A, E, I… oh, Q!

When I was in elementary school, I was tested to see if my IQ was high enough to be considered for the Gifted Program. I think I was singled out as a potential genius more for my EQ than for my IQ. I wasn’t super smart or anything, but I knew how to figure things out, how to read people, and how to please teachers.

This has remained true throughout my personal and professional life. I’m never the smartest person in the room, but my EQ reminds me that I’m okay with that. I appreciate learning from and with others. I love to laugh while working hard. I care about others and am curious about their superpowers.

In COVID times, a different type of quotient has emerged from the EQ bucket and has begun to grow legs, the Adaptability Quotient (AQ). 

Our world has become more complex, more uncertain, and more ambiguous. Each day it seems we are navigating relationships and responding to situations that feel different than ever before. 

According to Amy Edmondson, a professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School, your IQ might help you get through exams to become qualified in your chosen field of work; your EQ might help you connect with your interviewer, get the job, and build relationships with coworkers and clients; but it’s your AQ that will ensure you can keep up with innovations and new ways to work in an everchanging future.

The Creative Thinking Institute

I believe these are skills that can be honed and grown, no matter your age or stage. In fact, the 6Cs from New Pedagogies for Deep Learning use progressions that help users better understand where they are in those specific competencies and what it looks like as they keep growing their AQ. 

Below, I have included just a few of the competencies where I see what having a high Adaptability Quotient (AQ) looks like. 

from the 6Cs Learning Progressions by NPDL

What can we do?

As educators, we need to help students not only build their AQ muscles, but we need to be explicit about what it looks like when they are being adaptable, when they aren’t showing the skills of being adaptable, and why this will help them throughout life.

Of course, we first have to start with ourselves. Take a look at the competencies above. Which of these do you feel confident in? Which do you see room for growth? How might you consider a goal to work towards? Who could join you as an accountability partner? Maybe a class?

Self-Awareness and Self-Reflection

Under the Communication competency, I am committed to checking for personal bias. I know that this is an area of growth for me. In fact, in a recent meeting, I recognized that my own biases might be interfering with my ability to make a specific decision and asked for a barometer check to ensure that my decision-making was fair and accurate. 

Hey! Will you look at that?!

I used my IQ to remind me that I might be wrong. I used my EQ to humbly recognize that my thinking might be biased. I used my AQ to remain open and curious about other perspectives.

Maybe I AM Gifted after all!

A new mantra: Assess what we value

~Deep Learning: Engage the world, change the world, p. 13

Just this week I was part of a global meeting about assessing and reporting deep learning.

Eight educators and two consultants located in and across North America, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia zoomed in to share ideas, current work, and ask questions about how we might collect evidence of global competencies in assessments, share growth of these competencies on the report card, and maybe even showcase them on the transcript (above academic performance- would be my dream!).

Global Competencies: New Pedagogies from Deep Learning

from Dive into Deep Learning: Tools for Engagement

A wise member of this group said something that I just can’t get off my mind…

How might we help teachers better understand how to assess what we value rather than value what we assess?

At that moment, it was like a flood of excitement and questions and ideas rushed through my mind and my heart.

How is this the first time I have heard this phrase?

I immediately looked at our school’s mission and vision. What DOES our school value? The school where I work values students as unique individuals, self-directed learners, risk-takers, empathy, compassion, human and environmental sustainability, solving complex problems, collaboration, inquiry, meaningful knowledge construction, reflection, taking action, and so much more.

Would students look at our assessments and know what we value as a school or do our assessments look like we value

• the right answer,
• low-level knowledge and understanding, and
• maybe even secrets (as in- we were tested on something that we weren’t taught!)?

Do our assessments tell students what really matters?  

If we want self-directed learners, but only assess them through more traditional means, why should they believe what their school values? Students might be hearing one thing but seeing another. They will play the game of the holder of their grade, not the vision of the school.

Consider Student Voice and Choice

One example of how to show students that we value self-directed learning could be the opportunity for students to choose how they should be assessed on the targeted outcomes. Ask them for ideas. Some might choose a portfolio of various evidence and reflection, some might choose to create a gameshow, some might choose an infographic, or maybe a TedTalk. As long as they can show valid evidence of their proficiency toward the outcomes, doesn’t this show them that we value their ideas, their creativity, their voice, and the application of their learning?

