Middle School News Team

One of the many things I love about my school, Wabash Middle School, is that we offer something for every student.  I have never seen such a small school with so many opportunities for diverse student interests.  We offer everything from tennis to Spanish Club.  Our newest edition is the APAX News Team.  Since our school is 1 to 1 we have incredible digital potential.  We have about 20 students who do a variety of jobs.  We meet everyday in our after school Computer Club.  Some days we have several stories to cover, on slow days we just hang out and think of fun things to include in the next broadcast.  I work with another teacher-sponsor who was a journalism major at one point.  She writes or at least edits most of the script, and I handle the video editing.  We are planning to hand this off to the students eventually, but its middle school.  One the things I love about this is the diverse group of students who are involved.  We are attracting new members all the time and the APAX News Team is all the rage in Wabash.

This is a perfect example of the fantastic opportunities afforded to 1 to 1 schools.  This would be very difficult without our infusion of technology.  You can follow our broadcasts at our website found here.

Group Project, Individual Grades

Collaboration is a 21st Century skill, and despite the social nature of today's youth, it doesn't come easy.   Leaders need to learn how to delegate work and direct people in an effective way.  Shy students need to learn to speak up.  Socialites need to learn to stay focused on the task at hand.  Group projects are a great opportunity to learn collaboration skills, but they can also be disastrous, especially when it comes to grading.  Its inevitable--someone doesn't pull their weight in the group, the group gets a low grade, and suddenly its 'not fair'.  While the old adage is true, life is not fair--group grading should be.

Last year I experimented with a grading style that helps to avoid this.  Rather than grading the entire group at the end of a project, I grade the students individually based on their contribution.  I formatively assess throughout the project, and by the end of the project I usually have a pretty good idea of who has done their work.

In addition, I like to design my projects so that each group member is responsible for an independent part of the whole final product.  In the end, the group must find a way to put all of their work together into one presentation.  Its important to make each independent part so that the other group members don't rely on the completion of another student's work.  For example in my recent project Exploring the World Project, students had to research the most amazing physical features in the Eastern Hemisphere.  They each had to make several presentation slides, create a map, and create a written explanation of how each physical feature formed.  The group had to combine their work into one presentation, map, and written paper.  Of course Google makes this very easy.  When the group presented, each group member presented their independent parts.  When they were finished, we graded out individually.  Life was finally fair.

Creative vs. Mechanical Intelligence

Last week my students were learning how to read charts and graphs.  We were identifying the parts of a  graph and learning how to approach complicated charts before we created our own infographics next week.  I prepared a few graphs for the students.  I cropped the title and X and Y axis labels off of one line graph.  I asked the students to suggest what the title SHOULD be based on the available information on the graph.  Obviously, there wasn't a specifically right or wrong answer, and most students chose something related to the key words still on the graph.

To my surprise, there were a few students who struggled with this.  There were several more that left it blank because they couldn't "find" the answer.  One student in particular really blew my mind and opened my eyes to different types of intelligences.  This student was a straight "A" student last year.  The conversation went something like this:

student-"I don't get the question"
me-"Based on what you can see, what SHOULD the title be?"
student-"I don't know because you cut it off"
me-"I know, I want you to use what you do know and create a new title that is appropriate."
student-(frustrated)"How can I get the right title if I can't see it?"
me-"I don't want you to guess the original title, I want you to be creative and write a totally new title that explains what is going on in the graph"
student-(looking away from her computer, sitting in silence, visibly frustrated now)
me-"Don't worry, there are lots of right answers"
student-(no response, bell rings and she leaves)

The next day, I sat down with her to "grade out" as we call it.  She had left the question blank.  I told her that I expect every question to be answered.  I tried to explain that there won't always be a clear answer this year, that she will need to be creative.  She seemed to accept it, but I could tell it bothered her.  This is a fantastic student, clearly very smart, but befuddled when a clear answer is not presented in the text.  I think this situation is a symptom of traditional education.  For too long we have told students there is only 1 answer.  This has created students that are mechanically intelligent, but lack creativity when given more open ended questions.  The world demands creative thinkers, and this student is not being served by an education that tells her there in only 1 answer to every question.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Are you Ready for some Football??????

