September 18

Blogging and My Reflections of the First Month as an #instructionalcoach

One of the best things I’ve ever done as an educator was join Twitter.  I really didn’t understand it at first, but the connections I made over time have impacted my classroom more than any other face to face professional development.  The teachers of the #mtbos (Math Teacher Blog-O-Sphere) have had the greatest impact.  They’ve recently started a blogging initiative and I thought I’d participate, which might be challenging consider that I’ve moved to an instructional coaching position this year.  But, I’ll try to do my best to adapt the questions to my new role.

Blogging helps teachers to be reflective–honestly, a luxury for which few teachers have time.  Nonetheless…important for teacher growth and satisfaction.  If you haven’t started a blog–maybe now is the time!

1) Teachers make a lot of decisions throughout the day. Sometimes we make so many it feels overwhelming. When you think about today, what is a decision/teacher move you made that you are proud of?  What is one you are worried wasn’t ideal? 

In my new role, the most important thing is for me to grow in listening and helping teachers to reflect on their own practice.  My temptation is to say “what I would do” is…  I’m working on that.  At times this week, I’ve done a good job of keeping this is the forefront of my mind.  Other times, I’ve failed.  I am praying that the wonderful teachers I work with will remember I’m a rookie at this and extend grace when necessary while I work to hone my skills.

2) Every person’s life is full of highs and lows. Share with us some of what that is like for a teacher. What are you looking forward to? What has been a challenge for you lately? 

Transitioning to this role was a risk.  After all, I KNOW I LOVE teaching.  Will I enjoy coaching?  I’ve second guessed myself quite a bit in this first month.  Teachers, who I considered my friends, are starting to treat me differently.  While I was told this would be true and would be hurtful, the fact that it was expected doesn’t make it any less hurtful.  If they knew my heart and my intentions, they would never question that they are for the good of all teachers and all students.  I am here for support and encouragement.  I want teachers to love their job, love their school and feel so supported and encouraged that there is no other school they’d rather serve.  None the less, people question my motives and it makes me sad–flat out sad.

3) We are reminded constantly of how relational teaching is. As teachers we work to build relationships with our coworkers and students. Describe a relational moment you had with someone recently.

This has been the biggest challenge for me–relationships are messy!  I have to admit I don’t have the best “filter” when it comes to sharing my thoughts.  What I do have going for me is that I am well-intentioned.  A proverb says “Out of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Since I know I have very little control over my mouth, I’ve committed to work on the nature of my heart.  Are there issues of conflict that are unresolved?  I best resolve those lest something dangerous sneaks right out of my mouth.  Ugh!  For that reason, I’m quick to fix things with others.  I’ve had one misunderstanding this week that I was quick to resolve with a co-worker face to face (I’ve also learned to be careful with e-mail and that some conversations are meant to be face to face).  Another co-worker, where I asked for grace and a second shot.  Both were received gracefully and I’m so grateful that I work with people who can extend forgiveness so generously.

4) Teachers are always working on improving, and often have specific goals for things to work on throughout a year. What is a goal you have for the year?

I have several goals.  Probably my greatest goal professionally is to learn my new job.  I am reading a book called the Art of Coaching by Elena Aguilar.  This has been a great inspiration.  I want to help teachers reflect on their beliefs about students, learning and innovation and not just coach teachers to do “what I would do.”  This is definitely an ART and I am only an apprentice.

My personal goal is to achieve a greater work/life balance.  My daughter left for college this fall.  She isn’t far but she isn’t here either.  I have only three years left with my youngest and I want to make those years count.  In addition, my husband and I will be empty-nesters in 3 years.  I want to pour into us as we reinvent this relationship post-kids in the home.  These are without a doubt my MOST precious priorities.

5) What else happened this month that you would like to share?

I am a person who thrives when given positive feedback.  While I am definitely open to constructive criticism, especially in my new position, the words of encouragement I’ve received from a few teachers has helped to keep me going through this transition.  Perhaps I have made the right move.  Ask me in January :).