The Real World

All we have to do is look at the real-world examples we view or read every day.

I can’t think of any multiple-choice/matching/fill-in-the-blank questions embedded in news articles or documentaries. I see lots of graphs, charts, infographics, rich text, and interviews.

How can we use newspapers, websites, newscasts, webinars, documentaries, and social media as models of authentic assessments?

But, But, But…

Shouldn’t we prepare students for the traditional assessments they might see later… like AP exams, SATs, university?

Sure, as formative assessments to inform what might need time for reteaching, individual differentiation, or going deeper based on interest. Keep these short, used at the beginning or end of class- depending on your needs, and definitely not high-stakes (no-stakes would be awesome!).

Sources

Fullan, M., Quinn, J. and McEachen, J., 2018. Deep learning. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin.

Quinn, J., McEachen, J., Fullan, M., Gardner, M. and Drummy, M., 2020. Dive into deep learning: Tools for engagement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

A New Look at Unit Design: Putting Students First

Note: This reflection from our Summer learning is just as relevant today as it was in August, as many schools are back to remote or hybrid learning as we continue to endure this pandemic. Please share your thoughts and learning in the comments.

“I can’t wait to spend my summer rethinking and creating new units!” exclaimed no teacher ever. 

This sentence may have never been said by any sane teacher. However, 2020 was full of surprising comments that no one ever thought would be spoken. Teachers around the world were stuck at home this summer, and with most plans canceled… why not start planning for the possibilities of the new school year?

In an effort to break the monotony of Groundhog Day- Summer 2020 Edition, we invited our teachers to join unit planning cohorts to prepare for the new school year that started in the hybrid model. Each cohort was virtual, two days long, and participants were paid for their time and effort. Our Learning Office (Deputy Head of School for Learning and 2 curriculum coordinators) facilitated the learning and supported teachers and teams as they worked throughout each day.

A Case for Unit Redesign

Previously, we used Understanding by Design as our model for unit planning. However, over the last year, and more frequently during the current pandemic, we have been rethinking our unit design model. In the fall of 2019, our Leadership Team read Dive Into Deep Learning: Tools for Engagement by Quinn et al., 2019, and, after partnering with their organization, New Pedagogies for Deeper Learning (NPDL), we began learning about their Learning Design Model- a unit planning (and learning experience) template that still supports backward design but also incorporates the principles of Design Thinking by starting with understanding the student. 

Emergency remote learning from early March through June taught us that we needed to first focus on students and their interests and needs followed by the most essential learning outcomes and the success criteria of those outcomes. We tweaked the NPDL Learning Design Model just a bit to fit our needs. 

Our New Thinking about Unit & Learning Design

Step	Guiding Question(s)
Understanding our Students	What do we already know about our students?
Learning Outcomes	What do we want these students to learn?
Success Criteria	How will we know these students learned these outcomes?
Overview of the Unit	What is the story of this learning experience? What will these students produce?
Assessment Tools	What tools will we and our students use to assess learning?
Reflection	How well did this learning design meet the intended learning outcomes? How might we improve this unit?

Based on the Learning Design Template from NPDL

Introducing the New Approach

For the purpose of this blog and the current need to empathize with and understand the needs of our students now more than ever, I will focus on the first step: Understanding our Students. 

What do we already know about our students (strengths, needs, interests)?

During our first planning cohort of the summer, we introduced our new unit design model. Once teams began working on their own, we noticed that some of them skipped this first question and moved ahead to the parts they were more familiar and comfortable with, such as learning outcomes, success criteria, and assessments. Teachers were unsure how to answer this question because they didn’t know who their students were yet. We quickly stepped in and coached teams to step back and reflect on students in general, the users of the learning, before moving forward. With a deeper look at the students who will be engaged in this learning, the next steps of the unit design became clearer and more meaningful.

A Few Examples

An example from our Japan Seminar (JSEM) course for seniors. The unit is called Confederate Monuments. 

What do we already know about our students (strengths, needs, interests)? They want to learn about Japan. They just had American History- and I want to connect their learning about US History to talk about major themes in JSEM. They have been exposed to Black Lives Matter (BLM) during distance learning and other issues that they may not have gotten to process. They are interested in contemporary topics. Because they are taking this course, they want to be challenged in terms of ideas and texts. They want to discuss things.

