

"Doing PBL." I really, really hate that expression. You do NOT "do PBL." That's like saying you do teaching, or you do coaching, or you do directing music. If you are using PBL as a method of instruction then what you are doing is - wait for it.... - teaching. You are a teacher and you teach. I know, crazy, right?

When you teach do you use various forms of assessment? Do you randomize selecting students? Do you have warm-ups or do-nows? Do you pull students into small groups? Do you flip your class? I could go on and on. These are things that you "DO" in your classroom to be a better teacher and each of these things that you do are things that you feel comfortable doing and you feel that (or, even better, KNOW that) your students are getting a better education because of these processes.

Project Based Learning (PBL) incorporates any and all of the things I have just mentioned. That's because PBL wants us all to use best teaching practices. So, if you are a teacher using PBL in your classroom, then you DO great teaching. And, based upon who you are and who your students are, each PBL classroom might look very different.

If I go into a PBL classroom I will see students working collectively. Even if the teacher is doing a whole group lecture or all of the students are engaged with electronic devices, I can see that they are grouped.  Collaboration is a key element and I want to see the students working together towards a common goal.

If I spend time in a PBL classroom I should hear academic discussions and questioning.  I should see students doing some sort of reflection on their learning. I should see students assessing their personal and group progress and assigning future tasks. Like a good company, their groups should be working towards a common goal.

If I spend time in a PBL school I should hear and see everything I just stated in every classroom. And, because of the varying time requirements for projects, I should be able to see every stage of a project happening in the classrooms. I should see projects starting with entry events. I should see lectures and group work. I should see students preparing for their presentations. And, I should see presentations.

If you think you want to "do PBL," then the first thing you need "to do" is your homework. You are probably a beginner and you need to get a deeper understanding of how the PBL process works. Google "PBL" and you'll see hundreds (thousands?) of possibilities. On the first page of these you will see BIE.org and Edutopia.org. Both are incredible places to get knowledgeable about what PBL is and how to do it.

If you want to go deeper you can attend PBLU (a BIE product) remotely or you could get BIE to come to your school or district and train a group of you by attending a PBL 101. A PBL 101 is three days of helping you design one project while learning about how to plan projects and manage the process.

Once you have been trained; you have done a dozen or so projects; and you have been frustrated by not feeling like you are doing it right for the first 4 or so of those projects, then, and only then will you be allowed to say "I do PBL." I'll still think you're a rube for saying that but I won't correct you because you will now be beyond the beginner stage of practicing the PBL process.  So if you want to be incorrect go ahead - you've earned it.

This Summer Put Something Into Your Sea Bag

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Early on in my 20 year Navy career I got great advice from a veteran sailor. He said to remember to put something into your sea bag whenever you have a unique experience. If that experience was bad, remember how it happened so you won't repeat it. If that experience was great, remember how it happened so you can replicate it or, at least, replicate the feeling you had when it occurred.


This Summer many (it should be most - don't get me started) of the teachers I know are busy attending trainings and conferences.  Ones I wish I were attending include ISTE, PBL World, and NTAC. There are also many great professional developments hosted by school districts and regional education centers.  In Manor, for example, there are some great hands-on tech trainings and trainings in backward design.

So what is your plan for taking away great nuggets of information and using these nuggets in your own professional growth? Don't have a plan? Then, other than great memories and, maybe, some great meals and networking, how will your teaching or leading change this coming school year?

Here are three ideas:

     1.  Use a recording device such as Livescribe, Notability or SoundNote. Then (the important step) listen to the recording and make notes on how these things will impact your classroom instruction.
     2.  Use twitter to tweet out important information using the appropriate hashtag. Then compile all of the tweets under that hashtag using something like Chirpstory or Hashtracking . Then (did I mention the important step?) make notes on how these things will impact your classroom instruction.
     3.  Write a blog post about the experience as soon as possible (same day) and explain how these things will impact your classroom instruction.

The common thread here is revisiting what you experienced and then reflecting on what you will use in your school and/or classroom.  It reminds me of what we tell our AVID students - you can have the best Cornell Notes, but if you don't do the final step of reviewing them each night then what good are they?

I hope you are one of those teachers who is out there experiencing all of the incredible opportunities that there are in the education world. I hope you are doing this with some old friends and, maybe, meeting many new friends. And, I hope, what you experience is going to be transferred to your students or staff.

So what have I done this Summer that I want to share? Well, for starters, I was able to facilitate 3 PBL 101's for BIE.org in Columbia, MS, in Glen Rose TX, and in Milpitas CA. I learned that there are some hungry teachers out there who are ready to improve their teaching strategies. They want to try an inquiry approach to instruction.

And I learned how I want to approach my own teachers this coming school year. I know my teachers are good at what they do but I also know they can even be better and that we need to raise the expectations of what we want them to do in the classroom.  We don't have to add anything new to what our teachers are doing. I need to help them plan better for PBL units; I need to spend more time in the classroom with them; and I need to model more lessons for them. Pretty simple really...

Gone are the days when teachers sat by the pool eating Bon Bons all summer long. Instead, those of us who are edumecated only sit by the pool for most of the summer. The rest of the time we're filling our brains (and not just our mouths).