I know I am, and last year I found out how much my kids loved it.  Last year our schools went one to one. Every Monday and Tuesday during our passing periods a handful of students checked their fantasy football stats.  They loved it and couldn’t get enough.  There was even the occasional, shall we say “debate” about whose team was best.  Sometimes their checking of scores would spill into class.  I would have to ask them to wait until later on to check them.  Why?  If they are motivated to do it, let’s run with it.

Here is an examplethat I copied from teacher (Mr. Hagen).  My kids are going to create their own, but this will show you how it could be used.

1/8(T) + 1/24(V) +1/48(P + R + C) - 1/12(I) - 1/16(F) = W              Copyright NFL Image

T = number of touchdowns scored by passing, rushing, or receiving

V = number of two-point conversions scored by passing, rushing, or receiving

P = number of passing yards divided by 25, then rounded down to the nearest whole number

R = number of rushing yards divided by 10, then rounded down to the nearest whole number

C = number of receiving yards divided by 10, then rounded down to the nearest whole number

I = number of interceptions thrown

F = number of fumbles lost

W = total points scored for one week for one individual player

This will be an optional activity in my class. My class is layered so the ones who don’t care for it will have other options.  First we are going to look at different leagues and their scoring systems.  Then we will create our own equation to find each team’s score. Every class will probably create a different equation to use. I am thinking about making the equation change from week to week between fractions, decimals, and percentages.  Surprisingly, I don’t play or even like fantasy football so as a group we will have to figure this out together.......problem solving, teamwork, cooperation. 

The great thing is this activity could cover a ton of math.  Think about the possibilities.  You could graph the different weeks scores and cover slope, rate, central tendencies, fraction, decimal, and percentages.  Not to mention the algebra of creating an equation, substituting, variables, coefficients....wherever you want it go or where the students take it. 

Hopefully I can find pockets of students who will want to do this for different

sports. I have even heard of fantasy NASCAR. The possibilities are only limited

by the number of sporting activities and the imaginations of my students.

If you have a question about this activity or if you have something to add, just join

in the conversation in the comments below, or you can also email me at tilljapache@gmail.com.

What's Bad About Education Technology

I want to start by saying that I am a huge advocate of technology in education.  I work in a one-to-one school and infuse technology into every activity and project in my class.  That being said, all great power can be wielded positively or negatively There are definitely some negative outcomes that can occur as technology floods into education.  Here are a few that a can lead educators and districts down a bad path.

Sorry Apple, but tablets that don't have full computer capabilities are are mistake as a one-to-one device.  You can try to make this square peg fit into the round hole of education, but you will have to jam it in to make it work.  I love my iPad, but I find it increasingly difficult to use compared to my Macbook when I do school work.  Problems with typing, moving from app to app, file management, compadibility, etc. can doom a one-to-one initiative if it becomes more cumbersome than paper and pencil.  I understand the cost prohibitive of a Macbook, but by the time you buy an iPad, accessories, apps, and other required equipment, you can nearly afford Macbooks, considering Apply will knock down the price on a large education purchase.  Don't go one-to-one because all the cool kids are doing it--with some device that "is good enough"--it will end up costing you more in the long run.

While we are talking about technology devices.  I have to get in a few shots at SMART Boards (SINO--smart in name only).  Spending valuable tech-dollars on SMART Boards is not a good investment of money or pedagogy.  These are a gargantuan waste of money for most classroom applications.  I can see the usefulness in a small elementary or special needs classroom, but in a classroom of 20+ students from middle school up--the only real purpose SMART Boards serve is a $8,000 projection screen.  Technology needs to be used for creation--student creation--not content delivery.  This leads me to my next point.