Once this teacher was able to take time and consider the students coming into the class, the reason, and outcomes, for the unit made more sense. The focus became more about connecting to prior learning and thinking in order to process and discuss contemporary topics such as BLM.

Similar to a backward-design unit, the learning outcomes, success criteria, and assessment ideas followed but it was now evident that the unit had a specific audience that framed the purpose for learning. 

An example from a Grade 6 Humanities unit on Discovering Personal Perspectives.

What do we already know about our students (strengths, needs, interests)? Students are entering middle school and are curious about themselves, peers, and teachers. With the hybrid model, students will be curious, but more nervous about middle school and the changes from distance learning in 5th grade. Students come from backgrounds both diverse and in some ways similar and need to recognize elements of their identity which affect their viewpoint. Current events around the world have made identity, bias, and race conversations more necessary.

 Another example from the High School: Fine Arts 1 unit on Elements, Principles, and Composition.

What do we already know about our students (strengths, needs, interests)? Level 1 students come in with a varied amount of interest in art in general. 9th or 10th graders may have more interest and have plans for pursuing to AP level than higher grade students who have put off taking an art class. A wide variety of skills, experiences, etc. depending on if they had art courses at the middle school level. If students came from our middle school Art program, they will have a familiarity with the Elements & Principles vocabulary and concepts. Students often have anxiety about their drawing skills, specifically about making things look “real.” Students have more experience and thus facility with a pencil (graphite) but limited experience with the broader range of drawing media (charcoal, ink, pastel). Students often have a tendency to use symbolic representations of emoji type symbols (hearts, smiley faces, etc) and will need support to move beyond that.

These examples are still a work-in-progress and teachers will continue to build on their understanding of the students in their classes and reflect on those understandings within their unit design. As the year progresses, they will know their students better and be able to define who their audience is, more specifically.

Empathy before Curriculum

Begin with the End Students in Mind: A few tips for shifting to a student-centered approach

1. Choose a unit that you have taught previously and reflect on what students liked about the unit, what they struggled with, and the most essential concepts and skills of the unit.  2. Close your eyes and picture your classroom filled with students smiling and eager to learn. 3. Think about where they are coming from, their experiences, their background knowledge. Consider what their strengths, needs, and interests might be.  4. Jot down your thoughts on the top of your unit planner. 5. As you work through your revised unit, keep these students in mind. This is about them; it should always be about them.

This year is very different from any other school year. Students may be attending school virtually, face-to-face but with social distancing and mask requirements, and maybe a combination of both models. They will need to be able to trust their teachers through this pandemic and beyond. By rethinking units and learning experiences with students’ strengths, needs, and interests in mind, they will see that their teachers care for them and will guide them through what is essential in learning and in life.

References

Quinn, J., McEachen, J., Fullan, M., Gardner, M., & Drummy, M. (2019). Dive into deep learning: Tools for engagement. Sage Publications.

Insight from a hike: A story about a personal journey and a metaphor about learning

Four and a half years ago, I started a journey towards a Doctorate of Education in K-12 Leadership. At the time I was immersed in the world of standards-based learning: what it looked like, what it didn’t look like, and how to get there as painlessly as possible. It was all the rage. Elementary and middle school teachers were diving in and making good attempts at shifting their thinking. High school teachers were hesitant. I really wanted to research why some high school teachers were risk-averse to change and what leaders could do to help move toward implementing this initiative and others. 

My final study was published three months ago. It’s already obsolete, well at least my purpose for writing it is. In these past three months, I have learned more about learning, and what is essential, than I had in all my years as a learner, a teacher, a leader, and a researcher. The current pandemic has given me a new perspective, a better understanding, and a new imperative towards essential learning and skills.

In fact, through the following story, I hope that my vision is clear.

The Background

I found a new hobby this summer: hiking. Even though I have spent the last 8 summers at our home in the Rocky Mountains, I never really wanted to walk up and down steep mountains for fun. However, I needed to find my fitness again; it’s been a while since I was regularly active. My husband, Shane, offered to hike with me at first. I said no. I wanted to do this on my own. I needed to do this on my own. I started slow and easy. I took breaks as often as I needed. I didn’t challenge myself too far; I stayed on familiar trails and terrain. It was my church and my meditation time. It was quiet. 