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September 4

WHY did you become a teacher?

I’ve ALWAYS wanted to teach.  Since I was a young girl.  My dad had discovered a desk in the garbage at his work that was an exact replica of my teacher’s desk at school.  I was thrilled.  He also found a chalkboard which he mounted in the basement next to my recycled desk in my make-shift classroom.  My sister was four and a half years younger than I.  My curriculum, however, consisted of recouped purple dittos from my teacher’s garbage can.  Therefore, as my pupil learning what I had just learned, she was well ahead of grade level.  Her willingness to please her older sister made her a highly motivated student.  Her kindergarten teacher reported to my mom that her writing was exclusively in cursive and could she be convinced to print, thank you.

 
I love it all, the lessons, the learning, the art projects.  I was hooked.  However, who and what to teach was still a question mark for me all the way until I entered college.  I loved learning and typically I wanted to teach whatever subject I loved most and at my current age.  Since my last stint in school was in high school, I selected teaching high school.  After all the content was so challenging and interesting.  I was torn, however, between History, Spanish and Math.  You might be surprised that I selected Math.  Well, at least based on the responses I get from EVERYONE I tell that I teach high school Math.  I loved that it was so clear cut.  I could clearly discern whether a student understood the content or did not understand the content.  It was step by step procedure and seemed “easier” to teach.  Since then, I’ve changed my mind about Math’s predictability, methodology and the importance of unscripted rich problem solving.  But, that’s for another time–this is the BEGINNING of my story.  

For approximately every 30 children in the US, there is a teacher.  We are an army of face wipers, coaches, and empathetic ears.  We deliver content, challenge, tutor and seek to inspire.   But, what brought us to this point?  What drove us to do, what I believe, is one of the most challenging and rewarding jobs?  I’d love to hear your story!  Please share in the comments below.  Include in your response if you would have chosen the same age & subject if you could do it all again.

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September 7

Happy Surprises from “You, You all, We” in the Classroom

I wrote earlier in my blog about an article I had read on “Why Americans Stink at Math” by the New York Times (you can read both the post and the article by following the blog roll to the right) and how it just may have revolutionized how I teach.  Well, I’ve been continuing to use this method and I’ve stumbled upon some happy surprises. Here are a few:

Everyone’s engaged.  Yep!  Everyone!  I ask students to work individually on each problem and I walk around.  This frees me up to see who is staring into space–which rarely happens. Most students have some ideas about where to start.  They also want to be ready to share something with their partner when we switch to “You all.”  It’s amazing!  If students are stuck, I’m freed up to ask them questions about the problem that might trigger a thought.  From my Honors Pre-Calculus class to my average Geometry class–it seems to put everyone to work.  During the “You All” talk time, students seem to all be talking to each other ABOUT MATH.  Awesome!

Problematic thinking is head off early.  Because students generate the ideas, the most common misconceptions quickly come to light during our “We” discussion.  We are able to discuss each of them and why the idea might not work.  In addition we tackle, as a group, the points where students get “stuck” and identify why it is a difficulty.  At that point, we generate ideas to respond to the difficulty until every student is satisfied with the solution.

I facilitate, they solve.  By the time we finally get to the “We” discussion, I am able to direct the discussion so that students alone are able to (1) solve the problem and satisfy student curiosity about the problem  and (2) flesh out all the faulty thinking and “stuck” points.

Obviously, I’m sold.  The one down side is that each problem takes longer.  As a result,  I’m trying to find the perfect problems that generate the discussion I want.  I end up doing about 3-4 examples only.  In the past I would have done 5-7, but I don’t think I had the engagement or understanding I am getting now.  It’s a trade off–one that I’m convinced I should take.

Have you tried it?  What do you think?

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August 21

“You, You all, We”

I have to tell you–light bulbs are going off here!  My mantra for math instruction this year is “You, You all, We” and I’m amazed at the response from students.  It’s absolutely fabulous!  It’s amazing how many years of mathematical knowledge is inside those minds–yet, for many years, I approached my lessons as though they’ve never seen the concepts before (i.e. right triangles, Pythagorean Theorem, radicals, slopes).