Using technology to replace or support traditional methods of direct instruction is a misuse of technology.  Computers are tools of creativity.  Schools are not going one-to-one to save paper.  Running worksheets through the Xerox machine to turn them into PDF's and digitizing multiple choice quizzes, based on a boring lecture are tech-crimes that should be met with corporal punishment at the very least.  This is bad and students will know it right away.  This stale method is not engaging to say the least, and it will lead to cheating and other discipline issues.   

Webinars are the absolute worst form of professional development and should be avoided at all costs.  If the video and audio feeds actually work, which is rare in my experience, a webinar is one of the most disengaging forms of learning I have experienced.  Short tutorials are useful, but a 5-person, conference-call-styled presentation is awkward and borderline absurd as a learning methods.  I understand if it is the last possible option, but it too closely resembles traditional direct instruction, only you're not in the same room--a method most effective teachers would laugh at.

One-to-One Allows More One-on-One

Before my school went one-to-one I remember many teachers voicing a concern that we would lose the personal contact dynamic between teacher and student.  As many of us championed the benefits of email, distance learning, differentiation, digital resources, etc. others succumbed to fears of teacher obsolescence and digital barriers to human contact.

Unfortunately, computer-based classrooms can take a bad direction that gives legitimacy to some of the teachers' initial fears.  If the teacher assigns work to students and he or she simply sits at their desk, those fears may be realized.  This "method" works completely against the opportunities allowed by one-to-one computing.

I've realized after having a year of one-to-one under my belt that there are two major benefits of one-to-one.  Obviously, the wealth of resources and creative possibilities are probably the main benefit.  The second main benefit is less obvious, but potentially more powerful.  I spend WAY more one-on-one time with my students when everyone has a computer.  It is a resourceful, interactive, creative, and fun tool that keeps students engaged, giving you more time to freely move around the room.   I consciously spent less time using direct instruction, which is one factor that allowed more one-on-one, but I also learned to layer my activities and projects.  I would provide an additional challenge, educational game, or fun application related to the activity.  Another way to layer is to have a few weekly activities that students do on their own time, a learning journal, or a digital portfolio.  Layering can be very difficult without a computer, but with one it is effortless.

The added one-on-one time allowed me to formatively assess my students in a authentic and meaningful way. I was also able to efficiently address major gaps in understanding.  I tried to touch base with each student at least every other day.  To help me keep track I carried a clipboard with my roster for each class.  The roster also listed the content questions and/or skills I was looking for in that particular activity.

I think my teaching method would work without computers, but it would be very hard to keep 25-30 kids engaged if they only had paper and pencils.  I couldn't have the focused, genuine one-on-one time I now enjoy.  The only discipline issues I had last year were kids who didn't finish their work (probably too engaged in other things!).  I truly believe one-to-one is the first domino in a series of changes that will shift education to a new paradigm.

Flipping the Teacher

As educators slowly transition into a more progressive form of pedagogy and assessment our role changes  in many ways.  We become less of an instructor and more of a guide.  We become less a "teacher", and more of a student. The dynamic of how we work is also changing.  In a conversation with my consigliere, Joey Till, he pointed out exactly what we are doing--we are flipping the teacher.

In the 20th Century it was very typical for teachers to put together their lessons while they were in school--preparing materials, making copies, etc.  Of course, teachers worked at home too---usually grading papers of some kind.  What we are doing now flips our work dynamic.  I sit on my wonderfully comfortable couch and put my lessons together.  On nice days, I like to sit outside and smell the flowers and listen to the birds while I think of interesting projects and ways to breath some life into my otherwise boring content standards.

While I'm in school I spend a great deal of time "grading".  Of course, I don't mean I grading papers.  I sit down with groups or individuals and use conversations as formative assessment.  When its time to decide on a grade, we have another conversation.  I ask content questions.  We look at the requirements, I tell them my formative observations, and they decide an appropriate grade, which is almost always right where I think they should be.  Another way I am increasingly "grading" in school is using student presentations.  I blogged about the instructional value of student presentations, but obviously this is also a good time for assessment.