After a few weeks, I could tell I was ready for something new and challenging. I was also ready for a partner to help challenge me, lead me, invite me to set our pace, try new trails. It was on one of these hikes, with Shane, that I started to relate our journey to what I was thinking about learning. Today, though, I took to the trail alone. I hope I never look back.

The Hike

As the sun shone through my bedroom window this morning, I stretched and started wondering, 

Where will I go today? What am I up for? A short hike or a long hike? A challenging trail with rough, steep terrain or a meandering switchback through the sagebrush? Where will I go today?

I was excited to see what I could accomplish in the next few hours.

I chose a 4.5-mile moderate hike (95 minutes) with plenty of flat space for light jogging- this is where I am trying to challenge myself. I’ve done it once before but going the opposite way. I chose a solo journey today. I wanted to wrap my head around this new thinking about learning on my own. Shane isn’t quite as geeky about learning as I am (especially during summer vacation). 

I first read the trailhead marker. I like to know where I am and where I am going. I started slowly to warm up my legs, my lungs, my brain. I picked up my pace as the trail became less rocky, smoother, more level. Then I started jogging. At the point that I knew the trail was beginning to incline and I would have to slow down, I chose a landmark that would be my “finish line” for jogging. I had to make it to that landmark, though. That was my short goal. I celebrated by looking back toward what I had just accomplished and looked at the scenery around me. 

As I continued the hike up, I recognized the moment I needed a break. I had been moving along at a good pace for quite some time, but I wasn’t challenging myself as much as I could be. I needed to stop, refresh my body, redirect my brain, breathe, and set a new short goal. I will jog to that group of trees up there in the distance. I can do this. My stamina and grit are back.

Once I made it to my next “finish line” I noticed something ahead. A pile of bones. 

What type of animal bones are these? What killed this animal? How long have these bones been here? What other animals live in these mountains? Are they watching me right now?  

So many questions. I was excited to do some research and find out some of the answers to my questions. 

I also noticed life around me. Flowers beside the trail. How did these get here? There weren’t any other flowers nearby. Look at how different they are; how beautiful they are.

A crossroads is ahead. Three trails to choose from. Which way shall I go? It is my choice; and I know that each choice will get me to my final destination. Having this choice is empowering and exciting.

 

The journey to the top is worth it. I struggled to get up here, but look where I ended up. If I hadn’t challenged myself, I wouldn’t have seen this. The hardest part is over. As they say, it’s all downhill from here.

Even though the hardest part is over, my journey back down the trail must still be my best effort. I still set short goals. I still kept my heart rate up. I did not get lazy. I reminded myself of all I learned and what was worth remembering. I revised my thinking for my next hike. 

My celebration came when I crossed my final finish line. There was someone waiting for me. They were proud of my effort.

How’d you do? How’d it feel? What was the best part? What was most challenging? What are you thinking for your next journey?

From the Trail to the Classroom

How can you use the hiking experience to focus on essential learning and skills, motivate students, and keep them on the right path of essential learning?

The hiking experience in 7 easy steps

1. Set the trail: where are you going and how are you getting there?
2. Choose a solo or partner journey: some people need a buddy. Someone to mix the social and academic aspects together. Someone to lead the way. Someone to challenge them. Someone who will slow them down when needed. Some people need to “go it alone.” Sometimes we might change our minds in the middle of our journey and wish we had chosen differently. 
3. Set short goals along the way: to keep motivation high and continue to move forward. Small wins get you to a huge victory!
4. Take useful breaks: Use this time to recharge, reset, redirect. Then get back at it!
5. Be curious along the way: What do you notice and wonder as you move toward your goal? What new learning are you thinking about? What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
6. Don’t ease up on the downhill: The hardest part may be behind you, but you aren’t at the finish line yet. Keep giving your best effort.
7. Celebrate the journey: Have a “cheerleader” meet you at the end. Reflect and be proud of this hard work. Plan for your next journey.