For years I’ve followed the “Me, You all, You” mentality.  By that, I mean I would model for students the appropriate technique (Me), have them practice with a partner or a group (You all), and then expect them to perform the skill on an exit ticket (You).  While I’m still entirely a fan of exit tickets, I do think my philosophy of instruction may have yielded to a great paradigm shift.

It’s not that I haven’t take advantage of Professional Development–I have!  I’ve gotten a masters degree in Teaching and Leadership, went to many conferences, but it is all coming together for me after I read this recent article about “Why American’s Stink at Math” in the New York Times. That simple phrase “You, You all, We” connected some of the pedagogical dots between my training in problem based learning (PBL), STEM and courses on collaboration and engagement.

The past two days I’ve posed difficult problems, knowing (okay, hoping) that there was some foundation my students could draw from.  They amazed me!  I gave them 1-2 minutes to work on the problem individually (You).  I told them it was okay if they weren’t able to solve the problem, but to draw as many conclusions as they possibly could (for example, I asked them to write the equation for the perpendicular bisector given two endpoints–they could perhaps find the slope of the line, or find the midpoint, etc).  Then, they were to spend 2-3 minutes sharing with their partners what they concluded (You all).  I was thrilled at how quickly they engaged (even though it has only been days 1 and 2!).   When the conversation seemed to die down, I brought their attention to the board and asked students to share what they could about the problem (We).  In the end, I did very little more than facilitate.  It was fabulous!  The fact the some students were able to solve portions of the problem, but were stumped on others, highly motivated them to listen to the solution.

In year 10 of teaching–I think I’m finally connecting the dots–“You, You all, We.”  That’s all it took!

Hope you are all having a great start to your year!  So pumped to make this my #bestyearever!

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August 11

B2S Reflections for #thebestyearever

It’s been…um a few years since I’ve posted on this blog.  However, it has been a personal goal of mine to blog regarding teaching, even if I am the only one who reads it.  That being said, summer is a great time for teachers to retool, rethink and reflect on the year past.  There are so many things I love about my job, but my favorite is a new year–new students, new methods, a fresh slate.  Who would like a fresh start at their job every year?  Well, maybe not everyone, but I do.  With that in mind, I wanted to share some thoughts and reflections on things I love and things I’d like to work on this year, in particular.  I’m sure I won’t hit them all, but if I make progress in just a few, that’s good too.  A journey of a thousand steps begins with just one.  Here are my reflections:

What’s Working

My classroom is a loud and noisy place and that’s the way I like it.  I didn’t always like it.  I used to be very uncomfortable with movement and talking–when it wasn’t mine.  I felt like I might not be able to wrangle my students back to attention.  Over the years I’ve picked up tricks that have given me confidence to unleash my student and know that I can corral them back in (3, 2, 1; music, online-timers; warning bells; etc).  With that in mind, this is what I think works in my classroom:

Full Group Engagement/Accountability If everyone is not working and actively engaged then I’m not happy with it.  I know teachers often play games (Jeopardy, etc.) where only one or two kids are battling it out for the win.  If everyone is not busy, then I’m not happy.  One thing I do to ensure student engagement is that I assign group roles or label each paper 1-4 and collect one for a grade at the end of the class based on the role of the dice.  If everyone is engaged and working cooperatively everyone benefits. If everyone is not engaged, then everyone suffers.

Collaborate and Listen Research shows that students are more positive about school, subject areas and teachers if they work in a collaborative classroom (Johnson and Johnson, 1984).  For that reason, I have several “go-to” activites when that involve active learning and cooperation, many of which I’ve shared in this class.