Some of the teachers I have worked with express concern about the additional planning time that  project-based curriculum may require.  Some of the worry could be relieved if they learn that "grading" doesn't mean sifting through stacks of papers at home every night. 

Reflections on my PBL

Yesterday, my class finished a project that followed the strict guidelines of project based learning (PBL). It was called "Can YOU Stop the Mongols?".  I used projects as my main learning activity through the entire year, but I haven't always followed some of the PBL essentials such as having an authentic audience.  Sometimes I prefer a low-key project that uses some of the essentials--I call this PBL-light.  However, I think the Mongols PBL went really well, but I have a secret to reveal.

I didn't have to work very hard.  Sorry. PBL is supposed to require a great deal of planning and work.  PBL instructors will tell you; its a great deal of work on the front end.  Now, I want to be clear...  I worked by butt every day in class, but I didn't have to do a lot of planning and preparation.  I started with a fun idea--something that the kids would be interested in and something that would challenge them.  Then I went over my standards.  I knew there were several that applied.  I tossed around the driving question for a while and settled on something simple and catchy.  I put together the document we used to layout the project.  All of that didn't take more than a few evenings.

The part that took the longest was making the entry event video.  I wanted a video that would really grab their attention and get them excited.  It took about about a week's worth of evenings, but now its made forever.  I finished the group member evaluation rubric and the final evaluation rubric after about a week of the kids working.  I made them both in one night.  I showed the kids this information after they finished their research and before they designed their plan. 

During class, I spent my time bouncing from one group to another--suggesting keyword searches for research, helping with technology, and asking them content questions to assess them.  For the actual grade, the kids made an individual project about some part of the plan to stop the Mongols.  Their grade came from my frequent questioning about Mongol basics, the group member evaluation rubric, and the completion of their project--we will have our final conversation on Monday about their grade.  I will go over my observation and ask them what grade they earned--I guarantee they will be right on.  After 180 days of self-assessment my kids are really good at it.  

As a group they had to take their individual project and integrate it into one presentation that displayed their plan.  Like threads into fabric, they brought all of their project into a PowerPoint, Prezi, mind-map,  iMovie, website, and a few other formats--their choice of course.  I was pretty impressed with their savvy presentations, though some groups struggled to pull the best from their individual work into a integrated project.  And I can't mislead--a few of the presentations were straight-up disasters.  

I learned that PBL doesn't need to be a stressful, meticulous, and difficult process.  You can put in a little work, make things as you need them, and improvise when you have to.  I think some people try to "over-structure" their PBL.  When the final project was presented, we had a whole-group discussion about the project.  The kids suggested things like making their own groups, giving them more structure, but probably the best suggestion was having a presentation before the final presentation.  Nearly every class agreed they would like a chance to edit their project after getting assessed and questioned by the panel.  1:1 computing and project based learning have made this a great year.  I'm not really looking forward to ending this year so much as I'm looking forward to starting all over again in August.  

Content Delivery is Not Learning

I saw a tweet this week from Katrina Stevens that was sort of a 'ah ha' moment for me.  Now that I have had time reflect, I can't believe I never reached the same conclusion.  Many people assume content delivery equals learning.  We make this assumption about learning when we assign 2 chapters of reading for homework, but we think its different when we turn the reading into a video.

The recent influx of technology has spurred a whirlwind of content delivery ideas and teaching methods.  Prezi, the Khan Academy and the Flipped Class are a few popular examples.  The 1:1 movement has movivated teachers and adminstrators to make assumptions about learning:

'If our worksheets are on the computer, kids will like them and learn more'.
'If my lecture is recorded on video students can re-watch it and they will learn more.'
'Delivering content with technology makes students learn more.'
'If students watch a snappy video they will learn the content.' 

Some of these imaginary quotes are obviously hyperbole, but I've said or assumed maybe a few of those.  Have you at one time?  Obviously content needs to reach students in some fashion, but I think that is the pedagogical problem many teachers are facing.  They are trying to reach the kids with content.  What we need to do is motivate our kids to want to reach for the content themselves.  Learning is authentic, its chaotic, and it happens to each student in a unique way.