We have a moment, right now, to take a break and reset our thinking about learning. What is really important for students to know and be able to do? How will you be their guide during this year’s journey? What choices will students get to make about their path? What questions will they get to ask and answer that will take them further, deeper into the forest of understanding? How will you get students excited to wake up in the morning as wonder…

“Where will I go today?”

How about a Round of Empathy: In 2 Parts

Part 2: Empathy for Seniors

Background: My husband is a high school Social Studies teacher. I am a Curriculum Coordinator at the same school. We have 2 high school children (a sophomore and a senior), who attend this school. 

I’m thinking that this post is for teachers and parents of the Senior Class of 2020. I can only give the view of my senior and what I am noticing but I am sure that others can relate and surely have more to add. 

Tradition… Interrupted

There is a tradition at this school. Seniors write long letters, by hand, on their graduation cards to their friends, parents of their friends, and most loved teachers. They start writing these letters as soon as the grad cards arrive. Some write as many as 40 or more. Except for this year. The cards are sequestered in the high school office. The campus is closed to families for the remainder of the year. The school is figuring out how to get everything to the seniors.

This is one of many traditions at our school, but this is the one most affecting our senior. It is getting in the way of everything else. It is consuming his days and nights. Who can think about AP Environment Science or Calculus or English at a time like this? These letters must be written, revised, and written again on these special cards in the neatest smallest handwriting ever! Except for this year. Our senior is making his own cards out of cardstock he borrowed from my office. He is putting a lot of consideration into the design of the front AND back of the cards as well as what is going to be personally written in each one. 

This is one reason that schoolwork is being put on the back burner. I have to let it go and let him come to grips with what he is prioritizing right now.

A Case of the What-Ifs

Our senior has known since November where he was going for university. It was his only choice. We visited last summer on a college tour and he knew immediately that Western Colorado University was the school for him. The campus is lovely. The people we met were his kind of people. It felt like a community and reminded him of everything he loved about his high school community.

Last month, he chose a roommate and they speak most days. They are getting to know each other, their histories, and their hopes as college students. 

As the days have passed, though, the What-Ifs have started creeping into our senior’s daily thoughts.

What if we can’t move into our dorm in August? Where will I live? What will I do?

What if I have to live at home by myself? I’ll need a license. I’ll need a car. I’ll need a job. I’ll need to learn how to care for a house and myself. Should I get a roommate?

What if my family can’t travel home for Christmas because COVID is still around? I won’t see them for almost a year. I don’t have any other family nearby. I might not be able to travel east to see grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I might be alone for a long time.

What if I can’t do it? I can’t be that kid who still lives with Mom and Dad. You know, the one who graduated but still hangs out with the high school kids. 

What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if?

This is another reason that schoolwork is being put on the back burner. I have to support him, his worries, his reality, and let him come to grips with what he is prioritizing right now.

There’s No Cap on Empathy, Right?

Are his classes important? Yes. Is this experience showing us whether or not he can be a successful independent learner or a responsible adult? At first, I would have said yes. I no longer believe that this experience is actually telling us anything about who our kids are as independent learners or responsible humans any more than it’s telling us where we fall on the continuum of perfect parents or amazing teachers. We are all just trying to survive.

What IS important right now?

Loving our children. Loving our students. Showing grace. 

I have received a few emails from teachers over the last few weeks about our senior’s missing assignments or projects. I am so impressed with the care they have shown; the patience they have. I have so much empathy for all of these teachers- they did not sign up for this. I also have so much empathy for our seniors- they did not sign up for this, either. I just hope that there isn’t a cap on empathy.

How about a Round of Empathy: In 2 Parts

Background: My husband is a high school Social Studies teacher. I am a Curriculum Coordinator at the same school. We have 2 high school children (a sophomore and a senior), who attend this school.

Part 1: Empathy for Teachers

This past Friday morning, I was pouring a cup of coffee in the kitchen. My husband was holding a virtual synchronous class with one of his AP World History classes in the same room (his workspace is in our kitchen). I could tell he was getting frustrated. 

Who am I kidding, we are all beyond getting frustrated.

Earlier in the week, he shared a discussion post using Parlay to ask students to choose which option they preferred as a way forward to prepare for the AP exam as a class and to comment on one other student’s post. 