  1. Man Overboard
  2. Taps
  3. Knotty Problems
  4. Stations
  5. Speed Dating
  6. Think-Pair-Share
  7. Challenge Me with Role Assignment:  Scribe, Artist, Communicator, Quality Control
  8. “I say…, You say…”
  9. Collaborative Groups

Communicating Problem Solving Strategies  Since the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice require students to “Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others” and “attend to precision,” I require students to present at least one problem per chapter to the rest of the class.  While this is difficult for some students, they increasingly grow in this skill and I have scaffolding in place for students who struggle to encourage them to speak.  For example, I offer students the opportunity for me to preview their work before they present.  This gives them them a little added confidence to present.

High Level of Differentiated Accountability  I place students in groups often and hold them accountable either by giving students roles or by assigning them a number 1-4 and then rolling dice at the end to collect work for activities.  Ina ddition, I have students work on “bellwork” and then collect each one, check it and separate correct from incorrect work.  If it is wrong, I like consult individually with each student or ask an “expert” student to work with them.  In addition, I ask students to perform the objective task with a “Ticket to Leave” so that I know exactly who understands and who doesn’t.  These tasks usually have students at 100% engagement.

Direct Instruction with Pizzazz I say “pizzazz” because I do not directly instruct in a typical, “I talk, you listen” fashion.  It truly is a discussion.  I pose problems that might have a connection but have a twist to former learning.  I ask students to walk me through the process, asking probing questions.  In that way, we are “discovering” together.

TI-84 Graphing Calculator  I use the TI-84 regularly for classroom instruction.  I feel like I have a good handle on its uses for Algebra II (and even some of the quirky technological issues that may arise) and how to use it for both group discovery and whole group discussion.  When we use the calculator as a whole group, I have found it really helpful to have a student model its use on the document camera.  I notice when I try to model it, I go too quickly and students find it difficult to keep up.

What Needs Improvement in my Classroom

For the most part, I like what I’m doing but I also know there is SO much that I can do to improve.  That is what I love most about our profession—there is ALWAYS room for growth!  The classes I’ve taken this summer have taught me that I have several weaknesses.  I will list them in order of priority of implementation.

PBL Problem Based Learning, rooted in Constructivist thought, forces students to go beyond gaining proficiency in algorithms and mastering foundational knowledge in mathematics, students in PBL environments must learn a variety of mathematical processes and skills related communication, representation, modeling, and reasoning (Roh, 2003).  This is, in part, due to a reluctance on the part of my district to wholeheartedly embrace the Common Core.  There is still a “drill and skill” mentality and curriculum to support it.  That being said, I’d still like to make room for at least one 3 Act type collaborative problem solving experience for my students per quarter.  This would allow students to draw conclusions for themselves making connections to former mathematical learning.

Scaffolding  I LOVE using groups, but I have been guilty of throwing groups together without the appropriate scaffolding and find that students are frustrated.  I need to assign roles and, even more so, teach the skills of active listening and speaking, supporting statements with viable arguments as stated in the CCSS MP Standard 3.  These can be taught to students and practiced.  Ideas for practicing these social skills can be found at http://www.edutopia.org/blog/deeper-learning-collaboration-key-rebecca-alber .

Variety is the Spice of Life   I would definitely like to expand my toolbox of Kagan Structures so that I could create a more collaborative environment where, according to Kagan, students develop a personal interdependence and desire to help each other learn.  Several structures I’d like to try in particular are Numbered Heads Together and Spin-N-Review so that students will have greater engagement and better performance.

Pit Stop In the middle of direct instruction I want to take a pause for students to “teach” one another or perform some other BRIEF collaboration like “mirror” or “think-pair-share.”  For example, if I teach a difficult example, I might pause for each person in a pair to take 30 seconds to explain it to their partner and then switch.  In doing so, students can reflect on their understanding.

Brain Based Learning   Brain breaks are a useful tool for students to use to help activate, energize and stimulate their brains by improving information storage and retrieval. Research indicates that brain breaks also improve students’ concentration and relieve stress.  I think it might be important for my regular Geometry students to have Brain Breaks and hand motions as well.  I plan to use the website gonoodle.com and place them in the middle of the lesson.

These are just MY thoughts–share yours–how will you make this your #bestyearever?

 

 

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