Some people defend content delivery by saying they have done this for years and it works--they have the test scores to prove it.  I think they may have found a clever way to encourage or enforce memorization, but I don't equate that to real learning.  I think it would do more for our culture and community to have a room full of curious kids who have more questions than answers.

Standardized Tests and Resisting Temptation

Well its ISTEP week (again).  Indiana's standardized test.  Yes, that magical time of the year when students and teachers can unite under a common banner of disdain.  Its also the week that many educators use to justify their traditional "force it down their throat" methods of skill and drill.  I'm not criticizing, I did it for years.  This is a high stakes test--not for the kids, but for the schools and the teachers.  This will determine how we are "graded" and also whether I get a raise next year.  The kids still move on to the next grade.  Its kinda like paying the players of a professional sports team regardless of their performance, but only paying the coaches if the team wins... I could rage against this machine for days, but I digress. 

We start testing on Tuesday, and I was REALLY tempted to use Monday for a blitzkrieg review session.  A futile attempt to cram 54 content standards into a 47 minute class period.  As usual, we didn't cover all of my content this year.  I favor depth over breadth, so kids are unprepared for some of the content questions they will see.  SO, I usually do a last minute refresher the day before.  However, I just started a great project (PBL format) where the students have to devise a historically accurate plan to stop the Mongols. 

We had a great Need to Know discussion last week and students are diving into the research.  I have momentum, the kids are excited.  I know if I put the project on pause to review for a standardized test, it will take some wind out of the kids sails. I am going to be true to my beliefs and let the cards fall where they may.  Its tough, I have had the highest scores in the county for a few year running.  

This week on my class agenda I said: "...students will take the ISTEP test for 7th grade.  This test will only measure how much they have memorized and a few mapping skills.  The ISTEP test will not measure creativity, collaborative skills, technology literacy, ability to research, deep historical knowledge, current events, global awareness, social concern, curiosity, or the ability to learn."

Project-Based Learning

 The only thing better than my personal adventures in Experimenting in Education is sharing the experiment.  I am lucky enough to work with a fantastic group of teachers.  Our resident mad scientist at Wabash Middle School is an outstanding progressive educator.  Ryan Evans has enriched our school and profession in general.  He writes the following guest blog about project based learning:

"A huge part of what I do in my classroom is based upon the concept of project-based learning.  Since science itself is a process rather than just facts, project based learning lends itself well to science curriculum. For most project based learning units I start out with a focus question that we answer as a class by the end of the unit.  This question is specific and gives the students a purpose for learning the information since they can apply it to a real world situation.   

As the project progresses through a series of activities (labs, short information sessions, group collaboration, etc.) the students form an answer to the focus question.  The culminating experience for the project is the presentation to show what the students learned answering the focus question.  The presentation can be in various forms such as a multimedia created presentation to models created by more concrete items.  As the students present their information, I ask them specific questions related to focus question to make sure they understanding the concepts.  The grade is assigned using a rubric that they receive before the completion of the project. 

I also like to vary the structure of the projects throughout the year.  For some projects, students present their answer to the focus question to a panel of experts that deal with the problem trying to be solved.  For example, during a project that dealt with water quality of different rivers in the county, the students presented their findings to a group of water quality experts that judged the validity of their work.  For true project based learning I always keep the following constant:

1.     Students work in groups (most of the time assigned by me) learning how to collaborate effectively and how to think critically.

2.     Students create a presentation demonstrating their knowledge of the material by answering the focus question thus demonstrating their 21^st century skills through the use of technology." 

I am proud to call Ryan Evans a professional colleague, and fortunate to work with him.  He has been our local expert on project based learning (among other things) in the 7th grade.  Ryan's creativity and dedication have played a major role in the relatively ground-breaking initiatives from our team of teachers.  I look forward to my daughters being in his class.