Parlay Discussion Post Goal: Try to decide how we look at AP World History Review from April 12th – March 21st  Option 1: Start to use the review videos released by the College Board. The videos typically are created by AP readers/teachers who approach the review unit by unit. The units are divided into subunits with lots of instructions about how/why the content could be incorporated into writing for the Modified, 2020 APWH test. Option 2: Continue to use a variety of resources to review the content of each APWH unit. The activities include a variety of shorter videos and vocabulary activities.  Discussion Question Which option do you like the best? Give a rationale as to why you think this option would work best for you and/or the class. Peer Feedback Instructions You are expected to respond to at least one other student’s discussion answer. You can politely disagree with them (give a rationale for your disagreement) or concur with them (give a rationale for your agreement).

Some students did not complete this simple task. Others completed it with seemingly little care. Maybe the students were thinking that the teacher knows best and they will review in whatever way he thinks is best for them. For many of them, this is their first AP course. They don’t know what they don’t know.

However, let’s look at it from the teacher’s point-of-view. 

As a school, we are pretty deep into our COVID-19 Distance Learning experience. Not China-deep, but Asia-deep. We are in the second phase of our thinking now that we know this will be our reality for the remainder of the school year. Here’s what that looks like:

Phase II Focus:

• Essential learning and assessing
• Letting go of the “nice to know” curriculum
• Engaging and motivating projects/activities/performance assessments
• Not burning out (teachers or students)

So, with this in mind, I know the teacher from this story was considering these aspects as well as other relevant data. For instance, students have made it clear in surveys that they appreciate any chance to collaborate with their peers, take part in discussions, and have some choice/ownership of their learning. Parlay was a new tool that he thought would be fun for kids, let them interact with each other, and give them a voice in the decision about how to review and prepare for the AP exam.

What the students didn’t know was how much time it took to learn the tool, set it up, create the post, try it out, revise it, and publish it for each class.

The discussion was posted on Monday. There was a reminder on Wednesday, and by Friday morning’s synchronous class, well, let’s just say that my husband had to use his teacher voice.

He was honest. He was vulnerable. He let the kids know that he was frustrated and working a heck of a lot harder than they were. He actually listed the steps he took to create the discussion board and the time it took from his weekend. 

Remember earlier when I said they don’t know what they don’t know? This is the empathy part. 

In class, teachers have the toolbox that they have been digging into for years. In Distance Learning, it’s a whole new toolbox. Students don’t know that. Students don’t realize that teachers are learning new tech tools, new ways to communicate and collaborate, rethinking units, and completely redesigning assessments.

I think it’s more than okay to be honest and vulnerable with our students. I also think that students who understand exactly how hard their teachers are working to create meaningful learning experiences at home will be more engaged and more motivated. 

During your check-ins with students this week, open up to them about how hard this is and what you have learned. Show them. It’s not about gaining sympathy or making them feel guilty. We are all human. When they see just how much you are doing for them, I hope some of them might try a little harder, give a little more.

How do you share your own learning and your own struggles with students? Let me know!

Ginny

Hoping to post Part 2: Empathy for Seniors soon!

Analyzing Authentic Assessments

As we continue to practice aligning assessments to standards, it’s important to not only reflect on student data but to plan for improving results for all learners. Framing our conversation (aka using a protocol) about student data will help us focus on the learning targets and how the assessment actually provided evidence of mastery of the targeted standards.

Steps for Framing a Team Conversation

Within one week of giving a common assessment, set aside 30 minutes of your team’s common planning time (teachers will need to mark their class’s assessments before the team meeting). If you are a one-person team, then ask a critical friend, an administrator, or an instructional coach to join you for some analysis fun!

I hope that my colleagues know that I am always eager to join a conversation about learning!

As a team, consider the following questions, from In Praise of American Educators, to determine the validity of the assessment, its alignment to the standards, and how the data will be used to improve results for all students. Your team may decide that other questions should be added to frame the conversation. Add those, too.

 

The reproducible below is found in the book above.

 

Possible questions to consider, from DuFour’s book:

Once the team feels that they have a better understanding of the students’ current learning of the targeted standards, then consider what these results mean to the next unit of study as well as how this unit will be revised for next year. Those reflective notes should be added to the unit documentation as well as the assessment. The ATLAS UbD template is a perfect spot to add strategies for differentiation and notes about the unit.

 

This is our template for Stage 3 in ATLAS. Some teams also use Google Docs for Stage 3.

 

Finally, check out Solution Tree’s free resources for tools to help your team work collaboratively and with purpose, information about upcoming webinars, and a video library from the experts in learning.

Have a great week!

Ginny

Happy New School Year!

Students and teachers across the world are beginning a new year. How do I know? My Facebook feed is inundated with Back-to-School pics- and I love it! Here are a few from my feed over the years. Don’t tell my kids!

2009

2012

2016

When our kids would tell us about their first few days of school, it was clear how the year was going to go. The teachers who spent time getting to know their students by building relationships and building routines were more likely to be the teachers that helped our kids feel cared for and feel confident.

It doesn’t need to take a lot of time to begin on the right foot. It can be as simple as standing at the classroom door, shaking each student’s hand, looking them in the eyes, making a quick introduction, and welcoming them to class. The old don’t-smile-until-Christmas advice has never been good for anyone.

Who are your students?

Over the first few weeks of school, the connection you make with students will impact the rest of the year. First impressions work both ways. Tell them about yourself as a student and a learner when you were their age. Better yet, show them a picture of YOU at their age. Here I am at different stages of awkwardness.

Let them know what your dreams were for your future. Where you thought you’d be. How you got where you are now.

Have a laugh, reminisce, then focus on them.

As much as it is a great ice-breaker for them to get to know each other, I recommend that you also get their info on paper (or digitally). Maybe through a discussion post or journal entry on your LMS, or a Google Form, or even a shared Google Doc. This may be the most important data you collect all year.

Focus your questions on these 3 topics (including a few examples):

Your students as people…

• What is their background?
• Where is home (especially important to those who are international)?
• How would their family and friends describe them?
• What do they need you to know about them?

Your students as learners…

• What type of teacher do they respect?
• How do they learn best?
• How do they ask for help when they need it?

Your students as the future…

• What are they passionate about?
• What is happening now in their world that excites them?
• What is happening now in their world that worries them?

Finally, let’s get back to you.

How are You Modeling Lifelong Learning?

As we get to know our students and they get to know us, we need to think about how we are modeling learning as learners ourselves. We need to build our own learning networks and share, with students, what we are learning as well as how we are using that learning. If we expect students to be learners, we must be learners.

Facebook and Twitter have made this easy. If you teach science and use the NGSS, then there’s a Facebook page for you. If you teach PE, then there are pages for you. If you use Seesaw, then there are pages for you. Honestly, if you teach it, someone is posting about it!

Here is a Google Site that I made last year with links to pages that are worth adding to your learning network. Leave me a comment if you have others that I should add.

My thoughts and energy are with you all this year. It’s going to be GREAT!

Learning to Leave Well

International educators around the world are spending the next few weeks saying goodbye. They will say goodbye to colleagues, students, cities, and countries. Some of them aren’t doing the moving, but are still losing important friends and much-loved students who are transitioning to new adventures.

We all handle these transitions differently. I am here to say that I am a failure at leaving well. However, I acknowledge this fault of mine and am working to be better in learning to leave well.

A few examples of my failures at leaving over the years…

High school graduation– I actually called the Peace Corps to see if they would take me far away from the only place I’d ever lived. They told me to get a degree.

University– I left at the end of my second year. I was meant to take a gap year (or 3). Once I completely wasted my parents’ money on 2 years of not going to class, I burned every friendship and loaded my car with junk that I would eventually toss out. Hurting people I had grown to love seemed to be the best option for me. No one was sorry to see me go. Therefore, no one made me feel guilty for leaving.

The United States– I left my first teaching job to go overseas for the first time. I had a husband, a baby on the way, and an exciting future in front of me. I’m not even sure I said goodbye. It might have been more like, “nanny, nanny, boo, boo – you’re stuck here and I am seeing the world!” Classy, right?

Saudi Arabia– This was hard. I had been there for 10 years- a quarter of my life! My children were raised there. I had a group of friends who were like family. The last year and a half was a blur made up mostly of me ruining relationships with dear friends. I didn’t know how to say goodbye. It was so awkward. I was so awkward. Plus I turned 40- I wasn’t in my right mind last year.

Seoul– Only one year later, this should be easy. I didn’t have time to forge forever friendships (although I did). I was hoping we would spend the next 7 years of our life in Seoul, but I just didn’t fit in here. So far, I have declined a final girls’ night out and the option of making a video about our time here. I was planning to tiptoe out and hope that no one notices. It doesn’t look like I am learning from my past mistakes.

Leaving well is hard for some, easy for others. I think it is important to bring closure to a job, a community, a country. I haven’t figured out why it’s so hard for me, but I need to learn to leave better. I will begin now by saying…

Thank you to those who learned and laughed with me.

I am grateful for the experiences and the adventure.

I grew as a learner, a leader, a friend.

We grew as a family.

Let me know if you have any helpful hints for leaving well. I love learning from others.

Tokyo-bound,

Ginny

PS- If you haven’t made your own Bitmoji, what are you waiting for?!

 

 

 

 

Learning Walks Grow Learning

Are Learning Walks part of your school’s culture? What do you look for on a Learning Walk? How can Learning Walks improve every school’s climate?

These were some of the questions asked of our team (several years ago) when Martin Skelton came in and got us “Looking for Learning!” His advice allowed me to step back and notice the learning environment, as well as my routines and daily objectives. Fast-forward a few years and in comes another wise consultant who deepened my understanding of looking for learning through Learning Walks. It was clear that teachers could make small tweaks to what they already do to encourage visiting students, parents, administrators, and the community to see what their students were learning, not just what they were doing.

What Do You Look For on a Learning Walk?

On Learning Walks, you look for learning. What does learning look like? That’s the harder question. There are a few simple ways that I look for learning in our school’s hallways.

• I look for authentic student work displayed along the corridors.
• I look for the process of the work, not just the final product. Where did their learning begin and where are they now?
• I also look for the purpose of the learning (the objective or “I Can” statement).
• I also look for reflections of the learning, either written by each student or a shared class reflection.

Within the classroom, I look for learning in many different ways. It’s important to first get a feel for each individual classroom’s environment. If each classroom was expected to have the exact same set-up and the exact same routines, then teachers’ creativity and passion would be stifled- we don’t want that. However, if you were a new student and this was your first visit, what would you need to look for to know that you could learn in this room? There are a few simple ways that I look for learning in classrooms.

• I look for today’s schedule.
• I look for what we are learning today (and hopefully why and how).
• I look for instructions of routines (How do kids choose books from the library? What are the steps of the writing process? How do we solve problems? What to do if you’re absent?).
• I look for varied learning spaces. (Can some students stand or sit on the carpet? Does learning happen in different places in the classroom?).

Learning Walks can also be focused on a specific initiative. Emily DeLiddo of languageisliving.com, is a literacy consultant who narrowed my focus of Learning Walks to Literacy-Rich Environments. Emily drafted a Learning Walk that focused on 7 sub-topics: environment, halls, word walls, materials, charts, library, and environmental print. She recommended that we should share the Learning Walk document with teachers, revise it if needed, then chunk the sub-topics into doable actions. Since most of the teachers already had their classrooms set up for the workshop model, we could celebrate the positive documentation of ENVIRONMENTS.

This quarter, our elementary teachers are going to implement Learning Walks as part of their professional learning.

Teams can decide when they’re ready for other teams to visit their team for a Learning Walk. Hopefully, this will allow teachers to be confident in their work, while also giving praise to colleagues.

Each grade level has an Apple Tree (I know it’s corny; I can’t help it). They simply stick the apple (possibly the Word Walls apple) to their tree and the other grade levels know that they are ready to show off their Word Walls. Everyone has a different take on Word Walls and how to use them, so teachers can get lots of ideas from their colleagues that may help them learn a different way.

Teachers will have a chance to share what they’ve learned from visiting other classrooms during staff meetings. It’s a great chance to take a few minutes from the agenda to celebrate learning.

How Can Learning Walks Improve Every School’s Climate?

Learning Walks, when used as a learning tool and never as an evaluation, will focus the entire staff on learning and feedback. They allow teachers and students to be more comfortable and confident with what is happening in the classroom. When the school community can easily look for learning in the hallways and classrooms, the school becomes a museum of learning and an art gallery of understanding.